California RealEstateRama

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $3,026,914 National Emergency Grant increment to continue assisting 1,063 California workers affected by mass layoffs and closures in the mortgage and banking industries.

Pleasanton, CA - June 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued the City of Pleasanton to remove its "draconian and illegal" limit on new housing, a significant cause of traffic congestion, air pollution and urban sprawl in the East Bay and Tri-Valley area.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - June 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Kennedy Wilson Auction Group announced today that Jeffrey Condon has been named Vice President, Business Development. Condon is joining the group’s rapidly growing business development team in Beverly Hills.

June 18, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Good morning, and thank you for joining us today, either in person or by conference call. I don’t think that I have to tell any of you that California’s homebuilding industry is in the worst shape ever. You have heard the statistics

KW Capital Markets to Be Based in New York. BEVERLY HILLS, CA - June 17, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — William J. McMorrow, chairman and chief executive officer of real estate services and investment firm/advisory firm Kennedy Wilson, today announced the appointment of Donald J. Herrema as executive vice chairman of the company and chief executive officer of its newly formed division Kennedy Wilson Capital Markets. Herrema will also join the company’s Executive Committee and be located in Kennedy Wilson’s New York City office which will open simultaneous with his appointment.

KW Acquisitions in Last 12 Months Reach 1,000 Residential Units Valued at $250 Million. LOS ANGELES, CA - June 16, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — An investment partnership led by the international real estate services and investment firm Kennedy Wilson has acquired the remaining 149 units in The Mercury, a 22-story luxury condominium tower on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue, from investors led by Forest City Residential West. Vince Norris of Hendricks & Partners represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.

calREDD™ announces intent to join CARETS. LOS ANGELES, CA - June 5, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — calREDD™ today announced its intent to join California Real Estate Technology Services (CARETS). calREDD™, an acronym for California Real Estate Dynamic Data, embodies the long-term vision of creating one database for all California real property, with a focus on developing advanced technology that goes beyond current MLS systems. Formed in 2006, CARETS is a data aggregation service comprised of six MLSs in Southern California that share a vision of uniform data access, unified rules, and ease of use. CARETS now serves 30 REALTOR® associations and 100,000-plus members in Southern California.

June 01, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach today announced completion of a decline in value review of 473,000 homes and condominiums in Los Angeles County. Auerbach stressed that due to the declining real estate market, it was his responsibility to review values to make sure homes are properly assessed.

PALM DESERT, CA - May 20, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Corny Easter bunny jokes and the spirit of the season helped the California Desert Association of REALTORS® raise about $3,000 for its annual high school Scholarship Fund.

Washington, DC - May 20, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Today, the House and Senate gave final approval to a broad housing bill that would help homeowners refinance to stay in their homes, increase funding for foreclosure prevention efforts and establish new protections for renters who face eviction because they are living in foreclosed properties.

May 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — San Diego-Continuing his fight to stop scams against homeowners, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today filed suit against two brothers who "ripped off homeowners" seeking help in reducing their property tax assessments.

San Francisco, CA - May 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is now accepting applications for its 2009 Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development (AHEAD) Program, which allows members of the Bank to support economic and housing projects during their critical conception and early development stages. Since the program was launched in 2004, more than $1.5 million in AHEAD Program grants have been awarded to support 61 projects in Arizona, California, and Nevada. With demand for grants far exceeding supply, the Bank’s Board of Directors doubled the funding for the program in 2009, from $500,000 to $1 million.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Today Congresswoman Capps voted for legislation that would significantly enhance the enforcement and prosecution of mortgage and corporate fraud in an effort to better protect consumers. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (S. 386) will provide vital funding and tools to help law enforcement pursue and prosecute the type of financial fraud that is widely thought to have contributed to the current financial crisis. The legislation will also establish a bipartisan commission to fully investigate the causes of the near-collapse of our financial system and the ensuing recession in an effort to prevent this type of crisis from occurring again.

New York, N.Y., May 7, 2009 – Turner Construction Company was selected to serve as the design builder for the expansion of Terminal 2 at the San Diego International Airport in San Diego, Calif. The projected construction cost for the Terminal and Airside expansion is $500 million. Turner will manage the construction of the 470,000 sq. ft. expansion as the majority partner in a joint venture that includes Flatiron Corp., Turner’s sister company, and PCL Construction Services, Inc. The project is targeting a LEED Silver Certification from the United States Green Building Council upon completion in 2012

TALLAHASSEE, FL - May 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink today sent a letter to Senate President Atwater and House Speaker Cretul urging the continuation of the successful My Safe Florida Home program with half of the funds remaining in the program. CFO Sink requested that at least 50% of the estimated $30-$40 million in unused funding be transferred into the FY 09-10 Budget, instead of forcing the My Safe Florida Home program to end this year

Washington, DC - May 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today spoke on the Senate floor in favor of an amendment that would have helped millions of at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosure by allowing bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage terms for primary residences.

April 27, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Revised Draft 2008-2014 Housing Element of the Long Beach General Plan is now available for public review. The Housing Element is a chapter of the Citywide General Plan and analyzes the housing needs in the City of Long Beach while establishing a variety of programs to address these needs. The Housing Element has been developed over a period of 18 months, with extensive community input and participation

San Francisco, CA - April 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Responding to a lawsuit that Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and others filed last year, the U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to reconsider the Bush Administration's "grossly inadequate" home furnace and boiler efficiency regulations.

Asia Society Northern California, Bay Area Council in Conjunction with the HBANC Present: Scaling Up: from Green Buildings to Green Cities in the US and China

SACRAMENTO, CA - April 21, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today commended the Environmental Protection Agency for taking the federal government's "first concrete step toward curbing global warming" by issuing a proposed determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health or welfare.