Richardson opponent cites a "pattern of financial irresponsibility"

A journalist I respect suggested to me that, if I was going to devote space to the various financial travails of Rep. Laura Richardson, it is only fair that I give her Democratic opponents a chance to comment on her behavior. She is, after all, on the ballot Tuesday in California's 37th Congressional District.

Today Peter Mathews, a college professor challenging Richardson in Tuesday's Democratic primary, accused her of "a pattern of financial irresponsibility," citing published reports Richardson has defaulted at least seven times on three homes, including a default that led to foreclosure on a house in Sacramento this spring.

"It just seems to me she has not been financially responsible, and I'm wondering how she can be responsible for a federal budget when she can't balance your own budget," Mathews told me.

"She's not an average working American. She's making almost $170,000 a year," Mathews continued. "And most Americans don't own three homes. We need a congressman who can focus on the Iraq war, the economy, the environment and universal health care, which I support. A congressman should not be diverted by personal financial problems. It leaves her vulnerable to influence from the outside, especially from special interest groups."

He continued: "I wish her well as a private citizen, an individual. Everyone has faults and failings, but in this case it's a public official who has to be responsible to the public."

Richardson has not responded to repeated requests for comment from L.A. Land and declined to be interviewed for an article published in today's Los Angeles Times.

Mathews is a professor of political science at Cypress College and a community organizer. You can view his campaign Web site here. The other Democrat in Tuesday's primary, Lee Davis, did not immediately return a call for comment Saturday morning.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com

Tree of the Week: The Chinese Elm

Good morning. It's threatening to be a gloomy one on the Westside, but I'm sure it will burn off soon.  Without further ado, Pieter Severynen's Tree of the Week:

The Chinese Elm – Ulmus parvifolia 

Few trees can take the place of the millions of magnificent American elm (Ulmus americana) trees that used to grace streets in large parts of North America but fell victim to Dutch Elm disease or suffered from elm yellows (phloem necrosis), shallow rooting, branch drop, and other major problems. The Chinese or Lacebark elm tree lacks the stateliness and large green leaves of the American elm, and it that sense is not a perfect replacement. But it is a graceful, easy to grow, dependable and normally pest-free tree in the southern half of the U.S. and on the West Coast. 

Fast-growing to 40 to 60 feet and as wide or wider, the Chinese elm is semi-evergreen or almost so, depending on variety and temperature. Careful shaping in youth is a must. Form is variable, usually spreading, with long, arching branches and weeping branchlets. The light grey or tan bark on the sturdy trunk sheds in small patches to reveal a beautifully mottled pattern of orange reddish to light brown colors. The small, leathery, dark green, toothed, ¾ to 2½ inch long leaves have pronounced veins and asymmetrical bases (one side lower or wider than the other). The little green flowers in spring are insignificant, turn into tiny samaras, winged fruits, in fall. The tree will take pollution, poor or compacted soils, low soil moisture, freezing cold, strong winds, and overpruning, but it prefers more amenable conditions. Planted too close to paving, it will heave sidewalks and driveways. Many cultivars (cultivated varieties) of different shapes and sizes are available in the nursery. Some of those are favorite bonsai subjects.

Forty-five species of elms are indigenous to temperate zones of North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa. The Chinese elm’s homeland is North and Central China, Korea and Japan. It was introduced in the U.S. in 1794. The Chinese elm is sometimes mistakenly called Siberian elm and vice versa. But the Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila, is an undesirable and inferior tree, bearing no resemblance to its Chinese cousin.

Thanks, Pieter.
Your Thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: Pieter Severynen

Hot market: Under $300K for foreclosed houses

Worth reading: This story just posted on LATimes.com about the market for foreclosed houses, which includes the following nuggets/insights/claims:

"REO homes (bank shorthand for "real estate owned") that are in good condition and listed at $300,000 or less are drawing as many as 15 to 20 bids from home buyers and investors looking for bargains, area real estate agents report," Dinah Eng reports.

--"Right now, anything under $300,000 is a hot price," according to Century 21 Wright G.M. Earl Bonawitz, who is based in Temecula.

--"A $650,000 to $700,000 appraisal a year ago in some areas is now worth about $350,000," Bonawitz said. If you are scoring at home, that's a discount from previous appraised price of up to 50%.

--"Prices are more realistic. Time on the market is coming down. I've seen bank-owned properties sold within five days recently, compared to an average of 95 days for REOs at the first of the year." -- Stephen Yeager, president and chief executive of Weichert, Realtors-Foothill Properties in the Inland Empire.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: L.A. Times

Foreclosure watch: New delinquencies outpace workouts

From Bloomberg News today: "Newly delinquent mortgage borrowers outnumbered people who caught up on their overdue payments by two to one last month, a sign that nationwide efforts to help homeowners avoid default may be failing."

More: "In April, 73,880 homeowners with privately insured mortgages fell more than 60 days late on payments, compared with 39,584 who got back on track, a report today from the Washington-based Mortgage Insurance Companies of America said. Mortgage insurers pay lenders when homeowners default and foreclosures fail to cover costs."

What about "Hope Now," the mortgage industry's effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure? Bloomberg: "The Hope Now program has so far proven insufficient, Sandra Braunstein, the head of consumer and community affairs at the Fed, told the Conference of State Bank Supervisors at a meeting in Florida last week."

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo credit: AP

The bright side: Gas is still under $4.40 a gallon

Just a note: I started publishing gas price photos back on April 25, when I passed the station pictured above, which is on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica. At the time, regular was $4.09 a gallon. I drove by again today, and you see the result: up 30 cents in a month. It may not get your attention, but it's got mine.

Your thoughts? Comments? Upload your gas photos to the Pain at the Pump gallery in Your Scene at LATimes.com.

Rep. Richardson: "It ain't been easy"

Those of you waiting to hear from U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson about her various defaults and unpaid bills will have to make do with this, a short video in which she thanks her supporters for electing her to Congress last year.

Highlights, to my untrained ear:
-- "I just want to say that I know it ain't been easy, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get it done." (Applause)
-- "Above all, you keep your word, until the end."

Relatedly, my colleague Steve Lopez has picked up the thread on this story. Maybe he'll have better luck than yours truly getting a call returned by Richardson's office, him being practically a movie star and all.

Hat tip: Harvey Korman fan, via comments
Photo Credit: L.A. Times

From Trulia, a big fat jar of RE eye candy

I'm not even sure what to call this, but it's pretty cool. It's Trulia's new "snapshot" feature, which, as Heather at Trulia points out, "is a really engaging way to visualize local real estate."

It's a marriage of listings, photos and Microsoft Virtual Earth. "You must see it to understand why it's cool," Heather says. I've seen it, it's cool. Click here for a Trulia snapshot of L.A.  Or, click here for a Trulia blog item explaining what this is and why they built it.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.

Straight to auction: 17 model homes in Palmdale

Another clump of new homes is going straight to auction on June 1. The auction house Kennedy Wilson is billing these 17 homes in Palmdale and Lancaster as "gorgeous, luxury model homes."  Here's the website.

Details: 2 to 5 bedrooms, ranging from 1,891 square feet to 4,128 square feet, previously priced from $289,000 to $605,000, now with "minimum selling prices" from $125,000 to $250,000.

More: "Successful bidders can realize incredible savings; over 50% off previous asking prices! Of special note is that ALL 17 homes will be sold with Published Reserve Prices and without any hidden reserve."

More: "These appealing former model homes are located in the desirable Palmdale and Lancaster neighborhoods of Calico Terrace, Discovery Trails, Grandiflora and master-planned Anaverde."

Your thoughts? Comments? Yes, luxury and Palmdale don't always go to together in the same sentence. E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: www.palmdalehomesauction.com

Report: Rep. Richardson had eight defaults on three homes

The latest on the Laura Richardson mess, from the enterprising Gene Maddaus at the Daily Breeze: "Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, whose housing woes have been national news for the past week, defaulted a total of eight times on three properties since 2004, a thorough review of county records indicates."

"Records show she has defaulted five times on her primary residence in Long Beach -- including three in the last year, as she diverted her private resources into her campaign for Congress."

Maddaus reports that Richardson's trail of missed payments dates back to 2004 -- long before the run of job-hopping she has said was partly to blame for her various missed mortgage payments.

Analysis: This began as a serious story about a member of Congress and how she handles her personal and campaign funds. But it's morphing into a garden-variety story about a person who has trouble paying her debts and happens to be an elected official. I still wonder, though, why her lender agreed to modify the loan on her Sacramento residence, which was her third house.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: L.A. Times

The California bubble, bigger than the other ones

Morning bloviation: Most reporting on the American economy is based on national statistics, giving the impression that all 300 million of us are in the same boat, rising or falling together at roughly the same time. Of course we all know that's not true -- there are big differences between regional economies. 

Which brings me to a story from the New York Times earlier this week on the effect of the weak housing market on car sales. Here's what grabbed me: "In hot markets like California, nearly 30 percent of all consumers tapped into the value of their homes to help finance their new cars, according to CNW Marketing Research."

Look at the chart put together by CNW measuring percentage of new-car purchases in 2007 that were made with home equity loans:

1) California  29.8%
2) Florida      19.7%
3) Illinois      14.7%

National average: 11.8%

Think about that for a second: Californians were nearly three times as likely as the rest of the country to use their homes as ATMs during the bubble (at least for buying autos). You know that stereotype of the equity-rich homeowner who borrows against his or her equity and splurges on a new car, a vacation, etc.? That stereotypical homeowner is a California homeowner. Why did Californians behave differently? Because theirs was a bigger housing bubble. They had more equity to borrow against. Their housing ATM had a higher withdrawal limit.

Does this mean that the fallout from the housing crash will be worse here? I'm guessing it does. The way I read the chart above is that California car dealers have just lost a lot more of their sales than car dealers in Chicago. Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: L.A. Times