Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Democracy 3
This November will be my first time to vote as a Boulder, Colorado resident since the 1990s. Fortunately, I can rely on the help of my friend who writes the Colorado and Boulder Ballot Issues blog to help me sort out the issues.
FWIW, Boulder politics hasn't changed much since my last stint. Many candidates give lip service to affordable housing, but don't lift a finger to do anything about it. Worse, they block attempts to ameliorate the severe housing crisis faced by moderate and low-income workers* in Boulder.
Boulder is the most expensive housing market in Colorado both to rent and to buy. What has city council done? Say yes to a new Googleplex, as well as hundreds of thousands of square feet of new office space while severely restricting construction of housing.
After navigating the Boulder real estate market as both a renter and a buyer (and a remodeler), I have a few thoughts about how the city could improve the situation. ;-)
Please read Colorado and Boulder Ballot Issues for very well-informed and reasoned arguments about how to vote on the myriad issues that Colorado in general and Boulder County in particular will vote on this November.
* The land purchased by the city to build permanently affordable housing has shot up in value while the city has dragged it's feet on building said housing. Meanwhile, some council members propose to sell the valuable site in the transit village to the highest bidder (adding to the supply of $2000+/mo 1-bedroom apartments in that neighborhood) and put affordable housing on the outskirts of town.
Not only would this delay the delivery of affordable housing, but it's a giant FU to those that need it.
After all, don't low-income single-parent families NEED walkable neighborhoods and good transit options even more than families that can afford reliable cars and a stay-at-home parent or nanny to schlep the kids around?
FWIW, Boulder politics hasn't changed much since my last stint. Many candidates give lip service to affordable housing, but don't lift a finger to do anything about it. Worse, they block attempts to ameliorate the severe housing crisis faced by moderate and low-income workers* in Boulder.
Boulder is the most expensive housing market in Colorado both to rent and to buy. What has city council done? Say yes to a new Googleplex, as well as hundreds of thousands of square feet of new office space while severely restricting construction of housing.
After navigating the Boulder real estate market as both a renter and a buyer (and a remodeler), I have a few thoughts about how the city could improve the situation. ;-)
Please read Colorado and Boulder Ballot Issues for very well-informed and reasoned arguments about how to vote on the myriad issues that Colorado in general and Boulder County in particular will vote on this November.
* The land purchased by the city to build permanently affordable housing has shot up in value while the city has dragged it's feet on building said housing. Meanwhile, some council members propose to sell the valuable site in the transit village to the highest bidder (adding to the supply of $2000+/mo 1-bedroom apartments in that neighborhood) and put affordable housing on the outskirts of town.
Not only would this delay the delivery of affordable housing, but it's a giant FU to those that need it.
After all, don't low-income single-parent families NEED walkable neighborhoods and good transit options even more than families that can afford reliable cars and a stay-at-home parent or nanny to schlep the kids around?
Monday, October 19, 2015
When Bad Mom met Buttons Grandma
A friend, who also leads a CO-CA existence for family reasons, invited me over to help clear out her fridge before she left. She also invited her oldest friend in Boulder, Button Grandma!
After dinner, we convinced her to bring over her newest lot of Victorian glass brilliants (glass + metallics) so we could get first dibs. The dining table light wasn't the greatest, but it was an Aladdin's cave of goodies.
The gold ones:
Some of the silver ones that caught my eye.
Decisions, decisions.
They are more than a century old, not in perfect shape, not cheap (but IMHO, a fair deal), so I set myself a limit of $20/20 buttons.
These came home with me:
The intricacy of some of these is incredible. Some didn't photograph well with my point and shoot. These are two of the medium-intricacy ones.
Gratuitous shot.
Dinner, conversation, good company and buttons!
Matched sets are very rare and expensive. Our mutual friend showed me how she uses more affordable singleton buttons, matched for size (and with harmonizing shapes/colors), for her shirts. I'm going to copy that idea.
Next time, I'm going over to buttonsgrandmas@earthlink.net with my sewn but buttonhole-less shirts to find the right buttons.
The gold ones:
These came home with me:
Matched sets are very rare and expensive. Our mutual friend showed me how she uses more affordable singleton buttons, matched for size (and with harmonizing shapes/colors), for her shirts. I'm going to copy that idea.
Next time, I'm going over to buttonsgrandmas@earthlink.net with my sewn but buttonhole-less shirts to find the right buttons.
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