From the latest Marina Times:
REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
Airbnb goes legit?
Home-sharing service begins collecting mandated hotel tax as city clarifies regulation
BY JOHN ZIPPERER
Short-term residential rental companies such as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway might be the biggest disruption to hit the real estate market since public online listings took away the Realtors’ MLS exclusivity. But recent developments in San Francisco show that both regulators and the new market entrants are learning to work with each other.
David Owen, Airbnb’s regional head of public policy, announced in late September that beginning in October ...
Showing posts with label marina times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marina times. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2014
One of My Cats Is Stupid
In the latest issue of Marina Times, I explore the social conundrum of the age: sweet but dim kitties.
CATHOUSE
Captain Skycat
BY JOHN ZIPPERER
Marina Times (October 2014) — There are many reasons to doubt the natural intelligence of Ashes, our little tuxedo cat.
How do I know she’s not an Einstein? For the sake of research, I found some online feline I.Q. tests (for example, see catchannel.com/cat-iq-test.aspx). Ashes scored quite poorly, and our other cat scored very highly.
Even without a test, I knew...
Captain Skycat
BY JOHN ZIPPERER
Marina Times (October 2014) — There are many reasons to doubt the natural intelligence of Ashes, our little tuxedo cat.
How do I know she’s not an Einstein? For the sake of research, I found some online feline I.Q. tests (for example, see catchannel.com/cat-iq-test.aspx). Ashes scored quite poorly, and our other cat scored very highly.
Even without a test, I knew...
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Everything I Know about Cats I Learned from Krazy Kat
Whenever Charlie does something particularly wild or stupid, I tell him he’s a crazy cat. Except in my mind, I’m spelling it “Krazy Kat,” even though I know he and perhaps most of you don’t get the reference.
My late stepfather was a political cartoonist. Like most such artists, he would use characters out of the day’s news to populate his graphic editorial commentary, but he also ...
Sunday, April 27, 2014
San Francisco's "Growing Pains"
In the latest (May 2014) issue of the Marina Times, I begin a four-part series looking at San Francisco's ongoing population growth, which is projected to take the residential count above 1 million in the future.
Growing pains: How much San Francisco is too much San Francisco?
BY JOHN ZIPPERER
(May 2014)
This is the first of a four-part series exploring the growth of San Francisco.
The downtown-bound BART train was particularly full one recent morning, when yet another group of commuters boarded at a station. Among them was a man in his early 40s, who immediately began complaining loudly about all of the “[bleeping] tech workers filling up my city.” As surrounding commuters tried to look away, one office-bound commuter began arguing with the newcomer, demanding to know what his problem was. There ensued a diatribe by the 40-something, who complained about San Francisco being ruined by new residents. There were lots of bleeps, as well as a threat to fight the man who dared to question him.
Across San Francisco, conversations in much nicer tones have been taking place for months and even years, with longtime residents wondering about the changes occurring...
Read the entire article
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| As San Francisco’s population continues to expand, some people are worrying about the changes that are being wrought (photo: darkwind / flickr) |
BY JOHN ZIPPERER
(May 2014)
This is the first of a four-part series exploring the growth of San Francisco.
The downtown-bound BART train was particularly full one recent morning, when yet another group of commuters boarded at a station. Among them was a man in his early 40s, who immediately began complaining loudly about all of the “[bleeping] tech workers filling up my city.” As surrounding commuters tried to look away, one office-bound commuter began arguing with the newcomer, demanding to know what his problem was. There ensued a diatribe by the 40-something, who complained about San Francisco being ruined by new residents. There were lots of bleeps, as well as a threat to fight the man who dared to question him.
Across San Francisco, conversations in much nicer tones have been taking place for months and even years, with longtime residents wondering about the changes occurring...
Read the entire article
Saturday, July 27, 2013
America's Cup Takes Off
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| Emirates Team New Zealand’s Aotearoa suffered a breakdown with a sail during the Louis Vuitton Cup in July (photo: © ACEA / PHOTO GILLES MARTIN-RAGET) |
NEWS
Now for the Action
After legal and political wrangling, America's Cup is putting on a show at the Marina's doorstep
By John Zipperer
People who think that the America’s Cup is an uneventful playtoy of billionaires are given second thoughts when they hear that the large AC72 catamarans used in these races are literally faster than the wind. As everyone in the Marina knows, the wind can be quite fast, indeed.
July saw the competition get into high gear, with the action spread from the courtroom to the waters. Following the tragic death of Artemis Racing’s Andrew “Bart” Simpson on May 9, teams and regulating bodies quarreled over new rules intended to make the racing safer. As reported in last month’s Marina Times, lawyers got involved as teams argued over changes to the boats’ mechanisms that some feared would advantage certain teams over others. At one point, the legal wrangling got so heated that there was concern that one or more teams might pull out of the races, putting the entire competition at risk...
Sunday, July 7, 2013
My Surveillance Problem and Yours
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| You can always retrieve that lost e-mail: The Utah Data Center, also known as the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, under construction near Bluffdale, Utah. Photo: Swilsonmc |
BUSINESS AS USUAL
My Surveillance Problem and Yours
By John Zipperer
Bay Area tech companies found themselves in some unfamiliar, muddied waters when it was reported in a British newspaper that a massive U.S. government spy program was collecting daily records on pretty much every user of Verizon. Next came disputed claims that the government had direct access to the central databases of such tech giants as Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, and others.
Edward Snowden, the young CIA contractor who leaked the tech surveillance information, fled to Hong Kong, saying he had faith in its legal system to protect him. He is really saying he has faith in China’s legal system, because ...
San Francisco's Bad Deal for TICs: Same Old, Same Old
My latest real estate rabble-rousing from the current edition of San Francisco's Marina Times:
Real Estate Investor
City knocks homeowners with TIC deal
by John Zipperer
On June 11, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to change the tenants-in-common (TIC) condo conversion system. But they took a bill to enable a larger-than-normal group of TIC owners to become condo owners and turned it into a bill that will all but kill condo conversions for the foreseeable future.
KQED News headlined its report “San Francisco Supervisors Pass TIC Condo Conversion Expansion,” and that’s certainly how the veto-proof eight-vote majority of the board would like it sold. But what the majority, led by Board President David Chiu, did was play opposites ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Latest Polk Street Redevelopment Develoments
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| A major component of most of the SFMTA’s plans for Polk Street is to separate auto and bike traffic (Photo: Earl Adkins) |
NEWS
SFMTA Pushes for Revised Polk Street RenovationBY JOHN ZIPPERER
Following an at-times contentious round of back-and-forth with community groups regarding a planned remake of Polk Street’s traffic and parking design, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has issued revised proposals for the redo of the busy street and is looking forward to an early fall demonstration project.
“The thing we had to work hardest on Polk Street was to meet [the] need for everyone to be heard and to be valued,” said Seleta Reynolds, who leads the SFMTA’s ...
Friday, May 31, 2013
Building up not out
My final article from the May 2013 issue of the Marina Times:
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| The way forward is up. Photo by John Zipperer |
REAL ESTATE
Everybody Can Win the LotteryBy John Zipperer
One of the laziest and most clichéd phrases in business is when something is called a “win-win solution.” With that caveat, we have a problem in this town that can be solved by investment in lots of new multifamily housing units and produce (ugh) a win-win for everyone.
Anyone who has ever been stuck in a tenants-in-common (TIC) housing arrangement, forced to wait a decade before converting to a condominium, knows the havoc that can ...
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The History Behind Mother's Day
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| The home of Mother’s Day founder Anna Jarvis is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD |
BACKSTORY
The Meaning Behind Mother's Day Cards and Flowers
BY JOHN ZIPPERER
Mother’s Day is a rare holiday that is celebrated worldwide but was begun here in the United States. Almost uniquely, it is a major American holiday creation that does not involve overeating or exploding things.
How did that happen? Its roots are intertwined with the women’s peace movement and the growing political role of women in the late 19th century.
The holiday as we know it today started ...
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
When Parking Spaces Become Currency
My latest cover article in the Marina Times:
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| Signs of dissent on Polk Street; photo by Earl Adkins |
NEWS
Polk Street back-and-forth intensifies
By John Zipperer
Concern over plans by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to make major changes to Polk Street has stepped up, with more meetings, petitions, and community organizing taking place to sway opinions in the neighborhood and among city leadership.
SFMTA is planning to remove potentially hundreds of parking spaces along Polk Street and replace them with ...
Monday, April 1, 2013
Values in the Sky
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| Better to build up than over wetlands and forests. (Photo: John Zipperer) |
REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
Values in the SkyBy John Zipperer
Someone commented to me recently that he didn’t see where much more new building could take place in San Francisco. The City, already heavily built up and undergoing still more construction, seemed to be full to bursting. Certainly this city – one of the most densely populated in the country – couldn’t get any more dense, could it?
It can, it will, and it must ...
We're Number 1 – in Housing Unaffordability
Don't bother telling me "unaffordability" isn't a word. That's unpossible.
Here's a quick real estate market report I wrote in the April 2013 issue of the Marina Times; and my apologies to any kind souls in Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, whose hearts are I'm sure pure and families shine like gold.
Here's a quick real estate market report I wrote in the April 2013 issue of the Marina Times; and my apologies to any kind souls in Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, whose hearts are I'm sure pure and families shine like gold.
REAL ESTATE
We're No. 1 – in Housing UnaffordabilityBy John Zipperer
Consider it the price you pay for not having to live in Ogden-Clearfield, Utah. By the end of last year, San Francisco became the metro area with the lowest percentage of its households earning the median income able to purchase a home, according to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).
Technically, NAHB rates the city in the category of “San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California,” which is a rather large stretch of land. But ...
Micro-Apartments Come to the City
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| 38 Harriet's micro-apartments get a lot into a small space. (Image: Panoramic Interests 2011) |
REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
Micro-Apartments Come to the City
By John Zipperer
Micro-apartments. Twitter-apts. Mini-flats. There are many descriptive names one could come up with for the small apartments that we will soon be seeing more of in San Francisco. But judging from the opposition, you would think they were named like the media names disastrous East Coast storms: Apartmogeddon, Frankenapt, Apocalyptment.
Scary thoughts aside, in November 2012 the Board of Supervisors passed legislation by Supervisor Scott Weiner ...
The Latest Site for Parking, Biker Clash
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| Big changes are in store for Polk Street (Photo: BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons) |
From the April issue of the Marina Times:
NEWS
Polk Street Latest Site for Parking, Biker Clash
By John Zipperer
Whether they got there by car, bike, bus, or on foot, locals filled the basement hall of the Old First Presbyterian Church on March 18 to discuss plans to remove parking spaces to make room for expanded bicycle lanes on Polk Street. By the time they were done, the head of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) said his organization is “committed to going back to the drawing board to achieve the goals of the project.”
The proposal, part of an effort by the SFMTA to use Prop. B money to improve streets and safety, set off a heated debate in and around ...
Sunday, March 3, 2013
The Local Lyle Lahey
BACK STORY
Home away from home: Lyle Lahey's local powerBy John Zipperer
Breathing is difficult for me right now, but it’s not because of fear or excitement. I have just returned from a week in my childhood hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the temperatures were in the single digits (Farhenheit, alas) and the air so dry that my head decided that breathing was an option it could skip.
The reason for my trip to Titletown was the sudden death of my stepfather, Lyle Lahey, at the age of 81. I spent a week with my siblings...
Mystery Housebuyer Strikes Again
I'm not sure who this genius is, but here's the latest column by the anonymous Mystery Housebuyer in the Marina Times:
REAL ESTATE | THE MYSTERY HOUSEBUYER
It's already time to deploy the agent
March 2013
Here’s a true story. Recently Judi found herself deciding to exchange her large ranch-style home for a smaller, easier to maintain condominium. She didn’t know how soon she would be able to get it on the market, so she wanted to delay contacting her real estate agent. My advice to her was to not wait; arrange a walk-through of Judi’s house now, even if the eventual sale is half-a-year away, because the agent’s input and knowledge could save Judi a lot of time and money.
I’m not an agent — I’m not even in real estate — and neither is Judi, so I don’t write this column as a shill for any industry. But I do believe that ...
Monday, January 28, 2013
All the World's a Stage
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| If this is the inside of your home, you need a home stager. Photo: Irving Rusinow, Dept. of Agriculture / wikimedia commons |
MYSTERY HOUSEBUYER
All the World's a Stage
By Anonymous
On the HGTV series Buying and Selling, families simultaneously try to sell their homes and buy new ones. It’s a high-stress process, but they get help from the show’s hosts — Jonathan and Drew Scott, well known from their other show, Property Brothers — about how to find new homes and, more important, how to get their current homes ready for sale. In short, they get schooled on staging their homes to create the best impression for potential buyers.
Home staging is quite an industry. Just go to ...
The History (or Histories) of Valentine's Day
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| A 1961 composite illustrating traditional Saint Valentine's Day. Illustration: Library of Congress. |
EDITOR'S NOTE | BACK STORY
The Stories Behind St. Valentine's Day
By John Zipperer
Hearts, cupids, boxed chocolates, and mailboxes stuffed with greeting cards are all signs that we’re approaching Feb. 14 or, more formally, St. Valentine’s Day. Americans will purchase 145 million valentine’s cards this year, the Greeting Card Association estimates, and we can add to that an uncounted number of electronic greeting cards.
The holiday brings to mind childhood viewings of Charlie Brown’s V-day travails, and probably a mixture of ...
Anti-Boom and Anti-Bust
My latest article in San Francisco's Marina Times newspaper:
ECONOMY
As San Francisco Leads a New Economic Upswing in the State, It's Time to Act UnnaturallyBy John Zipperer
The $25 million man, as I called him, was the symbol of California’s boom-or-bust economy. In the early 1990s, when California was struggling through one of its cyclical busts and commercial real estate in particular was hit hard, this man was $25 million in debt.
The $25 million man was a commercial real estate developer and consultant. He had rung up his debt during the go-go times of the late 1980s and very early 1990s, but when the market swung back — as it always will — he was ...
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