General clips

1. "National Perspectives: On the Block in California"

The New York Times, June 10, 2007

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- On a foggy Sunday morning last month, the parking lots around the convention center here were filling fast.

The volume of the traffic downtown was not unusual. What was unusual was that the men directing the traffic were wearing tuxedoes.

The crowd — about 1,200 people looking for deep discounts in real estate — was decidedly less formal, in jeans and Dockers, shorts and sandals. The casual dress code concealed the fact that many were serious buyers carrying millions of dollars collectively into the hall in cash and cashier's checks.

They converged on an event the likes of which Californians have not seen in a decade: a large-scale auction of foreclosed homes.

2. "Model Homes and Model 'Families' "

The New York Times, June 18, 2006

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- FORTY miles north of Los Angeles, in an area where hundreds of homes are cropping up among the brushy, treeless hills, several dozen buyers recently found an odd spectacle in a new housing development.

To visitors, at first glance, it was like walking into a domestic scene starring Colin Farrell and Cameron Diaz.

As shoppers stepped through the front door of the largest model home, a barefoot affable man in his 30's shouted hello from the kitchen and offered juice to the buyers' children. His "wife" — slim, blonde and agreeable — pressed them to try some fresh-baked cookies. Their "children," 12 and 14, offered to show the visitors their rooms. A birthday card was propped on the mantel, and a chocolate layer cake with blown-out candles sat on the speckled granite countertop.

In truth, this cheerful family of four was a group of professional actors — paid to show buyers how life could be in the house, which is one of 166 units planned by Centex Homes of Dallas.

3. "National Perspectives: The Signs of a Cooling Market in California"

The New York Times, Nov. 19, 2006

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- ON A SCORCHING fall day, as Santa Ana winds thrashed the palm trees around the parking lot, Nick Victorio inspected his group of teenage recruits. His mission was to set down the rules for wrangling a real estate sign.

The arrow-shaped signs, at 2 by 6 feet, were wider than most of the new employees were tall, and Mr. Victorio told recruits not just to hold the signs, but to also spin them, flip them, even dance with them — whatever it would take to lure a home buyer.

“It's going to get windier than this out there,” Mr. Victorio said as a gust pushed the trees sideways. “If you don't drop it,” he said, “you're not working hard enough.”

As the housing market cools here in the exurbs of Los Angeles and elsewhere, builders are relying on the frantic motion of these young workers to catch the attention of a dwindling number of buyers. In some cities, it is common on weekends to see six or seven sign twirlers — “human directionals” in industry parlance — on a single street corner, pointing the way to sprawling fields of newly framed houses.

4. "A Parental Black Box for Young Drivers"

The New York Times, Aug. 22, 2002

CAMARILLO, Calif. -- LARRY SELDITZ flew missions in Vietnam, served as a test pilot for the Army and worked as chief operating officer for the Andy Granatelli auto racing organization. His current venture, selling black boxes to ambulance companies and police departments to monitor driving habits, is a natural extension of his experience with aircraft and fast driving.

But his next step comes from a different type of experience. His son, Jeff, will turn 16 in January, and this fall Mr. Selditz's company will start selling black boxes to monitor the driving habits of teenagers.

5. "E-Mail Finds the Rare Ear in Congress"

The New York Times, Dec. 13, 2001

IN THEORY, e-mail should be a useful tool for democracy, an easy and prompt way for citizens to reach their representatives. And with the fear and disruption resulting from the discovery of anthrax in Congressional mail, e-mail might seem an ideal alternative.

But although many members of Congress asked constituents to switch to e-mail after mail delivery to their offices was halted in October, the trend on Capitol Hill seems to be a backlash against the medium.

6. "Police Crack Down on Crack With Operation Hot Spots"

The Daily Report/Progress Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.), Feb. 4, 1990

IT'S 8 O'CLOCK on a Saturday night, and the drug trade is hopping in Pomona. The dealers know it. The buyers know it. The cops know it.

Twenty officers are out tonight in plain white cars. They aren't waiting for calls to come in; they're looking for trouble in the worst parts of the city.