Story and Image via OC Weekly

Long Beach Museum of Art

Bureaucracy is the killer of good ideas, but a foundation is finally paying for the little guy. Thanks to the LA County Arts Commission, the Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) offers free admission to all guests every Friday. Like many of its peers, the LBMA can be hit or miss depending on its current exhibit. But with money taken care of, art-lovers and those simply looking for something different to do can enjoy Southern California’s best-kept, artsy secret. Even with bare walls, the LBMA is worth visiting. Its majestic location atop a bluff overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and the museum is a renovated 1912 home whose property includes a fountain, cafe, and views of the Queen Mary and the Port of Long Beach. The two current exhibits feature portraits from more than 35 artists. And even if they suck, at least you got in for free.

Story and image via Long Beach Post

11:30am | Sounds like a joke. And maybe it is. Because really, is there anything especially interesting about seeing a 340-ton rock in a world that’s full of them?

You’ll be seeing some news coverage of the rock as it rolls through Long Beach — like it’s going to do something, right? It’s a rock! Unless it escapes its moorage (or whatever you call a rock’s being secured to a 200-foot-long truck) and goes on a crushing rampage, is this really news?

In case you haven’t heard about the Riverside boulder that Time magazine is calling “probably the most popular piece of granite on the planet” (kudos on the rhyme — but “probably”? It’s got competition?!), it may be the biggest human movement of a single stone since the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. The rock is taking a 22-city tour (that makes me giggle: the rock is on tour, tee-hee) on its way to L.A., where it will star as the mass in Levitated Mass, a new exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

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Where are homes for sale moving faster and getting better pricing? Seal Beach of Los Alamitos?

For the 22 business days ending Feb. 10 — latest DataQuick stats — here how the traditional homebuying season starts to get in gear in early February …

SEAL BEACH

• 9 Seal Beach residences sold vs. 6 deals closed in the matching period a year ago — a 50.00% increase over the past 12 months.
• Countywide sales increased 1.25% in the same period.
• $724,000 was the Seal Beach median selling price. That is down 9.22% in the year.
• Countywide median selling price of $388,000 was down 6.51% in the year.
• Seal Beach home sales were 0.43% of total Orange County sales in the period vs. 0.29% a year ago.

LOS ALAMITOS

For the 22 business days ending Feb. 10 — latest DataQuick stats …

• 11 Los Alamitos residences sold vs. 10 deals closed in the matching period a year ago — a 10.00% increase over the past 12 months.
• Countywide sales increased 1.25% in the same period.
• $595,000 was the Los Alamitos median selling price. That is down 2.38% in the year.
• Countywide median selling price of $388,000 was down 6.51% in the year.
• Los Alamitos home sales were 0.52% of total Orange County sales in the period vs. 0.48% a year ago.

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It’s a Cinderella story that once had a dark side.

Brett Guidry, who grew up in Seal Beach, said he has a lot to be thankful for.

He recently won the Power106 “Who’s Next” Competition, rising to the top of a field of more than 1,200 other music aspirants.

“They will be playing one of my songs during their ‘New At 2’ segment. They will also be flying me and my team out to Austin, Texas on March 15 to open up for Major Hip Hop artist J. Cole at the SXSW Music Festival.”

Thing were not always so bright for Guidry.

After his father passed away, Guidry said he went down the wrong path in life.

“I found solace on the streets and became hooked on drugs at a very early age,” the 26-year-old man said. Guidry, who goes by the stage name Imprint, said he began “chasing a criminal lifestyle as a way to buffer my own problems.”

He eventually ended up in jail and nearly faced a six-year prison sentence.

With nothing but time on his hands, Guidry began to do some soul searching.

“I realized a change needed to happen,” he said. For Guidry, whose mother, Jackie Guidry had worked as the secretary to the Seal Beach city manager, the change came from his lifelong interest in music—particularly hip hop.

He said it was not until he found his own brand of “West Coast swagger” that he finally found a way to channel his aggressions into a more positive light and one that now included a devotion to God.

Guidry began honing his craft in a rehabilitation center, Imprint cemented his now lifelong goal.

As a member of what he calls “the Mash Down Babylon community,” Guidry quickly embraced this new lifestyle and attacked the microphone with a zeal and a style that he unabashedly said drove other acts into envy. After the release of his first album in January of 2011, “The First Impression” this undoubtedly made it’s mark and set Guidry apart from his contemporaries.

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When I moved out of my parents’ house and into my freshman dorm room, I had no idea that my existing concept of “home” would change so dramatically. Throughout college and my first few years in the real world, I found a reason to move every single year. Yes, really — nine times in nine years, always during the summer, and never without a flight of stairs on at least one end. It’s a small wonder no one was ever seriously hurt on account of my furniture.

As I grew a little older (and a wee bit more mature), I was feeling like a permanent nomad and longed to live somewhere for a matter of years — not months — that actually felt like a home. Not to mention, as I started to create a professional life, it felt a little less-than-professional coming home to a noisy apartment complex where I had to battle for a parking space.

But before I was officially ready to take the home-ownership plunge, I reached out to my family and friends for advice and spent some time doing research online. This was overwhelming to say the least — there’s a lot of information out there, and a lot of opinions on the best route to take. Nevertheless, I’m glad I did it. I learned about mortgage options, escrow accounts and HOA fees, and doing my own research gave me a good look at the entire process and a better idea of what to anticipate.

And then, the search began.

It took several months and a minor emotional roller coaster, but I closed on my first house in early 2009. It was a three bedroom, two bath built in the 1950s and completely restored. I loved the house, the neighborhood and, let’s be honest, the fact that I wouldn’t be renting a U-Haul any time soon.

The process wasn’t always the smoothest, and it probably isn’t for any first-time home buyer. But looking back, there are five key pieces of advice that I would share with anyone just starting the search. Here’s what you should know now, that I didn’t know then.

1. The right Realtor will lead you to the right house
I didn’t want to pick a real estate agent out of the blue, and found mine through a mutual family friend. We hit it off immediately — I trusted her and had full confidence in her skills. More importantly, she listened (to everything!). I never had to repeat my preferences and I wasn’t pressured into anything.

This, however, is definitely not everyone’s experience. I can’t stress enough how important it is to choose someone who you feel completely comfortable with, who listens to your priorities and your concerns, and who has your best interests at heart. Not only is this a major life decision, but you’re going to be spending a lot of time with this person.

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No longer will children with disabilities have to sit on the sidelines longing to play with their peers at Mayfair Park.

On Wednesday, Lakewood unveiled its first disability inclusive Boundless Playground at the park at 5720 Clark Ave.

Since 1997, Boundless Playgrounds has been the leading national nonprofit developer of nearly 200 inclusive playgrounds in 31 states and Canada.

More than 100 projects are under development, but this is the first such playground in Lakewood.

“We already have several playgrounds with accessible features, but this will be our most accessible playground for kids of all abilities from ages 5 to 12,” said Mayor Larry Van Nostran. “And, this will be our city’s first inclusive playground with American with Disabilities Act accessible ramps to the play structure. We’re very excited about that.”

Also known as the Tread Town Playground, its foundation, which was constructed from recycled rubber, provides a universally-accessible surface that allows children with and without disabilities and their caregivers to navigate the playground freely and safely. There is ramped wheelchair access to the highest platforms, and it features an inclusive Tread Town tire swing, state-of-the art solid harness swings for children who need additional back support, and several other cutting-edge fitness and educational-based activities.

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“Open me for curiouser and curiouser surprises.” -Lewis Carroll

As a sign that LivingHomes are the homes of the future, just look at the quote inscribed on the front door handle, said Steve Glenn, founder and CEO of LivingHomes who pointed out the inscription during a tour last Friday of one of the homes on display in the parking lot outside Long Beach’s Terrace Theater.

“We are taking green to a whole new level,” Glenn said. “And, we are emphasizing affordability.”

LivingHomes is the premier developer of modern, sustainable, prefabricated homes. The latest model, C6, is designed to be low-cost and meet LEED Platinum level design standards. A version of the C6, a modern three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, was unveiled last Friday to coincide with the TED conference taking place Feb. 27 through March 2 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.

Public tours of the C6 LivingHome, which is available for purchase, will take place daily through Saturday (visit livinghomes.net/thdlivinghome for details).

The C6 LivingHome in Long Beach is the company’s first zero-energy, zero-carbon production home with LEED Platinum status, Glenn said. Every detail inside the home (from energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances; furnishings, flooring and other building materials made from recycled products; and low-flow water systems) has been made green, or “as close to zero” as possible.

“We are targeting customers who want to be as close as possible to zero,” Glenn said. “These homes use a minimum amount of energy, minimum water for irrigation, have zero emissions, zero carbon, zero waste. And, we want to educate people so that there’s zero ignorance.”

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Story and image via msnbc.com

Sales of previously owned homes surged in January to the fastest pace since May 2010 in another sign that the housing market is slowly making some headway against its longest dip since the Great Depression.

The National Association of Realtors, a industry trade group, reported Wednesday that existing-home sales — the lion’s share of the housing market — rose 4.3 percent in January. The equates to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million homes, which is still well below the 6 million pace that economists say is needed for a healthy housing market.

“Overall this is not such a bad number. It’s reflective of a better jobs market, but the improvement is going to be in fits and starts,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, U.S. economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

First-time buyers, who are critical to a recovery, increased slightly to 33 percent of sales. In healthy markets, first-time buyers make up at least 40 percent.

Homes at risk of foreclosure made up 35 percent of sales last month, up from 32 percent in December.

The tenor of the report was weakened somewhat by a sharp downward revision to December’s sales data to show only a 4.38 million-unit rate rather than the previously reported 4.61 million-unit pace.

That followed an annual revision of the seasonal factors for the series going back three years. Sales in December actually fell 0.5 pct from November, instead of the 5 percent increase reported last month.

There were no revisions to monthly prices and inventory data. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to a 4.65 million-unit sales pace.

Still, the report was the latest to add to tentative signs of improvement in the housing market. The inventory of unsold homes on the market is shrinking.

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(MONEY Magazine) — Lean times call for budgetary triage. But while you should clearly opt for orthodontics before Disneyland, the choice is tougher when it comes to home maintenance.

Should you get a paint job or a new furnace? “There’s no homeowner’s manual that tells you when to do what,” says Naperville, Ill., home inspector and structural engineer Mark Waldman.

Emergencies aside, the project that could cause the most damage and expense if left unfixed is the priority. Below, the order in which to tackle your biggest repair needs.

Wiring problems claim the No. 1 spot for good reason: They can lead to fires and electrocution. “That trumps everything,” says Waldman.

Danger signs: Circuit breakers that trip frequently, lights that dim when you turn on the vacuum or outlets that are loose, hot, or accept only two-prong plugs.

How to check: Spend $300 to $500 for a licensed electrician to open up your main panel to look for trouble and to tighten any loose connections. He’ll also spot-check switches, outlets and light fixtures to ensure that the wiring is in safe working order.

Replacement cost: $4,000 to $10,000 to rewire the house.

Prolong its life: Flip every circuit breaker off and on again once a year to prevent corrosion. Add new circuits ($100 to $500 each) to take the heaviest electrical loads, like window air conditioners, off the old wires.

Structural problems downstairs mean shifting and cracking upstairs — at the very least — so there’s little point in doing other repairs until you’ve fixed the building’s foundation.

Danger signs: Bowed or split beams, rotted posts, piles of sawdust (evidence of wood-boring insects), tiny mud trails (indications of termites), or large cracks in the masonry foundation — especially if the cracks are horizontal, which tends to indicate a bigger problem.

How to check: A contractor will usually take a look free of charge. If he recommends significant repairs, hire a home inspection engineer (find one at nabie.org) to investigate ($350 to $500).

Replacement cost: Major foundation work can cost $3,500 to $8,000; new posts or beams could run $1,200 to $2,500.

Prolong its life: Water is the cause of cracked concrete, rotten timbers and wood-eating pests. So keep your basement dry by making sure the landscape slopes away from the house and maintaining the next two items on the list: the roof and gutters.

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Where you live affects who you date—and who will absolutely refuse to date you. In honor of Valentine’s Day, the real estate website Trulia commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey looking at the intersection of attitudes about housing and romance. Are homeowners regarded as “marriage material” more so than noncommital renters? Are people more interested in potential mates if they live alone? Just how bad is your love life impacted if you live with your parents? When it comes to dating and housing, what’s hot and what’s not?

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