Category Archives: Uncategorized

(Community Matters) . . . . increasingly seems likely, especially in light of rumored stress tests.

(Community Matters) I’m a fan of seriously considering for now failed, failing finanical institutions – at least recapturing performance compensation from corporate officers as far back as 2005.  nyt article here

(Community Matters) In today’s NYTimes editorial David Blakenhorn & Jonathan Rauch propose a compromise to gay marriage, providing for certain exclusions from antidiscrimination laws.

My thoughts: why the heck am I due one iotta less constitutional rights than the next American? Would America be better or worse off today if the rights of interracially married couples had been compromised? Perhaps Southern Baptists & Mormons would have been happier. Should that have been an objective in figuring out wrong from right?

(Community Matters) After this morning’s services, Nico & I joined his “friend, mom” in a quick visit to artist Kelly Fearing

Mr. Fearing, an esteemed emeritus member of UT’s art faculty, discussed his participation in the Ft. Worth Circle of Eight and gave us a bit of a tour of some of his art. Loved the story about India and his meditating self portrait.

(Community Matters) My youngest godson, Nico, became an acolyte at our church today.

(Community Matters) an Austin Lyric Opera fundraiser at Tana & Joe Christie’s last night

ALO soprano, Erika Wherzner, performed accompanied by Elden Little

Nicole & Carlos Lowenberg & Amalia Rodriquez-Mendoza co-hosted last night’s benefit, which was exquisitely intimate and fun. Steven’s still in Amsterdam, Michael was making the rounds, so Kip Keller and I attended together. Kevin Keim joined us, bringing a new friend Davis Niendorff. Also loved catching up with our favorite 4 1/2 year old, Lily Christie, her daddy, Charles, Martha Guerin (Tana & Joe have two John Guerins), Chris Fabre, Charles Gentry, David Lamping and many others. Must admit, I didn’t sample many digestifs last night given my oversampling on Friday at the Four Seasons with Kirk Rudy, Adrienne Donato, Wyeth Wiedeman, Ben Barnes & Trey Salinas.

(Community Matters) It’s a bit unbelievable that the light rail station at MLK/Featherlite is so very close to opening.

Six years ago, Tom & Lynn Meredith purchased the former Featherlite site (23 acres) and Tom formed our, then, small working group also including Richard Suttle, Juan Miro, Miguel Rivera, Kristen Gosset and Elisabeth Anderson. The original Chestnut Neighborhood Plan was tapped, and Tom established priorities for development at the site from the neighborhood plan – within a rubric of creating a destination location, an enviornmentally friendly and financially self sustaining development. The priorities included creating jobs, safe public spaces and helping preserve the neighborhood’s unique local culture while appealing to the broader Austin.

Amanda Chiampi & Harley

Development of the 64 unit Chestnut Commons was the first phase of this project

64 unit Chestnut Commons

The housing development was originally envisioned as an urban designed, affordable housing project. It did yield over $1,300,000 for affordable housing and it did attract young professionals who probably otherwise couldn’t have afforded to live in the central city. Despite the fact that the Meredith family donated the project’s four acres to the Austin Community Foundation which sold the land to the developer – sharing profits and reinvesting these in an affordable housing fund – the project wasn’t as affordable as estimated in 2003. Unexpected land reclamation costs (nearly $20k per unit) and wildly escalated building costs by 2006 resulted in a different project than originally envisioned. Though we were prepared to buy down costs by $13k to $25k and marketed exclusively within the Chestnut neighborhood for 60 days, we weren’t able to qualify 80% MFI buyers and lower. We did attract nonprofit professionals, civil servants, teachers, UT staffers, artists and young professionals. And, we created a $1,300,000 fund for to finance affordable housing.

$250,000 of the $1.3mm has been leveraged into $400k – $500k, invested into renovating the homes of elderly low income, long term Chestnut residents. The $250k was supplemented with a $50k Entrepreneurs Foundation grant, both further leveraged by the volunteer/discounted materials model of Habitat for Humanity.

The remaining $1million will be invested and substantially leveraged with other monies, providing deep affordability in Central East Austin.

rendering of the new PeopleFund/PeopleTrust building at MLK Cap Metro site

Phase III (the light rail station is phase II), includes three pad sites for nonprofits as well as a possible for=profit vertical mixed use building. PeopleFund/PeopleTrust (formerly the Austin Community Development Corporation) is the first to have broken ground. We expect to occupy our East Austin Opportunity Center sometime in late 2010, early 2011. It is being designed as a community center for east Austin entrepreneurial development with substantial meeting spaces for the community as well as our office site. The Austin Children’s Museum is discussing a satellite location, and the Sustainable Food Center would like to build its offices, kitchen and community gardens on the site as well.

There’s a phase IV (9 acres) with most of the frontage of MLK still to come, as well as an additional 7 acres of parkland just across the rail road tracts.

celebrated over lunch with Tom, Sarah, Lynn & Will Mereith, joined by Lauren & Natalie

Hugh kudos to the Merediths, especially Will who’s been sheparding this project for the last two years.

(Community Matters) I’m sorta speechless about a reported trend of remixing gay porn and Japanese music for dance videos.  and, oh yeah, something about injecting baby faces.

(Community Matters) A touching recollection and a telling observation.  here

(Community Matters) A day of mixed messages on the economy – overall, especially discouraging.

Nationally:

1. the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee said it may be necessary to nationalize some banks. The White House sought to ease concerns on bank privatization.
   
   
2. “I don’t remember any time, maybe even in the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast, quite so uniformly around the world,” said Paul Volcker, a top aide to Obama.
   
   
3. U.S. gold futures shot to a seven-month high above $1,000 an ounce, putting the benchmark gold contract within reach of the record high at $1,033.90 hit last April.
   here

4. “We witnessed the collapse of the financial system,” Soros said at a Columbia University dinner. “It was placed on life support, and it’s still on life support. There’s no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom.”
   here

(Community Matters) Among 700 local bar members, federal Judge Robert Pitman recognized as the most excellent local jurist.  here

(Community Matters) AT&T wanted $160 (after rebate) + 2 more years to replace my Blackberry b/c of the failed trackball.