Author: RonTopofIt

RonTopofIt is a complex personality, as are most of the small breed of modern day renaissance millionaires. He wishes more people were like him and yet believes that it takes all kinds. You've met RonTopofIt many times, you just don't remember him.

Selling Sacramento

Zillow Ranks Top Buyers’ and Sellers’ Markets
Behind Las Vegas. This article has lost all credibility for me now.

So I’m reading this post on the Zillow blog about the top buyer and seller markets and noticed that Sacramento ranked #4 behind San Jose, San Francisco, and Las Vegas as the top sellers’ markets in the country right now.

Zillow analyzed data on sale-to-list price ratio, number of days listings spent on Zillow and percent of homes on the market with a price cut, and ranked the 50 largest metro areas to determine whether buyers or sellers have more negotiating power in a given market. In this analysis, a sellers’ market is not necessarily one where home values are rising, but is a market where sellers are more likely to sell their home for close to asking price and where listings spend less time on the market. A buyers’ market is one where buyers have more bargaining power, thanks to listings lingering longer on the market and sellers being forced to cut asking prices.

Hmmm, really? So I dug a little deeper and came across this article about Sacramento housing prices and trends.

The median sales price for homes in Sacramento CA for Apr 12 to Jun 12 was $133,000. This represents an increase of 8.6%, or $10,500, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 1.9% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 54.9% over the last 5 years in Sacramento. The average listing price for Sacramento homes for sale on Trulia was $217,102 for the week ending Jul 04, which represents an increase of 0.6%, or $1,272, compared to the prior week and an increase of 2.1%, or $4,536, compared to the week ending Jun 13. Average price per square foot for Sacramento CA was $105, a decrease of 54.9% compared to the same period last year. Popular neighborhoods in Sacramento include East Sacramento, Pocket, Parkway, South Natomas, Natomas Park, and South Land Park.

Ah, there it is. All about how you look at it, right?

So, what do you think of this information?

Did we mention the dog?

Man Dies In Natomas Apartment Fire
Don’t you die on me, little guy!
A man died in a Natomas apartment complex fire Thursday morning. Enough about the loss of human life though, a dog was saved!

A small dog was rescued from the complex and resuscitated by a firefighter. “It’s kind of cool. I don’t really like dogs, but I like this one,” Firefighter Ross Palmerton said after saving the dog.

Details about the man were not released, but the precious little pooch is small and scraggly and loves to be taken on long walks just as the sun sets over the Sacramento River.

Bankert to leave KCRA

I was bummed to read that KCRA’s Adrienne Bankert (@adriennebankert) has taken a job at a television in Dallas.

Adrienne, who joined the KCRA-KQCA family in 2004, will be moving to Dallas to start her new job as co-anchor of weekday morning newscasts at KTVT. In 2004, Adrienne came home to Northern California to join the Traffic Pulse 3 team at KCRA 3. She would later become a morning reporter and co-anchor for KCRA 3 and KQCA My58 TV.

I just recently ran into Adrienne at the airport as she interviewed my family after a long flight about a story she was working on. She was as pleasant in person as she is on TV. We even did the tweetering thing.

She’s a class act and will be missed.

Here is Adrienne getting all verklempt on the air.

The next best way to avoid a ticket

In case you missed this story over at news10.net about speed traps in our area, here are a few highlights.

The one place where you are most likely to be pulled over for speeding is anywhere the highway opens up from two lanes to three or four lanes and there is a temptation to hit the gas. The most popular stakeout for CHP officers around Sacramento is the truck scales near Antelope Road…CHP officers do not have a quota for writing speeding tickets. And money from the fines does not go to the CHP. It stays in the county where the violation occurred.

And then what happens to it?

The CHP uses a variety of tools to catch speeders. The newest is LIDAR, which uses a laser beam to pick out a single vehicle in a crowd of traffic and clock its speed with remarkable accuracy.

A frickin’ laser beam? Let me get this straight, if I am speeding in a crowd of traffic (oxymoron?) how am I being singled out?

Any places they missed?

Powering forward. Together. Unless.

Remember, you have a choice here.
A friend sent me a letter she received from SMUD letting her know how important it is to offer their customers options when it comes to many aspects of her electric service. In particular, the letter discussed her options regarding the installation of a smart meter at her home.

We also have a responsibility to all of our customers to provide reliable electricity at the lowest cost possible. When customers do not have a smart meter, there are additional costs and conditions for the alternative meter and equipment, as well as for ongoing maintenance and meter reading. If you choose to opt out of having a smart meter, the following will apply:

  • You will be charged a one-time fee of $127.00.
  • You will have an additional monthly fee of $39.40 added to your SMUD bill.
  • You must be current with your bill, and allow monthly access to your meter.
  • We’ll install an alternative meter at your home in 2013.

Unlike a smart meter, the alternative meter will not be able to provide daily updates with your hourly, daily, or weekly electricity use. Also, it will not identify power outages. And, you may not be able to participate in future energy-saving programs such as those using a home area network.

They will also automatically add these charges to her bill if she DOES NOT call SMUD to make an appointment for installation or indicate that she would like to opt out of having one.

Much has been made about the safety of these smart meters especially with regard to radiation exposure so it is great to see SMUD showing such compassion and understanding with such a tough personal decision.

How to solve our wire theft problem

I’m curious as to why so many commenters seem to get where the solution lies in this Sac Bee article about wire thieves wreaking darkness on Sacramento streetlights.

In response to the crime wave, the city has taken the unusual step of creating a Police Department task force dedicated solely to investigating metal theft. Since starting its work a few weeks ago, that team of officers has focused on investigating suspects with a history of metal thievery and identifying crime hot spots in the city where patrol officers are told to keep a careful watch. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has also dedicated a prosecutor to metal- theft cases.

That’s great that actions are being taken to prevent or stop the theft, but doesn’t the real problem lie in the ability to easily recycle this stuff?

Am I over simplifying this? Missing the obvious? Let me know.

CAKE debuts video for “The Winter”

Earlier this week, CAKE debuted the video for “The Winter” which is comprised of entirely of footage shot by fans lip-syncing the song.

In a letter posted on their website, director Tracy Rowland explains the making of the video and how the footage was used or not used. I’d insert a quote from the letter, but it is an image and I’m too lazy to retype it here.

Have a view, it’s very well done. Always something creative coming out of the CAKE camp.

Sacramento, at least we’re not Stockton (yet?)

Man, this Stockton bankruptcy thing is quite the mess.

The city of Stockton in California’s crop-abundant Central Valley has the second-highest foreclosure rate in the nation and one of the highest crime and unemployment rates. It was named America’s most miserable city in a national magazine — twice.

Of course, this is a loaded issue full of politics and rhetoric. One scan of the comments area of this particular article will give you an idea of what I mean.

California re-elected every single incumbent in 2010 ..the majority of voters of California are the dumbest on earth..Liberals have destroyed the state from the environmentalists to the sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants ..its also the highest taxed state in the nation ..Central California has 25% unemployment because the idiots cut the water to farmers because it endangered a fish…the people voted to raise the gas tax so now gas is at 4.30 a gallon ..they just made it illegal to throw a frisbee or football on the beach…

And the best reply to this I’ve read so far:

Ya got nice weather and…nice weather!

Ha! Zinger.

So, what can Sacramento do (or continue to do) to avoid finding itself in a similar situation? Build a new arena for a professional basketball team?

An evening of BevMo! fun

The folks at BevMo! (I think I am contractually obligated to use an exclamation point every time I write their name), have invited two of our loyal readers to attend a special event to celebrate their first 5 cent wine sale of 2012 at the Arden-Arcade location this Wednesday, February 29th.

The evening will include a VIP tour of the store and a tasting of some of BevMo!’s top wines available during their Spring 5 cent wine sale. The varietals will be selected from the 100+ wines with a rating of 90 points or above, and the tasting will be led by one of BevMo!’s wine experts. If you really love wine, you can even buy one case of wine and and get a second case for just 60 cents.

Time: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Date: February 29, 2011
Location: 3106 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95825

If you can make it and can respond quickly (we need to let them know as soon as possible to add your name(s) to the guest list), send me an email at rontopofit@sacrag.com and mention why you like wine so much. You must be 21 years of age or older to attend and really love you some wine. You’ll also be representing this here web log, so please sip responsibly and don’t make a jackass of yourself.

Visit us on the web at…

One passes by these “For Lease” signs all the time, right?

www . Naghe, Naghe, Not gonna work here anymore!

Good luck remembering this website address…

www . Naghe, Naghe, Not gonna work here anymore!

In other Natomas news, I noticed the old Baja Fresh (2600 Gateway Oaks Drive, time to take the sign down yet?) has a Steve’s Pizza banner up in the window (which has recently fallen down making me wonder if this is also dying a quick death a la the other Mexican grill that took Baja’s place. Something in Spanish having to do with fire. El Feugo?