Who’s got it better than me?

Ole’s Creek at low tide. Egrets prowling the flats, barn swallows scooping up bugs. A beautiful evening.

UPDATE: And Walt giving me s*** It’s a wondeful world.

Obummer chastises legislators for taking Fourth of July off

Books Martha’s Vineyard vacation.

Say, here’s a surprise.

 

Connecticut legislature

Instead of lay-off notices, 40,000 state employees get a raise. I’m shocked – shocked!

What the DSK is going on here?

I was never a high-profile lawyer and I’d never claim to have been exceptionally gifted in that profession, but I did handle at least a hundred criminal cases and have a pretty good feel for what goes on down in our halls of justice, federal and state. And never, ever, did I see the prosecution team investigate  a complainant the way these guys did DSK’s accuser, let alone leak the results to the New York Times – hell, I’d have been grateful if they let a Greenwich Time reporter in on their doubts.

So what’s happened here? Is this State Department interference? Something else? It sure as hell isn’t remorse or compassion, because those aren’t feelings known by our prosecutors. Something stinks.

A living wage

Only one-in-four teenagers is employed this summer, thanks to the minimum wage. I was always self-employed as a kid, whether cleaning boats, painting houses, whatever, and wasn’t affected by this stuff. Nor, I suspect, are most Greenwich kids. But on a national scale, it’s a shame that many children are losing out on the opportunity to learn the discipline needed to hold a job.

Ugh

Fall River, MA: drowned woman lies at bottom of public pool for two days before anyone notices. And state health inspectors approved the water quality while she lay rotting!

Sales this past quarter

120 this year vs. 169 last year. $365,000 – $42,000.000 ask vs. $499,000 – $33,000,000. We saw one biggie sell this quarter (Field Point Circle), another at $9.2 – both were Joe Barbieri’s listings and he has yet to buy me my Arnold Palmer, damn him – and one more at $6.6. Everything else was (well) under $6. If you’re above that price point, unpack your bags.

Good houses will sell

149 John Street (across from the Audubon) started at $4.2 million a long time ago and finally sold last year for $2 million. The buyer spruced it up (it’s a beautiful, antique house on 4 acres) and just resold it for $2.875.

10 Crescent Road, in Riverside, asked $1.275 and sold in 11 days for just that amount.

And 3 Hill Road, a really nice house, asked $4.950, sold in 35 days for $4.5. That was an excellent price, in my opinion. I do believe there is nothing wrong with this market that a fair – not bottom level, just fair – price won’t take care of.

Here’s a question:

It’s 9:20 AM and our mail has just arrived. Usual delivery is somewhere between 3-4:30 PM. Is that because we have a substitute mailman, running the route backwards, or because USPS union rules allow their workers to go home early on holidays once their route’s done?

Was DSK set up?

That’s the suggestion. There is, of course, a simple way to avoid this trouble.

A Libertarian’s dream

Minnesota shuts down. Let’s see how this turns out. I know that the country will survive the collapse of the NBA and I suspect that Minnesotans can do without their government.

Chavez dying?

Probably. My personal take on these petty dictators is to not wish them evil. The biggies: Stalin, Mao, Hitler, sure, but small fry should, with luck, just shuffle off the stage. That said, who’ll miss Hugo?

The Donald screws Bank of America around

Fun story from the WSJ about Trump helping a friend with a foreclosure problem and really pissing off BOA.

What?! DSK case wilting?

So says the New York Times. Ruin my day.