Just Wow

[dcluley98]

Somebody actually did try to get me banned one time (on this thread actually) for posting a video of Owen Wilson saying "Wow"  over and over. 

Fun Times! 

LOL!

[dcluley98]

Would you look at that? 

I mean, just look at it.

 

[HankStrong]

Wow!  Just WOW!

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 7:10 AM, dcluley98 said:

Somebody actually did try to get me banned one time (on this thread actually) for posting a video of Owen Wilson saying "Wow"  over and over. 

Fun Times! 

LOL!

I think maybe me, too?  But for something that was directed to Spence (I think??).

Edited May 20, 2019 by HankStrong

[AmIReal]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 7:10 AM, dcluley98 said:

Somebody actually did try to get me banned one time

 

13 hours ago, HankStrong said:

I think maybe me, too

I commented when I first started posting here that the person you refer to was why I started posting. I had lurked on this forum since '04-05 and was happy as a bystander, but that particular poster struck a nerve with me  (in a not too positive sense) and motivated me to participate. I will say, for those sitting on the outside looking in, please join/ share/ discuss... the waters fine.

[dcluley98]

Smile everybody! You're on Candid Camera!

https://www.clickorlando.com/getting-results-/getting-results-on-crime/to-protect-citizens-deputies-orange-county-sheriffs-office-monitors-6500-live-video-feeds?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

[spenser1058]

Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley, hardly a bastion of Bernie Bro thinking, is sounding a “recession watch” in light of current economic activity.

This is just one signal among many and there is reason to believe all the positive activity in Orlando’s infrastructure growth may mitigate a downturn locally, but it is something to be aware of.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/05/28/morgan-stanley-says-economy-on-recession-watch-amid-bond-warning.html

From CNBC

[spenser1058]

Woohoo! Downtowners will get the chance next month to MAGA with the Very Stable Genius himself:

https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/politics/2019/05/30/president-trump-rallying-in-orlando-next-month--campaign-says

From News 13

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Meanwhile in time for PRIDE month, I ordered my 20 PETE 20 PRIDE flag T-shirt. We really do need to schedule our first UP meetup so I can model it for y’all!

[spenser1058]

The long delayed 689 area code finally arrives June 4. Personally, I’m sticking with the 407 and will leave the new digits to the newbies.

https://www.wfla.com/amp/news/florida/new-area-code-coming-for-residents-in-central-florida/2042196834

From WFLA

Any of you trendy millennials gonna be on the cutting edge of this CenFlo moment?

Edited May 31, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

More on The Orange One’s visit to downtown.

This is apparently going to be the Dear Leader’s kickoff of his 2020 re-election campaign and where would be more appropriate than the publicly funded home of the family that insists the free market is the only path to success?

Yes, folks, it’s the Amway Center June 18th!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-orlando-rally-trump-20190531-qji6qiq2inbvfiexnbjszw6uf4-story.html

From the Sentinel 

[AmIReal]

Where have all the condos gone?

From Marketplace

“Historically, newly built condos have been a source of entry-level housing,”... Nationally, builders added only 24,000 new condo units over the past year, compared to 60,000 to 70,000 a decade ago. “On the new construction side, this is just one part of the industry that never really recovered after the Great Recession,”... 

One big reason: Condos are more expensive and complicated to build than apartments. Materials have to meet higher standards, and financing is harder to get. Insurance costs are also greater because of the risk of lawsuits over construction defects. Builders can make more money with apartments.

“Right now about 96% of multifamily construction is built for rent,” Dietz said. “That compares to about a 80% historic share.”

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/05/31/where-have-all-the-condos-gone/

 

[aent]

3 hours ago, AmIReal said:

Where have all the condos gone?

 

And of course, there's also the real reason: that Obama-era regulations made condos much more difficult to finance then anything non-condo. Townhomes and detached single family get all the guaranteed FHA/USDA loans, condos its near impossible to get those government assistance programs anymore. Until there is a level playing field (either both get it, or neither gets it) condos won't recover. There is talk of the FHA repealing the Obama era regulations though, but it hasn't gone too far as of yet.

 

Since the government loans programs don't really affect the wealthy, interestingly (without stats and anecdotal evidence only), the vast majority of condos being built now are high end luxury condos, unlike the vast majority of homes being built now, which are lower and middle class products.

[AmIReal]

1 hour ago, aent said:

There is talk of the FHA repealing the Obama era regulations though, but it hasn't gone too far as of yet.

To the best of my knowledge the Modernization Act signed in 2016 fixed most of the issues and I'm not aware of any pending action that is on tap. The 2016 act reduced the percentage of owner occupied units from 50 to 35 (in some cases 30). There are still requirements on percentage of dues in arrears and cap budget/ cash on hand requirements. But, in my opinion those are good ideas for the protection of the fha insurance fund.

https://fhareview.com/fhacondoapprovalguidelines/

Also, at least as currently proposed in Orlando, highrise residential may get a substantial tax break not afforded to single family and town homes. Orlando is proposing significant school impact fee increase, but are excluding highrise residential because “Less [families] are coming for those product types,” (Raleigh) Steinhaugher said. “Those apartments typically have less bedrooms and smaller living spaces, they’re not necessarily intended for families with higher amounts of children."...

I find that rationale pretty stupid and along the same mind set of retirees that move here not wanting to pay taxes for common use services. Its akin to saying I don't drive on I4 so my taxes shouldn't pay for it, or I don't support war so I don't want to pay for the military. 

Anyway, back to the Orlando proposal. If they exclude the impact fee from highrises the average single family home fee will increase by 9%, a typical townhome (mostly bought by 1st time buyers) would increase by 27% and mobile homes by 71%. Staying true to their philosophy their study concluded more kids live in mobile homes so those units should pay more... (WTF!)

https://www.growthspotter.com/news/residential-property-developments/multi-family/gs-news-orange-county-school-fees-are-slated-to-rise-but-rental-towers-20190531-ut5x4p6m6fahhksvsx2tvhrspu-story.html

 

Edited June 1, 2019 by AmIReal
added link

[spenser1058]

Comparing a “teenage” city like Orlando to a middle-age city like Chicago makes as much sense as expecting a 13 year old to act like a 53 year old:

https://www.governing.com/columns/urban-notebook/gov-metro-areas.html

From Governing

[prahaboheme]

6 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Comparing a “teenage” city like Orlando to a middle-age city like Chicago makes as much sense as expecting a 13 year old to act like a 53 year old:

https://www.governing.com/columns/urban-notebook/gov-metro-areas.html

From Governing

That article has a glaring issue - Chicago, LA, and NYC metros did not decline in population year over year. The biggest challenge these cities have is that housing units are so often renovated and lowered in per person density, thus driving up demand in these cities. 

I agree, though, comparing Orlando to Chicago or LA (perhaps less the latter) is probably not helpful. But the lessons learned are (for worse or better). At the end of the day, what typically makes an urban city thrive generally comes down to higher density, pedestrian friendly zones. 

Orlando does pretty decent with this downtown. 

Tampa is about as old as Chicago - maybe that’s a better comparison.

[spenser1058]

Happy PRIDE month, Florida!

 

[spenser1058]

Orlando just says no to plastic straws:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orlando-plastic-ban-20190603-uhv3p4mi6fcszndxz2mtkvmtqq-story.html?outputType=amp

From the Sentinel 

Dale’s gonna be SO proud of The City Beautiful!

[spenser1058]

Well, it took 37 years but an Emory professor has finally been granted tenure. That’s what we call patience!

Oh, you might have heard of him - his name is Jimmy Carter.

https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/after-years-jimmy-carter-gets-tenure-emory/mtU1StxiPmKIjl3cy0zYoJ/amp.html

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

[spenser1058]

It’s way too early but it does mean some assumptions we’ve taken for granted for a long time may be in play the next time around.

A new poll by Quinnipiac places Biden ahead of Trump 48-44 in Texas for heaven’s sake.

Again, this is still too early to mean a lot, but if Texas is in play (just as Ohio may well be going  the other way), we may see a very different map in 2020.

Remember, it wasn’t so long ago California was a pretty reliable Republican state. (Both Presidents Nixon and Reagan hailed from the Golden State,after all.)

What does this mean for Florida? Maybe not much. We’re a bit odd in that our urban areas (Democratic) are growing very fast and suburban areas like Seminole County are turning purple but our exurban areas like The Villages are also exploding with retirees who, at the moment, are voting Republican. (Once upon a time most Florida retirees who came of age in the New Deal era voted reliably Democratic- voting trends are often based on when you started voting.)

As a result, Florida may well see statewide elections continue to be decided by a point or less for quite a while.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/06/05/trouble-texas-trump-trails-biden-48-44-dead-heat-warren-orourke-others-new-poll

From The Dallas News

Edited June 5, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

It seems our Dear Leader has decided the moon is now a part of Mars. While this will come as a shock to many astronomers, nevertheless there you have it.

Of more interest to us is that, apparently in response to something he saw on FOX News (Fair and Balanced), it seems NASA may be switching course and setting its sights on the red planet instead of our local satellite. 

This could set back launch plans at KSC and the Space Coast which had jut been put forward by Space Cadet Leader Mike Pence a couple of weeks ago. Who needs stability?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/07/trump-moon-is-part-of-mars-tweet-nasa

From The Guardian

[spenser1058]

Every 30 years like clockwork!

[spenser1058]

Well, this is certainly familiar but in Orlando each of the LEGO replacements would have a visor on top!

 

[spenser1058]

Now here’s a bit of irony: in response to the Very Stable Genius’ impending visit Tuesday, SunRail will be adding extra service.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-sunrail-service-trump-visit-20190614-soh2ba4jvndkni6rc4q76j4tve-story.html

From the Sentinel 

[spenser1058]

Oh boy, Mayor Pete is going to be at the Big Kids’ table on the second night of the first Democratic debates.

The only one of those polling 5% or more in RCP’s polling averages who is on the first night is Sen. Warren.

I’m very happy.

20 PETE 20

[dcluley98]

Yang is in there. 

#YangGang!