Shallow Alto, Shallow Wallet

Big surprise. Coldwell Banker released the results of their national survey of home prices. Eight of the top twenty cities nationwide with the most expensive housing markets are located right here in the Bay Area: Palo Alto (4), San Mateo (7), San Francisco (8), Oakland Hills/Montclair (15), San Jose (16), Santa Cruz (18), Fremont (19), and Pleasanton (20) (link here). A typical home in Palo Alto averages $1.21 million. Insane. The top ten is comprised almost entirely of California cities with La Jolla (1), Beverly Hills (2), and Santa Barbara (3) heading up the list. With the severe budget issues plaguing state and local governments in California, the high assessment of home values is a necessary lifeline. The question is will the revenue generated by high property taxes help counties work their way through the budget mess. And what happens when valuations, i.e., home prices, begin to fall. Oye.

Corgi Uncorked

Amusing article about a Geyserville winery's recent shindig for its dog-owning club members (link here). Is that a Westie terrier I see in the first photo?

Weekend in Hawaii: Sun, Surf, and Sand... oh, and Southern Cal

It was announced earlier today that the much anticipated USC (#1) versus Cal (#10) game in two weeks will be nationally televised on ABC and will be billed as the college game of the week. Should be an epic matchup. USC just barely escaped Stanford Stadium with a win over the lowly Cardinal on Saturday. They were 22+ point favorites going into the game but barely managed to scrape by with a 3 point margin of victory. The question everyone in college football is asking after that shocker: is USC vulnerable? Or was it a needed wake-up call for a dominant but increasingly complacent squad? Paper tiger or waking lion? Cal fans can only hope it is the former and not the latter. Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle summarizes it best in his column (link here). Looks as though T and I will be in Hawaii for Vincent and Allison's wedding that weekend. Given the time difference, I may have to get up extremely early to catch the broadcast. Wonder if there is an all-night sports bar in Kona.