Friday, March 17, 2006

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is not a bank holiday, but most Americans celebrate it with gusto anyway. What is St. Patrick's Day and what does it mean to Americans? Here are some ideas, courtesy of research by the U.S. Census.
March is Irish-American Heritage Month, and March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. He was the saint who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, and March 17 is the day that St. Patrick is believed to have died.
The day is chosen for many Americans to celebrate their Irish lineage, and although it isn't an official federal holiday, many communities participate in the fun with parades and other celebrations. The reason? About 34.5 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry (roughly nine times the population of Ireland itself (4.1 million.)
Here are some of other facts for your "Top 'o the mornin'":
Nearly one in four (24 percent) Massachusetts residents claim Irish ancestry -- about double the national percentage. (Source: American FactFinder)
In three states, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Irish is the leading ancestry. The number one ancestry named by U.S.residents is German. Irish is among the top-five ancestries in every state but two (Hawaii and New Mexico). (Source: U.S. Census)
About 25,870 U.S. residents speak Irish Gaelic at home (Source: U.S. Census)
There are about 128,000 U.S. residents who were born in Ireland, excluding people living in group quarters. (Source: American FactFinder)
Since 1820, the earliest year for which official immigration records exist, there have been 4.8 million Irish immigrants lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. By fiscal year 1870, about half of these immigrants were admitted for lawful permanent residence. Only Germany, Mexico, Italy and the United Kingdom have had more immigrants admitted for permanent residence to the United States than Ireland. (Source: Department of Homeland Security Table 1)
Four places in the United States are named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,821 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 162 residents and Shamrock, Okla., 126. (Statistic for Mount Gay-Shamrock is from Census 2000; the other statistics in this paragraph are 2004 estimates.) (Source: American FactFinder and Census.gov)
Nine U.S. burbs are named after Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Since Census 2000, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin,Ohio, as the most populous of these places (36,995 compared with 34,301, respectively, as of July 1, 2004). (Source: American FactFinder and Census.gov)
Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish. The corned beef celebrants dine on may very well have originated in Texas, which produced 7.3 billion pounds worth of beef, while the cabbage most likely came from California, which produced 558 million pounds worth. In 2004, the U.S. produced 41.5 billion & 2.5 billion U.S. beef and cabbage production, respectively, in pounds. (Source USDA)
About 93.3 million people planned to wear green last St. Patrick's Day. (Source: National Retail Federation, via Hallmark.)
On St. Patrick's Day, you may be able to order green-dyed beer at one of the nation's 48,050 drinking places, some of which may be Irish pubs. In one of them I will be sipping a Guinness. Have a good weekend.

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is not a bank holiday, but most Americans celebrate it with gusto anyway. What is St. Patrick's Day and what does it mean to Americans? Here are some ideas, courtesy of research by the U.S. Census.
March is Irish-American Heritage Month, and March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. He was the saint who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, and March 17 is the day that St. Patrick is believed to have died.
The day is chosen for many Americans to celebrate their Irish lineage, and although it isn't an official federal holiday, many communities participate in the fun with parades and other celebrations. The reason? About 34.5 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry (roughly nine times the population of Ireland itself (4.1 million.)
Here are some of other facts for your "Top 'o the mornin'":
Nearly one in four (24 percent) Massachusetts residents claim Irish ancestry -- about double the national percentage. (Source: American FactFinder)
In three states, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Irish is the leading ancestry. The number one ancestry named by U.S.residents is German. Irish is among the top-five ancestries in every state but two (Hawaii and New Mexico). (Source: U.S. Census)
About 25,870 U.S. residents speak Irish Gaelic at home (Source: U.S. Census)
There are about 128,000 U.S. residents who were born in Ireland, excluding people living in group quarters. (Source: American FactFinder)
Since 1820, the earliest year for which official immigration records exist, there have been 4.8 million Irish immigrants lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. By fiscal year 1870, about half of these immigrants were admitted for lawful permanent residence. Only Germany, Mexico, Italy and the United Kingdom have had more immigrants admitted for permanent residence to the United States than Ireland. (Source: Department of Homeland Security Table 1)
Four places in the United States are named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,821 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 162 residents and Shamrock, Okla., 126. (Statistic for Mount Gay-Shamrock is from Census 2000; the other statistics in this paragraph are 2004 estimates.) (Source: American FactFinder and Census.gov)
Nine U.S. burbs are named after Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Since Census 2000, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin,Ohio, as the most populous of these places (36,995 compared with 34,301, respectively, as of July 1, 2004). (Source: American FactFinder and Census.gov)
Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish. The corned beef celebrants dine on may very well have originated in Texas, which produced 7.3 billion pounds worth of beef, while the cabbage most likely came from California, which produced 558 million pounds worth. In 2004, the U.S. produced 41.5 billion & 2.5 billion U.S. beef and cabbage production, respectively, in pounds. (Source USDA)
About 93.3 million people planned to wear green last St. Patrick's Day. (Source: National Retail Federation, via Hallmark.)
On St. Patrick's Day, you may be able to order green-dyed beer at one of the nation's 48,050 drinking places, some of which may be Irish pubs. In one of them I will be sipping a Guinness. Have a good weekend.

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

"The SACOG Report

The rate of growth may have slowed a little this last year but the long-term population projections for the Capital Region is frightening.
Rusty Dupray, is a El Dorado County Supervisor and chairman of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG). According to Rusty the organization has been working with area planners to cope with the expected growth in the six-county region. This is what SACOG is reporting will be happening over the next 23 years:
The area’s population will increase another 1.2 million people, jobs will be plentiful with 450,000 new ones created and there will be an additional 450,000 new homes built fields near you.
Twenty-three years from now may seam like a long time but its impact isn’t all going to arrive on March 15th. 2029. If we assume that growth will be spread-out evenly over the next 23 years then every year our region will add another 50,000 people, 20,000 jobs and 17,500 new homes. And you thought highways 50 and 80 were crowded already!

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:
May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Market confidence

Last Saturday it was a cool 35 degrees in the foothills. Sunday morning we discovered 5 inches of new snow had landed overnight. A year ago at this time it was 75 degrees. This morning we are in the clouds with rain. Summers and the fall are pretty consistent weather patterns but winter and spring can bring unexpected weather. And like the weather the real estate market continues to change but we all have confidence that spring and summer is on the way.
Americans remain confident that housing values will continue to flourish and that the high-flying market will come in for a smooth, soft landing instead of a crash. Fewer than 15 percent of Americans surveyed in a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll expect home prices in their neighborhood to fall during the next six months. More than twice that, 36 percent, see prices rising during that time. Investors making more than $100,000 a year are even more optimistic: 43 percent of the affluent expect prices to rise and only 12 percent predict a decline.

The average U.S. home price has risen 36 percent since 2002, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The increase has fueled concern among some economists and consultants that residential real estate is in the midst of a bubble that may burst and drag down the economy. Most U.S. homeowners don't agree, however. The majority of those polled, almost seven in ten, expect the value of their homes to appreciate by five percent to 30 percent during the next three years. Affluent investors are again more optimistic, with almost eight in 10 predicting such price gains.

More than a third of the 2,563 adults polled from Feb. 25 to March 5 singled out real estate as the place they would put most of their money if they had a $1 million windfall to invest. Mutual funds came in second with 13 percent, followed by stocks with 12 percent. If it doesn’t stop raining I think I will put my money into a very large boat.