and a ferret...

Cute?

Look at the 2007 Pet Costume Contest - Slide Show on The Columbus Dispatch website for fourteen fabulously costumed canines and a ferret. The ferret is dressed as a pirate if cute canines in costumes are not enough to catch your interest.

Looking at the photo of the ferret on page one of the D section today, I thought it was a cat. I believe the other 14 photos are Columbus canines in Halloween costumes. No cats.

Raul the contest winner is dressed as Henry VIII complete with wives heads (doll heads.) Raul is an English Bulldog according to the article by Joe Blundo of The Columbus Dispatch.

The second prize winner, Beau, a French mastiff is a Devil costume. As the judges noted Beau has the right expression. That ferret took third. Tomorrow is the pet parade at Easton benefiting the Capital Area Humane Society and the Muttster Mash at Fitzgeralds on Bethel Road benefiting the Franklin County Dog Shelter. Details on ColumbusBestBlog

My favorite in the costume competition for the Columbus Dispatch is toward the end of the slide show the bulldog (?) dressed as a pirate... although the OSU coach is clever... and the dog as a race horse is clever... and that strawberry. They've all amazing.

Pirates seem popular this year for pets.

For the full story, owners and pet's names, breeds, the story of why the ferret's pirate eye patch is so appropriated read Pet Costume Contest - Pet projects in The Columbus Dispatch...

The photo above IS NOT an award winning costumed canine. That's my dog... he does not like to dress up. He'd rather chew up the devil costume than wear it. That photo is very old... as is the dog now. We don't even wrestle with him over wearing a costume anymore. He won.

Copyright 2007 Discover Columbus and Maureen McCabe

Someone dropped of a Magazine from The Daily Reporter at my office called 'Developing Our Community 2006'   It says it is an annual feature of The Daily Reporter.  I don't believe I have ever seen one before... other years.

I forget about The Daily Reporter, a central Ohio source for Franklin County court filings
and public notices.  Their website is an online presence I was not even aware of. 
 
Today an online article by Daily Reporter Staff Writer,  Melanie McIntrye,   about the recent CFA (Consumer Federation of Ameirica report that the real estate industry is not competitive.  I don't see an archive to see whether The Daily Reporter covered CFA's story or another similar in many ways from The Brookings Institute.

The Columbus Dispatch published the CFA report on the 20th which said CFA:  

"Traditional real estate brokers and industry associations generally aim to stifle competition and take advantage of consumers, according to a report released by the Consumer Federation of America."

Chris Reese the president of the Columbus Board of REALTORS® disputed the facts of the 8 page Conusumer Federation of America report and the article that was picked up in newspapers across the US as news rather than editorial comment.   

"Our association does not set any brokerage commissions or restrict service options. The menu of services and the real estate commission is totally negotiable between the seller or buyer of a property and the real estate broker," she said."

An article yesterday in a national Real Estate resource 'Realty Times' says there is more to the story, and the bad guys trying to help banks into real estate include newspapers.  

Are Banks, Newspapers Behind Recent Real Estate Industry Rants?
by Blanche Evans says:

"Dozens of news services gleefully joined in the tarring and feathering of the real estate industry by reporting the CFA opinion piece as news when it should have been placed in the editorial section along with the Brookings Institution fellow's piece. "

Evans calls for the real estate industry to stop advertising in the newspapers. 

Long, involved, intrigue I think John Grisham should write the book, it should be made into a movie and it would be a lot more understandable.  But doens't there have to be a dead body in a Grisham novel?

Yesterday a Columbus Broker "friendly" with the Consumer Federation of America made a comment on a national real estate forum to watch for more from CFA.

"Regular subscribers to The Daily Reporter receive free access to our local news, court listing and public notice archive." 

I am not a subscriber....  since I forget about them... I was going to write a short entry about local development when I saw their nice glossy magazine.   I was going to write about neighborhoods, construction, development, redevelopment... Italian Village, Worthington, New Albany etc. but I got sidetracked by this story.  Later.

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe