High Noon-October 26th 1881

Well almost, actually it was 1:52 pm.

Today marks the 126th anniversary of the famous “Gunfight at the OK Corral” in Tombstone Arizona—then called the Arizona Territory.

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Here are some quick trivia facts about Wyatt Earp and the shootout at the OK Corral:

Wyatt Earp was first and foremost a simple business man who lived to be 81 and died in Los Angels in 1929. (I happen to own a copy of his death certificate.)

Wyatt Earp was never a U.S. Marshall

The “Shoot-out at the OK Corral” was started by an argument over some stolen mules?

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday stood trial for their part in the shooting which lasted a month—they were both acquitted.

Wyatt Earp’s favorite city was San Francisco until he stood accused of throwing a prize fight in which he was asked to referee—it made all the papers.

  • Wyatt Earp owned a mine outside L.A. near what is now Earp, CA. which he worked the rest of his life in the dessert
  • Wyatt Earp loved ice cream, drove a car, and helped consult on some of the earliest films about the Wild West in the 1920’s and became friends with actors like Tom Mix
  • The debate about who were good and bad guys in the famous shootout confrontation continues to this day.
  • Wyatt Earp was deputized by his brother Vrigil Earp so that he could legally carry a gun on the streets of Tombstone that day.
  • The Clantons practiced religioulsy with their six-shotters at their ranch yet as with most peopple of the day, couldn’t hit much when under pressure.

Wyatt Earp was cremated and buried in the Jewish cemetery in Colma California named Hills of Eternity—I took the contemporary photo which circulates on the web to this day. Many movies have been made about this shoot-out (near the OK Corral) and glorified it in a way that only Hollywood could do. Unfortunately, the facts have become so distorted that the real story has become lost. As in many cases, the truth is more interesting than fiction. In 1993 the movie Tombstone with Kurt Russell as Wyatt was released and it helped shed some light on who Wyatt Earp really was—a business man, not gunfighter. Later Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp was also released further gaining interest in Wyatt’s story. Which movie is best? I believe Tombstone was more realistic. Although they used composite characters and rearranged event timelines as Hollywood will do, their costumes and many of the lines in the movie were from court transcripts and newspaper accounts after the shooting. The 1990’s movies on Wyatt Earp inspired me to find out more about what really happened.

Those movies led me to read “And Die in the West” by Paula Mitchell Marks. It chronicles the political behind the scenes details of what led upon to the famous gunfight in Tombstone. But it goes much deeper than that and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to understand more about life in the frontier west. From there I read every book I could get my hands on including a grossly exaggerated version of Wyatt’s life titled “Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall” written by Stuart Lake and released shortly after Wyatt’s death. I eventually traveled to Tombstone and met with several prominent authors who toured me around the back country retracing the steps of the Earp and Clanton clans. To find out more visit Gary McLelland’s Wyatt Earp web page and relive the Wild West as it really was.

Hunter’s Moon–October 26th 2007 The biggest of them all…

Today marks the occasion of the “Hunter’s Moon”. A full moon which occurs each October but this year is special. Huntersmoon Tonight’s full Moon is the biggest full Moon of 2007. It’s no illusion.  The Moon’s orbit is an ellipse with one side 30,000 miles closer to Earth than the other. The full Moon of Oct. 25-26 is located on the near side, making it appear as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we’ve seen earlier in 2007.

This can be found on NASA’s web site, “According to folklore, October’s full moon is called the "Hunter’s Moon" or sometimes the "Blood Moon." It gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale as a corpse, its cold light betraying the creatures of the wood.

So how many moons do we really have? Twelve to be exact:

  • January – Wolf Moon 
  • February – Snow Moon 
  • March – Worm Moon 
  • April – Pink Moon 
  • May – Flower Moon 
  • June – Strawberry Moon 
  • July – Buck Moon 
  • August – Sturgeon Moon 
  • September – Harvest Moon 
  • October – Hunter’s Moon 
  • November – Beaver Moon 
  • December – Cold Moon

Ever wonder why the moon appears so large at the horizon and so small up in the sky? This phenomenon referred to the “Moon Illusion” is best explained by scientists but it has everything to do with your brain’s perception of relative size as it compares the moon to objects on the horizon. Try taking a picture of the same moon and you’ll be sorely disappointed that your camera doesn’t see things quite the way you do.

Enjoy the show tonight and as the moon rises near sunset and appears to fill the sky.

Tree-mendous Power Struggle

Wyatt I have brought the idea of a proposed tree ordinance to the attention of several of the influential people I know in Belmont, some who hold sitting positions. They do not appear inclined to take-up the idea since I believe they tend to shy away from anything which is a political hot potato (unless it’s on their personal agenda). Though I give credit to Bill Dickenson for occasionally challenging his fellow council members, most of the members of our current council (and Planning Department) seem to believe that anything progressive is a threat; as opposed to the other extreme which believe that development should march forward unchecked. The problem with both of these positions is that they are extreme, and we need more fair minded, balanced, and objective people to help make Belmont a great town, prosperous, and with a sustainable and alluring quality of life. Don’t get me wrong, I too love our open spaces and trees but there needs to be a balance struck when considering growth and changes. Until our Belmont City Council becomes more like real council–for the people–and less concerned with their own agendas, I fear nothing will change.

One need look no further than the example of the council’s decision to ban smoking in Belmont to see that these folks are thrusting upon us their personal agenda (see “Where there’s Smoke There’s Fire”).

I bring this point up because it’s just one more an example of what needs to change in Belmont. We need a council who will do what is right for the citizens of Belmont, not what is right for their personal vision of a town they want to create.

The current list of candidates includes two candidates who are strongly supported by the current council members Coralin Feierbach and Dave Warden–two like-minded members who would love nothing more than to eliminate any challenges to their control of the current council; Christine Wozniak, who currently sits on the oppressive planning department and David Braunstein, a teacher from Carlmont High School, who’s legacy is organizing the creation of the Belmont library.

The other opposing two Candidates Jason Born and Broderick Page are challenging the status quo and who the majority of the council desperately want not to win. It is my belief with the shenanigans of Dave Warden trying to decide if he should attempt a write-in campaign, and Dave Braunstein getting back into the race, has everything to do with Dave Warden wanting to leave the council yet clone himself before he does so by convincing David Braunstein to come back to the fray after dropping out. As found in this article by the San Mateo Daily News; “Mr. Warden said at the time, ” [He] was comfortable leaving the council because he endorsed two of the challengers running to take his place”; saying, “Mr. Warden believed newcomers Born and Page lacked experience.”

Ask him how much experience he had when he got elected.

Want to make a change? Make a change in the council. I’m passing this along to Jason Born and Bill Dickenson since if there’s anyone who would even consider this I believe it to be them. Now all the citizens of Belmont have to do is vote.

Disclaimer:

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire–Belmont’s Smoking Ban

Shermans The smoking ordinance in Belmont was a classic example of what Belmont’s city council is all about. Sure second hand smoke is bad but the issue brought before them was second hand smoke in attached adjacent living spaces–the genesis of the original complaint. However our council (coached by their cronies in other departments with similar agendas—can anyone say Planning Department?) decided to pursue a ban on all outdoor cigarette smoking in Belmont—notice I didn’t say all smoking?

Be clear, this was a personal agenda. Mayor Coralin’s trama had to do with being exposed to second hand smoke from her father and Council Member Dave Warden wanted Belmont to be a "smoke free city". Mr. Warden apparently anointed himself with deciding how one should personally care for themselves stating, "…This ordinance may save lives as it may force smokers to quit or limit smoking".

What they neglected to address was wood burning fireplaces and outdoor BBQ’s–no doubt much worse contributors of air borne carcinogens. Mr. Warden’s argument for not banning other more caustic causes of airborne particulate matter such as that expelled by SUV’s was answered with—"[but] we need cars". So what’s his answer to this one—banning outdoor BBQ’s will stop people from eating unhealthy carcinogen laden foods AND stop the air borne particulate matter they cause. Why wasn’t that a part of the ordinance?

Did anyone notice the volumes of billowing smoke at the Save The Music benefit in Belmont wafting by the children

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as they sang on stage? The city doesn’t need to bring in experts to intuitively know that the smoke produced that day alone no doubt exposed more people to more carcinogens than any outdoor citizen puffing away on a cigarette. This council is clearly about tolerance (or lack thereof) and what they personally believe should be acceptable.

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Why did they ignore addressing these two issues if their real concern was for the health, welfare and safety of their constituents? Because they only wanted to trample on a minority who they knew would not garner any support; they knew that adding a ban on outdoor BBQ’s and wood burning fireplaces would raise too much opposition—they simply stuck with an ordinance which would get them maximum media attention with minimal resistance.

What’s Eating Your Home’s Equity?

What’s Eating Your Home’s Equity?

This time of year after a heavy rain-followed by a sunny day-we see these long-winged creatures flittering about. If you aren’t familiar with a damp-wood termite, you might think it’s just another fly-by-night pest. But in fact these little buggers are responsible for BILLIONS of dollars in damage to property each year.

Termite_450 These are a few of the unlucky damp wood termites who were caught by a little spider friend of mine at sundown. Damp-Wood termites typically venture out toward artificial light in the early evening hours. CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE A CLOSE-UP.

The process of termite "swarming" is in an effort to establish a new colony. Frequently, they will do so after a heavy rain followed by a sunny day. In the Bay Area peninsula where we live this is not relegated to any one time of the year as in other parts of the country. Our Indian summers make both the typical spring swarm as well as a fall swarm likely. What do you do if you also hate spiders too? Why call an exterminator of course.

The sign of a swam does not mean your home has termites. These critters will often fly from a neighbor’s yard, dead brush or tree. After they land, they will drop their wings and look for a place to nest. Once a male and female mate and a colony is established, they look nothing like their flying alter ego. They are a translucent-almost albino color-as compared to their flight suit of black, yellow or orange. Finding termites in or near a structure does not mean you have an immediate emergency since the rate at which damage occurs is relatively slow.

There are three common types of termites: Dry Wood, Damp-Wood and Subterranean. Subterranean termites follow much of the same swarming pattern as their larger cousins the Damp-Wood termite, though they are much smaller and more readily confused with ants. They too will drop their wings but fly much shorter distances in more of a glider style flight and are often simply carried with whichever way the wind is blowing.

If you’ve ever seen your car covered with little black wings you are more than likely seeing the result of a subterranean swarm-good thing they no longer makes cars of wood. Subterranean termites live in the ground, as opposed to damp-wood termites which typically live outdoors in dead trees, fences and wood retaining walls; while dry wood termites prefer to live in your walls, floor, ceilings and attic. In order to reach edible wood in your home, subterranean wood termites will build what is referred to as a "mud tube"

Subs

from the ground up until they reach their food supply-often, your home. Mud tubes are an easy indicator you may have subterranean termites eating away at your home’s equity. We’ve seen colonies of subterranean termites in the ground under trees where an ample supply of dead foliage keeps them well fed.

The most immediate home remedy and effective treatment for these cellulous devouring bugs is good old fashioned Windex. Windex_4 If you see a swarm landing near your home, this quick clean-up solution does the trick. Of course Windex is no long term solution to use. If you see any indication of termite activity, often noted by what appears to be "sand" (mixture of soil, feces, and saliva) on your floors, windowsills, walls of near vents, it’s a good idea to get a professional home exterminator to come out and treat your home with more effective chemicals.

Belmont Sales Activity-September 2007

In an effort to cut down on paper generated by our industry, as well as lower our overhead to continue to offer price matching of our services, and hopefully someday reach more customers, we have discontinued the mailing of our monthly sales updates for Belmont, and are posting the information on-line. This will enable us to provide more information than before and we hope this move towards virtual based services will positively impact our environment while allowing more people to contact us.

Please feel free to comment about the new forum we have implemented.

Click on the picture to see the full-size report on Belmont Sales.

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Carlmont Wins Another Distinguished School Award

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The schools in Belmont continue to receive accolades as Carlmont High School wins another distinguished school award as reported by the district.

The district went on to say, "Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, and Sequoia are three out of the 95 high schools designated Distinguished Schools in the State of California.  Schools were eligible to apply for the award based on curriculum, instructional program, and support for students and school climate.  The schools will maintain their title of Distinguished School until 2011."

That’s great news for Belmont, though it is increasingly difficult to get an intra-district transfer from another school to attend Carlmont; that spells challenges for the parents in parts of San Carlos who wish to send their children to Carlmont and are finding it impossible to do so now that the school is at capacity.

If you want to finds out if a home in San Carlos currently goes to Carlmont High School (boundaries can always change), log-on to their site and enter the San Carlos address you wish to search.

Drew & Christine Morgan Morganhomes.com

Visit our Real Estate Blog at ActiveRain.com

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.

Full Service vs. Limited Service Models

Full Service vs. Limited Service or Virtual Agents—Is There Room for Everyone?

The short answer is of course yes. Different sellers have different needs and abilities and some may choose a full service model and others limited or no service at all-the choices have been there all along. Yet the arrival of virtual Internet brokers has spawned a new ideology of it’s either "us or them".

House_keys_2 The very survival of limited service or virtual Internet brokers relies on two things: The first is they are able to convince everyone that paying a 6% compensation is the only alternative to their "discount" model, and the second is that they must convince their prospects that the minimum service they provide is all that is needed to sell a home; and everything else which a full service agent does is a waste of time and their money.

These assertions that they need you to believe are false. Frankly; it’s a bit surprising that the Department of Justice has not sought sanctions against this type of misinformation when the average real estate commission across the country is closer to 5.1%. One of the most misleading impressions that limited or virtual companies imply is that full service agents and discount agents are mutually exclusive-they aren’t.

The second scenario is one which needs more discussion. The premise that a limited service or on-line virtual broker can sell your home is not as questionable as the issue of for how much? Any homeowner wishing to "sell" their home could market it considerably below market value and so long as they were able to communicate to the public that their home was for sale, they would most certainly be able to sell it. How much money they may leave on the bargaining table and the repercussions during and after the close of escrow may linger long after the check has cashed.

Hiring a real estate agent is akin to a homeowner deciding how to do a remodel. As a homeowner you have the right to be your own general contractor; what you have to ask yourself is a) do you want to take that on (do you have the time and ability) and b) are you qualified-as in knowledgeable. You also have the right to hire the cheapest general contractor you can find. But why complain about more expensive ones when cheaper ones are available. Hire who you want–there are options.

See Part Two–Examining the Real Estate Models

Drew & Christine Morgan Morganhomes.com

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.

New Rules!

New Rules!

The following was inspired by Bill Maher’s hilarious "New Rules" on his show Real Time on HBO.

When everyone takes things too seriously, we can all use a little humor…

New Real Estate Rules:New_rules

  • Buyers–when working with discount or on-line brokers who don’t show property, stop complaining when the actual listing agent doesn’t accommodate your every whim-you’re getting a discount remember? Grow up-call your agent.
  • Sellers-stop thinking your home is better than everyone else’s-they can’t all be the best.
  • Agents-stop calling for access to listings that say "Vacant, GO DIRECT"-you’re wasting our time.
  • Title companies-start calling us when the deed records, not hours later. We’d much rather work with a professional organization than get free cookies at a sign off.
  • Lenders-you’re supposed to be forging lasting relationships, not devastating ones. Stop being short sided and do the right thing for your clients or Congress will do it for you.
  • America-stop repeating things so they’ll eventually become accepted fact–anyone remember "Weapons of Mass Destruction"?
  • That brings us back to on-line brokers-stop calling everyone but yourself "Traditional Agents"-most agents today are anything but traditional. From now on you’ll be called "Virtual Agents" and every one else a "Professional Agent".

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.

My Little town

Belmont Bragging Rights–Just for fun of course…

There’s just got to be a reason why people choose to pay more to live in one city over another..help me figure it out! (Tongue in cheek folks…)

We live in a little town called Belmont. We bought a home there because back then no one else was. That meant it was a lot less expensive than other towns. San Carlos is a nearby town that a lot of people like to live in; though the cost of owning a home is a lot more there. And the affordability seems disproportionate to their differences. People always said they wanted to live there for the schools; though recent school data suggests that either schools do not have as much impact on where people live as years ago or buyers aren’t reading about it. Is that because literacy in America is down? The schools in San Carlos have always been known for their superior academic excellence; recently however, Belmont has school test scores which have surpassed her neighboring town.

Perhaps it’s lower crime rate that buyers are using to justify paying more for a similar home? No one likes to have their house broken into or their car stolen-not in the suburbs-that’s why we moved there in the first place. But Belmont’s violent crime rate is lower than most of the country and lower than any city she borders-San Carlos included.

Is it perhaps that Belmont just isn’t good at promoting itself? What else could affect the allure of San Carlos over Belmont? According to the latest census results the folks in San Carlos on average make more money than the residents of Belmont–$9,000 a year more to be exact. That’s good too since the median home costs $122,000 more according to August 2007 reports.

Maybe it’s all those sidewalks. I’ve always loved sidewalks; they remind me of being a kid. It’s good to feel like a kid again, though I wouldn’t want to pay $122,000 more to do so. I think I’d rather save all that money and take more vacations to feel like a kid.

I like to eat too. San Carlos has a lot of good restaurants and a lot more to choose from than Belmont. Could it be that other people enjoy eating as much as I do and are willing to pay dearly for it? Though-last time I ate in a San Carlos restaurant I don’t remember them asking for my residency card when they offered me a table.

What could it be that draws people to San Carlos over Belmont? They do have a lot of nice flags-you know-the ones with flowers and a lot of colors that they fly everyday-as if to show the world that their town is more colorful than others.

It could be the streets. The streets in San Carlos are much more laid out like a grid pattern-straight and predictable. Belmont’s streets are just the opposite-unpredictable and like a small mountain town ought to be. Maybe that’s why there’s less crime? Everyone knows criminals aren’t that smart or they wouldn’t be doing what they do for a living. Maybe they just get lost going to Belmont.

It makes my wonder where they’d all live if there weren’t city boundaries? But which name would we use-Belmont or San Carlos? I guess San Carlos since it’s got a Spanish name like most people think bay area towns ought to have.

Whatever the reason I like our little town-as unpredictable as it is.

You can read more about our little town here in our blog BeautifulMountainBlog.org

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.