Sad news: Just Book’s Warren Cassell has died at 80

Article here. Warren was a mentor to every aspiring writer in town, I’ll bet. Certainly he was for me. He liked my first manuscript, which never did get published, but he championed it to Warner Books, introduced me to agents and, when I finally was published, hosted a book signing party for me, all while feeding me encouragement for years. A soft-spoken, funny, kind man with a ton of clout -he was president of the American Booksellers Association back in the days when there were independent book stores, so when he went to bat for you, it was something special. As was he.

Totally depressing and totally expected

Nobody, not even Tea Partiers, wants to cut entitlement spending. So we’ll just go on until it can’t go on and then you know, it won’t. I’ll have dragged out my snow blower again by then and be well past worrying, but I’m sorry for my children.

Sales of coal-powered cars already tanking

Chevy sells 281 Volts in February, Nissan 67 leafs. Good – the sooner this fiasco shuts down, the sooner we can stop wasting billions on such a hare-brained scheme. Of course, if Obummer can order all Americans to buy health insurance, maybe he can force us all to by a Volt?

A quick contract

18 Watch Tower Lane

This was a pretty nice house on a great Havemeyer street but it was priced at $1.795 back in 2008 and I couldn’t move it. It was yanked off the market in ’09 and came back this February 22 at $1.295 and is already under contract. Smart seller.

Sales and contracts

29 Hope Farm Rd

Asked $3.349 in 2008, sold yesterday for $2.025

113 Woodside

Millbrook: started at $2.679 in 2008, sold yesterday for $1.775.

392 Sound Beach Avenue sold for $1.8, close to its first ask of $1.930.

CONTRACTS:

396 Round Hill Road started at $11.5 in 2008, dropped to $7.450 and is now under contract.

96 Husted sold for $7.350 back in 2006 and came back on last year. Its last asking price was $6.5 and it toois under contract.