John's Blog

I recently vistied Arizona for a family matter and noticed that their gasoline prices are significantly cheaper, $3.35 per gallon for regular.  The prices in Sonoma County vary by 10 to 25 cents per gallon by location, for an average of $3.99 per gallon for regular.  The prices will probably go much higher.  Don’t you love how Wall Street Traders and Financial Speculators/Investors are a large reason and major factor in your gas prices?  Do you ever wish you, as an individual, could have a major impact on Wall Street Traders?

Do you have a PG&E SmartMeter installed at your home?  We do but apparently it is not “on-line” yet, as we still have a meter-reader person come once a month; we were told that there needs to be a larger block of residences in our area before we are brought “on-line”.  A recent article indicates you can Opt-Out of having a wireless meter for a one-time cost of $75, plus a monthly charge of $10.         

There is a Cheese Conference in Sonoma from Saturday February 25th through February 29th, call 707-935-7960; Redwood Chorale sings Kate Wolf in Santa Rosa on February 25th & February 26th, call 707-874-3770; or free music on the plaza in Healdsburg on Sunday February 26th, call 707-921-2893.

With the recent death of a famous singer, I was thinking of people who have the “IT” Factor – those with a natural-born ability to excel in their field; i.e. singers, painters, scientists, athletes, actors. Some folks make the most of their ability, live productive lives, give back to the community; Tom Hanks, Einstein, Pavaroti, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods. Then, there are folks who are unable to feel worthy of their talent and struggle with demons, or those that have the incredible talent but choose not to pursue that field. And then, there is the rest of us—regular people who do their best at their job or hobby/sport or even farming.

There are times when I wish I was better at golf but I am very good at finance and looking at issues “outside the box”, so if you are a potential borrower that has real estate to use as collateral, please give me a call.

Lots of activities this weekend – Cloverdale Citrus Fair Feb. 17 thru 20th, call 707-894-3992; Mardi Gras Ball, Santa Rosa, Feb. 18th, call 707-331-4162 or Olive Season Finale on Feb. 18 & 19th, Sonoma, call 707-940-4025.

The New England Patriots lost to the NY Giants and one of the broadcasters asked Tom Brady “is there anything worse than losing the Super Bowl?” His comment was – “Yes, not being able to play in the Super Bowl”.

Even though you lose at something, doesn’t mean you didn’t actually win because you had the opportunity to participate. Perhaps that is the difference between a glass being half full or half empty. If we viewed opportunities to participate as wins, perhaps we might get more opportunities.

I just returned from a Private Money Lending Conference; they are held quarterly, for 2 full days each. We had about 200 participants, who come from all over California. They are Owners, Loan Agents and/or employees of Private Money Companies/Lenders. The conference covers topics such as legal updates, environmental issues, loan negotiation and loan documentation. All private money lenders would like an opportunity to participate, in looking at potential loans to fund, as often as possible. So, you borrowers out there, give us a call and . . . . bring it on.

If you get a chance, take in a free concert in Healdsburg, Feb. 10th, call 707-524-8700; another free event, Olive Festival in Sonoma on Feb. 11th, call 707-933-3010.

A boost to Sonoma County should be the forecast of increased grape prices in 2012 to the growers.  The supply of wine grapes has not kept pace nor will it for the next few years, with the demand;  Mother Nature has played havoc with the grapes, either with unexpected heat or early rains, the past few years.  The wine industry is a large part of the economy in Sonoma County, even the SRJC has Shone Farm Winery as part of the college’s winemaking and viticulture training program.  The SRJC currently sells between 300 and 400 cases annually on the Internet  and local stores; gross sales top $86,000/year.  The Shone Farm consists of 365 acres and is a different source of funding for the college—badly needed in the dwindling amount of funds available for education from the California legislature.

A lot of people will be watching the Super Bowl this weekend, including me.  I look forward to the commercials every year, where advertisers pay a pile of money for 30 to 60 seconds of air time.  Who says we are in a recession? 

Starting February 27^th through March 4^th, it is Restaurant Week here in Sonoma County.  This is the 3^rd year and over 100 restaurants participate.  Go to www.sonomacountyrestaurantweek.org and make your reservations ahead of time.

In watching the news on TV last evening, there was talk of an initiative being put on the ballot that Calif. should have a part-time legislature; we could save money, paying the part-timers $18,000/year and running the legislature three months a year.

Are they crazy?  California is the 9^th largest economy in the World and folks want to only attend to it 25% of the time?  We need to watch and see if this idea is pursued.  So, stay tuned.

On the bright side, the 2011 Sonoma County Business Confidence Survey and Report is out.  Highlights include:  58% of business executives are considering hiring new employees in 2012; average business confidence (on a scale of 1 to 10) rating is now 5.45, up from 3.2 two years ago; property crime rates have decreased 27.5% between 2005 and 2010, with violent crime decreasing 38.3%; hotel occupancy rates have increased 9.4%.  Lastly, compared to the national average, Sonoma County has a lower rate of coronary heart disease.

On the down side, too bad the 49ers were not able to win on Sunday.  Oh well, there is always next year.

There are a couple of crab feeds this weekend; Fri. Jan. 27^th at the Tides Wharf, call 707-875-3652 and Sat. Jan. 28^th in Windsor, benefiting the Boys/Girls Clubs, call 707-528-7977×108.

The football playoffs are this weekend and the 49er’s have a great chance to win and go to the Super Bowl—amazing! Hope it is not too wet or muddy but John Madden would say “that’s football!”

Sept. 29th is the date for the King Ridge GranFondo; over 70% of the 4,000 spots for the 103-mile ride were filled. Sonoma County is fortunate to have Levi Leipheimer, who organizes this event, which helps the City of Santa Rosa pay for the cost of hosting the Amgen Tour of California. Both events bring in money to the Sonoma County economy.

Also attracting people to Sonoma County is the new SRJC’s Café & Bakery facility, located at the corner of Mendocino & Carr Avenues. It is a 2-story 22,000 sq.ft. culinary arts facility that includes a dining room, demonstration kitchen, teaching kitchen, retail bakery, public café & restaurant, with 2nd floor classrooms, etc. This is an incredible building for Santa Rosa Junior College where students can learn hospitality and culinary skills, preparing them for entry into a local tourism and hospitality industry; this fits beautifully with Sonoma County and our own tourism industry.

There is a Chinese New Year celebration in Sonoma on Saturday, Jan. 21st, call 707-931-7551; or a Fiddle Festival in Cloverdale, Saturday & Sunday, call 510-847-6304.

It appears there are a few more projects Sonoma County will be involved in; the airport expansion, which approval will be finalized Jan. 24th and the SMART Train construction, which has started its first phase of the project. It is always nice to see positive changes in Sonoma County, which should enhance our local economy.

If you are in the process of updating your Family Trust (if you have one) and/or your will, research various charities that you might consider leaving a small amount or percentage of your estate. Find out what the charity(s) spend in Administrative Costs, as a percentage of their fundraising income. Think about what you were involved in as a kid or as a parent; don’t forget the senior population, as we are all going to be there, some sooner than later.

If a wedding is in your future, you might want to attend The Lab Event on Jan. 14th in Sonoma, call 707-771-9594; if curing olives, with no lye, is interesting, attend the Jan. 15th seminar in Sonoma, call 707-823-5097.

Every New Year starts with a list of new laws & regulations.  Residents in rural areas, which includes more of the North Coast region, are now subject to a $150/year fee to offset the cost of wildfire prevention by the Dept. of Forestry; out-of-state Internet retailers must collect California sales tax on transactions if the retailer has a presence in the State, effective Summer 2012; apartment buildings with 5 or more rental units are required to have recycling services for paper, plastic, bottles & cans; the California Presidential Primary has been moved from February, back to June 5, 2012.  There were 760 bills signed in 2011, with a majority of the bills making technical changes affecting a relatively small group of people.

Since this is an election year and there is sure to be a fair amount of stress in people’s lives from a variety of sources, here are some tips to minimize your stress:  Walk away—take a break, get up and walk away, stretch your arms and legs; Just breathe—take up to 5 deep breaths; Grin and bear it—close your eyes & gently smile, think of a pleasant or funny moment—your smile will send positive signals to your brain.  Speaking from experience, the walking away works—I haven’t tried the Grin & bear it smiley thing, yet.  This should make you smile – “Witnessing the Republicans and Democrats fight over the US debt is like watching two drunks argue over a bar bill on the Titanic”. 

If you haven’t seen the movie/musical Chicago, it is playing at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg from Jan. 27 to Feb. 19, call 707-433-6335.

I just love to end the year on a good note – our Company is busy at year-end, even with loans that borrowers want to close by the end of December.  We put out an email of 3 loan transactions needing to be funded, totaling $800,000; they were fully sold out within 45 minutes.  Not bad for a questionable economy, huh?  I guess there really is a Santa Claus.

According to a survey from The Conference Board, Consumer confidence shot up for the second month in a row in December.  It is probably too soon to tell if the year-end optimism is simply a rebound from declines earlier in the year or is a sustainable shift in attitudes.  Let’s hope for a shift in attitudes.

I’d like to take a few lines and remember a few of those that passed-on in 2011: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs—a little quirky perhaps but a creative genius; Elizabeth Taylor, strikingly beautiful and a devoted advocate for HIV/AIDS research; Andy Rooney, witty journalist and legendary commentator.

Have a safe New Year’s Eve, however you choose to celebrate.  I look forward to a prosperous and exciting 2012.  See you then . . . .

The Democrats & Republicans are at it again! They are taking front-center stage and are deadlocked in their debate over the pros and cons of the payroll tax holiday extension.  For a majority of employees it means an average of $40 per week, every two weeks, or about $1,000 per year. The economy looks to be getting some (yes, small) traction and perhaps this is the wrong time to stop pushing for a resolution. Remember, doing our job as citizens and voting intelligently is necessary.

It is nice to see there are some major private construction projects on tap for 2012 in Sonoma County: Oliver’s Market plans to open a store in the Bell Village Project in Windsor, in 2013; construction bidding is likely to open in Summer of 2012. An overhaul of the 12.5 acre former Barlow Apple Processing Plant in Sebastopol is due to be complete late in 2012. It will be 215,000 sq. ft. of commercial space tailored for artisan wine, beer and food producers. So far, 26 tenants have been lined up for 78% of the project space.

A Holiday Card from one of my nieces included some great words of wisdom that I would like to pass on: It is not what you do when you feel great but what you do when you feel awful that defines you. Never underestimate your ability to push it a step further. And, lastly, having a dream never goes out of style.

Have a Great Holiday!