Foreclosures: The poor pets are getting left behind
Posted by Jim Wasserman
The Bee has a done a couple of heartbreaking stories in past months on pets left behind in foreclosure situations. But the problem continues. Sacramento-based Coldwell Banker real estate agent Donald Stitt has been seeing plenty of it and recently wrote into Home Front with what he's encountered personally Some excerpts:
• "Out on Hazel Ave. in the backyard of a foreclosed home was a caged extra furry black bunny. The metal cage (it looked like something you would trap a raccoon in) was sitting directly on the ground in the middle of a large weed-infested backyard, out in the direct sunlight, with no food and no water. I was so perplexed at this situation I did not know what to do first."
• "On Cottage Way, close to Cottage Park, on the side patio of a vacant home, I came across a poor 5-inch diameter box turtle in a 2-foot-long aquarium with about 3 inches of the dirtiest water you've ever seen. This aquarium was sitting diagonally right on the concrete ground, under a pergola but with no food, no toys, just trapped in this dirty aquarium lonely, hungry and obviously abandoned."
• "In a vacant 'short sale' home in Greenhaven, where supposedly the seller was still coming over every day to take care of the property he was about to abandon, he had also left his dog in a small crate in the hot garage. No water, no food, all day (and night presumably) and despite my pleas, the owner did not take the dog to be with him, but persisted in leaving him in this garage where he barked incessantly when someone was viewing the house. It broke my heart."
"And I can't tell you how many koi ponds and backyard 'water features' that have lovely fish living in them appear to be abandoned with little or no care in the backyards of these foreclosed properties. I'm not sure what the answer is, but getting the word out can't hurt. A Realtor can do very little about these sad situations except for making frantic phone calls because we do not own the property.
"I want people to think about it. It's just heartbreaking."
Newsom declines to dance on Villaraigosa's departure
Posted by Peter Hecht
Antonio Villaraigosa's decision to honor his L.A. mayoral gig and not to run for governor had just given Gavin Newsom a chance to own the stage as the new generation challenger to likely Democratic favorite Jerry Brown.
And yet the San Francisco mayor seemed melancholy when asked at a Tuesday presser in the City about his L.A. colleague.
"In spite of some of the punditry, Antonio Villaraigosa and I have always gotten along and I admire his stewardship and his commitment. He has been in office for decades and has served, I think, very, very well."
Newsom, who said he was "surprised, but not shocked" by Villaraigosa's announcement, demurred on whether he thought he now has a better chance of getting elected governor with the L.A. mayor out of the race.
"People like me should not answer those questions," Newsom said.
Man bites dog? State repays bonds
Posted by Dan Weintraub
Actually, it is really dog bites man, because California has always repaid its bonds. But it still might be shocking to anyone who is casually following the state's finances. Anyway, it was surprising enough that Tom Dresslar from the treasury's office felt compelled to publicize it in a short news release:
"Today the state paid investors on time and in full $3.94 billion in principal and interest on RANs (Revenue Anticipation Notes) we sold in October 2008."
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