The Clark Report
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News, Culture, Self Deprecation
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April 2009 |
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Get Your PHX: Celebrity Restaurateur and Prizes at The Clarendon
Thanks again to Greg Esser and Cindy Dach for hosting a great Get Your PHX two weeks ago. It was a beautiful night! Check out incriminating photos of me here.  The April Get Your PHX is going to be ground breaking. The problem is that I have to adhere to a strict news embargo. So, I can only tell you a little bit for now. In short, this Get Your PHX involves famous restaurateurs, prizes and an exclusive glimpse at a new downtown venue. For those of you who have been around Central Phoenix for a while, you know that The Clarendon has gone through several restaurant concepts without finding quite the right fit. The rooftop bar is fantastic, the pool is the coolest in town and the rooms are great. But, they've had a hard time hitting their groove in the dining department. Well, the Clarendon's general manager Ben Bethel will allow me to say just this: one of Phoenix's best-know and successful restaurateurs is launching a new local neighborhood restaurant at the Clarendon in time for Get Your PHX.Rumors abound, but I will be one of the first to be allowed to tell you about it on April 6th only on the Clark Report Mini Group on Facebook. If you are not on that group, sign up here because it may be the only way you will find out about this. But, Ben feels bad that I can't yell this news from the rooftops in time for this Clark Report. So, he is offering to raffle three one-night stays at the Clarendon for anybody attending the April Get Your PHX. Each room is worth up to $250, depending on when you use it. April Get Your PHXThursday, April 16th from 5:30 to 7:30The new concept at The Clarendon401 West Clarendon AvenuePhoenix, Arizona 85013Please RSVP to me via email or through Facebook so I can get an accurate count. Also, if you heard my comments at the last Get Your PHX, you will recall that this is as much about you as anything. If you have suggestions for the next Get Your PHX, please let me know.
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Downtown Venue Review
Postino Central
5144 N. Central Ave.
I've always enjoyed the original Postino at 40th St. and Campbell. They had good wine and pleasant food. It's good news that the owners have opened Postino Central at 5144 N Central Ave.
However, it's sad that the old Katz's Deli at that same location had to close down to make room. Originally opened by David Katz in 1959, it survived until 2008. It was a mainstay for political lunches in town. According to the Jewish News, it was the spot for coffee meetings of the founders of the valley's first rabbinical council.
Something tells me that the building, at least, will stay on as a place for nosh and "zitzungen."
The Good: The Bruschetta with brie, apples and fig spread pretty much melts on the tongue. The Bad: Something about this restaurant's business model seems to include
forcing people to park in residential neighborhoods. I bet if they did
a franchise in Beverly Hills, they would inevitably irritate Bradgelina with the all the cars. The Ugly: Not applicable. Moira Sushi215 E. McKinley St. Phoenix, AZ 85004  I've been watching this spot and hearing about this opening for almost a year. The idea of walking to sushi from my house was so incredibly urbane and hip, it almost made even me a little queasy. After all that, I gotta say, "eh." Maybe I need to go again. The server did not know what was on the menu or how some things were prepared. I felt like the prices were much higher than they should be. Perhaps I was unfairly comparing it to the good old Ichiban at Thomas and Central, where the prices are more reasonable and the owner, Seth, actually comes to visit you at your table and (gasp!) smiles at his customers. The Good: Generous portions of Nigiri The Bad: The servers are a little slow and do not know all of the dishes. Leave lots of time. The Ugly: Sushi + walking distance from home = Poverty |
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Real Estate
I'm certain you are tired of reading market analysis. One day, the news says it's all going to hell in a hand basket. I trot out statistics that it is not. The next day the news says it is getting better. I say "I told you so." The next day the news is bad again and I look like a liar. Well, I guess we will see in good time (I still think I'm right, though). Until then, I've decided to show you some of the deals that I've seen while I've been out and about. I don't represent these sellers, but I can definitely help put you in the houses! Click on any image for exclusive access to my MLS portal. 1) 73 W. Edgemont I soooo want this house for myself! This is a foreclosure at only $200,000. It has some fix-ups. I walked around inside, and I'd estimate that you'd have to put in about $30,000, but you could definitely do it over several years. It is 2,220 sq. ft., plus a 600 sq. ft. guesthouse. $200k in Willo? Really? If it were me, I'd get in there and take my time fixing up whatever issues there are so I can just have this place! The buyers say they want cash only, but I'm certain we can work something out. Negotiate. It's what I do for my buyers. 2) 317 W. Vernon
I saw this home earlier this year during the Willo Home Tour. It was
not on the tour, officially, but it was open. I thought it was a
beautiful 1930 Tudor that is in perfect condition.
It is 1,400 square feet, with a very cute kitchen! It has a detached
garage, which is perfect for an office or guest house.
(Can you tell that I'm imagining myself in this?)
Compare this to 73 E. Edgemont, above. This is going for $399k in a down
market. The investment in Edgemont, after fix-ups, would get you an amazing home for between
$230k and $250k, and it is bigger!
You could win either way. Either a walk-in ready home now, or a home with a little work, but great investment potential. 3) Hialeah Condominiums Last November I stumbled on this condo complex of 20 units. It was built in 1964 and turned in to a condominium in 1980. In 2006 investors gutted it and replaced everything. They added nice appliances, Travertine tile, a new pool -the works! I was stunned because these 1,300 square foot places were going for $200,000 in 2007. Well, almost the entire place went into foreclosure in 2007. When I started looking at them in November, I could not in good conscience suggest my clients buy in, as only 4 out of 20 were owned and we did not know the state of the HOA. Well, since then, they've started selling because the HOA has started bringing in back-assessments and it has a new management company. Now about 11 of 20 are owned and others are pending. I just helped a client in to one of these for about $50,000. There are four remaining, ranging from $50k to $60k. So, at 5% APR with a 30-yr loan and 5% down, that comes to $300 per month, P&I. Add HOA fees, and you've got a 2 bedroom, 2 bath new place for about $500 per month! Can you say "investment?" You are two blocks from where the next leg of light rail will be built, up 19th Ave. 4) 2037 N. 9th St. I showed this home late last year. It is just about 1,300 sq. ft. It was $117k back then. Now it has actually gone up. Somebody came in, fixed up some of the issues that it had, which were mostly cosmetic, and they are trying to sell it now for $165k. I predict that price will come down! But this is a great house with a large back yard and it is very close to downtown. It's pretty much at McDowell and 7th St. This is a lot of home for a little price. Call me if you want to see these or more like them. |
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CenPho.tv
I'm going to let you in on a little secret: where I get good information about what is going on downtown.
Just promise me that you'll still read the Clark Report, now that you know how to get all the information yourself.
I check out CenPho.tv about every week. They get a big gold star on the Frigidaire of life for doing this web cast --this labor of love-- every week.
They deliver a consistent supply of useful information about city decisions, art and culture.
I think it represents the future of journalism in some ways -highly localized, professionally done but sill with a "neighbor next door" feeling.
Have a look.
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Reminder: Earth Day in the Garden
Don't forget about the The League of Conservation Voter's 3rd Annual Earth Day in the Garden on Sunday, April 19 this year at the Desert Botanical Gardens.
Just a reminder:
- Demonstrations from Smart Car, SRP, a.k.a. Green, Goodwill, and many others.
- We'll have refreshing beverages.
- Free admission to the Garden's soon-to-close Chihuly exhibit.
It's from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 19 - I hope to see you there!
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Suggested Reform #5 --Ranked Choice Voting
This is the final installment of my five-part series on legislative reforms that Arizona should consider in order to move in to the 21st Century.
So far, I've laid out a plan to increase legislative salaries while still getting value for the cost. I've spoken about improving the initiative process. I've made a case for why we need to hold both political parties' feet to the fire in order to get truly competitive districts. I think I've laid out a pretty good plan to reform term limits so that lobbyists and capitol insiders can't control the process so easily.
Now I want to introduce you to something called Ranked Choice Voting, a.k.a. an instant run-off election.
This is one of the concepts that works in some other countries such as Australia and Ireland. It is employed in some other states. It is growing in popularity and has the potential to force better law-making all over the country.
Unfortunately, it is much easier to understand once you do it than it is to explain it.
Basically, imagine if you could rank all of the candidates in any given election in the order that you prefer to see them win. Imagine if your first preference did not win, but your second preference did win. You would feel a lot better about the outcome of the election than you would if your choice was not represented at all.
Here is a link to a great website that explains how this works, with cool images and diagrams for those of you who understand things more visually, like me.
Here is an example.
Imagine five candidates for office: Ken Clark, Mickey Mouse, Mini Mouse, Casper the Ghost, Betty Boop and Bernie Madoff.
When you look at your ballot, you can write your preferences, 1 through 5, for each of the candidates. So, you might write Ken Clark, 1; Casper the Ghost, 2; Betty Boop, 3; Mini Mouse, 4; and Bernie Madoff, 5. (Hey, I can't help it.)
We have an election and we count all of the first preferences. The results are as follows:
33% of the voters had Ken as #1 preference.
22% of the voters chose Mini as #1 preference.
20% of the voters chose Casper as #1 preference.
20% of the voters chose Betty as #1 preference.
5% of the voters chose Bernie Madoff as #1 preference.
Nobody got 51% of the vote on this first round, so we eliminate the lowest vote getter (Bernie) and count the #2 preferences of those voters who's candidate was eliminated..
In other words, the voters who selected the eliminated candidate as their first choice will have their vote transferred to their second choice. The votes are recounted.
Once the votes are recounted, if any candidate has received more than 50% of the votes, he or she is declared the winner.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, the process of eliminating candidates and transferring votes is repeated until a candidate has a winning majority.
So, maybe after three rounds of voting, we get something like this:
49% of the voters had Ken as #1, #2 or #3 preference.
51% of the voters chose Mini as #1, #2 or #3 preference.
You thought I was going to make myself win, huh?
So, it seems complicated, but it makes so much sense once you see it in application. I worked the 2006 election in Australia and saw how it actually made fewer people feel left out of the process. You are more likely to know that one of your preferences got the job, rather than feeling like you were left out of the decision if your candidate did not take 51% of the vote right away.
Further, it forces the candidates to speak to a broader audience, rather than the fringes of their parties.
So, could this work in AZ? Of coure. Why not? We would have a more moderate legislature. Legislators would know that they need to speak to a broader audience and people would feel like their vote counted.
Learn more here about how a local group is trying to implement this reform at the city level in AZ in order to show how positive it is.
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Got any good downtown tips? Send 'em my way!
And, as always, I respect your right not to be bothered with annoying spam email. If you would like to be removed from my email list, just let me know. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Ken Clark
K. E. Clark Independent Consulting
  
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