Watching the revitalization of
downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Culver City, we were
fascinated by a group of articles that dissected whether so-called
"hipsters" save our cities. The articles question whether the
"creative class," bringing along bike shops, coffee shops, and
mustaches, reshapes urbanism and wonder whether the ad hoc way
"hipsters" invade urban cities creates good land use
planning. The short answer is probably not, but the articles,
listed below, are a fun read, and the day-to-day experience at such
places as Umamicatessen and Lukshon is even more
fun.
Creative Placemaking Has an Outcome Problem,
Createquity, May 9, 2012
Hipsters Won't Save Us, Salon, July 13,
2012
Blessed are
the Hipsters, Planetizan, July 27, 2012
In recent fiscal cliff
discussions, President Obama has floated the idea of a retroactive
28% cap on municipal bonds. A recent research report from
Citi estimated that up to $150 billion bonds might be subject to
mandatory calls at par if the proposed 28% cap were enacted on a
retroactive basis. Although the cap did not make it’s way
into the final fiscal cliff agreement, market experts believe the
threat persists as lawmakers and the administration squabble over
whether to: raise the debt ceiling; allow sequestration to take
place; and adopt another continuing resolution to keep the federal
government funded. There is a looming March 27, 2013 date for these
decisions. See the full article on this topic in the Bond
Buyer here.
It is no consolation prize for
the City of Sacramento, but on the eve of the City losing the
Sacramento Kings to the City of Seattle, the U.S. Department of
Transportation announced that it will provide 
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of
the United States, in 
The Federal Transit
Administration late last month released new evaluation criteria for
transit projects vying for funds from 
The 
The San Diego County Water
Authority released a proposed 
Major cuts in federal payments to
issuers of Build America Bonds and other direct-pay bonds will have
to be made if Congress is forced to make $1.2 trillion of
across-the-board cuts to the fiscal 2013 budget under the
congressionally-mandated sequestration process, according to a
report the Office of Management and Budget sent the lawmakers on
Friday. Read 
Yesterday, Congress voted to
extend the EB-5 legislation for another 
SB 317
The Department of Energy (DOE)
has created a new resource to help solve the "
With the gold medal and medal
tally almost final and the games winding down, it is important to
recognize another achievement for these Olympic Games. The
London 2012 Olympic Games achieved significant milestones in green
building and sustainability. The London Organizing Committee
designed an 
In California, there are
Watching the revitalization of
downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Culver City, we were
fascinated by a group of articles that dissected whether so-called
"hipsters" save our cities. The articles question whether the
"creative class," bringing along bike shops, coffee shops, and
mustaches, reshapes urbanism and wonder whether the ad hoc way
"hipsters" invade urban cities creates good land use
planning. The short answer is probably not, but the articles,
listed below, are a fun read, and the day-to-day experience at such
places as 
The 
This week, House Ways and Means
Committee Democrats introduced 
The bond insurance business has
been battered over the last several years. Traditional
insurance companies like 
The successor to housing assets
and functions ("Housing Successor") of a dissolved
redevelopment agency is required under SB 1484 to submit a list of
housing assets to the State Department of Finance
by August 1, 2012. The list should include
all housing assets received by the Housing Successor after February
1, 2012 until the date the list is prepared. The form to use
to list housing assets is posted on the Department of Finance
website. 
On Friday, July 13, 2012, the
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund opened a
new round of New Markets Tax Credits allocations. 
A