Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com
Feb 2, 2011
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-most-miserable-cities-2011.html
Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the governor of California at the end of 2003 amid a wave of optimism that his independent thinking and fresh ideas would revive a state stumbling after the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.
The good vibes are a distant memory: The Governator exited office last month with the state facing a crippling checklist of problems including massive budget deficits, high unemployment, plunging home prices, rampant crime and sky-high taxes. Schwarzenegger's approval ratings hit 22% last year, a record low for any sitting California governor.
California's troubles helped it land eight of the 20 spots on our annual list of America's Most Miserable Cities, with Stockton ranking first for the second time in three years.
Located in the state's Central Valley, Stockton has been ravaged by the housing bust. Median home prices in the city tripled between 1998 and 2005, when they peaked at $431,000. Now they are back to where they started, as the median price is forecast to be $142,000 this year, according to research firm Economy.com, a decline of 67% from 2005. Foreclosure filings affected 6.9% of homes last year in the Stockton area, the seventh-highest rate in the nation, according to online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac.
Stockton's violent crime and unemployment rates also rank among the 10 worst in the country, although violent crime was down 10% in the latest figures from the FBI. Jobless rates are expected to decline or stay flat in most U.S. metro areas in 2011, but in Stockton, unemployment is projected to rise to 18.1% in 2011 after averaging 17.2% in 2010, according to Economy.com.
"Stockton has issues that it needs to address, but an article like this is the equivalent of bayoneting the wounded," says Bob Deis, Stockton city manager. "I find it unfair, and it does everybody a disservice. The people of Stockton are warm. The sense of community is fantastic. You have to come here and talk to leaders. The data is the data, but there is a richer story here."
There are many ways to gauge misery. The most famous is the Misery Index developed by economist Arthur Okun, which adds unemployment and inflation rates together. Okun's index shows the U.S. is still is in the dumps despite the recent gains in the economy: It averaged 11.3 in 2010 (blame a 9.6% unemployment rate and not inflation), the highest annual rate since 1984.
Our list of America's Most Miserable Cities goes a step further: We consider a total of 10 factors, things that people gripe about around the water cooler every day. Most are serious issues, including unemployment, crime and taxes. A few we factor in are not as critical, but still elevate people's blood pressure, like the weather, commute times and how the local sports team is doing.
One of the biggest issues causing Americans angst the past four years is the value of their homes. To account for that we tweaked the methodology for this year's list and considered foreclosure rates and the change in home prices over the past three years. Click here for a more detailed rundown of our methodology.
Florida and California have ample sunshine in common, but also massive housing problems that have millions of residents stuck with underwater mortgages. The two states are home to 16 of the top 20 metros in terms of home foreclosure rates in 2010. The metro area with the most foreclosure filings (171,704) and fifth-highest rate (7.1%) last year is Miami, which ranks No. 2 on our list of Most Miserable Cities.
The good weather and lack of a state income tax are the only things that kept Miami out of the top spot. In addition to housing problems (prices are down 50% over three years), corruption is off the charts, with 404 government officials convicted of crimes this decade in South Florida. Factor in violent crime rates among the worst in the country and long commutes, and it's easy to understand why Miami has steadily moved up our list, from No. 9 in 2009 to No. 6 last year to the runner-up spot this year.
California cities take the next three spots: Merced (No. 3), Modesto (No. 4) and Sacramento (No. 5). Each has struggled with declining home prices, high unemployment and high crime rates, in addition to the problems all Californians face, like high sales and income taxes and service cuts to help close massive budget shortfalls.
The Golden State has never looked less golden. "If I even mention California, they throw me out of the office," says Ron Pollina, president of site selection firm Pollina Corporate Real Estate. "Every company hates California."
Last year's most miserable city, Cleveland, fell back to No. 10 this year despite the stomach punch delivered by LeBron James when he announced his exit from Cleveland on national television last summer. Cleveland's unemployment rate rose slightly in 2010 to an average of 9.3%, but the city's unemployment rank improved relative to other cities, thanks to soaring job losses across the U.S. Cleveland benefited from a housing market that never overheated and therefore hasn't crashed as much as many other metros. Yet Cleveland was the only city to rank in the bottom half of each of the 10 categories we considered.
Two of the 10 largest metro areas make the list. Chicago ranks seventh on the strength of its long commutes (30.7 minutes on average--eighth-worst in the U.S.) and high sales tax (9.75%---tied for the highest). The Windy City also ranks in the bottom quartile on weather, crime, foreclosures and home price trends.
President Obama's (relatively) new home also makes the cut at No. 16. Washington, D.C., has one of the healthiest economies, but problems abound. Traffic is a nightmare, with commute times averaging 33.4 minutes--only New York is worse. Income tax rates are among the highest in the country and home prices are down 27% over three years.
And it does not get much more miserable than the sports scene in Washington. Beltway fans should be grateful for the NHL's Capitals, their only major pro team to finish out of the basement in the last two seasons. The Nationals (MLB), Redskins (NFL) and Wizards (NBA) have all finished in last place in their respective divisions the past two years.
America's Five Most Miserable Cities
No. 5: Sacramento, Calif.
No state taxes $50,000 of income like California, with a rate of 9.55% for that middle-class tax bracket. Sacramento is a one-team sports town, and that team has been awful in recent years. The NBA's Kings have won just 26% of their games the past two-plus seasons.
No. 4: Modesto, Calif.
The median home was valued at $275,000 in 2006; today it is $95,000. And don't leave your car on the street in Modesto, where 3,712 vehicles were stolen in 2009, making for the second-highest auto theft rate in the country. It ranked first in four of the previous five years.
No. 3: Merced, Calif.
The economic downturn and busted housing market hit Merced harder than any other area in the country. Average unemployment of 16.2% since 2008 is the highest in the U.S., as is the city's 64% drop in median home prices.
No. 2: Miami, Fla.
The sun and lack of a state income tax are the only things keeping Miami out of the top spot. Foreclosures hit one in 14 homes last year. Corruption is also off the charts, with 404 government officials convicted of crimes this decade in South Florida.
No. 1: Stockton, Calif.
Unemployment has averaged 14.3% the past three years, which is third worst in the country among the 200 largest metro areas. The housing market collapsed as well, with home prices down 58% over the same time. All the California cities on the list are struggling with the inherent problems the state is facing, including high sales and income taxes and service cuts to help close massive budget shortfalls.
Showing posts with label Gray Davis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gray Davis. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Eastwood's termination
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-clint26mar26,1,6197147.story
Eastwood's termination: 'Somebody got a bee under their bonnet'
The actor says he was surprised at his removal from the state parks board in the wake of his opposition to a toll road. But he says he holds no hard feelings toward Schwarzenegger.
By Michael Rothfeld
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 26, 2008
SACRAMENTO — After Clint Eastwood learned last week that his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer wanted him on the state parks commission, he spoke with Bobby Shriver, the governor's brother-in-law, who had also been dropped. Somewhat incredulous, they joked about it, each saying the other should be more offended.
"I talked to him the day we were not reappointed, or as Donald Trump would say, 'You're fired,' " Eastwood said in an interview, his gravelly impression of Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent producing a kind of Dirty Harry-meets-the Terminator effect.
"So we laughed about it," Eastwood said, "and I said, 'Me? But you're his brother-in-law!' and he said, 'But you're his friend and longtime mentor!' "
The governor has said that he decided not to reappoint the men, who were first named to the Park and Recreation Commission in 2001 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and reappointed by Schwarzenegger in 2004. He said their terms had expired and he wanted to give others a chance to serve.
But Eastwood and Shriver have attributed the governor's move to their opposition to a plan to build the Foothill South toll road through San Onofre State Beach, a park in Orange County that is popular for its surfing and scenery. The project was defeated by the California Coastal Commission in February.
"I think it was just somebody got a bee under their bonnet at the right moment, so there we are," Eastwood said. Of the governor, he added: "I guess he felt we were going to be guys who were going to be obstructionists for anything through state parks."
Schwarzenegger declined to be interviewed Tuesday. He and other supporters say the six-lane toll road, which would have run past the Trestles marine estuary, would have relieved traffic in Orange County. The governor also asserted that it would have reduced global warming.
Eastwood seemed at peace with last week's events. He said there are no hard feelings between him and Schwarzenegger, 60, a fellow Republican and "a friend of mine for a very long time."
But he seemed perplexed because his opposition to the road predated by more than two years the governor's endorsement of it in January. He said that he told Schwarzenegger long ago of his reservations and that the governor urged him to follow his conscience.
"You're not going to get people who are interested in state parks who want to build freeways through state parks," Eastwood said. "So I don't know what the big surprise was there."
Several environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Surfrider Foundation and the California State Parks Foundation, said they submitted a letter to state Senate leaders Tuesday requesting a hearing into the oversight of state parks. They based their request on Schwarzenegger's treatment of the two commissioners, his proposal to close 48 parks because of the state's fiscal crisis and his support for development in parks.
"It is difficult to recall any time in California's history when our world-class system of parks has been more at risk from a range of threats," says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Times. The governor's office said he has backed billions of dollars in spending to protect and preserve parkland.
Eastwood, 77, the former mayor of Carmel, has advocated for parks under four governors in both political parties, starting with George Deukmejian. He has made public service announcements and appearances, including one created by environmental groups opposing the toll road. In that clip, he spoke of surfing at San Onofre with James Arness of "Gunsmoke" fame and guys with nicknames like "Hammerhead," after he arrived in Los Angeles as a young man in the 1950s, before surfing was a craze.
Eastwood, who refers to himself as a conservationist, said he is by no means obstructionist. Though he agreed with the Coastal Commission on the toll road, he clashed with that board as recently as 2006, when it rejected a golf course and housing development that he and business partners had proposed at Pebble Beach, near his home in Monterey County. Adversaries in that fight praise his work for parks.
"From everything I saw, he was a terrific parks commissioner," said Peter Douglas, the Coastal Commission's executive director. "It just happened that when he was calling the shots on that project at Pebble Beach, he wasn't listening to what we were saying about what the law allows and doesn't allow. But that's behind us now."
Mark Massara, director of the Sierra Club's coastal programs, fought Eastwood on the Pebble Beach project and worked with him against the toll road. "He has a reverence for open space and public property," Massara said. "It's deep and abiding and sincere."
Although Eastwood said he first learned that he would not be reappointed from one of the governor's aides, Schwarzenegger called later and apologized that the situation had played out as it did. Eastwood said he told Schwarzenegger not to worry about it.
"I'm a grown person," Eastwood said. "I'm not a kid."
"The parks is a voluntary job, and it's just a job you do, when they need you. It was fun. . . . They make changes, and that's their prerogative. It's not like I need a day job."
michael.rothfeld@latimes.com
Eastwood's termination: 'Somebody got a bee under their bonnet'
The actor says he was surprised at his removal from the state parks board in the wake of his opposition to a toll road. But he says he holds no hard feelings toward Schwarzenegger.
By Michael Rothfeld
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 26, 2008
SACRAMENTO — After Clint Eastwood learned last week that his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer wanted him on the state parks commission, he spoke with Bobby Shriver, the governor's brother-in-law, who had also been dropped. Somewhat incredulous, they joked about it, each saying the other should be more offended.
"I talked to him the day we were not reappointed, or as Donald Trump would say, 'You're fired,' " Eastwood said in an interview, his gravelly impression of Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent producing a kind of Dirty Harry-meets-the Terminator effect.
"So we laughed about it," Eastwood said, "and I said, 'Me? But you're his brother-in-law!' and he said, 'But you're his friend and longtime mentor!' "
The governor has said that he decided not to reappoint the men, who were first named to the Park and Recreation Commission in 2001 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and reappointed by Schwarzenegger in 2004. He said their terms had expired and he wanted to give others a chance to serve.
But Eastwood and Shriver have attributed the governor's move to their opposition to a plan to build the Foothill South toll road through San Onofre State Beach, a park in Orange County that is popular for its surfing and scenery. The project was defeated by the California Coastal Commission in February.
"I think it was just somebody got a bee under their bonnet at the right moment, so there we are," Eastwood said. Of the governor, he added: "I guess he felt we were going to be guys who were going to be obstructionists for anything through state parks."
Schwarzenegger declined to be interviewed Tuesday. He and other supporters say the six-lane toll road, which would have run past the Trestles marine estuary, would have relieved traffic in Orange County. The governor also asserted that it would have reduced global warming.
Eastwood seemed at peace with last week's events. He said there are no hard feelings between him and Schwarzenegger, 60, a fellow Republican and "a friend of mine for a very long time."
But he seemed perplexed because his opposition to the road predated by more than two years the governor's endorsement of it in January. He said that he told Schwarzenegger long ago of his reservations and that the governor urged him to follow his conscience.
"You're not going to get people who are interested in state parks who want to build freeways through state parks," Eastwood said. "So I don't know what the big surprise was there."
Several environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Surfrider Foundation and the California State Parks Foundation, said they submitted a letter to state Senate leaders Tuesday requesting a hearing into the oversight of state parks. They based their request on Schwarzenegger's treatment of the two commissioners, his proposal to close 48 parks because of the state's fiscal crisis and his support for development in parks.
"It is difficult to recall any time in California's history when our world-class system of parks has been more at risk from a range of threats," says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Times. The governor's office said he has backed billions of dollars in spending to protect and preserve parkland.
Eastwood, 77, the former mayor of Carmel, has advocated for parks under four governors in both political parties, starting with George Deukmejian. He has made public service announcements and appearances, including one created by environmental groups opposing the toll road. In that clip, he spoke of surfing at San Onofre with James Arness of "Gunsmoke" fame and guys with nicknames like "Hammerhead," after he arrived in Los Angeles as a young man in the 1950s, before surfing was a craze.
Eastwood, who refers to himself as a conservationist, said he is by no means obstructionist. Though he agreed with the Coastal Commission on the toll road, he clashed with that board as recently as 2006, when it rejected a golf course and housing development that he and business partners had proposed at Pebble Beach, near his home in Monterey County. Adversaries in that fight praise his work for parks.
"From everything I saw, he was a terrific parks commissioner," said Peter Douglas, the Coastal Commission's executive director. "It just happened that when he was calling the shots on that project at Pebble Beach, he wasn't listening to what we were saying about what the law allows and doesn't allow. But that's behind us now."
Mark Massara, director of the Sierra Club's coastal programs, fought Eastwood on the Pebble Beach project and worked with him against the toll road. "He has a reverence for open space and public property," Massara said. "It's deep and abiding and sincere."
Although Eastwood said he first learned that he would not be reappointed from one of the governor's aides, Schwarzenegger called later and apologized that the situation had played out as it did. Eastwood said he told Schwarzenegger not to worry about it.
"I'm a grown person," Eastwood said. "I'm not a kid."
"The parks is a voluntary job, and it's just a job you do, when they need you. It was fun. . . . They make changes, and that's their prerogative. It's not like I need a day job."
michael.rothfeld@latimes.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
