On this day in 1732 George Washington was born.  With the birth of any child come the hopes and dreams of his or her mother and father.  However, no parent could have foreseen the life that George Washington would lead.  His rise to greatness and his willingness to walk away from power and turn it over to others peacefully, democratically, in a way never before done and only rarely duplicated since.   

George Washington was a statesman in its truest sense.  He participated in all of our Nation's greatest early moments.  He was an explorer who pushed the boundaries of a young nation westward.  He was an elected politician - first serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses and of course later as America's first President.  He was a soldier and leader of men as a Colonel in the Virginia militia and later as Commander in Chief of the American Army.  He was a farmer and he was a gentleman. 

The 20th century and now in the 21st century has seen a coarsening of politics and cynicism in the American populace.  Brookhiser's book is a humbling reminder of the true grit, greatness and even humility of our founders.  His book recites many of the qualities we learned as school children about our first president but goes much further to illuminate the multi-demensional character of George Washington. 

In this story of George Washington we learn what enabled him to achieve all that he did.  We see a picture of his nature, his morals, and his ideas.  As Brookhiser himself said, "His attention to courtesy and correct behavior anticipated his political philosophy.  He was influenced by Roman notions of nobility, but he was even more deeply influenced by a list of table manners and rules for conversation compiled by Jesuits."  Our political leaders could learn a great deal from Washington's example.

One of the truly great ironies of George Washington's life is that while he is considered the "father" of our country he actually never fathered any children.  Yet, since the earliest beginnings of our nation in 1776 he has been considered the founding father.  And like a father he stepped back when it was time to let his child, his country, stand on its own. 

The book came out in 1996 and I was humbled and inspired by it then.  I just reread the book again to recharge my belief in our founding principals.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to be inspired a truly wonderful, intriguing and inspiring man. 

As a student of history and REALTORŪ I give this book my highest recommendation a solid SOLD  SOLD  SOLD  SOLD out of 4 sold signs!

For more on George Washington visit the Mount Vernon website, the White House website,  and please pick up a copy of Founding Father by Richard Brookhiser at your local library, bookseller, or at Amazon.com.  You will be glad you did.

Great news for California home buyers!  This spring the California Housing Finance Agency will make it possible for first time home buyers to qualify for a 40-year loan without even needing a down payment when they meet the CalHFA's first time buyer criteria.

CalHFA's 40-year loan minimizes risky financing for first time buyers such as adjustable rate mortgages and interest only loans.  CalHFA's 40-year loan maintains the same payment for the life of the loan.

The new CalHFA 40-year also provides buyers with a terrific option to qualify with less income.  For example: to qualify for a 30-year CalHFA loan for $355,000 buyers would need household income of $72,500 per year.  However, with a 40-year loan for the same $355,000 purchase price it would only take an annual income of $68,400 to qualify. 

With housing prices continuing to rise (the countywide median home price in Sacramento County in January '06 was $352,000) around the state this will enable many potential buyers the opportunity to enjoy the benefits and pleasures of owning a home.

For more information on the CalHFA 40-year loan and their other buyer assistance programs please click on CalHFA and learn more. 

One item often overlooked by new home owners is changing locks or re-keying existing lock sets.  Upon close of escrow and taking possession of one's new home the first order of business is to make sure the home is secure and your family is safe. 

As anyone can imagine it is unlikely to know just how many of the prior owners keys are unaccounted for.  Keys left with workers, stashed under the doormats or over door jams, "hidden" around the house, etc.  While some might say that locks will only keep the honest people honest.  It is always better to be safe than sorry.  The safety of loved ones is surely priceless and protecting your family is simple and inexpensive.

For anyone in the greater Sacramento area I would suggest contacting Carl Woodard (aka - The Key Man) to have your changed or re-keyed when you move.  Carl and his team are specialists at re-keying residential lock sets. 

In writing this I found several interesting links to sites with the history of locks.  The first locks were made by the Egyptians approximately 4,000 years ago.  For more on the history of locks go to:  Schlage's History of Locks, History of Locks on About.com,  or Encyclopaedia of Locks and Builders Hardware.

Be safe!

New construction of single family homes is anticipated to be continue at a steady pace in 2006.  Despite what our local papers seem to tell and inspite of gradually rising interest rates the future continues to look bright for new home construction.

According to the February Housing Market Index compiled by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Bank, new home builders appear confident the new home market will remain healthy and continue to stabilize in the coming year.

In a news release yesterday by the National Association of Home Builders, home builder and NAHB president David Pressly said, "After several record-breaking years for home sales, builders are anticipating a return of the market to a healthy and steady pace." 

More information on the housing statistics and what they mean can be found on the NAHB website.

The number of blogs in the world is currently upwards of 27 million.  A recent article by Stuart Luman discovered how they relate to one another.  They took the top 50 most-linked-to sites and mapped their connections.  See the linkage in the picture below.  The arrows represent links made sometime in the past 90 or so days - links that are in effect a global popularity contest.  Many of the blogs vote for each other which has been dubbed "blogrolling".  For more on this check out Stuart Luman's article titled Linkology.

Did you ever wonder about when "blogs" began or where they came from?  The creation of the weblog can be traced back to 1994 when a young student at Swarthmore College began the first ever diary (log) on the internet. Justin Hall's weblog is still available at Links.net.

Since 1994 the weblog has rapidly evolved and continues to evolve by the nanosecond.  In 1997 the online diarist named Jorn Barger created the word "weblog" from the idea of "logging the web". 

Then in 1999 two big events happened.  First, a programmer named Peter Merholz truncated the word weblog to simply "blog".  Next, Blogger began the first popular free blog creation service available on the web.

In 2000, at the beginning of the new millenium BoingBoing was born.  Later that year AndrewSullivan.com was launched. 

Of course, like anything else commercialization was bound to infiltrate this online democracy and 2002 blog advertising was begun when BlogAds was launched.

Ten years after its creation "blogging" really "arrived" in 2004 when it was not only added to the dictionary but listed as the "Word of the Year" by Merriam-Webster.

And finally, on January 2, 2006, yours truly launched this blog thanks to the support and great service from the terrific team at Internet Crusade with their user friendly RealTownBlogs geared to real estate professionals who are focused on technology.

Tower Records is a readily recognizable player in the retail music business with stores across America and selected stores around the globe.  But before Tower Records was born in a corner of the Tower Drug Store by a young Russ Solomon there was Sacramento's Tower Theater. 

The Tower Theater opened its doors on November 11, 1938 with the motion picture "Algiers" about a jewel thief and his beautiful love interest.  The film featured two relative newcomers in the pre-WWII era, the actors Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamar.  Price of admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children in 1938 and included news reels and cartoons.  Over the intervening years the theater's "big screen" was replaced with three smaller ones.  The theater now accommodates 1,150 seats on three more standard screens.

The significance in 1938 of the new theater to the City of Sacramento was unmistakable.  The City actually renamed "Y" St. " Broadway in honor of its addition to the cultural promise the theater represented to the Sacramento community.

Through the passing of time the Tower Theater has become a true Sacramento landmark.  A symbol of the grander architechtural days of the past.  With it's wonderful classic art deco style, palm trees and plenty of neon it is definitely from the golden days of Hollywood.  Its location at the corner of Broadway and Land Park Dr. servers as a fitting and welcoming entry to one of Sacramento's finest neighborhoods - the tree lined streets of Land Park. 

For those interested in SmartGrowth and "sustainability" the good people over at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have recently put out a few interesting new studies regarding the impact of growth on communities.  If we are going to create vibrant livable cities these studies indicate urban living will need to become more dense over the next 20+ years. 

In Sacramento, urban living has become very popular among a broad range of people.   There are a number of high rise (25-50 story) high rise developments in various stages of development near the California State Capitol.  One example is the The Towers currently being constructed by developer John Saca. 

Buildings such these will begin changing the face of many cities by bringing people back into city cores to live and play as well as work.  In doing so the EPA has studied the effects of surface water run-off, the linkage of drinking water and storm water policies and, of course, parking.  If any of these topics interest you click on the links below to get a more detailed look at the new EPA publications.

Protecting Water Resources with Higher-Density Development (EPA publication 231-R-06-001) The U.S. Census Bureau projects that U.S. population will grow by 50 million people, or approximately 18 percent, between 2000 and 2020. This study intends to help communities better understand the impacts of higher and lower density on water resources.  To more fully explore this issue, EPA modeled stormwater runoff from three different densities at three scalesone-acre level, lot level, and watershed leveland at three different time series build-outs to examine the premise that lower-density development is always better for water quality.  The findings indicated that low-density development may not always be the preferred strategy for protecting water resources. Higher densities may better protect water qualityespecially at the lot level and watershed scale.

Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices (EPA publication 231-B-05-00) to comply with the Clean Water Act, over 6000 communities across the nation are developing municipal stormwater permitting programs (also known as Phases I & II).  Many of these communities are also implementing programs that encourage development in existing communities, redevelopment of vacant properties, promote transportation options and facilitate efficient use of land and infrastructure.  "Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices" reviews nine common smart growth techniques and examines how they can be used to prevent or manage stormwater runoff.  This publication will help communities encourage smart growth and meet the new regulatory requirements. http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/stormwater.htm

Growing Toward More Efficient Water Use: Linking Development, Infrastructure, and Drinking Water Policies (EPA publication 230-R-06-001)  This publication focuses on the relationship between development patterns, water use, and the cost of water delivery.  It reviews literature that shows how large-lot, dispersed development patterns cost more to serve because of the length of pipe required, pumping costs, and other factors.  The literature also shows that large-lot, dispersed development uses more water.  Growing Toward More Efficient Water Use concludes with policy options for states, localities, and utilities that directly reduce the cost and demand for water, while indirectly promoting smart growth.  These policies offer opportunities for more efficient water use at a time when many communities face water shortages.  http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/water_efficiency.htm

Parking Spaces / Community Places: Finding the Balance through Smart Growth Solutions (EPA publication 231-K-06-001) This report highlights proven approaches that balance parking with broader community goals.  Current codes typically apply inflexible minimums that ignore community and developer priorities including environmental quality and human health.  An oversupply of unnecessary parking wastes money and creates places that degrade water quality and encourage excess driving and air emissions.  The highlighted solutions cover a range of supply management, demand management, and pricing strategies.  Communities have found that combinations of parking pricing, shared parking, demand management, and other techniques have helped them create vibrant places while protecting environmental quality and still providing for necessary vehicle storage.  http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/parking.htm