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Everyday Cheapskate: River Cruise Provides a Bounty of History, Nature and Fun
By Victor Block
In the winter of 1805, a group of men constructed a rustic fort near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. They stayed there until the following spring, then returned to their homes.
These men were members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Their exploration of uncharted areas of the country had been commissioned by ...Read more

Amid tariff turmoil, these warehouses are in big demand in LA
As steep tariffs on imports throw Los Angeles-area ports into turmoil and chill industrial property leasing, one rare type of building is suddenly in hot demand — bonded warehouses where goods can be stored without paying tariffs until they are removed.
Key personnel at bonded warehouses have to undergo background checks and the operator must...Read more

Salary to afford a typical Bay Area home has increased 54% since 2019
The salary needed to afford a typical home in the Bay Area just keeps climbing higher.
A homebuyer hoping to afford a median-priced home in the San Jose metro region must earn 54% more than was needed six years ago — an income of $370,000, versus $240,000 in 2019, according to a new study by Realtor.com.
That means that a buyer hoping to ...Read more

Jonathan Lansner: California home sales tumble below Great Recession low for 21 months
Call it what you want, but California’s homebuying pace remains below the Great Recession’s bottom.
My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a new set of home sales figures created for the Southern California News Group by real estate tracker Attom. These broad-based statistics track closed transactions by month and include existing and newly built ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Can I install an EV charger at my condo's assigned parking spot?
Q: My wife and I bought a condo a few years ago. Last year, we bought an electric car, only to learn that the building limits personal chargers to 14, along with the three shared chargers, for the nearly 200 parking spaces. The board informed me that the limit is due to the electrical service to the building, and upgrading the service would ...Read more

Commentary: Where is the 'real America'?
Is there such a thing as a “real America”? A battle now rages over this simple question. Some Democratic party operatives claim the real America are so-called “Trump voters,” who they say they need to better “study” in order to win future elections.
Many Republican voices argue the real America are just those who support the new ...Read more

Cupertino housing project is part of a growing trend as expensive Bay Area cities want teachers to live near their schools
CUPTERTINO, California — When the time came for Gabriela Flores to apply for a new teaching job in the Bay Area, the Scotts Valley resident had her heart set on one place: Cupertino.
The city is not only home to Apple headquarters, but also boasts some of the best schools and students in the state. Flores said she felt drawn to the ...Read more

Millions of New Yorkers poised for rent hikes in range of 1.75 to 7.75 percent
New York City’s 2 million rent-stabilized tenants will almost certainly see their rents rise for the fifth year in a row after the panel charged with deciding rates approved hikes during a raucous preliminary vote Wednesday evening.
The Rent Guidelines Board agreed to a range of 1.75% to 4.75% increases for one-year leases and 4.75% to 7.75% ...Read more

Colorado and Denver told owners to cut their buildings' carbon emissions. Did the rules go too far?
It’s not that Intermountain Health refuses to upgrade its Denver hospital and medical clinics so they produce less pollution.
It’s the fact that the health system’s buildings are of different ages and sizes, and one of them — Saint Joseph Hospital — is open 24 hours a day. It’s a facility where lights and room temperature can be a ...Read more

Black South Floridians struggle to buy and keep homes in Miami's gentrifying communities
Sabrina Guillaume’s parents always urged her to invest in a home in Liberty City.
But when she started the homebuying process in early 2020 at age 24, she hit a lot of obstacles: After getting preapproved for a loan, the pandemic came, and the homes she’d been eyeing rose from the mid-$300,000s to $500,000 in a matter of months. Then there ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: A Gracious Guide for How to Be a Good House Guest
It was shocking, if not surreal. The email message was from a woman I'd never met and whose name I recognized only because, a few months earlier, she mailed me a book she'd written.
The message announced that she and her family were planning a road trip to Disneyland and would just love to stay with us since (at the time) we lived nearby and oh...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: How to Rise Above Your Circumstances
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot circled over the Great Salt Lake, tipping the wings ever so slightly so we could witness the unusual reddish-purple color of the water -- a phenomenon, he explained, that occurs when a particular species of algae meets up with a certain bacteria. It was quite fascinating.
Just as he was bringing the plane level ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: You Need a Freedom Account
If I asked you to deduct your monthly expenses from your monthly income, I have a feeling you'd look pretty good on paper. The mystery for many people is why they can't get through a month without using a credit card to cover unexpected expenses, such as a prescription for a sick child, a quarterly insurance premium or a wedding shower gift.
...Read more

Treasury market's 'new world order' brings fear of long bond
The “Sell America” trade that gripped markets this month has left a potentially lasting dent in investors’ willingness to hold the U.S. government’s longest-maturity debt, a mainstay of its deficit-financing toolkit.
For bond managers at BlackRock Inc., Brandywine Global Investment Management and Vanguard Group Inc., the problem is that...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Confused About Seed Oils? Oh, Yes We Are!
If you've ever stared at a grocery aisle full of cooking oils, wondering if you're picking a kitchen staple or a chemistry experiment, you're not alone. The world of cooking oils is a confusing place, and the debate over seed oils is heating up. Are they really as bad as some say? And if so, what should we use instead? Let's clear this up.
WHAT...Read more
An Irish hotelier, Qatari royals and a federal lawsuit involving a Beverly Hills hotel
As Irish hotelier Patrick McKillen tells it, he met the former emir of Qatar on a yacht in Doha to discuss a business opportunity in California, more than 8,000 miles away.
McKillen and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani were discussing the purchase of a Beverly Hills hotel, which McKillen said he committed to managing and redeveloping.
Now ...Read more

LA's office market takes a hit amid trade wars, fires and economic uncertainty
Tenants hunting for office space in the Los Angeles area are in the driver's seat as vacancies plague many landlords trying to fill their buildings with people.
The greater Los Angeles office rental market started the year with a turbulent first quarter and historically high vacancies as tenant demand was persistently soft in spite of more ...Read more

She transformed a historic Hollywood penthouse into a 'sanctuary' with secondhand gems
LOS ANGELES — Caitlin Villarreal felt giddy the first time she stepped inside the Whitley Heights rental, a storied 1926 Mediterranean-style penthouse with towering ceilings, hand-carved wooden beams and a pair of arched bookcases alongside an oversize fireplace.
"It had good energy," Villarreal said of the 1,500-square-foot apartment she ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Do we owe annual property taxes on home we've owned for a few months?
Q: We purchased our first home late last year. We have been getting notices in the mail telling us that our real estate taxes were not paid. We called the tax collector and were informed that we owed property taxes for the entire year, even though we only lived there for a few months. Is this legit? — Harold
A: Understanding real estate taxes...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Are High-Efficiency Washers Worth It?
It's time once again to reach into the mailbag to answer a question from my dear readers. It's kinda my favorite day, which should give you an idea of how much I love to hear from you. While I cannot respond personally to all your messages and letters, know that I read every one, selecting those to answer here that I believe will have a ...Read more
Inside Consumer
Popular Stories
- Jonathan Lansner: California home sales tumble below Great Recession low for 21 months
- Salary to afford a typical Bay Area home has increased 54% since 2019
- Real estate Q&A: Can I install an EV charger at my condo's assigned parking spot?
- Treasury market's 'new world order' brings fear of long bond
- Amid tariff turmoil, these warehouses are in big demand in LA