Comedy Night
Friday, January 6, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Lesher Center for the Arts • Walnut Creek$35 • $75 premium seating
www.lesherartscenter.orgThanks to last year's rousing success, ARF has once again added Comedy Night to the upcoming Stars to the Rescue weekend schedule. Hosted by Mark Pitta, the evening will star funny men Dana Carvey and George Lopez. Give the gift of laughter this holiday season and help the animals too!
Emmy-award winning comedian Dana Carvey was a six-year repertory member of Saturday Night Live. He has received widespread praise for his uncanny and exaggerated comedic impersonations of political figures and is best known for his characters the Church Lady; Hans, of the Hans and Franz bodybuilding duo; Garth, Wayne Campbell's (Mike Myers) "Excellent Cohost" on the immensely popular sketch "Wayne's World," and Weekend Update's Grumpy Old Man.
In addition to his television career, Carvey's transfer from the small screen to the large screen included roles in The Road to Wellville, Clean Slate, Trapped in Paradise, This is Spinal Tap Opportunity Knocks, and the blockbuster hits Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2.
If you were to look up the definition of the word "versatility" in a dictionary of performers, chances are you'd find the name BRIAN COPELAND somewhere near the top. Copeland's quick wit and probing interview style earned him a five year position as co-host of San Francisco Fox affiliate KTVU's top rated breakfast program Mornings on 2. His biting social commentary segment Copeland's Corner appeared daily on KTVU's Noon News prompting San Francisco Examiner columnist Rob Morse to call Copeland 'the best commentator on television'. This distinction led to a weekly national segment on NBC's long- running late night show Friday Night called The World According to Copeland.
In addition to his work in broadcasting and on the comedy stage, Copeland is a serious writer with articles appearing in national newspapers and magazines.
Actor, comedian George Lopez has built a successful career by finding the humor in his difficult childhood and in the Mexican-American community in general. Abandoned by his mother, he was raised by his grandmother who paid him little attention. Lopez transformed his painful experiences into material for his stand up comedy act.
By the late 1980s, Lopez was a successful comedian, playing clubs around the country and appearing on television shows and comedy specials. He made the jump to films in the 1990s with comedies such as Ski Patrol (1990) and Fatal Instinct (1993). In 2002, Lopez became one of the few Latinos to star in a television comedy series.
In addition to his television career, Lopez continues to perform as a stand up comic and to record comedy albums.
Mark Pitta is a national headliner coming from the fervent San Francisco comedy scene of the 1980s. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, making subsequent appearances with Jay Leno, hosted FOX’s Totally Hidden Video and NBC’s Friday Night Videos, and made guest appearances on Mad About You and Third Rock From the Sun. In the 1990s, Mark became the roving entertainment reporter/host for the top rated morning show in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A favorite on the comedy club, college, and corporate circuits, Mark has also opened for Chris Isaak, Celine Dion, Vanessa Williams, Paul Anka, Kenny Rogers, Olivia Newton John, Smokey Robinson, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Rick Springfield. The prestigious ELAN Awards has chosen Mark as Master of Ceremonies five times, and Anthony Robbins has employed Mark to liven up his financial seminars.
Individual tickets priced at $35 & $75
and may be purchased by calling
925.943.SHOW or online at www.lesherartscenter.org.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Save Animals by Watching Comedy at Walnut Creeks Lesher Center
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Walnut Creek's Apartment Boom and Redevelopment of Broadway Plaza in Top 8 Stories of 2011
2. Redevelopment of Broadway Plaza
The ongoing proposed redevelopment of Broadway Plaza made headlines this year ,but
the story is nowhere near finished. Mall giant Macerich Co., which owns the outdoor mall, reached out to the community this year for ideas on what people want to see for the next 50 years at the center. After community gatherings and meetings with the City Council, Macerich continues to work on a master plan for the center.AdvertisementBut it will likely include a maximum addition of 300,000 square feet of retail stores and, perhaps, 200 residential units. Macerich also seeks to close off most of Broadway Plaza Street to traffic and create a pedestrian promenade and plaza. This would require the city to legally vacate the street.
And parking is king in the plan, with Macerich officials saying they will have the required number of parking spaces, plans show a labyrinth of underground parking garages.
City leaders cautioned developers in November that abandoning a public street and agreeing to a 25-year development deal will cost Macerich, who will need to come to the table with some "community benefits." The final master plan should be in front of the City Council for approval early next year.
3. Apartments, apartments, apartments
Redevelopment -- and even development -- was again a big trend in Walnut Creek during the past year. Several new apartment complex projects were approved or presented.
Projects in the pipeline include:
A 300-unit Paragon Apartments to be built on the former CVS headquarters on Civic Drive was approved A 126-unit North Main Apartments complex on the former Walnut Creek Motor Lodge was approved A 107-unit Arroyo Apartment project across from Vice was presented A plan for the 600 units at the Walnut Creek BART Transit Village, where retail and commercial would also be built, continues to move forward. An environmental report expected in February. A pre-application has been made for a 154-mixed-use project at the Scotts Valley Bank site on California Boulevard And while it may be years in the distance, Safeway declared that it wants to develop its 23 acres in the Shadelands Business Park. The company wants to build a new store and allow other retail. To decide the best use for the land the city created a committee to create a specific plan for development.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Walnut Creek downtown is bouncing back - Walnut Creek Real Estate News
Walnut Creek downtown is bouncing back
Posted: 12/19/2011 11:53:20 AM PSTUpdated: 12/19/2011 05:02:43 PM PST
WALNUT CREEK -- Despite all the talk in recent years of troubles on Main Street, business is once again starting to boom in Walnut Creek's downtown.
Businesses owners are getting back to business, with the retail vacancy rates of downtown stores falling by more than 25 percent in the last four quarters to 3.2 percent, according to real estate experts.
"Statistically, numerically, the market is really at pre-recession levels," said John Cumbelich, a Walnut Creek-based commercial realty agent who specializes in retail. "There are only 75,000 square feet of vacant space in a market of 2.35 million square feet; that is not a lot of space."
At the height of the economic meltdown, Walnut Creek's vacancy rate was at 7 percent. While that might seem low in surrounding cities, Walnut Creek has always been a fundamentally stronger market, Cumbelich said.
"Compared to historic levels in Walnut Creek, we saw a vacancy spike that exceeds anything we have on record for the retail downtown core," he said.
The proof of new life is the shops and restaurants popping up all over town. In the past few months newbies include La Boulange de Walnut Creek, the Giants Dugout store, Bosphorus Turkish Cuisine and ØL Beercafe & Bottle Shop. On deck to open -- Opa, a Greek restaurant next to Prima; Farm to Table Cafe; Nothing Bundt cake; and The Corner's Tavern.
On Sept. 6, Rick Delamain opened his restaurant Cypress, an American-French
contemporary brasserie, on Locust Street. It is in the same location as Vesu, a restaurant that closed in April less than a year after it opened.AdvertisementDelamain, a restaurant veteran, took a chance to open in a sluggish economy. But he said he is confident in the restaurant's success because Walnut Creek is the "culinary capital of the East Bay."
"This is a local joint that everyone can come to," he said. "We are strategically positioning ourselves that we will grow with the economy and we will have a strong position."
Another indication of downtown revitalization are business owners refurbishing the outside as well as the inside of their businesses, said Ron Gerber, economic development manager for the city.
Such examples include the former Delle Stelle building on Main Street currently under renovation for a restaurant and The Corners and Walnut Creek Boulange taking over the former Bing's space. Farther up Main Street, the construction of a new Dirito Brothers Volkswagen 30,000-square-foot dealership continues.
"When you see this kind of commitment it speaks well for downtown vibrancy," Gerber said.
But less vacancy doesn't necessarily mean rents have rebounded to pre-recession levels. In the historic (traditional) downtown, rents go from $36 to $60 per square foot a year, which is good, but for premium retail spaces such as across from Broadway Plaza or in Plaza Escuela, the rents are 20 percent lower than pre-recession. The likely reason: Prospective tenants take on more risk because that space is more expensive, so they have to feel confident before signing a long-term lease, Cumbelich said.
"We have been in unstable economic times, and until that recovers fully, we are going to continue to see caution for premium rentals," Cumbelich said.
Other positive indicators include The Village at 1500 Newell project, a mixed-use development that will offer 40,000 square-feet of retail, set to break ground next year; and of course, Neiman Marcus, which opens in March.
The benefits of Neiman will be seen in the next few years as "super premium retailers" such as Prada and Gucci will finally consider Walnut Creek a possibility because Neiman is an anchor, Cumbelich said.
"Walnut Creek is the only choice" in the East Bay for those types of stores to set up shop, he said.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Beware Of Rent Fraud - It's Here in the Bay Area
File this under too good to be true: One bedroom condo in Walnut Creek a short distance from the city's tony downtown; water, Internet and garbage included; pets OK; $850 a month.
As if the housing crisis wasn't plagued with enough fraud already, a new bunch of scammers is advertising homes for rent that they don't own and probably have never even seen.
The homes are often foreclosed and empty, or are for sale. The advertised rent is rock bottom, and the would-be renter must send a deposit to get the keys. The scam has become more frequent as unemployment and foreclosures have flooded the rental market with people desperate for something they can afford.
Legal secretary Sherry Davis said she regularly encounters these scams on Craigslist and other online classified ad sites. She's trying to find a place to rent, after losing her Walnut Creek condo to foreclosure following a hospitalization and loss of a job.
"It's rampant," Davis said. "The bottom line is if they can't show you the inside of the property, be very wary."
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has received complaints, some from people who have made the deposit, moved in and paid rent, only to find out later they've been victimized.
"With so many foreclosures on the market, we have had complaints of people lying and saying they have the right to rent the property, and they don't," said Paul Colin, a deputy district attorney. "We've heard of
situations where people have moved in."AdvertisementProsecuting is not easy. "If someone reports a crime and can't tell you anything about who ripped them off, then it's very difficult for us to pursue the culprit," he said.
Steve Mun, of Keller Williams Realty in San Jose, said he's had homes listed for sale offered as rentals by online scammers.
"They take my listing, flip it around, advertise it as a rental. People are told to wire money to an overseas account," Mun said. Monday, the Web page of one of his listings, a home offered for $760,000 on Alisal Avenue in San Jose, was copied and listed by scammers as a rental for $3,000 a month.
"Usually, the common thread is, I'm the owner, I'm out of the country for some reason, and that is why I can't come and meet you. If you're interested, here's my bank account, for the deposit," Mun said
It has become such a problem that Mun has blogged about it several times. Mostly, people aren't taken in, he said, especially if they go by the home and see a "for sale" sign on the lawn.
Mun said one scammer told a would-be renter they couldn't go in the house but only look inside through the window.
In her search for an apartment, Davis -- who from 1993-99 was
the public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants games -- said she's found more phony listings than real ones. That includes a $900-a-month apartment on Lombard Street in San Francisco; a three bedroom home for $900 a month; and incredible deals offered by "missionaries" who are out of the country."They have the keys with them, don't have a property manager who can show you the home, but they're looking for good people. One went so far as to use the term 'God fearing.' That really got me."
To get the key, she said, "you send them the deposit."
Friday, she responded to an ad for a Walnut Creek condo for rent for $850 a month. The reply came quickly:
"I'll rent it to whoever puts down the deposit," said the alleged landlord. ''Rent includes water and garbage. My company sent me overseas and will probably be between Africa, India and the UK for another year or so. ... I don't have anyone available to show the place but I can send you pictures of the inside but will have to ship you the keys and papers."
A quick Internet search revealed that the condo is indeed for rent -- for $1,200 through a professional property management company in Walnut Creek. No pets.
Margaret Brown, of Premium Properties in Walnut Creek, said she's had about 15 listings pirated this year. "It happens to our other agents, too. We're well aware of it. People call us, say it's on Craigslist for $900, when the true listing price is $2,500 or $3,000. "
Craigslist has a link on its page for renting houses or apartments with some good advice for avoiding scams, such as:
"Never wire funds via Western Union, MoneyGram or any other wire service -- anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer."
Craigslist goes to great lengths to prevent scams from reaching users, spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best said in an email. The online service uses "a wide array of technological and staff measures to suppress scam attempts," she said, but some get through. Those "are generally quickly identified and removed by user flagging."
Monday, December 12, 2011
BofA developing foreclosure rental programs to deal with distressed properties
Home > Servicing/Default > BofA developing foreclosure rental programs to deal with distressed properties
BofA developing foreclosure rental programs to deal with distressed propertiesby JON PRIOR
- Meet the new head of the BofA legacy servicing department
- Bank of America set to write down principal on California mortgages
- BofA Nonperforming Loans, Foreclosures Up 15% from a Year Ago
- Carrington Property Services reorganizes into specialty servicing divisions
- BofA joins California principal reduction program
tag. * * If you do not want to deal with the intricities of the noscript * section, delete the tag (from ... to ). On * average, the noscript tag is called from less than 1% of internet * users. */-->
Friday, December 9th, 2011, 3:35 pm
Bank of America (BAC: 5.45 -4.72%) is looking at a new program to rent a home back to the borrower after foreclosure.
"There are programs that we are quite interested in," said Ron Sturzenegger, who leads the bank's legacy asset servicing division, in an interview with HousingWire. "We are talking with investors that would come in and buy these houses and would lease them back to who would now be the now tenant."
In February, BofA formed the division to handle the servicing for delinquent mortgages, loans no longer being written, and to sort out outstanding representation and warranty claims. Currently, more than 35,000 employees at the bank are sorting through 1.1 million loans 60 days delinquent or worse, according to its third-quarter financial statement.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is working on an REO rental program for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It received more than 4,000 ideas on how to do it.
But private banks own $50.4 billion worth of REO properties, too, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and millions of these homes are sitting vacant.
Sturzenegger described how their idea would work.
"We are looking at programs where you can capture somebody before the REO process and offer a deed-for-lease. We would go to the customer and say, 'We'll do a short sale. Will you be interested in leasing your property back? We're still going to sell the property. You will no longer be the owner. But you can be a tenant now in that same property and save you from moving on,'" he said.
Sturzenegger stressed the bank would still sell the REO as before in areas where there is a market for them and they can still get reasonable bids. But some areas are so saturated with inventory, there isn't enough investor or homebuyer demand and properties can sit for years uninhabited.
Berkeley bank owned duplex has an odd staircase
Sent from my iPhone
Posted on Walnut Creek Real Estate-Walnut Creek Homes For SaleThursday, December 8, 2011
HOUSE OF THE DAY: The Price On This California Wine Estate With A 100-Car Garage Was Just Slashed To $20 Million
HOUSE OF THE DAY: The Price On This California Wine Estate With A 100-Car Garage Was Just Slashed To $20 Million
An 80-acre wine estate in Fairfield, California was just price-chopped to $20 million, a $2 million discount (via the Wall Street Journal).
The house features six bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, three auto barns, a wine cellar, and an indoor pool.
It's being sold by the founder of auto-parts auction company Copart, who left his mark on the property with a trio of car barns that hold more than 100 vehicles, according to the WSJ,
The beauty is in the details in this home, with hand-painted ceilings and murals throughout.
