A few days after the September 11th attacks, the Environmental Protection Agency assured New Yorkers the air near Ground Zero was safe to breathe. Tragically, that wasn’t true. In the 24 years since, studies have linked toxic exposure in Manhattan to soaring cancer rates among first responders, residents, office workers and students. Thousands have died…
The numbers no longer pencil out like they used to. Once seen as a golden opportunity for passive income, short-term rental properties are now facing mounting pressure from every direction. The most recent hit? California Senate Bill 584 (SB 584), the Laborforce Housing Financing Act, which imposes a new 15% state tax on short-term rentals,…
Insurance carriers track the pulse of California’s earthquake liabilities, just as they monitor trends in fire, flood, hurricanes, and other hazards that can cause claims to be filed for property damage, injury or death. Warnings from seismologists that California is long overdue for a major earthquake has property owners and insurance actuaries concerned. As risks…
We know that a hotter planet means we’re dealing with hotter surfaces. Surfaces determine heat, and plenty of cities here in the United States were overheating this summer, along with other cities across the globe that are still overheating because they take no winter breaks. It’s time to explore and respond to the urgent mental…
After a San Francisco attorney says a landlord has the right to only allow “MAGA voters and Israel supporters” to attend an open house, it raises the question: Should landlords do something just because they can? Several laws protect tenants against discrimination based on gender, familial status, race, sexual orientation, source of income, and other…
Over the last 18 months, or longer, some of the largest and most prominent insurance companies have withdrawn from the “California market.” It’s simple — they’re losing money. In California, we have perhaps the fifth largest economy in the world, more accredited and non-accredited law schools, and far more attorneys than possibly required or…
The dominant topic of all small talk and quaint conversation in between jumps to tree-lined shade and, if you’re among the fortunate, into air-conditioned spaces, is the heat. As most of us have noticed, suffering under oppressive temperatures in the aptly-termed “heat dome,” it is awfully hot and dry throughout much of the United States. …
The guiding philosophy at all levels of politics is “never face today what you can put off ‘til tomorrow.” This is even true for matters that require immediate attention. Most politicians are, by nature, risk averse, worried more about reelection (or the next higher office) than they are in solutions to real problems. But “kicking…
On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order, Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account, that will help move the IRS and all other government agencies into the electronic world. As of September 30, 2025, government agencies — including the IRS — will only accept your money electronically. That means you can…
The answer to this question might sound simple, but in fact, it is a very difficult question to answer. Most important is that you have to know what your goals are regarding your real estate investments. Of course, there is no one right answer to this question, because if you’re a small investor, it’s often…