Local real estate market still sluggish - Planning Commission revising sign code - Fleenor has his ears on - gas holds steady

Local home sales continue to be sluggish, but show some signs of life

The number of home sales recorded in the Florence area increased during the second quarter of this year. But, total sales for 2010 are on track to fall short of 2009. That is, unless there’s a strong end of the year surge. That’s what happened last year and property appraiser and real estate analyst Tawfik Ahdab says it is “well within the realm of possibility” that home sales in 2010 could match or even exceed last year’s sales performance. In 2009 the local real estate market recorded a total of 222 closed sales and current figures are on track for a total of only 195. But, says Ahdab, last year’s second half surge accounted for most of the sales for the year. Ahdab also noted a slight uptick in home prices. But, they remain quite modest compared with previous years. The median sales price increased from a recent-historical low of $155-thousand in the first quarter of this year to $159,500. That’s compared to a median sale price in 2006 of $255-thousand. Homes in the lower to mid-price have been where all the action has been taking place recently. The slowest movers are in the upper end of the market. According to figures compiled from multiple listing services there have been only five properties over $500-thousand sold in the past twelve months. Ahdab says with 64 active listings in that price range, that’s a nearly 13-year supply.

After holding steady for the past eight weeks, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline increased this week by four cents to $2.81. That’s considerably lower than the statewide average as measured by Triple-A of Oregon. In went up two cents this week and stands at $2.94 a gallon. By contrast, drivers in Portland are paying on average $2.91; in Eugene $2.96 and in Medford the average is $2.98. Marie Dodds with Triple-A says retail prices are within a few cents of where they were a month ago and have remained in a fairly narrow margin since Memorial Day. The national average price held steady for the second straight week at $2.72 a gallon.

The Florence Planning Commission is in the process of updating and revising the city’s sign code. They’d like to hear from area residents about that. Associate Planner Melissa Anderson says the commission will be holding a series of work sessions to review sign standards in both business and residential areas. They’ll also evaluate standards for sizes; types; location and lighting of signs. The first work session is set for next Tuesday, July 27th, seven pm, at City Hall.

Area residents will have a chance to sound off on issues related to Lane County tomorrow morning during a ‘community dialogue’ hosted by West Lane County Commissioner Bill Fleenor. The current chair of that panel, Fleenor wants to engage residents in conversation. That’ll be at Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue on Highway 101 from ten to 11:30 tomorrow morning.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

BROOKINGS, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police say a collision
between a car and a tractor-trailer rig has killed one man and
started a fire on both sides of U.S. Highway 101 that halted
traffic on the highway for nearly six hours. Authorities say
33-year-old Vincent Jaramillo of Brookings died. The truck driver
suffered minor injuries.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A 29-year-old county jail inmate has died
after suffering a head injury in a July 13 recreation yard fight
with another inmate. Marion County sheriff's spokesman Don Thomson
said yesterday that Robert Haws of Salem died Monday night at Salem
Hospital, where he'd been taken for treatment after the fight.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A long-haul trucker from Portland has been
convicted of aggravated sexual abuse for assaults on an 8-year-old
girl during a coast-to-coast trip. Jurors were told the girl's
mother asked Alexander Lukashov Jr. to take the child and her
little brother on his trip so that he could drop the boy with
relatives in Montana. Prosecutors say the man repeatedly molested
the girl after dropping the boy off.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland multimillionaire Scott Raymond
Strickland has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a neighborhood
boy. Strickland yesterday agreed to pay his victim $1.6 million and
spend about nine years in prison after pleading guilty in Multnomah
County Circuit Court to first-degree sexual abuse and a related
count. The 56-year-old former doctor and flight attendant has two
weeks to turn himself in.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police say a trooper in the
Medford area who stopped a northbound pickup truck on Interstate 5
for speeding found more than 100 pounds of marijuana in the back
seat. A 25-year-old Tacoma, Wash., man and a 23-year-old Brentwood,
Calif., man were arrested. The Jackson County sheriff's office jail
website indicates there are immigration holds on both men.

ENTERPRISE, Ore. (AP) - The state is using part of a federal
grant to pay for a special range rider to monitor cattle in
northeastern Oregon's Wallowa County and haze away any nearby
wolves. The cowboy is equipped with both a horse and a four-wheeler
and has a radio receiver to pick up signals from any of the three
radio-collared wolves in the pack. Officials say there have been
six area cattle confirmed as wolf kills since spring.

GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) - Gresham police say officers responding to a
report that a young man with an ax was bashing an ATM found two
damaged ATMs on the same street. Police found a 19-year-old Gresham
man nearby. He said he'd been under a lot of stress and that made a
mistake. He was arrested for alleged criminal mischief.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Fred Meyer stores aren't waiting for
Portland to ban plastic bags.
The retailer will no longer offer customers plastic bags after
Aug. 1 at its 10 stores in the city. Paper bags will still be
available.
Spokeswoman Melinda Merrill told KGW-TV it could eliminate
plastic bags at all of its stores, depending on customer feedback.
Earlier this month Portland Mayor Sam Adams called for a ban on
plastic bags in the city by 2012 to encourage shoppers to reuse
bags.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Northwest League Baseball:
The Eugene Emeralds lost three things in one day; their best hitter, their best pitcher; and a 6-2 decision to the Everett Aqua Sox. The loss was Eugene’s third in a row to the Sox and their fifth straight. They’ll now head north to Vancouver where they’ll begin a three game series against the Canadians. Change-ups in the minor league team’s roster saw third baseman Jedd Gyorko, leading the team with a .330 batting average, called up to the San Diego Padres’ single-A affiliate Fort Wayne. He’ll be replaced by Paul Bingham who was promoted from the rookie level squad in Peoria and brings a .306 average. Headed to Fort Wayne along with Gyorko is right-hander Matt Lollis who was two-and-two in six starts, carrying a 2.86 ERA. In addition to the promotions, there was one demotion. Infielder Brian Guinn was sent down Peoria after he struggled both offensively and defensively.