$2,000 Rowland Heights Missing Dog Reward

I just saw a poster for a 4 lb missing Poodle for $2,000.

My guess another Coyote Victim. May be a dog napping.

Posters with numbers blacked out coming soon.

Labels: dogs, rowland heights

Chinese Home Buyer Update

Foreign buyers flood US real estate, but buy cheaper homes - CNBC

Median price per the article was $522,084 with a dollar volume of $27.3 Billion Dollars in the 12 months between April 2015 to March 2016. My guess is some areas just became too pricey, but the impact of devaluation.

Around Rowland Heights I am not seeing the huge amount of houses selling I was, the market seems to have died down a bit.

Labels: Chinese Housing, housing, rowland heights

Coyotes of Rowland Heights

On my way to work, I took these pictures. In the past week, I have had 4 Coyote encounters. 3 of them within a block of my house, and 1 of them next to an elementary school. Only one of the Coyote encounters was at night. The most recent one was of two coyotes. See pictures below.

I also saw 4 missing dog flyers. They varied from a Poodle, to a chocolate lab, to a Golden Retriever. I"ll post them after I remove the phone numbers.

Last year a lady with her husband first put up flyers, and then went door to door asking about her small dog. I felt very sad for her.

I called Animal Control, and per the lady who answered the phone they don't do trapping anymore. I then called my supervisors office, who got a call back for me that was a lot more helpful. It seems there is one trapper for all of LA County, and they only trap coyotes that are high priority. He was very nice and sent me some brochures on what can be done.He mentioned they even have Coyotes in Compton. My guess, if their are attacks on people, things will change quickly. This time of year Coyotes give birth, so they have extra mouths to feed. Plus the drought. And cities offer food and water (pools).

The undertone I got from speaking with the person, is they are very afraid a coyote caught in their trap will get on the nightly news as be used a cause celebre by animal rights.

When I googled Rowland Heights Coyotes, I read there was an attack last year in Hacienda Heights. And that Coyotes can jump over 8 ft fences. The Coyote attack killed a dog, injured another while the owner, a Mother and her daughter were in their back year. They set up a go fund me page for the $2,000 of vet bills. Vets, like Doctors, are not cheap.

A facebook page I found from Fullerton, called Coyote Watch and their blog.

Our cat, that adopted us about 2 years ago, was last seen a week ago. My guess is a Coyote got her. The advice I got was don't let our dog or cat out at night. She was a mix of outdoor /indoor cat, so we let her out whenever she wanted to go. We were very lucky to have her as part of our family.

Labels: coyote, dogs, pets, rowland heights

Wow. Sounds like something out of Lord of the Flies.

Note how some suspects left the country...

Trio faces sentencing in Rowland Heights torture case - Rowland Heights

Labels: rowland heights

I just went to an open house yesterday in Rowland Heights, and I was surprised to find a cost cut. From 808,000 to 789,800.

$18,200 reduction, 2.3% change.

Nice house that used to have an outdoor model train in the back, that the real estate person said to take out :-(

It's also been on the market for 72 days.

And I am not seeing a huge amount of other Rowland Heights houses on the market.

I am not sure why...

The what is China, China, and China.

Labels: chinatowns, real estate, rowland heights

My daughter went to the school Preschool through 5th grade.

My understanding, was the campus was sold to a developer and the money was used to build a formal church in Brea. The developer was then unable to get the needed permits, I remember seeing protests in the area, plus the housing downturn in So. CA happened. Then, the campus went up for auction, and a Buddhist Group, Tzu Chi, bought the property and last year established a preschool at the location. This year, they put up a lot of signs on the property. The Christian School, Southlands Christian School, then leased an elementary school in Rowland Heights, Fajardo Elementary, added some classrooms, and are running two campus through the end of this year. At their Walnut campus, Christian students are not allowed to eat meat.

Labels: Buddhist, chinese christians, rowland heights

I have noticed in the Rowland Heights area, there are a lot of pan handlers located off of the 60 freeway exits.

At Fairway and the 60, there is an Asian Man. Originally he was located at the Westbound Exit. People would ignore him, pretend he does not exist, and then he would wave his hand in front of their face. Or he would touch their car. I have also seen him deliberately push the button to walk, forcing the light to stop traffic. He has a limp, and smokes. He is very aggressive in his approach. He has now moved to the center of Fairway, where you make a left turn to get onto the Westbound 60.

At Nogales, there is a man with one leg, who stands in the middle of the divider of Nogales. Since Nogales is closed to traffic at Gale, I am not sure if he's still there. I have also seen a Hispanic man, selling Oranges right next to him.

At Azusa, I have seen an older man with his wife, asking for money. At the same exit, I have also seen a man around 20, with a sign saying he is hungry, asking for money. The first time I saw the sign I donated. I have also seen some others around 20 years old on Azusa, between the 60 Freeway and Colima asking for money.

I was reminded about panhandlers in Rowland Heights, after reading this article about a video:

You drive a better car than me! 'Homeless' elderly panhandler caught driving off in a brand new car - Daily Mail

Labels: chinatowns, rowland heights

There were two ethnic Chinese running for the 55th assembly that includes Rowland Heights. I was amazed at the amount of mailings I got from the two. Ling-Ling Chang and Gregg Fritchle won the primary, to face each other in the November election.

What I noticed about this extremely negative campaign:

1. Ling-Ling Chang did lots of robocalls and offered a telephone number to speak with her.
2. Phillip Chen focused on him being a reserve office with the LA Sheriffs department.
3. Both candidates clarified the resume of the other. I was amused by the pictures chosen by each site of their competitor, compared to the picture they used for their own candidate. The past experience and business ownership, and conflict of interests were another area each highlighted. 
4. Chang and Chen both raised about $600,000, out of a total of $1.4 Million spent by all candidates.

Labels: Chinese Americans, rowland heights

My 2 cents:

1. Nothing is going to be done in the US to change how baby's born in the US, get instant US citizenship. It's seen as part of the 14th amendment to the US constitution.
2. The statistics on birth tourism from China seem low, the article mentions 10,000, but I feel it's more. In Rowland Heights, I see a lot of unaccompanied pregnant women around Target and 85 degrees C. And I have a feeling there is a maternity hotel within 2 blocks of where I live.
3. Interesting on the costs, between $16,000 to $50,000 for a package. I am not sure if this includes airfare.
4. One article mentions the tax headaches of being a US citizen, it seems most parents are not aware of this issue. 

References:

Chinese birth tourism goes stateside - Daily Bulletin World
China savages hugely popular female TV presenter after she gave birth to daughter in the US so she could get American citizenship - Daily Mail
I Want an American Baby! Chinese Women Flock to the U.S. to Give Birth - Time

Labels: abc, birth tourism, rowland heights

Wow!

China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years - Daily Mail
The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that it by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America 
I know a lot of Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants who have become Christians after immigrating to the US. In Rowland Heights, it's amazing how many churches there are. Yelp only has 3 churches, and I know there is more. Hmm.... A better list with 20 churches in Rowland Heights, which I still think missed a few. There is a huge church off of Fairway and Colima. 10 per Google Maps.

And this huge Buddhist Temple is being built in Rowland Heights.

Labels: china's future, Chinese Religion, Christianity, rowland heights

I am surprised that Nogales is going to be closed for 24 months for the underpass to be created!

http://www.theaceproject.org/nogalessouth.htm

The Alameda Corridor is where underpasses and overpasses are put in to allow trains to go from the Ports of LA without delaying traffic. The project has improved the traffic a huge amount in Rowland Heights. My business used to be located near the under construction underpass on Brea Canyon, I remember the construction on Nogales at Valley, and now the underpass at Nogales and Gale is being worked on.

Personal opinion, this entire project has been done piecemeal, and because of that a lot of money has been wasted. It would have been smarter to just dig and place the entire route when possible underground, as was done in Reno. Instead some areas the railroad gets raised for a street level grade, other areas the street goes over on an overpass (Azusa), and other areas their is an underpass.

Labels: alameda corridor, rowland heights, traffic

It seems everyday, driving around Rowland Heights, I almost have a car accident each day.

Some recent traffic issues I have seen:

1. Person making left turn, and turned wide on entrance / exit to McDonalds. I was making a right turn.
2. Running red lights. I can understand 1 or 2 cars, but 3 or 4?
3. Making a left turn on a street, and cutting it close. I go very slow on residential streets near corners to avoiding a head on collision.
4. Tail gating on the 60 freeway
5. Weaving in and out of traffic on Colima.
6. Not moving over to the right, when a Fire Truck has the siren on. Only when the fire truck gets behind a vehicle, and uses their horn, does the vehicle move over to the right.

Labels: rowland heights, traffic, transportation

I got a haircut from my Barber in Rowland Heights, I have been seeing him for over 20 years. I have stayed with him through four moves. It's interesting to get his impression of Rowland Heights. He is Latino, and grew up in East LA. He sees a huge growth in Hair Salons, he guessed there are over 40 of them in the Rowland Heights area owned by Asians. All very modern looking. There is also a Fantastic Sam's in the same plaza as him. There used to be around 10 barber shops in Rowland Heights, but they are all gone except him. Rowland Heights has also changed in the last 20 years with a huge growth in the Chinese population.

If your in the Rowland Heights area and looking for a  Barbershop, Dave is located in the Stater Brothers plaza at A Better You Hair Design (with no Yelp Reviews).

I just did a bit of research... Per Yelp, there are 53 Hair Salons in Rowland Heights, and 9 Barber Shops. And the one I use is not even listed...

Labels: rowland heights

Anne Ma lost the school board election by 83 votes, which surprised me. She has some connection with a local property management company, and she seemed to spend more than anyone else.  So why did she lose? I did get two robocalls from the person who won, with an endorsement. It seems the person who won got more endorsements.

And there was some controversy over the selection of a superintendent. And one incumbents lost the election, and another decided not to run. The teachers union was unhappy, and there was also a parents group formed due to frustrations with the lack of budget transparency.

References:

Rowland Unified voters elect two new faces to school board - SG Tribune
Rowland Parents and Educators Association
Rowland Kids group asks RUSD for transparency, integrity - SG Tribune
ballotpedia on RUSD Elections

Labels: chinatown, elections, rowland heights

We just got a direct mail piece, saying how Ricky Li and his wife have been looking for a house with our floor plan for over a year with no luck. They are not going to repeat the mistakes that others made, so they have an all cash offer of 5% over the worth of our house.

Thoughts:

1. Suspicious that first name is close to  my last name. And last name is close to my wife's. A fun psychological fact, you truth those more that have a name similar to yours. It may be coincidence, but...
2. Letter was a form letter mass mailed, in color. My guess is the mailing cost at least $1 per mailed piece.
3. It shows the Rowland Heights market is super hot.

Labels: bubble, housing, real estate, rowland heights

I had heard of the East West bank robbery third hand. The story I heard was a lot of the money was unreported, so there was no insurance on it. Five suspects were arrested, all Hispanic.

Suspects arrested in Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights rooftop bank burglaries - SG TRibune
Officials ID suspects said to have taken $6 million in cash, jewelry

Labels: chinatown, chinese crime, rowland heights

I just got a post card / mass mailing that listed a bunch of houses, all sold for around a Million, and the majority of them were All Cash!

And the post card was more about listing your property, and why you should sell.

Boom times for selling houses is back in Rowland Heights! What I am hearing is overseas money is keeping the local housing market red hot.

Labels: chinatowns, rowland heights

Doing one in Rowland Heights would be fun. IMHO - our Dimsum is as good, or better than you find in LA's Chinatown. We have 4 dim sum restaurants in Rowland Heights I believe. And yes, I have been to all of them :-)

Dumpling Time: Chinatown's First Dim Sum Crawl - NBC

Labels: chinatowns, Chinese Food, rowland heights

A great symbol of two of the major cultures of Rowland Heights, Mexican and Chinese. And what is neat about the high school, is Race becomes not an issue. It's more about who you, rather than your race for those born here. A true American melting pot!

 Elijah Liu represents Rowland Heights in `American Idol' top 20 - SG Tribune

Labels: rowland heights

Chinese buying in the US seems to have a couple of factors. My guesses:

1. Safe haven for money, especially money that is a bit hot. If it stayed in China, it may get confiscated if the owner is found guilty of corruption. It's amazing how much money is flowing out of China, when officially there is strict limits on getting money out. There is also a bit of getting the spouse and kids into the US and Canada, just in case things get worse in China.

2. Houses for kids going to US colleges. UCI for example.

3. Restrictions on buying a 2nd / multiple houses in China
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304911104576445513471134364.html

4. Perhaps US real estate now is seen as less of a bubble than Chinese real estate.

5. Prestige of buying a house in the US.

Labels: housing, real estate, rowland heights