Monthly Archives: May 2011

8 Linwood Three (tiny) bedrooms, one bath, 0.19 acre. Asked $749,000. Under contract, eleven days. Assessment, $730,000.

Head of the DNC drives a rice burner. From the LA Times: The new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee was criticizing Republicans who opposed President Obama’s bailout of the American automakers union, oh, no, make that American automakers. “If … Continue reading →

Mark Zuckerberg says he will kill what he eats. The Facebook founder is apparently fed up with buying his meat neatly packaged on styrofoam trays and wrapped in plastic, and he should be. I understand vegetarians and have no quarrel with them … Continue reading →

Dexia Bank writing off $5.1 billion is U.S. residential mortgages. Our own banks won’t do that because they’re confident that Congress will continue to bail them out, a hope based soundly on past experience. By the way, I do hope … Continue reading →

The NYSE claims that any photographs of its trading floor are theirs and theirs alone. Okay, here; you can have it back.

I was checking out the listing for that DeCaro - financed spec house at 12 Byfield, currently listed at $11,000,000, and boy is someone in trouble. The floors are unfinished, as is the interior painting (there’s a $93,000 mechanic’s lien on … Continue reading →

“Big deal”, he says, “everyone (in Washington) does that”. Indeed they do.

12 Byfield Lane Well no, this story, while amusing and local, just isn’t worth that much attention. But I learned from Teri Buhl, the reporter who originally broke it, that the failed spec house at 12 Byfield Lane figures in. (Almost) … Continue reading →

State Senate passes paid sick leave bill. Connecticut will be the only state in the nation to add this burden on employers. Hmm… raise taxes, increase labor costs, yeah, that’s the ticket!

Existing plants can continue to operate, some until 2030 but no new ones will be built. Germany is expected to vote to close its own nuclear plants much sooner. Which is fine, but nowhere can I find any serious discussion of … Continue reading →

5 Bennett 5 Bennett Street, south of the Village, 1995 construction spruced up in 2002 and asking $2.195 million. I don’t know what you’d call its exterior design but inside is contemporary and very, very nice. Quiet dead end street, good … Continue reading →

From Instapundit, comes this: High gas prices affecting home buyers’ decision on where to live. 77% of the real estate professionals polled said that the  recent surge in US gas prices has already begun to influence their clients’ choices home-buying … Continue reading →

11 Colonial Lane I’m not fixated on Riverside and Old Greenwich (in fact, I just emailed a new listing in the mid-country to a client) but the reported sales seem to be coming from those neighborhoods so that’s the news you … Continue reading →

I don’t pay much attention to condominium sales but I’ve sold a couple in the Gables and this recent sale caught my eye: a three bedroom unit, always the more desirable here, sold in just 17 days for $870,000. It … Continue reading →

News today that our Department of Justice is preparing to indict John Edwards for being a cheesy philandering scoundrel with bad hair. This comes on top of the department’s pursuit of pill popping baseball players, drug addled bicycle riders (in … Continue reading →

Popsicle stick manufacturer moves from China to Canada. Its customers are in the USA and Europe and the price of transporting the sticks via bunker oil – fueld ships grew too eexpensive, dwarfing the cost advantages of cheap labor. Plus, Canada … Continue reading →

Four million exempted employees and counting. And if you’re a constituent of, contributor to Nancy Pelosi, no worries, mate. Obummer’s going to end up making the Grant administration look like the high water mark of honest governance.

Darien opts out of federal school lunch program because of mandates, labor costs. This should be the wave of the future. Just say no – to highway funds that dictate drinking age and speed limits, community grants that override zoning rules, … Continue reading →

Auf wiedersehen The German insurance company that “incentivized” its top producers by throwing annual whore fests has decided to indefinitely suspend the parties, at least until the press finds other things to write about.

60 Club Road 60 Club Road, asking $5.695 million, has an executed contract in just 18 days, suggesting that it’s selling at or close to its asking price. It’s a very nice house, but it’s on just 0.46 of an … Continue reading →