The Coast - A Collaboration At BIG ARTS Features Evening of Photography, Music and Poetry.

by Gordon Campbell

The Coast – A Collaboration, an evening of photography, music and poetry featuring Charles Sobczak, a Sanibel writer, and his son, Logan Sobczak, a composer, will take place at BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery Thursday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. There is a suggested $5 donation at the door.

The evening includes a presentation of some of the best nature photography ever taken. Charles will present spoken prose followed by a composition inspired by that work, and, conversely, Logan will play a piece and Charles will read a poem based on the music. A question-and-answer session with wine and cheese will follow.

          Charles Sobczak is a well-known writer whose works include Six Mornings on Sanibel, Way Under Contract, Living Sanibel – A Nature Guide to Sanibel & Captiva Islands, and, most recently, A Nature Guide to Southwest Florida, which has been chosen as a finalist for the President’s Book Award by the Florida Publisher’s Association.

          Logan Sobczak is a recent graduate of University of Florida. He holds double majors in philosophy and political science and plans to continue his education at the Chicago Art Institue in 2012. He has played piano since he was 12 and started writing original compositions shortly thereafter.

Source: Island Sun (11/04/11)

Renters Spent 5% More Than Homeowners

NEW YORK – Oct. 27, 2011 – Rising rents are forcing renters to outspend homeowners on housing costs, according to a new study.

Since 2005, homeowners’ housing expenses have climbed from 31.9 percent of their household budget to 33.2 percent. In that same time period, renters’ expenses have jumped from 35.6 percent to 38.4 percent, according to the October CoreLogic U.S. Housing and Mortgage Trends.

In the last 26 years, homeowners have increased the amount they spend on household expenses by 12 percent while renters have increased it by 22 percent, according to the study.

Growth picture enjoys uptick

WASHINGTON – Oct. 25, 2011 – Economists have significantly raised their estimates of third-quarter economic growth ahead of the government’s official report Thursday, easing near-term fears of another recession.

A consensus of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News estimates the economy grew at a still-modest 2.5 percent annual pace last quarter, up from their 1.8 percent projection less than two weeks ago. The brighter picture follows better-than-expected data on retail sales, manufacturing, jobs and business investment.

“We should take some comfort that the economy isn’t hurtling into recession,” says Capital Economics’ Paul Ashworth. Ashworth estimates third-quarter growth was 3.2 percent.

That’s not robust, but it beats the anemic expansion of less than 1 percent the first half of 2011. Amid last summer’s debt battle in Congress, the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and financial turmoil in Europe, many analysts thought the U.S. was on the verge of another downturn.

Since Oct. 3, 10-year Treasury yields have risen nearly half a percentage point, indicating growth prospects are prompting a shift of money to higher-risk assets, says market strategist Anthony Valeri of LPL Financial.

Source: Inman News (10/18/11)

Homeownership rate second highest on record

WASHINGTON – Oct. 25, 2011 – The homeownership rate is at its second-highest level on record, only behind the record high set in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which began collecting homeownership data in 1890.

By region, the homeownership rate is:

• Midwest: 69.2 percent
• South: 66.7
• Northeast: 62.2
• West: 60.5

Nearly every metro area had more homeowners than renters in 2010. The metro areas with the highest homeownership rates were in Michigan and Florida. Monroe, Mich., had the highest percentage of owner-occupied units at 79.8 percent, followed by Punta Gorda, Fla., at 79.7 percent.

Source: Inman News (10/18/11)

Florida’s existing home and condo sales up in September

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 20, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued their upswing in September, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 10 percent last month with a total of 15,036 homes sold statewide compared to 13,723 homes sold in September 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

“One of the most overlooked statistical trends in all of real estate is the growth in home sales, both single-family and condo, in the state of Florida,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “We’ve seen an upward trend in sales since January 2011, and September’s sales were a full 10 percent above September 2010. Even prices, which have been static over the past few months, are well above where they were in January 2011.

Source: Inman News (10/18/11)

Best day to list real estate for sale: Friday

SEATTLE – Oct. 20, 2011 – After analyzing 1.2 million listings in 16 markets across the country for 21 months, Redfin found that sellers have a better chance of moving their homes off the market if they list them on a Friday.

The brokerage says the study indicates that Friday listings are 12 percent more likely to change hands within 90 days. Additionally, 94.4 percent of properties listed on a Thursday or Friday sold close to the list price; in contrast, only 93.3 percent of those listed on a Sunday or Monday sold close to the list price.

Friday listings were 18.8 percent more likely than Sunday or Monday listings to be toured, with Redfin noting that “homes listed on Fridays are the freshest in buyers’ minds when they’re making their weekend plans.” Buyers also prefer to visit the newest listings first to beat the competition.

The study’s conclusion: “More tours leads to more offers, and more offers leads to a better price and a better chance of selling.”

Source: Inman News (10/18/11)

Celebrate Seven Days of ‘Ding’ during ‘Ding’ Darling Days at the Refuge

By SHANNEN HAYES (shayes@breezenewspapers.com) , Island Reporter, Captiva Current, Sanibel-Captiva Islander

Technology in the Outdoors Day, mascot meet-and-greets, a film festival, Celebrate Calusa Day and author lectures will add excitement to this year's "Ding" Darling Days at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

The 22nd annual event kicks off Sunday, Oct. 16 with Family Fun Day, where three refuge characters the Blue Goose, Bagzilla and Teddy Roosevelt will get the party started and greet families for photo opportunities beginning at 11 a.m. Anticipate a surprise appearance from a fourth well-loved character.

Sunday's highlights include free narrated Tarpon Bay Explorers tram tours of the refuge; live snake, bat and bald eagle presentations; and face painting, nature crafts, a butterfly house and touch tank demonstrations. The refuge and "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge have planned this day of family fun jam-packed with activities for all ages at no charge.

"We estimate the value of this free event to be around $72 per child," noted "Ding" Days committee co-chair Ranger Toni Westland. "But the value of family and nature bonding is priceless."

Inspired by "Ding" Darling Refuge's new iNature Trail along Wildlife Drive, the weeklong "Ding" Darling Days will debut Technology in the Outdoors on Monday, Oct. 17 a day off for public school children.

Special tours and demonstrations will introduce visitors to the 10-station iNature Trail, where smartphones and tablets are used to scan the QR codes and connect with interactive YouTube videos for a free ranger-narrated tour.

Other demonstrations combining gadgets with nature include GPS-based Earth caching at the refuge and the education center's eBird Trail Tracker computer, where guests can identify birds and their songs and enter their refuge sightings. Throughout the day, visitors can watch short films featuring seven of the 550-plus refuges worldwide. Films begin every hour on the hour starting at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Eduction Center.

The new Celebrate Calusa Day on Wednesday, Oct. 19 will feature a Calusa Quest presentation by a team from "Ding" Darling, the Mound House on Fort Myers Beach and the Randell Research Center on Pine Island. A tour of the refuge's newly renovated Calusa Shell Mound Trail, guided by Calusa experts Ann and Bill Wollschlager, will follow the presentation.

'Ding" Days will also host two author lectures, new this year. Island historian Charles LeBuff will host a lecture and sign copies of his latest book "Images of America: J.N. 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge," as part of Refuge Discovery Day. This free lecture will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 in auditorium of the Education Center.

In addition, refuge staff will introduce a part of the refuge most people don't know about its beach side at Perry Tract. At 9 a.m., refuge ranger will lead a narrated beach walk from Gulfside Park, which is adjacent to the refuge tract. The beach walk is free, but there is a $2 per hour city parking fee at Gulfside Park.

Throughout Discovery Day, visitors can join a narrated Refuge Birding Tour Caravan along Wildlife Drive for $5 per vehicle, plus receive discounted kayaking tours and sea life cruises from Tarpon Bay recreation area.

To finish off the seven days of "Ding," a Duck Stamp Artists presentation once again headlines Saturday's Conservation Art Day, which also includes a photography tram tour and nature art activities with free nature journals and art supplies.
"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge sponsors "Ding" Darling Days with support from Tarpon Bay Explorers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other private and business partners.

"We use no government funding because of our amazing partnerships," said Westland. "We couldn't do it without the Friends group and the community's support."

For a full "Ding" Darling Days schedule, visit www.dingdarlingdays.com or call 472-1100.