Baker Street keeps changing.

Assistant editor John Cox has a story today about Saba's Mens Store closing until about mid-July, with plans to reopen in a new location and focus on selling uniforms.

Already, with the story out for only about an hour, a reader wrote to me and said he was sad, noting he was a Saba's customer for 50 years.

What are your memories of Baker Street and Old Town Kern businesses?

— Christine Peterson

Here's a "raw report" press release from the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce:

Chamber seminar on April 8 highlights benefits of leveraging purchasing power
 
Learn ways to make strategic negotiations and procurement decisions and obtain local buying advise when the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce presents a seminar on Purchasing Goods and Services with Power on Tuesday, April 8, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Chamber, 1725 Eye Street.

“No matter what size your company is, having the ability to leverage your purchasing dollars is vital, and numerous factors come into play,” said Committee Chair Greg Heiss, Rabobank N.A. “Price, quality, service, customer support and flexibility are just a few of the considerations that can make a difference in being more efficient, profitable and competitive in today’s market.”

Featured speakers are Martha Bowers, The Bowers Group, and John O’Leary, O’Leary’s Office Products.

Cost is $20 per Chamber member and $30 per nonmember. Call 661-327-4421 to RSVP.
 

Have you looked for a job while you're on the job?

Were you at work, while you were supposed to be performing tasks for your current employer? Or did you wait until you got home or otherwise out of the office, spending your own time on the search?

I started thinking about this when a recent survey crossed my desk. (Gotta love those surveys.)

This one said 75 percent of executives are comfortable looking for a new job while on their current employer's payroll. (Compared to 69 percent in a 2002 survey.) But the survey done by Accountemps does not differentiate between people who used work time to look for new work of their own time.

— Christine Peterson

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Our latest home sales map is ready for a peek.

No need to grab a map and figure out where to find Barbara and Sally avenues. (Homes on those streets recently sold.) We’ve done the work for you.

See the map here.

This map is updated with existing homes that sold in Bakersfield Feb. 11 to Feb. 17, color-coded by sales price.

You can easily check out what homes are going for with the information from First American Real Estate Solutions and compiled by reporter Vanessa Gregory.

Highlights from this time period:

• 22 homes are new on this map.

• Priciest? One sold for $620,000 in the 93309 ZIP code.

• Cheapest? One sold for $75,000 in the 93307 ZIP code.
 

— Christine Peterson

For Sunday, I picked five recently sold homes and researched their sales history to get a snapshot of what's going on in the local market.

A reader e-mailed me this morning to express her sadness over the absence of any east side homes. To all on the east side: I don't hate you. Really.

I considered picking homes from each quadrant of the city. But in the end, I decided I wanted to be as neutral as possible picking the homes. Why? Because, yes, I wanted to bring the price fluctuations of individual homes into focus. But I also wanted to give a little bit of an idea of what's selling, and where.

I used the Excel software's random number generator to assign numbers to all the houses sold the first week of February. Then I sorted and picked the top five. Turns out, I got a selection of northwest and southwest homes.

While five is hardly a scientific sample, the results turned out to be pretty representative of the sales that week. West side sales outpaced east side sales, and more than half of the homes' sellers were banks (in other words, lots of sales of foreclosure homes).

That said, anybody got a sense of what's selling on the east side? Are houses in your neighborhood selling? And what kind of prices are they getting compared with, say, 2005?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer (and northeast resident)

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The national morning show "Good Morning America" aired a brief interview this morning with Lynnette Madden, an agent with Watson-Touchstone Real Estate.

Countrywide Financial Corp. suspended Madden's home equity line of credit in early February, citing falling home values as the cause. Madden disputes the notion that her home lost value.

Madden's story was first told last month by the Californian. Madden said the morning show's reporters interviewed her at her home here in Bakersfield on Thursday.

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

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The company's moving its headquarters to Denver.

Read reporter Gretchen Wenner's report. She'll be bringing us more information throughout the day.

For now, what's this going to mean for the oil industry here?

Here's a "raw report" press release from the Kern County Treasurer-Tax Collector:

Kern County Treasurer and Tax Collector Jackie Denney reminds the public that the second installment of your Kern County property tax is due on April 10, 2008.  In order to avoid a 10% late penalty and a $10.00 delinquency fee, property tax payments must be made in person or postmarked on or before April 10, 2008. 

Various methods of payment are available:

1)  Via mail to:  KCTTC Payment Center, P.O. Box 541004, Los Angeles, CA 90054-1004

2) In person at the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office located at 1115 Truxtun Avenue - 2nd Floor, Bakersfield, CA  93301.

3) Via the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Web site at www.kcttc.co.kern.ca.us

4)  Via telephone by calling (888) 628-2937

Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover Cards can be used for payments made by phone or over the Internet. Electronic Checks can also be used for payments over the Internet.  Please access our Web site for additional information.

If you do not have your tax bill, you may request a substitute tax bill or you may obtain the amount of property tax due by calling (661) 868-3490 or by e-mailing  2servu@co.kern.ca.us.  Property tax and parcel information are also available on our Web site.

Who's been promoted? Who has a new position? Who has earned a new professional designation?

Find out in the weekly People in Business column.

Want to be in next week's?

It's best to submit to bakersfield.com/yourwords.

You can also mail contributions to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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Here's a report from Roy Burlingame and Joyce Holtzclaw, organizers of this event. Joyce is with Nations Petroleum, and Roy is with Dynamic Graphics, Inc.:

The SPE Western North American Region of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Pacific Section American Association of Petroleum Geologists are joining together to offer one, fully packed event in Bakersfield.

Under the theme “Adding Reserves Through Collaboration, Innovation, and Technology Transfer,” this year’s conference offers integrated technical and continuing education programs that you won’t want to miss.  

It’s Sunday through Friday at the Holiday Inn Select and Bakersfield Convention Center.

Read their full report here. Or sign up to go.

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Visitors spent more than $1.15 billion in Kern County in 2006 — an all-time high.

Read John Cox's full report here.

The good news got us thinking. If you were a tourist, what would bring you to Bakersfield and Kern County? What do we have to offer others should know about?

— Christine Peterson

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It's a fortuitous time for pawn brokers. Gold prices are hovering at or near record highs at the same time that the economy is softening and gas prices are soaring. All retailers have their regulars, but pawn brokers say a surge in first-time customers is a telling reflection of the economy.

And these people aren't hocking Grandma's ring to fund a vacation or frivolous splurge. Some are using loans against their belongings to make mortgage payments, or even payroll if they're employers.

Read the full story here.

Have you ever used a pawn shop? Would you ever use one?  What's been your experience with them?

— Courtenay Edelhart, staff writer

More chart fun! (Click on the blue rectangle)

Bakersfield appraiser Gary Crabtree just sent a chart of local home price trends after reading coverage of the recent economic summit.

Just follow the red line's sharp decline....I guess that's a 45 degree angle rather than a real nosedive. Still.

 Nothing like fun charts in the afternoon. Thank you Gary!

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

Okay, real estate and econ junkies.

On Tuesday, I interviewed Los Angeles economist Christopher Thornberg, who spoke at yesterday's county economic summit. Excerpts of our conversation were printed in the Californian.

But if you're interested in hearing everything from our interview — including answers to some of your questions, you can download this MP3 file and listen.

This is the first time I've uploaded audio to our blog, so let us know if this type of thing interests you. And/or if you have problems downloading the file (it's not streaming audio like elsewhere on Bakersfield.com). Click on the blue icon to download.

And post your comments about his thoughts. What do you think of this guy? Is his forecast on the money? Or off base?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

This morning's chart fun (click on the blue thing) is another trend analysis from residential appraiser and statistics devotee Gary Crabtree.

Current price per square foot in a Bakersfield single family home is hovering around $140, according to Crabtree.

At one point, it was up at more than $200 per square, according to Crabtree's chart.

Okay, the guessing game is on: What will the price per square foot be in Bakersfield at the end of 2008? At the end of 2009?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

The Bakersfield business big shots were out in force this morning for the annual Kern County Economic Summit, held at the Doubletree Hotel near Rosedale Highway and Highway 99.

Recession was much-talked about, which I cover in a piece for tomorrow's paper.

Some other tidbits from the event:

-New Aera Energy LLC CEO Gaurdie Banister Jr. talked about the billions of dollars the energy industry pours into California's economy each year. He also really, really wants you to stop talking on your cell phone while you drive.

-Castle & Cooke President Bruce Freeman delivered good-humored and detailed remarks on Bakersfield's residential and commercial real estate markets.

One interesting Freeman point: C & C  regularly commissions a report on the demand for new homes in the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The report has never shown a need for more than about 3,600 homes, he said. During one year of the boom, 6,000 permits were pulled. The explanation? Demand was fueld by non-legit buyers given purchasing power by subprime lending products. Pretty astounding numbers.

-Kent Foster, director of Opus Corp., a national real estate developer, called quality of life Kern County's "soft spot." Businesses may hesitate to move here if they don't think employees will want to relocate.

-Michael Gottlieb, Editor for the California Real Estate Journal, urged Bakersfield to do some planning for growth now, before it repeats the "errors and mistakes" of Orange County and the Inland Empire.

A few of his ideas: consider green development and building, keep an eye on water supplies (high desert communities are already wrestling with this and a growing Los Angeles will only get thirstier) and remember one of our biggest resources: "The thing that's going to propel this region and this economy is (that) you've got dirt."

Were any of you all at the event? What speaker or comment got your attention? If you missed it, what do you think of some of these thoughts and ideas?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

America will work three days less to pay taxes in 2008 than in 2007.

That day will be April 23 this year.

But Californians will have to work longer — until April 30 — for their Tax Freedom Day.

That's according to the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937.

So why three days earlier? The Tax Foundation attributes that to the economic stimulus rebate checks that many Americans will receive later this year and slow economic growth in 2008.

Some fascinating stats from the report:

• Federal and state taxes paid by individuals require 42 days' work.

• Payroll taxes take another 28 days' work.

• Sales and excise taxes, mostly state and local, take 16 days to pay off.

• Corporate income taxes take 13 days, and property taxes take 12.

You can read the organization's full report here.

— Christine Peterson

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State of Economy.pdf

Today's Kern County Economic Summit was packed with info.

Check out the blue bar to the left, which is a copy of the State of the Economy report Cal State Bakersfield economics professor Abbas Grammy put together. It was part of the information packet given to attendees at today's summit at the Doubletree Hotel.

Grammy, a fixture at the conference for eight years, was the first main speaker. And he acknowledged that last year he "did not know the depth of the subprime mortgage crisis" that has since hit our community.

Some highlights from his remarks:

• For the first time in 10 years, he expects the Business Outlook Index to fall below 100. Numbers below 100 indicate pessimism; above 100, optimism.

• He expects the Consumer Sentiment Index to be above 100 in 2008, but to "deteriorate" compared to 2007.

• Kern's population is growing at about 2.6 percent per year. If that keeps up, we'll have 1 million people by 2016.

• 25 percent of Kern's employment is farm work.

• He expects the housing market to begin recovering in mid-2008, but the economy will remain "sluggish."

Read reporter Vanessa Gregory's full report here.

— Christine Peterson

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Are you ready for a rocket ride?

Here's the top of reporter Jenny Shearer's story:

The space-tourism race has a new contestant: XCOR Aerospace, based at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Its rocket-powered Lynx may be ready to ferry a pilot and a passenger up and back to the Earth’s atmosphere during 2010. 

Jeff Greason, XCOR’s president and chief executive officer, always thought space travel would be available by now.

“I never expected to have to build my own ship,” he said. “I got tired of waiting.” The company will formally announce the Lynx during a news conference at 10 a.m. today in Beverly Hills.

Read her full report here.

Here's a report from John Cox:

Former owners of the movie complex are Valley Plaza mall recently sold the theaters, though no physical changes are noticeable — including the name on the building.

Commerce-based Reading International Inc. in February purchased the complex from Los Angeles-based Pacific Theatres Exhibition Corp., whose name still graces the building.

The theater was among 15 complexes sold to Reading by Pacific. Representatives of Reading could not be reached for comment.

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We'd heard there was a sign in a window hearalding the coming of a Williams-Sonoma at the Marketplace. True!

Check out this report from John Cox:

A Williams-Sonoma cookware store is expected to open in southwest Bakersfield at the Marketplace shopping center this summer, the San Francisco-based chain confirmed Tuesday.

Company spokeswoman Hilleary Kehrli said the store will measure about 5,000 square feet, its stockroom included. She could offer no further details other than to say the store will sell high-end cooking equipment and host classes.

“I would say we’ll be hosting cooking classes in the store, as well as our free technique classes, where we teach people how to sharpen knives or how to make ice cream from scratch or how to use a certain tool,” Kehrli said.

Williams-Sonoma has more than 250 stores in the United States and Canada.

So, who's going shopping?

The Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce is hosting an after-hours trade show mixer.

It's from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 27 at the Doubletree Hotel, 3100 Camino Del Rio Court.

General admission is $5.

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Here's what assistant editor John Cox discovered:

A local entrepreneur plans to open three Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shops in Bakersfield, at least one as soon as this summer.

One would open in the southwest, one in the northwest and one in east Bakersfield, Roland said. He did not provide location details, saying real estate negotiations are under way.

The first of the locations “is going to be opening up here like really, really soon,” he said, adding that two of his managers are now in training at the franchise’s Vermont headquarters.

So, ready for some ice cream?

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Country Home magazine just released its Best Green Places report.

Bakersfield ranked 120.

Here's what their report says:  "Across the nation, people are looking for ways to shrink their proverbial footprint. And along with that push to live a little closer to the Three-R mantra (reduce, reuse and recycle), Americans are asking their communities to think green, too. That prompted our second annual Best Green Places report, which analyzed hundreds of cities on key points, such as official energy policies, green power, green buildings, and the availability of fresh, locally grown food."

Here are the top 10 cities:

What do you think of Bakersfield's rank at 120th ? Fair?

Surveys always seem to yield interesting nuggets.

OfficeTeam did a telephone survey of 150 execs, with questions in honor of Administrative Professionals Week.

Here are some findings:

• 73 percent of the managers said these workers' responsibilities have grown in the past five years.

• 57 percent of execs said admin professionals have better career options now than five years ago.

Wonder what the market is like for these jobs in Bakersfield ...

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Efforts are afoot to retrain workers laid off from residential construction. (In case you haven't noticed that the pace of new home construction has slowed.)

The state's Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment Development Department is looking for formal proposals.

It's being called, according to the agency's press release, "Construction Talent Transfer Solicitation for Proposal with a particular focus on providing 'bridge' training to those affected by the mortgage industry slump. Up to $4.5 million in Workforce Investment Act funds will be awarded to selected organizations to train such workers for commercial construction jobs."
 
Have an idea? The EDD wants to hear from you by 3 p.m. April 21. Click here and select "Construction Worker Training."
 
— Christine Peterson

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Tomorrow I'm scheduled to do a Q & A with Dr. Christopher Thornberg, a UCLA Anderson Forecast alumni and expert on market forces and regional economies.

He's coming to town on Wednesday to speak at the Kern County Economic Summit. His talk is titled "Peering Over the Edge: Real Estate and the Economy in 2008."

He and I will be chatting about the same thing: real estate and the local economy.

Any questions you all would like to hear answered?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

Today's real estate statistics fix comes from residential appraiser Gary Crabtree.

"Recently, I have heard numerous conversations by Realtors, lenders and 'other market experts' that 'the Bakersfield market is at the $100 per square-foot level,'" Crabtree writes in an e-mail.

I've heard the same thing. In recent weeks, I've spoken with a few real estate agents — and quoted at least one in print — about homes going for about $100 per square foot.

Untrue, according to Crabtree.

But the "distressed" market (mainly foreclosures and short sales) is "still significantly impacting the market and is placing further downward pressure upon the market," he writes.

For detailed numbers, click on the blue link for the cover page of Crabtree's mid-month report.

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

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Our latest home sales map is ready for a peek.

No need to grab a map and figure out where to find Lorelei Rock Drive or Pheasant Avenue. (Homes on those streets recently sold.)

We’ve done the work for you in this map.

The map is updated with homes that sold in Bakersfield Feb. 1 to Feb. 10, color-coded by sales price. You can easily check out what homes are going for with the information from First American Real Estate Solutions.

Highlights from this time period:
• 25 homes were sold.
• Priciest? One sold for $530,000 in the 93311 ZIP code.
• Cheapest? One sold for $65,000 in the 93306 ZIP code.

Catch up on recent sales. Here's January's map, and click here for December.

— Christine Peterson

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In case you missed it Sunday, we ran an update on City in the Hills:

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

We hired an airplane for overhead photos. While we had a photographer up there, we shot some other sites around Bako as well (McAllister Ranch, for one). Look for those shots in upcoming stories.

Any developments you're particularly interested in having updated?

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

Sunbelt Business Advisors and Brokers of Kern County is hosting a free dinner seminar on how to buy or sell a business. It's presented by John W. Willingham, president, and professionals from several local businesses.

It's from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, March 24 at Best Western Crystal Palace Inn & Suites, 2620 Buck Owens Blvd.

Topics include the legal aspects of buying and selling a business, tax issues, using your 401K to buy a business without paying taxes or penalties, managing a business, understanding financial statements, financing and others.

To RSVP, call 323-2358 or send an e-mail to the organizers.

It's one of those situations that just seems patently unfair: There you are, paying your rent every month, only to discover your landlord hasn't been paying the mortgage.

Apparently, quite a few tenants are finding themselves in such a bind, if the turnout at a free legal workshop downtown Wednesday was any indication.

A lawyer volunteering with Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance came out to offer legal guidance and practical tips to renters dealing with a landlord's foreclosure.

What rights do renters have? The short answer? Not too many.

Basically, tenants are legally bound by their lease to keep paying their rent until ownership changes hands. And then they can be evicted (with 30 days notice) if the new owner doesn't care to be a landlord.

Any renters out there had to deal with this lately? Do you know of anyone who has? Do renters deserve more legal protection than they get?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

The median annual income for men is $41,965 for men, but only $32,168 for women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The American Association of University Women - Bakersfield Branch wants to talk about that. The group is hosting a community forum at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 at the Cal State Bakersfield Student Union's multipurpose room. It's free.

Successful women in male-dominated fields will talk about their experiences.

Why April 22? Because it's called Equal Pay Day. An AAUW press release says the day is selected by figuring out how long the average woman would have to work (about 16 months, so January of one year to April of the next year) to earn the same pay a man did in a year.

What's your experience?

— Christine Peterson

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Here's a "raw report" press release sent today from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center:

EDWARDS – Research pilot James W. Smolka and flight test operations engineer Leslie M. Molzahn of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center were among aerospace professionals honored by Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine at its recent Laureate Awards presentation. Smolka and Molzahn were members of the joint NASA / Gulfstream Quiet Spike Flight Test Team that was named the magazine's Laureate winner in the Aeronautics/Propulsion category.
 
The Quiet Spike team was honored for successfully demonstratinga Gulfstream-developed prototype telescoping nose boom on NASA Dryden's F-15B research aircraft that reduced the intensity of shock waves created when the aircraft flew at supersonic speeds. The telescopic nose boom, when fully developed, could reduce the intensity of sonic booms and help open the nation's airspace to supersonic flight over land.
 
Other members of the Quiet Spike team from Gulfstream Aerospace honored included staff scientist and technical fellow Donald Howe and project engineers Robert Cowart and Frank Simmons III.

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As anyone who watches the markets knows, Visa hit the stock market today in the largest initial public offering in our country's history.

Shares were trading about $58 this morning.

Financial experts are saying people are pretty interested in Visa because well, most people sure like their credit cards more than checks and cash.

How much would you pay for a share of Visa? Or are you staying away because you just owe credit card companies way too much?

— Christine Peterson

You're not alone.

The overall mood of Americans when it comes to the economy has taken a sharp turn for the worse, a new Reuters/Zogby poll out today says.

Confidence plummeted to a new low of 87.7 from 99.3 last month. The baseline rating is 100.

The poll also found that 74 percent of Americans think we're in a recession.

Are we? How will the average person know if recession has hit?

— Christine Peterson

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Sacto developer Reynen & Bardis defaulted on a $35 million construction loan Tuesday.

Here's the story link, including links to previous coverage:

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

At the moment this is our top-read story online...hmm...which has got me wondering: Who's reading this and why? Developers? Potential investors? Lawyers? Curious homeowners? Do tell!!!

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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There are academic competitions for nearly every topic, so why not business ethics too?

Three Cal State Bakersfield business students are going to the final round of Loyola Marymount University’s 10th annual National Intercollegiate Business Ethics Competition, according to a CSUB press release.

They are Briana Tucker, Lauren Jacobs and Jason Matson. The team adviser is Jeana Jaymes, CSUB marketing and management professor.

The competition is April 10 and 11 in LA. More than 100 universities tried to send a team and 30 were picked.

CSUB’s topic is “Predatory Lending—Countrywide Home Loan’s Focus on Sub-Prime Lending Directed toward Mid- and Low-Income Families.”

More than anything else, small business owners want lawmakers to work on health care.

That's the finding of the fourth annual survey done by Small Business California. You can read all the stats on their site, but here's a summary:

• 62 percent of small business owners surveyed thought the state was moving in the wrong direction.

• 66 percent said the climate for small business is "poor" or "very poor."

Asked what the highest priority is, people said:

1.  Cost of Health Care-86%
2.  Education-75%
3.  Infrastructure-71%
4.  Regulations-63%
5.  Energy-62%
6.  Taxation- 57%
7.  Awarding state contracts to small business-54%
8.  Immigration 58%
9.  Workers  Compensation-52%

What's your highest priority as an employee or employer?

— Christine Peterson

Here's a "raw report" straight from the office of California's attorney general:

(Read California's lawsuit here.)

LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today shut down Lifetime Financial, Nations Mortgage, Greenleaf Lending, Virtual Escrow, Olympic Escrow and Direct Credit Solutions, accusing the predatory lending companies of pushing homeowners into “illegal and unconscionable loans.”

“As the mortgage crisis worsens, a growing number of fly-by-night companies are employing utterly brazen tactics to push homeowners into illegal and unconscionable loans,” Attorney General Brown said. “The illegal sales practices of these companies, run by Eric Pony and his family, included psychological pressure, forgery, and outright lies,” Brown added.

The companies ran a complex predatory lending scheme using bait and switch tactics to victimize thousands of consumers in California, many of whom have lost their homes.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Superior Court, at the request of the attorney general, froze all the companies’ real estate and bank accounts and enjoined them from engaging in further predatory practices. The freeze order also included expensive cars and millions of dollars in private real estate owned by Eric Pony. Brown also seeks an estimated $20 million in penalties and restitution.

In the coming weeks, Brown intends to bring additional legal actions, both civil and criminal, against other mortgage lenders and foreclosure consultants who are taking advantage of homeowners across California.

San Bernardino District Attorney Michael A. Ramos also announced that several individuals affiliated with Lifetime Financial were arrested this morning on charges including conspiracy, grand theft, forgery and elder abuse. “These predatory lenders have taken advantage of people who placed their trust, as well as their homes, in the hands of these unscrupulous business people,” San Bernardino District Attorney Ramos said.
 

The U.S. Department of Defense signed off Tuesday on a plan that will transfer Navy jobs to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station from other facilities near Ventura and as far away as Virginia and Maryland.
The move represents a significant step forward in a process that has seen several setbacks, including three times when the department rejected the Navy’s specific plans for carrying out a base consolidation plan set forth in 2005.
No details of the deal were available early Tuesday afternoon, including how many jobs will move to the station near Ridgecrest.
Ultimately, the process is expected to boost eastern Kern County’s economy through the addition of technologically advanced civilian and military jobs.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said he was proud to see progress after working for months to bring together officials from the Navy and the Department of Defense.
“We can now focus on implementation of the business plan and welcoming new arrivals to our community,” he said in a news release.

Sales of new homes in California dropped 62 percent in January compared to the year before, an industry group reported today.

It's a difference of 2,679 new homes this year vs. 7,109 in January 2007.

The numbers come from the California Building Industry Association/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence New Home Sales and Pricing Report.

And the year-over-year decline for December was 67 percent, according to a press release from the association.

"The winter of 2007-2008 could wind up being the darkest hour for this housing market," Jonathan Dienhart, director of Published Research for Hanley Wood, says in today's press release.

Read the full release here.

Owner and chef Christina Galvan opened Big Popy's Deli in downtown Bakersfield March 3.

She's an East High and California School of Culinary Arts’ Le Cordon Bleu Program grad. "Big Popy" is her dad's nickname.

Galvan loves downtown Bakersfield and wants to see it grow.

Big Popy's serves sandwiches, salads and soups, which are all made at the deli. They serve bottled sodas, too. How retro.

Speaking o' retro, the walls are covered with cool stuff to look at, including postcards that show Bakersfield through the years. It's an impressive collection, one that took 4 1/2 years to create, Galvan said.

Big Popy's is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Friday. Here's their number: 327-DELI (3354).

— Jenny Shearer

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Our latest home sales map is ready for a peek.

No need to grab a map and figure out where to find Kings Canyon or Queensbury drives.  (Homes on both royalty-themed streets recently sold.)

We’ve done the work for you in this map.

This map is updated with homes that sold in Bakersfield Jan. 28 to Jan. 231, 2008, but includes earlier weeks of the month too, color-coded by sales price. You can easily check out what homes are going for with the information from First American Real Estate Solutions compiled by reporter Vanessa Gregory.

Highlights from the week:

13 homes were sold.

Priciest? One sold for $590,000 in the 93314 ZIP code.

Cheapest? One sold for $135,000 in the 93305 ZIP code.

— Christine Peterson

Today a colleague pointed out a CNN story about people so desperate, feeling trapped by overwhelming mortgage payments and facing foreclosure, that they burn their own homes.

I was so shocked that I tracked down the report.

Watch it here.

CNN reported this alarming statistic: Last year 14 homes — in California alone — went up in flames, torched by their owners. And that was double the previous year, the CNN reporter found.  

— Christine Peterson

Do you have a new position? Have you achieved special recognition in your field?

Let us know about it for the People in Business column, which runs every Sunday in The Californian and at Bakersfield.com.

Here's this week's list of achievements.

Want to be in next week's?

It's best to submit to bakersfield.com/yourwords.

You can also mail contributions to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed tobusiness@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

 — Christine Peterson

Ah, graphic depictions of numbers! Who doesn't love a good chart?

(Click on the little blue thingie; I'm not smart enough to figure out how to embed the chart.)

Today's real estate trend chart comes from Gary Crabtree, a Bakersfield appraiser who prepares monthly reports on the state of the residential real estate market.

This one shows Bakersfield's median home prices over the past three years. In January, the median price fell back below the January 2005 price (we had a slight bump upward in February).

Pretty interesting stuff.

Anyone bold enough to predict how this chart might look three years from now?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

We know SunCal has stopped paying bills at the McAllister Ranch project...but why? Bankruptcy plans? A sale in progress? They don't have money? It doesn't pen out so they're walking away from it? It's easier to process all the mechanic's liens as a group?

They seem to be buying land elsewhere in California so the financial problems may not be material for SunCal as a whole.

Is there a benefit to letting bills slide and letting the Shafter land foreclose? Could the foreclosed Lennar debt last week for the Shafter property...$86 million or so...be "applied" if Lennar wanted to exercise its purchase option for McAllister Ranch?

Here's the link to today's story:

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

Attention party people — by late summer, you'll have a new place to chill: Cabana Palms.

The ultralounge and restaurant will be in northwest Bakersfield, on Calloway Drive, slightly north of Rosedale Highway.

Entertainment entrepreneurs John Russell and Marco Traversa want to bring a bit of San Francisco, Las Vegas and L.A. style ambience to town. Think tropical luxe with indoor and outdoor cabanas, tapas-style food and VIP seating areas with bottle service.

They are working with designer Charles Doell to create just the right vibe. Traversa wants to hear your ideas/suggestions about what you'd like to see. Drop him an e-mail: info@cabanapalms.com.

So, Bakersfield, what do you think? Does Cabana Palms sound like a place you'll check out?

— Jenny Shearer

That someone could be the Franchise Tax Board, if for your 2006 tax return you were single, had no dependents, took the standard deduction, and in 2007 had only one employer.

The FTB has created 250,000 so-called "ReadyReturns," and if there's one waiting for you,  you can "accept" the return as completed, enter changes, or choose a different filing method, according to a board announcement.

See if there's one waiting for you.

One, if you're required to file a return, you better do it. But two, about two-thirds of Californians get refunds, and they average more than $850, according to FTB.

Who doesn't want that money?

Questions? Dial 800-852-5711, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

— Christine Peterson
 

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For two Bakersfield women, a plan to raise money to send their eighth-grade daughters on a school trip to Washington D.C. has turned into a full-fledged business.

Nanette True, 43, and Terry Wright, 54, thought the personalized gift baskets they sold for Valentine’s Day would be a one-time fundraiser.

But the themed baskets proved popular enough that Wright and True — who both work full-time day jobs — decided to get licensed and open a business, Truly Right For You Custom Gift Baskets.

“What we do is, you give us a theme and the amount you want to pay and tell us a little bit about the person (the basket is for),” Wright said.

So far, the pair have made NASCAR-themed baskets, garden-themed baskets, Super Bowl-themed baskets and a few “saucy baskets” for Valentine’s Day that necessitated a trip to the Wildcat adult store.

“Never been in there before,” Wright said with a laugh.

They’ve also scored a few agreements with local homebuilders and hotels to provide gift baskets on a regular basis.

The minimum price for one of Wright’s and True’s baskets is $45. For more information, or to find out how to place an order, e-mail basketladiestr@aol.com or call Wright at 619-0217.

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

There was another bash in a vacant Bakersfield home this weekend.

This time, the home was in the 15600 block of Chateau Montelena Drive, southeast of Rosedale Highway and Heath Road.

Sheriff's deputies arrested 16 adults and cited 10 kids.

That makes three instances of parties in unoccupied homes that we know of in two weekends.

What's this doing in neighborhoods? Who's going to stop it? Home values are already hurting, some say.

— Christine Peterson

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Here's proof that a collegial attitude pays off in business.

Students from Cal State Bakersfield's School of Business and Public Administration brought home the Collegiality Award from the California HR Games in San Jose, according to a news release from the campus.

The award lauded the team's "spirit of competition and gracious interaction with other teams" during the Feb. 29 and March 1 meet, the university release said.

Kristin Leal and Whitney Slaughter were the winners. Their coach was Diane Decker, a CSUB marketing and management professor.

They fielded questions on employment law, recruiting, staffing, compensation benefits and unions.

Anyone have job offers for these students?

— Christine Peterson

The Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce is holding its first Networking Breakfast of the year this Thursday.

It's from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the chamber, 1725 Eye St.

It's free for members, according to a chamber press release. Seating is limited.

Send an e-mail to info@bakersfieldchamber.org or call 327-4421 for a spot.

(No word if there will actually be eggs.)

— Christine Peterson

Our latest home sales map is ready to roll.

No need to grab a map and figure out where to find Madonna Avenue and Mark Twain Avenue. (Yes, they truly do exist in Bakersfield and houses on those streets just sold.)

We've done the work for you in this map.

This map is updated with homes that sold in Bakersfield Jan. 20 to Jan. 27, 2008, but includes earlier weeks of the month too, color-coded by sales price. You can easily check out what homes are going for with the information from First American Real Estate Solutions.

Highlights from this week:

• 14 homes were sold.

• Costliest? One for $885,000 in the 93311 ZIP code.

• Cheapest? One for $110,000 in the 93306 ZIP code.

Something for every price range? You decide. And look here for December 2007 sales.

— Christine Peterson

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The General Motors Dealer of the Year award went to two Bakersfield dealers today, according to the company.

The honorees were Harold Meek of Three-Way Chevrolet Co. and Richard Stricklen of Motor City Buick Pontiac GMC, according to a company press release. They were given the Jack Smith Leadership Award.

They were among 115 GM dealers of 6,700 in the United States to be honored for sales performance and customer service.

— Christine Peterson

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The Executives' Association of Kern County will host its business summit next week.

Sign up by Tuesday, March 11. The group can be reached at 634-0641.

Event details:

When: 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 12.

Where: Holiday Inn Select, 801 Truxtun Ave.

Theme: People - Innovation - Performance

Featured: Scott Garrison, president and minority owner, Lightspeed Systems, "Identify your strengths and purpose, then take your best shot."

John Nilon, director, Kern County Public Health Services, "Building your organization for leadership"

George Hedley, CEO, Hardhat Presentations, "The business success blueprint" and a workshop on "Selling more than price"

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Tesco, the third-largest food retailer in the world, is coming to Bakersfield. Its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets will be opening in northwest and southwest Bakersfield and Wasco and Delano this fall.

I went to a Fresh & Easy in Simi Valley to check out what's coming to Kern. The stores are small, about 10,000 square feet, and you can't get lost in them. You'll find national brands and Fresh & Easy products, including dry goods and ready-to-eat foods. One guy I interviewed credited the field greens salad with helping him lose 10 pounds.

For lunch, I bought a steak and blue cheese sandwich with carmelized onions and green-leaf lettuce on sweet onion focaccia bread for $2.99. It was tasty. My photographer co-worker bought veggie sushi rolls, organic ginger limeade and a bag of pita chips for about $8.

Checkout is self-serve, and the customers I spoke with said the system is easy to master. They like the store's prices, too.

Has anyone else been to a Fresh & Easy? What did you think? Are you jazzed they're coming to Bakersfield? Do you think you'll shop there?

You can read my story here.

The check's in the mail — sort of.

While you wait for your rebate check that's part of the economic stimulus plan, the Internal Revenue Service is sending out letters this month to let you know it's coming. (Hold tight!)

That letter, the Associated Pres reports, will go to about 130 million households at a cost of nearly $42 million. (That's right, $42 million.)

Comes out to about 32 cents apiece to print, process and mail, the AP says.

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A Californian "Oddly Enough" presentation

Amidst the onslaught of mechanic’s liens currently flooding the county recorder’s office — most submitted by subcontractors seeking payment for work and supplies on construction projects — is an unusual one from General Electric Co.

GE’s appliance division has filed suit to foreclose on a lien to recover “major appliances” from a troubled development in Wasco, Poplar Pointe.

The half-built, gated neighborhood at Filburn and Poplar avenues has been sitting empty, gates locked, as a default and multiple liens and lawsuits play out. The 14 existing homes were theoretically “sold” in an online auction early this year, though no deals have yet closed, property records indicate.

Now comes the appliance suit, filed last month.

Assuming GE gets permission to retrieve its refrigerators, dishwashers and other plugged-in items at Poplar Pointe — the first court hearing is set for April — and assuming this is happening elsewhere, one can’t help but wonder: Where will all these repo-ed appliances end up?
 

- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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• The New York Times has a feature today on longtime Sacramento developer Dunmore Homes, which is now tanking (including its Kern County projects):

http://www.nytimes.com/2008...

• The Sacto Biz Journal has a story on Centex and Pulte dumping land at a big loss:

http://sacramento.bizjourna...

• There's also our story on Sacto homebuilder Reynen & Bardis' local projects, most stagnated (I'll post a couple extra pictures here too), with a link to our earlier story on developer defaults that has more info on the  Dunmore sites:

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

Two more local Dunmore sites have since defaulted, the GSJ and Diamond Ridge projects.

And in case you missed it, the massive SunCal default foreclosed Wednesday; there's a link to that too (as did the two Eagle Meadows sites in Wasco).

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

ADD: 

The Sacto Biz Journal also has a bit today on Reynen & Bardis putting its headquarters up for sale:

http://www.bizjournals.com/...

...And KB Home pulling out of three regions:

http://sacramento.bizjourna...

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Dagny's never struck us as a particulary religious place. Some will tell you the quad espresso induces mystical visions,  but beyond that, the place just seems too anarchic to attract the Wednesday night Bible study set.

Shows how much we know.

On Monday, Dagny's Coffee Co. took over operations of the coffee house at Calvary Chapel Westbrook, a church located inside a business park at 6501 Schirra Court in the southwest. The church opened the business 18 months ago, and now it's nestled next to a cafe and church-run bookstore.

The expansion is a first for Dagny's, a frustratingly popular joint at 1600 20th St. downtown. The latest of four owners since Dagny's opened in 1996, Mike Walters, negotiated the arrangement with the church's senior pastor, the Rev. Mike Osthimer.

We're sort of wondering how this marriage — that's what business world-types call these types of transactions, acquisition being such a heartless word — is shaking out for workers at both locations. Dagny's decidedly urban downtown staff is being sent to the business park to train workers there in what Walters calls "the Dagny's way." (That won't, by the way, include lessons on serving beer on tap, as they do on 20th Street.)

Perhaps there's something to be inferred in a statement Walters made to us earlier this week: "The biggest difference that I can tell you is, it's on church property."

New loan limits from the federal government may help locals buy, or refinance their homes.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is temporarily raising Federal Housing Administration loan limits in some parts of the country — including Kern County, according to a Wednesday news release from HUD.

Through the end of the year, Kern’s FHA loan limit will be $368,750.

The previous limit in Kern County was $280,250, according to HUD’s Website. In January 2009 the temporary increases will revert to their previous settings.

The press release concedes there is no "silver-bullet" to address the crisis of rising defaults and foreclosure rates. But tens of thousands of Californians may benefit from the new limits, the release states.

What do you guys think? How important are these FHA limits? Will they make a difference in our local housing market?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

Do you have a new position? Have you achieved special recognition in your field?

Let us know about it for the People in Business column, every Sunday in The Californian and at Bakersfield.com.

Here's this week's roundup of achievements.

Want to be in next week's?

It's best to submit to bakersfield.com/yourwords. Submissions can be mailed to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

— Christine Peterson

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Four Bakersfield-based FedEx drivers caught kudos from their company for driving 20-plus years without a preventable accident.

We won't guess how many miles that must be.

The honorees are: Lester Rader, 23 years of driving; Roy Nicholson, 22;  Francisco Romero, 21; and Juan Hinojosa, 21.

The Memphis, Tenn., company is honoring 259 drivers.

— Christine Peterson

After you spend eight, 10 or 12 hours or more with your co-workers, do you really want to spend more precious minutes with them outside work?

Maybe not so much. At least not as much as our cubicle mates in other countries.

Which brings me to an Indianapolis Star story reporting the results of a University of Michigan study.

The findings, according to reporter Dana Knight:

• Americans spend an average of 46 hours a week at work. (Really, that's all?!?)

• 49 percent of us get together outside of work, compared to 74 percent of Polish and 78 percent of Indian workers.

• 32 percent entertain close colleagues in our homes. That pales in comparison to 71 percent of Indian workers and 66 percent of the Polish.

— Christine Peterson

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The oil industry — and we're talking the worldwide oil industry here — traces back to Taft. Workers who learned their trade in the city's oil fields have gone on to work, well, you name it: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Alaska, almost anywhere you find oil underground.

So what about a little shout-out to those who have toiled in Taft since 1910? And while we're at it, how about putting some money where your mouth is?

That's essentially the pitch being delivered these days by a group of Taft people trying to raise $800,000 to build a 30-foot-tall, part-bronze monument — apparently, the largest public art work in Kern County — to the oil workers who basically shaped the city. They hope to get the thing built  it in time for Taft's 100th anniversary celebration in 2010.

So far the folks have gathered $150,000. Make a donation, get an engraved brick or, better yet, a plaque that will be installed close to the monument, which is to be part of a city revitalization project along Supply Road between Fourth and Sixth streets downtown.

Where's the rest of the money going to come from? Committee member Bob Colston has an idea.

"We need $100,000 (each) from four major oil companies to make it happen, I think," he said.

And how's that going?

"They've been contacted," Colston said, "and they've talked about 'in their future budget' and that sort of thing."

We'll check in later to see how the campaign is coming along.

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The owner of downtown's new gift shop, Pay It Forward, is apparently a mom first, an entrepreneur after.

Kim Fannon opened the store in November because, she says, "I needed something that I could do with my kids." OK, but if they were our kids, 4-year-old Hadley and 11-month-old Ellie would be stocking the place, dusting, running the cash register, doing payroll...

Alas, Fannon sees fit to hire others to do these duties while she's away. Far be it from us to tell someone else how to raise their business.

Nice looking place, Pay It Forward. It's at 1931 H St., right across from The Majestic Fox Theater. Inside there are candles, plants, kitchen appliances, lotions — all the kinds of things people give at weddings, baby events and birthdays. And that's the idea.

Fannon makes it easy for people like us, too: She offers free gift-wrapping and deliveries for an extra charge. Her store is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The phone number there is: 325-0400.

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More folks than usual (some even wearing nice clothes!) showed up at the daily City Hall auction this morning to see the SunCal foreclosure go down.

SunCal's debt to Lennar on 515 acres in Shafter had reached about $86 million (with interest and fees).

Bidding opened at $10 million. The auctioneer read off a list of parcel numbers handwritten on the back of a piece of paper (see attached pic).

It was exciting in the geeky way such things are...is this the biggest foreclosure in Bako history? Does anyone know?

Tension filled the air...really!...when bidding opened. The preamble was as indecipherable as usual, but the "going once...going twice..." moments were pronounced slowly and clearly. Glances and shuffles ensued as folks waited to see who might bite.

After bidding closed a cell-phone dude with a briefcase who was with Lennar somehow (but wouldn't fess up) was immediately on the phone to say it was coming back to them...actually he was calling as it closed, almost rock-concert style: Did ya hear that...

Two smaller foreclosures, the Eagle Meadows of Wasco sites, also went forward.

I'll try to get Lennar comment tomorrow...couldn't reach Mr Investment Guy today... but for now there's a little item posted:

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

Update:

Here's a link to the Reynen & Bardis story, another out-of-town developer with some troubled projects in Kern:

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

The ranks of real estate sales agents who maintain memberships with the Bakersfield Association of Realtors is down 19 percent from last year and 29 percent from an annual peak of 1,931 agents at the end of 2006, according to the association.

This year, 1,364 agents renewed their memberships. The number of broker members also fell to 300, down 22 percent from the 382 members counted at the end of 2007.

Real estate agents and brokers are not required to join the association, but many choose to do so to gain access to educational opportunities and align themselves with the association’s ethics code.

Realtors had a Feb. 29 deadline to renew their annual memberships, although new members can join at any time, according to the association’s executive officer, Linda Vernon.

The industry membership organization swore in a group of about 25 new members about a week ago, she said.

“People are still coming in,” Vernon said.

About a month ago, I wrote about Realtors weighing their options in today's market.

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

This morning I met one of the Padre Hotel's new owners, Brett Miller, a hotel operator whose company Eat.Drink.Sleep. operates a number of hotels and restaurants, primarily in San Diego.

He and architect-partner Graham Downes closed escrow on the property Tuesday.

Among the possible plans for downtown's Padre: an atmospheric bar, a restaurant serving California cuisine and Harris Ranch steaks and — yes — valet parking.

We'll post a video of our interview with Miller later today.

Until then, what do you guys think of these ideas? What type of atmosphere are you looking for in a new downtown bar and restaurant? Are you interested in the big city staple of valet parking?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

The Bakersfield metropolitan market, which includes ZIP codes 93301 through 93314, had 1,946 single-family home foreclosures in 2007.

That's according to a report put together by the Kern County Recorder's office using data from First American Real Quest that reporter Gretchen Wenner got her hands on.

Here's a deeper look by ZIP code:

93301: 39 foreclosures   

93304: 199 foreclosures

93305: 94 foreclosures

93306: 195 foreclosures

93307: 244 foreclosures

93308: 206 foreclosures

93309: 188 foreclosures

93311: 196 foreclosures

93312: 265 foreclosures

93313: 243 foreclosures

93314: 77 foreclosures

According to the report, the highest foreclosure rate was in 93313. There the average home is 1,745 square feet, 9 years old and had a median price of $270,000 in 2007.

The lowest foreclosure rate, the report says, was in 93306. The average home is 1,864 square feet, 20 years old and had a median price of $270,000 in 2007.

— Christine Peterson

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Mmmm, corporate franchise acquisitions...

News came this morning that 41 Arby's restaurants — including some in Bakersfield — have been acquired by the franchise owner, Arby's Restaurant Group Inc., a subsidiary of Triarc Cos. Inc., whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols TRY and TRY.B. (I'll try one!)

No word (in that no call was returned today) on what inspired the sale by Cambridge Investments LLC and its affiliates. We're left to suppose it was the money.

The bigger question might be what this all means for the fewer than 40 people behind the counter who keep Bakersfield's Arby's restaurants humming. Arby's spokeswoman Kathy Siefert said employees at all 41 locations were "offered the opportunity to retain their positions." OK, but what about their pay, benefits, hours, etc.?

Unfortunately for us, the person who Siefert says has this answer "isn't in right now." Bummer.

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Come April 1, the sales tax in Delano will rise to 8.25 percent.

Delano is among a few cities where taxes will go up, according to the California State Board of Equalization.

Voters approved the tax bump last fall.

Just for fun, want to know what the sales tax rate is in cities throughout California? You can check here.

— Christine Peterson

How do you retain good employees in a competitive job market where the demand for reliable, skilled workers exceeds availability?

That's the question posed in a press release from the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, which is running a lunch seminar next week on winning employee loyalty.

It's from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 11 at the chamber, 1725 Eye St. It's $20 for chamber members and $30 per nonmember. Register and pay online.

How do you keep employees who are good? What makes you stay with your employer?

— Christine Peterson

I always learn something new from the Accountemps surveys that fall on my desk.

The latest proclaimed, "More job seekers recognize value of researching potential employers, survey shows."

To that, I blurted out DUH.

But maybe it's not that clear to job seekers that it just might be smart to have a clue — and better yet, some real knowledge — of the company and industry in which they seek a job.

Seventy-nine percent of execs polled said candidates displayed at least some knowledge of the company or its industry during interviews. Mind you, this is up from a woeful 59 percent from a 1997 survey.

And only 44 percent of the execs said it's common for applicants to show in a cover letter they've done some research. That's up just a bit from the 37 percent in the last survey.

How hard can it be?

— Christine Peterson

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Self-Help Enterprises will offer free foreclosure counseling at 2 p.m. Friday.

It will be at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Kern & Tulare Counties, 5300 Lennox Ave., Suite 200.

Reservations are requested by calling (888) 412-0828. Spanish-speaking counselors will also be available.

Self-Help Enterprises is a nonprofit housing and community development organization.

Learn more.

— Christine Peterson

Here's Gretchen Wenner's latest report on the market:

Foreclosures reached another new high in Kern last month, according to the latest report from the Kern County Recorder’s office.

The monthly tally shows 586 properties foreclosed in February, up from 512 the previous month and 107 in February 2007.

Default notices, meanwhile, arrived at a steady pace despite the short month, with 1,177 recorded. That’s just two more than January’s count, but more than double the 502 sent out a year ago.

Property transfers, loan originations and mortgages paid off increased slightly in February from the previous month — all numbers were in the 2,000 to 2,500 range — but dropped from a year ago, when those numbers ranged roughly between 3,800 and 5,500.

Gretchen has collected several charts and graphics you can see here.

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Wondering what homes are selling for? Look no further.

Check out our latest home sales map. It has the newest data on homes sold in Bakersfield from Jan. 13 to Jan. 20, 2008, with info from First American Real Estate Solutions. Plus it has the first two weeks of January.

Here's a summary of this week's data:

• 24 homes sold this week.

• the highest sales price was $920,000 in the 93313 ZIP code.

• the lowest sales price was $100,000 in the 93308 ZIP code.

Missed December's map? Find it here.

— Christine Peterson

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Yesterday, the guys who will probably buy the Padre spoke about their plans for the first time:

A pair of San Diego developers behind ultra-modern boutique hotels in San Diego and Lake Havasu City, Ariz. will likely close escrow on the landmark this week.

The current owners, the San Diego-area property management firm Pacifica Enterprises LLC, put the Padre up for sale in June, after an unsuccessful five-year struggle to transform the building into condos.

The potential buyers, hotel operator Brett Miller of Eat.Drink.Sleep. and architect Graham Downes of Graham Downes Architecture, plan to scrap the condo idea and restore the circa-1920s Padre to its original use as a hotel.

"When you walk into the Padre, it will be an experience," Miller said. "Words can't tell you, but there will be life going on." Read the whole story.

What do you think of Miller and Downes' plans? What do you think about turning the Padre into a hotel, rather than condos? Will a swanky project like this make it?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer

Well, apparently I can run from real estate news, but I can't hide.

There I was on my Saturday shift, which is usually my chance to leave my real estate and business stories behind and report some good, old-fashioned breaking news, when this story popped up about a wild party in a foreclosed home.

There I was, looking up property records and interviewing homeowners in a new twist on the home foreclosure story.

On Sunday, staff writer Herb Benham and on-duty editor John Cox, ended up covering a similar incident.

Were these two parties a fluke? Or have others noticed empty homes attracting trouble? What's going on in your neighborhood?

-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer