Vacant houses and foreclosures skyrocket in St. Paul
Please click onto the COMMENTS for the story.
posted by Bob at Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Custom Search
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A DEMOCRACY TOWN HALL HOME
Do you have a topic you want to discuss at the Town Hall? Email your request to A_Democracy@yahoo.com
“A DEMOCRACY” Disclaimer- While the administrators and moderators of this forum will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to this forum express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators (except for posts by these people) and hence will not be held liable.
You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-oriented or any other material that may violate any applicable laws. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned
THE ROOF GUYS
Mickey's Diner 1950 7th Street West, St Paul, MN
(651) 698-8387
AX-MAN SURPLUS
1639 University Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55104
Tel:(651)646-8653
LANDLORD.COM LINK HERE
SHHHH! While we listen to words of wisdom from a wise man.
Conscience is the light of the Soul that burns within the chambers of our psychological heart. It is as real as life is. It raises the voice in protest whenever anything is thought of or done contrary to the righteousness. Conscience is a form of truth that has been transferred through our genetic stock in the form of the knowledge of our own acts and feelings as right or wrong. A virtuous and courageous person can alone use the instrument of conscience. He or she can alone hear the inner voice of the soul clearly. In a wicked person this faculty is absent. The sensitive nature of his / her conscience has been destroyed by sin or corruption. Hence he or she is unable to discriminate right from wrong. Those who are leading organizations, business enterprises, institutions and governments should develop this virtue of the ability to use their own conscience. This wisdom of using the clean conscience will enable them to enjoy the freedom.
Dr APJ Kalam, President of India given during the inauguration of the seminar on “THE EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Previous Posts
- Good News From The Mayors Office.
- BAD city leadership and another failed business.
- RADIO FREE NATION Host Martin Owings
- Attorney Matt Engel Is Advertising on 100.3 FM
- Saint Paul/ All Isn't Well In City Hall
- Saint Paul City Leaders Embrace Wealthy Alleged Sl...
- Minnesota voters want say over judges
- Maplewood / Welcome to Maplewood. Don't dis the ma...
- Saint Paul/ GESTAPO within city government.
- St. Paul / Streetscape renewal finally gets dollars
46 Comments:
By Rich Broderick , TC Daily Planet
February 11, 2008
“Fully 40 percent of the people I talk to are working,” says Steve Rice. “That’s the main thing.”
The people Rice, a housing counselor with the City of St. Paul, is talking to are some of the several thousand city residents facing the loss of their homes. Many have experienced huge increases in monthly premiums when higher interests kicked in on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). But that’s far from the only reason foreclosures are skyrocketing.
“It’s not just adjustments [in mortgage interest rates],” Rice explains. “It’s everything – taxes, gasoline, heating bills. Everything’s going up and people are having a harder and harder times making ends meet.” As an example, he cites the case of a St Paul homeowner whose salary was enough – barely – to cover expenses, including mortgage payments, but whose health insurance premium suddenly jumped $650 a month.
“This person has credit to die for, but can’t make the full payment on the house anymore,” he says. Rice estimates that about one-third of his clients found themselves in arrears because of a medical emergency, job loss or other unexpected drops in income.
Last year there were 1,834 sheriff’s sales of homes in St. Paul; another 282 occurred in the first month of 2008 alone. A sheriff’s sale takes place after the owner of a house in foreclosure has fallen at least four months behind in payments. After the sale, there is a six-month redemption period. During that time the owner can continue to occupy the house without making any payments. Some owners use this period to scare up new financing that will allow them to stay in the house, others sell the property and pay off the mortgage, while still others – the vast majority – simply run out the clock, hoping for a miracle. Besides the large number of sheriff’s sales, there are 1,591 St. Paul homes that are officially vacant – meaning they have been registered with the city – and an unknown number that are vacant but not registered, largely because it costs $500 per year to register a vacant house.
This number – 1,591 – has nearly quadrupled since 2005 and is much higher than the norm for St. Paul, according to Andy Dawkins, who ran the city’s housing enforcement department under former Mayor Randy Kelly between 2001 and 2005.
“The most we ever had during the time I headed the agency was 600 vacant homes,” Dawkins says. “For most of the past couple of decades the number has been more like 400.”
Barring an unforeseen turnaround in the housing market – and the economy overall – the number of vacancies is bound to rise.
“About 40 percent of homes that are put up for auction at a sheriff’s sale end up vacant,” says Rice. “If we project out over 2008, that means about 50 units a month will become vacant. By the end of the year, we will probably see between 2,200 to 2,400 vacant houses in St. Paul.”
Those 1,591 vacant homes coupled with the 2,126 homes that have gone to auction represent 6.4 percent of St. Paul’s approximately 56,000 housing units. If Rice’s projections hold firm, by year’s end, some 7.5 percent of the city’s housing stock will either be in the last stages of foreclosure or officially vacant. Such a high percentage of troubled properties can’t help but further depress home values, reducing the amount of property taxes that can be collected by the already financially strapped city.
While the foreclosed and vacant houses are scattered around the city (“I recently spoke with a woman who had coffee with a sheriff’s deputy. He told her ‘You’d be surprised by the number of foreclosure notices I’m serving in North Oaks,’” Rice says), the greatest concentrations are, not surprisingly, in St. Paul’s poorer neighborhoods. Vacant buildings tend to attract drug dealers and other unsavory types who use them as a base of operations. In an effort to stem this tide, the City Council in January allocated $4 million for the purchase of vacant units in six St. Paul neighborhoods: Dayton’s Bluff, Payne-Phalen, the North End, the West Side, West Seventh, and Thomas Dale/Summit University.
For residents facing foreclosure, however, the city can offer only limited financial help. St. Paul operates a program that provides small, low-interest loans to help homeowners catch up on past mortgage payments, but these are restricted to residents who have enough cash flow to meet their payments once they are back on their feet. According to Rice, the loans are almost never extended to owners with ARMs.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to bail folks out,” Rice says. “But the city is continuing to try to come up with new programs to help keep people in their houses, including a task force that’s trying to create an incentive program to convince banks and other lending institutions to be more flexible. In the end, this might even involve some bare-knuckle negotiations with financial institutions to reduce the size of loans.
“That may sound like heresy,” he says, “but it’s a sign of just how serious the situation is.”
What this article doesn't talk about is how the city has beeen making people make repairs and charging excessive consumption.But I'm sure thats not hurting anyone,huh Chuck?
Sid
Sid - did you read the paper today? It a national problem Minnesota isn't even in the top ten states. Has the inspectors in Saint Paul created the crisis in:
Nevada, Florida, Michigan, California, Colorado, Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Illinois and Indiana? Those are the top ten states listed with foreclosers and vacancy problems nationwide.
What we have here is just a taste of what is going on around the rest of the country.
The Republican unregulated capitalism that the wealthy have enjoyed for the last seven years has caused the entire ecconomy to colapse. There was nobody but the foxes watching the hen house of our financial institutions and now there is hell to pay.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chuck did you not understand what I said.Maybe St.Paul wouldn't be as a bad if they didn't have inspectors running wild and making overly stretched property owners fix their properties.My point was any money out of property owners pockets right now isn't helping the situation.
Chuck why don't you answer TIM?I thought you were dead.Your just good at spinning not answering the real questions.
If you forgot the question I think Tim was asking if the City should use code enforcement for behavior issues?
Sid
Chcuk the democrats have done a wonderful job in St.Paul.The offer programs that lure low income residents from Indiana,Chicago,Illinois.Then go after the landlord who houses them.Look at how much the cities in the hole.taxes going up and were getting less.
Way to go democrats of St.Paul.Lets spend 1 billion on light rail now.
Chuck,
Always the defender of the DFL party line. Regulate us to the max. Next your buddy is going to make all rental properties smoke free. Should I share the emails Chuck? The Pioneer Press already has one copy. This is the newest move by our city council to make our rental properties smoke free.
Increased inspections, increased code compliance, require permits for work to be done. The city makes money on all of this, rental renewal, code inspections and permit fees. This new code compliance is just like the cop sitting behind the billboard waiting for a speeder.
The city is making money hand over fist with increased permits collections due to code compliance. They are also pushing out a protected class of people.
You can't tell me Chuck that the city is not making lots of money off this new code compliance thing, not to mention discrimination on our protected classes of people. Sort of like what your DFL party did to Rondo to put in I94.
Your buddy Dave Thune has a rental building in very poor condition. What you fail to comment on or mention here Chuck is the fact your buddy Dave Thune put a roof on his building without a permit. This has been brought to the city’s attention several times and they cover for Thune. I know of a neighbor who had to get a permit and hire a licensed contractor to change out a $11.97 light fixture in one of his closets for a cost of $352.14. The city would not let him do it himself, but required a licensed contractor and permit to do the job.
Chuck, don't come here and defend the city when the rules that we all have to follow do not apply to you or your friend Dave.
St Pauls housing inspectors did not cause the problem nation wide Chuck, but they sure as hell helped make it a lot worse than it has to be here in St Paul and you know it.
From the article:
"While the foreclosed and vacant houses are scattered around the city (“I recently spoke with a woman who had coffee with a sheriff’s deputy. He told her ‘You’d be surprised by the number of foreclosure notices I’m serving in North Oaks,’” Rice says), the greatest concentrations are, not surprisingly, in St. Paul’s poorer neighborhoods."
That would exclude most of you landlords on here.
What's your point with this article?
Eric
Folks Chuck has officially left the building.
I ask him a question and he just can't answer it.
CHUCK SHOULD NHPI USE CODE ENFORCEMENT TO ADDRESS BEHAVIOR?
PLAIN ENGLISH FOLKS.Lets see if Chuck can understand this.
Eric I haven't forgot about you.Just been really busy.You don't have to sit back and take shots at me.I'm here with you.I've seen a lot of evidence and continue to uncover more.In due time I'd love to work with you and help you understand what the Citys been doing.Till then lets be friends.
Tim Ciani
Tim...
CHUCK SHOULD NHPI USE CODE ENFORCEMENT TO ADDRESS BEHAVIOR?
I have answered this before, no I do not believe that the City should use code enforsement to address behavior issues.
I do think that no one would be surprised that behavior issues will draw attention to a building that has code issues. Just like who ever the jerk is on the list that calls in my house every week, draws attention to my house (we put so much salt on the sidewalk I have a hard time growing grass).
It doesn't change anything.
Its a dumb question.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chucky when will you ever learn.
it sounds like you have a problem property. Maybe we should tear down your house and give tyhe land away away a non-profet.
Chuck would you be surprised to learn that St.Paul does use code when behavior problems exsist.Would you be the first to stand up when the proof is public?
Chuck where have you been?Under a rock.Its so funny when I find a house that has a couple police calls all of a sudden gets written up for code violations and then condemned.
Chuck the city relizes they don't have the resources to criminally charge people so they use code to take away their housing.
Eric or Chuck do you agree or disagree?Is there a problem with this if this is a city practice?
Tim Ciani
Chuck we could reduce crime also if we pulled over certain cars by their appearance.Oh wait thats profiling.Sounds really familiar.
Tim Ciani
Tim
I have already said that just like the inspectors keep checking on my house because some jerk from this list makes up stuff about it, a house that is getting police calls is going to be made aware of to the inspectors. That isn't profiling. Inspections are done on a complaint basis. Can the complaint be for nothing? Damn straight it happens to me! But, the inspectors don't write up nothing.
You use the same logic that is in the suits. You link unrelated events and attempt to make a corralation. The classic example of this in logic classes is the case that the lack of pirates in the Carribean has caused global warming. You can track that since the pirates has disapeared for the island in the Carribean that the worlds temperature have been consistantly going up. Both things are true. But just like your arguement about behavior problems and code enforcement - the loss of pirates didn't create the climate change.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chuck you said, "Can the complaint be for nothing? Damn straight it happens to me! But, the inspectors don't write up nothing."
Well what if the complaint is valid and the city covers for you or your buddy Dave Thune? Special treatment I should say. That is why so many people on this list are upset at you Chuck and Dave, They have been unfairly singled out by the city. You and Dave on the other hand are shown special treatment. How do I know about this Chuck? Some of us on this list work for the city Chuck. We know the score and so do you Chuck.
Your rambling about pirates doesn't hold up Chuck because all the pirates moved into city hall and the temperature in the city has been steadily rising.
11:26 Kiss off...
Special treatment my ass I have some ass hole from one of these lists that calls in on my house almost every day. And the XXXXX inpsectors trudge out to the house to check on it.
A couple of weeks they called about over crowding THERE ARE FOUR PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE DUPLEX!!
Don't bring that bullshit here. Bob knows and Tim knows that there is some little piss ant that reads this board who isn't man enough to confront me directly or honest enough to admit that he makes the calls.
The little chicken shit thinks that he can shut me up by having the inspectors stop out regualarly. You think I get special treatment? Its just the reverse. They are so concerned about that shit that they right me up for anything they can find. Like I said the last time a tennents, licensed, insured vehicle part in a legal parking spot in the back got written up for being inopperable (because his daughter said it didn't run).
Special treatment... I'll give you special treatment...
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chuck,
Welcome to our world Chuck. These daily inspections are what some people on this list have to face daily.
Chuck you assume I am a man, but woman also work for the city. You can cry all you want, but it does not change the facts. Thune got the biggest pass of anyone I know.
Oh Chuck, you call us chicken shits all you want, but please for once look in the mirror. You and Thune should look in the mirror together and you will see what you both really are.
Chuck you and Thune try and pull fast ones on the department heads because of your positions, but we see the complaints, both past and present and have talked to some of the individuals who reported you. Don't come here and cry like a baby, your shit stinks just like ours.
So Chuck how does it feel to be treated just like others are treated on this list by the city?
Tara
PS Chuck, if you ever threaten me or try and lay one finger on me, I will flatten you before you get off the first punch. I can defend myself thank you very much.
Tara, I have never asked for or gotten a break from the City on my property.
I haven't worked for Dave in over ten years, and I don't know anything about hid property.
You tell me what break I have gotten.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chuck,
You may not work for Dave or the city right now, but you were his city council aide and you are in regular contact with Dave. You got your connections, who are you trying to fool here.
You try and defend Dave and the city for what they are doing to good people, but Dave has received the biggest breaks on his home and rental property. These connections are something the average citizen doesn't have access to.
Chuck these passes on code compliance by the city for your buddy Dave has been going on for the past 20 plus years. I don't know who you are trying to fool by saying it has not.
You come here and defend Dave and the city when they have been the worst abusers of code compliance. The city is hurting a protected class of people and I am tired of seeing good people thrown into the street by white bigoted Democrats such as you and Dave.
Just so you won't turn me in Chuck, I am not writing this on city time or using city equipment to send this. I know someone has been checking up on me since I started posting here.
Chuck we too have people looking out for us. We will not be intimidated by your bigoted, raciest policies anymore. You hide behind code compliance to do your dirty work, but you are driving people out of their homes and you defend the city for doing it. You defend raciest, bigoted policies and you are being called on it. You are now feeling what we all have had to go through. Don't you come here and talk shit with your defending the city at all cost mentality. Not when good people are being kicked out of their homes because of raciest Democratic policies.
You and Dave are privileged and then you come here and preach to us. Who the hell are you to preach to us? Both you and Dave got another thing coming that's for sure if you think the city is right when they go after good people. They did this in the south to us and the city is doing it here right here today in St. Paul.
Tara
Chuck the hell you don't know anything about Dave's property. How many times have you been to his property on W7th. Who the hell are you trying to fool here. Are you saying you knew nothing about Dave "construction" projects on his rental property without permits?
It sounds like you don't know what the truth is anymore Chuck. Once you start telling lies, one just flows after the other to cover the last one.
When Dawkins took over there were a little over 200 vacant houses and when he left there were over 1,000. Not the 400 he claims. He is so full of crap. If it wasn't for him we would have only half the problem that we now have.
Chuck just think if you had 20-60 properties and it was the way you kept food on the table.Then the city came along and targeted all of you properties.Exactly Chuck.It would make you want to stand up and fight.You have one property the some neighbor of yours has a problem with.How do ya like it.
And Chuck whats your proof that someone here turns you in?
Again, nothing but BS - yup Dave is a friend of mine but that doesn't mean that I know anything about what permits he takes out to do what work. Come on guys, how many of you sit around and tell your friends about your business to that level?
The insanity level on the list here is getting way out there.
Tara - what policy have I done that gets you to that crap.
The lame excuse of the racist exploiters of the poor is that somehow by the City requiring that their property has to be safe and secure that somehow the City is being racist. In the real world the landlords arguement is that poor minorities should be forced by them to live in substandard housing. They are the racist Tara.
As to the "how do I know it is coming from the list..." It wasn't days after someone said, Chuck how would you like it if an inspector got to walk through your house? That an inspector was sent out to check on the "over crowding."
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chuck,
The city code compliance policy that St. Paul is using against a protected class of people is just wrong. You say is is bringing up safety, but lets call it for what it is, discrimination against a protected class.
Just how is it that these same codes do not apply to your buddy Dave Thune. You can't BS me about this because I have first hand knowledge of the matter. When Tim published pictures of Thune's house, we all went so tell us something we don't know.
Next are you all going to put in place a poll tax? That is what you are doing with this code compliance, kicking a particular portion of our city out, the poorest of the poor.
Chuck I know what was done to our people down in the South. Just because you are from the North and say you are helping us folks by your Democratic liberal policies, that is BS. It is these Democratic policies that are hurting the poorest of our city. What you and people like Dave Thune are really doing is putting us down. This new code compliance system hurting us.
Next you will be saying it is the woman's fault she was raped or let's print the race of the people who are arrested in the paper. I just wish Dr. King were alive now so he could have a word with you about this code compliance policy the city is using against a protected class.
Don't you come here with all your White I know what is best for you BS. You and Thune are sickening. You talk out both sides of your mouth, but what you and Dave are doing is really putting us down. You may cloud it under code compliance and safety, but what you are doing is attacking a group of society.
What you have received is only a taste of what we have been going through for years. It seems you don't like it and neither do we.
Tara
Hey everyone,
I agree with Chuck that the primary cause for foreclosures is a failure in the capital market. I am ok with Chuck blaming Republicans for that if (and only if) he wants to say the Democrats are against capitalism. Otherwise, I think it is really not a political problem.
However, St. Paul has done some things to exasperate the problem that is not so prevalent in other nearby cities.
First is housing 5,000. This aggressive house building effort completed just as the market started to soften and slip into a recession. Housing 5000 received a little over $400,000,000 in some form of government subsidy. Dumping this government funded supply on an already slipping market certainly drove down the demand of housing.
Second is NHPI. The inspection process was significantly ramped up in St. Paul. While I am ok with aggressive code enforcement, I hate that it is now being used to bully neighbors. Chuck experienced it. So have every landlord I know. I believe it is fair to say these additional costs from nit-picky inspectors drove many landlords and home owners over the financial wall. It appears many of them gave up rather than sell or sustain.
But lets not forget another national trend -- the applause of increased home ownership. The only group I remember warning that owner occupied housing was overpriced was landlords – and we were dismissed due to the obvious conflict. Suddenly, I now read that smart people are renting. Heck, my friend who is a regional manager in a national Real Estate firm is renting. He thinks it is a great bargain and that buyers (right now) are fools! Clearly there are limitations to the American Dream of home ownership.
Regards, Bill Cullen.
But Bill Chuck has his blinders on.Bill come on you know what Dawkins and gang did.
Oh well only time will tell and I believe the end is near.I can't wait.
God night to all.Even you Chuckie.
9:47,
I know what NHPI has done (and continues to do). They are weapons for neighborhood bullies to use against neighbors the bullies do not like. NHPI is ruthless about it too. I said they had an impact in creating this housing problem. I just do not believe they are the only cause.
I should mention that another problem is the cost of "code compliance" for a vacant building in St. Paul. I suspect that is unique too.
Bill Cullen.
As long as we are passing around blame in this folks, who ever was the guy that started the infomercials about how you can become a millionaire over night in the real estate business didn't do any of us a lot of good.
No matter who you are in the real estate game, you have to admit that there were plenty of people who had no idea what they were doing that bought properties as investments that didn't have the potential to cash flow. They thought they could flip these things fast enough that they wouldn't have to make their first mortgage payment and there are a lot of those properties that are laying there dead on the market today.
Now we have a ton of spent properties that were abused as rental properties that are going to have a hard time ever being brought up to code. I ran a search on the MLS the other day there are 121 duplexes for sale in 55106 and 42 of those are for sale for less than $100,000.00. They are trashed.
You can fantisize all that you want about conspiracy theories, but what we have here (and around the country) is a colapse of an investor group that was bottem feeding and ran out of buyers.
Kind of like musical chairs and they were stuck holding when the music stopped.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Well I'll chime in right about here Chuck.
Chuck said:
As long as we are passing around blame in this folks, who ever was the guy that started the infomercials about how you can become a millionaire over night in the real estate business didn't do any of us a lot of good.
Ciani says:
Who ever in the city thought it would be a good idea to run the old landlords out of the city with code enforcement to make room for the infomercial guys when the landlords fire sale'd their properties is a smart one.I'm sure the council had something to do with that.
Chuck its people with your mindset that have poured salt on the wounds of this housing market.You city guys came in with housing 5,000 and heavyhanded code enforcement to run out people with so called bad behavior and thought you'd lure people from the suburbs to live in these rehabbed code compliance cookie cutter homes.We might as well throw your failed condo project in the mix.We also had non profit real estate tycoon wannabe's developing when ya really didn't know what the hell you were doing.
Chuck in the end theres enough blame to go around but theres a couple things that didn't help the bust.
1. Code enforcement/Code compliance.
2. Housing 5,000.
3. Non profits running around like developers.
4. An out of control council and mayor and Dawkins and Magner and ETC.
Tim Ciani
To the poster who made the comment about my gender and race, I don't know what you have been smoking, but is sure isn’t legal.
Tara
So Chuck do you think it was a smart idea to run out the investor who had been investing their own money in St.Paul?These guys weren't in the market for a get rich scheme but were here for the long run.Until!You even chased guys away like Bill Cullen.I've heard you praise him a couple times before.Listen to him.I think he knows alittle more about the housing situation then you.
You got guys like you up at city hall,NHPI and fire.Not really knowing a damn thing about the free market.You guys had to get your grubby little hands on housing during the boom.If you look at the housing before the boom you guys didn't give a shit about it.It wasn't until the values went up you little rascals got involved.
I would even bet you citations to property owners went up 500% when Dawkins came in and went down considerable after Dawkins left and these lawsuits were filed.
Chuck get a grip and listen up.You might learn something.
You sell all those condos yet?
Timmy Boy Ciani
I couldn't agree with you more Tim.I left St.Paul due to code enforcement.I'm glad I'm Gone.
Travis
I am employed by the city as well as Tara and I can tell you with absoloute certainty that the city inspectors are doing exactly what the landlords say they are doing. I can assure you Chuck that city officials are not as dismissive as you and Eric are about these lawsuits. Knowing what I know personally, the question is not IF the city is going to pay, the question is HOW MUCH is going to be paid.
5:23,
Do you think you or the city could notify Eric and Chuck that there is a problem.
Those two are unbelievably dense about it.
After the trials are all over, it will be good to have you on our side Eric!
Repke is like a bad penny he keeps showing up.
Sorry Bob, but I am tired of all his BS. All he does is take the city's line 100%. Repke complains about what the city is doing to him, but there are many more out there who feel the wrath of the city code inspectors daily.
Bob, I am tired of the BS. I come here and read what is going, I talk to different people I know and they tell me the same thing. Then Repke comes here and says the sky is falling.
I just do not understand where this liberal DFLer is coming from. My parents were long-time DFLers and they are more like Republicans now. WTF.
Bob, where are the Jack Kennedys of today? People, who really care for the poor, tired and sick are not the DFL party today. If you are Old, Black, Native American or Hispanic you are treated like shit by the DFL. They are some of the most raciest bunch I know. Have you ever been to a St. Paul Trades and Labor meeting, raciest all the way. Repke may talk fancy here, but you can't fool anyone.
Keep defending the city Repke and see how far this will get you.
The end is in sight Repke.
The Jack Kennedys of today are currently very busy bringing lawsuits against the City of St Paul.
The infomercials about making a zillion dollars overnight with other people's money have been around forever. I remember watching one by Fran Tarkenton about 15 years ago when my (now 16 year old) daughter was unwilling to sleep one night. While I agree the commercials encourage speculation, they don't seem new to me. Maybe more of them (like flip this home), but not new.
I had not thought about Ciani's point. The city chased out the experienced landlord in favor of the inexperienced landlord. Then the new guys proved their inexperience and a high percentage went belly up. My perception is that investment buildings represent a higher percentage of foreclosures than they should. Anyone have data on that?
Regards, Bill Cullen
Everytime Ciani makes a point Chuck get reduced to a puddle.
He doesn't like to confront the people who know something.
Cullen and Ciani obviously know alittle about housing.
Sid
The likes of Lantry and Thune have the full power of the city council to wage war on the poorest of our city. The opposition to these liberals had an opportunity to unseat several of these folks last fall, but that was not to be the case.
Chuck used to work for Thune and he has unlimited city connections. Chuck could be doing so much for the poor in our city, but he is more interested in making money off them and blaming the Republicans. Chuck if you can name one Republican on the city council? The answer is none are to be found.
Even conservative DFLers you have worked against, Montgomery and Bostrom. Montgomery was one of the hardest working city council members we ever had.
The vacant home situation was made worse by these new code enforcement rules. Chuck says these new code enforcement rules are for safety, but the result is the poorest of our city are being pushed out. I call this DISCRIMINATION.
Chuck you can whine all you want about someone calling you into the city, but your defense of the city actions is an accessory to discrimination and you are showing the true colors of the DFL Party. The DFL is not the party of the poor, but the party of Keillor, Repke, Lantry and Thune who could not care one bit about the underclass of our city.
This saftey issue is a bunch of BS! They can make a daftey issue out of a torn screen because it will admit flies,etc. and how can anyone argue that the bacteria from the flies is not a sfatey issue. So you see, they can make saftey out of anything they want to and then they use it as the catalyst for their corrupt agenda and thier illegal war on the poor. These city leaders are the dirtiest low down people you'll ever meet in your life.
Yeah it struck me that Repke does say for safety and for the tenants of slumlords.
Chuck we know that the city ramped up code enforcement and wrote record number repair orders.
My question is didn't Thune Lantry and gang give a shit about code before Dawkins?
If they did why was there not much code enforcent done pre Dawkins?
Tim Ciani
City Hall Scoop posting
Maybe Repke will take over for Thune.
Bad back won’t keep Thune off the job
St. Paul City Council Member Dave Thune has seen better days.
He recently suffered a painful back injury -- probably a slipped disk -- that will likely require further medical attention and is currently requiring pain-killers.
So far it’s not stopping him from attending to his Ward 2 duties, though. He’s talking up his proposal to make all St. Paul skyways open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., and he’s planning on attending Wednesday’ City Council meeting where the proposed ordinance will be introduced.
Still, he and his staff are cautioning folks against taking umbrage if he starts rambling or ranting; it may be the meds talking.
He told the Scoop Friday afternoon that City Council President Kathy Lantry is apprised of the situation and is prepared to cut off his mic “if I start rambling about the ’60s.”
The Scoop was tempted to ram through a tell-all interview with musician/artist/politician who calls himself a “lefty lefty liberal,” but we figured we’d first wait to see what happens with Wednesday’s vote on the appeal of Trader Joe’s site plan approval in Highland Park. Thune was the lone vote against a previous zoning change for the grocer.
Life as a US Boarder Guard
A guy was traveling through Mexico on vacation when, lo and behold, he lost his wallet ...
... and all identification. Cutting his trip short, he attempts to make his way home but is stopped by the Customs Agent at the border.
"May I see your identification, please?" asks the agent.
"I'm sorry, but I lost my wallet," replies the guy.
"Sure, buddy, I hear that every day. No ID, no crossing the border," says the agent.
"But I can prove that I'm an American!" he exclaims. "I have a picture of Ronald Reagan tattooed on one butt cheek and a picture of George Bush on the other."
"This I gotta see," replies the agent. With that, Joe drops his pants and bends over in front of the agent.
"By golly, you're right!" exclaims the agent. "Go on home to New York."
"Thanks!" he says. "But how did you know I was from New York?"
The agent replies, "I recognized the picture of Hillary Clinton in the middle.
Here is something in the English news today.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=516810&in_page_id=1770
Are we next? We are going down this road in St. Paul.
Post a Comment
<< Home