Aaron Michael Moench
A Sarasota County man has been arrested in connection with a string of commercial burglaries that occurred in Cape Coral in July of 2022.
Aaron Michael Moench, 38, of Venice, has been charged with five counts of throwing a deadly missile into a building, five counts of burglary of a structure, five counts of criminal mischief, and three counts of petit theft, according to a release issued this morning by the Cape Coral Police Department.
Police say in July of ’22, Property Crimes Unit detectives developed Moench as a suspect in a string of burglaries at commercial properties. Police officials state they conducted an operation in an attempt to catch Moench in the act of another burglary.
“As detectives surveilled Moench, Moench was caught in the act of committing a burglary at a hardware store in Fort Myers,” CCPD officials said in a release. “(Fort Myers Police Department) was notified and responded. PCU Detectives assisted FMPD officers with capturing Moench.
“CCPD Detectives were able to connect Moench to multiple smash and grab burglaries after he bonded out of jail. Moench fled the area before detectives could locate him and charge him with the additional burglaries. It was later determined that Moench was also a suspect in smash and grab burglaries within Sarasota County.”
The State Attorney’s Office approved arrest warrants for Moench, which were adopted by the U.S. Marshall’s Taskforce, that located Moench out-of-state. He was transported to Lee County Jail on Aug. 5 and failed to appear in court on Sept. 5.
Moench is in custody being held on a total bond of $196,500 (not including failure to appear).
A member of the consultant team hired by Pasadena to create plans for the Central Library Earthquake Retrofit and Building Repairs Project said Thursday that the goal of the retrofit project is to have the 100-year-old building “last another 100 years.”
The final costs of retrofitting the 1927 Pasadena Central Library could be $175 to $195 million before the project is completed in 2028, according to the team of consultants from Gruen Associates, in their community presentation on the project at the Robinson Park Recreation Center on Thursday evening.
The project’s funding could require a bond measure on the November 2024 ballot.
The community meeting was part of the project’s ongoing outreach by representatives of the team.
Debra Gerod of Gruen posed then answered a fundamental question.
“What does the community want to accomplish for this project? What does the City want? This was obviously spurred by a need to seismically repair the unreinforced masonry … so that was obviously the main driver, but it wasn’t the only driver. This is a treasured historic building in the city of Pasadena.
“And it was very important that we understand and preserve it as a historic asset to the city,” she continued.
Gerod emphasized that whatever the project team does, the Library should maintain its historic listing and its historic essence.
She said that the retrofit needs to include accessibility measures.
“When we’re going through a major project like this, it is incumbent on us to make this accessible. We need to allow people with mobility challenges to be and make it into the building and experience the building in the same way that someone who doesn’t have a mobility challenge.”
John Locascio, of the Historic Resources Group, also explained the building’s historical significance, noting that the Central Library is the northern terminus of the Bennett Plan for the Civic Center, the City’s first General Plan, and is one of the three anchors of the Civic Center, and the first to be completed.
Structural engineer Aldrin Orue of the retrofit team said that the project would meet the nationally recognized American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Seismic Rehabilitation Standards.
“There’s very important historic significance here,” said Orue, “and we definitely want to be careful on the solutions that we implement so as not to disturb any of the historic characteristics of the building.”
“Beyond code compliance,” said Orue, “we also want to enhance the performance of the building to minimize future recovery time in an earthquake. One of the goals of the City when we first started this is that they want to keep this building for another hundred years, it’s been here a hundred years, and they want this to last for a hundred years.”
Orue added that, “The seismic proportional objective that we are now targeting is one that’s equivalent to a new library building. We weren’t satisfied to just provide the minimum code requirement, but the goal and the objective is to have this building perform in a seismic event equivalent to a new building.”
The original building was designed by the architectural firm of Hunt and Chambers, with Myron Hunt being one of the most important architects to practice in southern California in the first half of the 20th century.
Hunt designed the Rose Bowl, the original Huntington Hotel, the Huntington Mansion Library, and Locascio noted that “his work is definitely considered the work of a master.”
The Pasadena City Council approved a contract to begin the process of seismically retrofitting and upgrading the Central Library in February 2023, to Gruen Associates and their team of sub-consultants.
Gruen will create environmental documentation, as well as final construction drawings and cost estimates for construction. Initial environmental and design phase efforts will be done in March 2023, and are anticipated to be completed in about two years.
The current design phase of the Central Library Retrofit and Repair project is fully funded to allow the city to determine the estimated total cost of the work to be done. Assemblymember Chris Holden secured $4 million in funding through a grant from the state library system in June 2021, and in July 2022, the state earmarked an additional 5 million to the earthquake retrofit and repairs project bringing the total to $9 million to be used towards the central library design work.
The Central Library building, a significant contributor to the Civic Center Historic District, is recognized on both the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. In addition to its contribution to the district, it holds individual distinction as a designated Pasadena Landmark.
The first plan and cost estimate for the project is expected to be completed in the fall of this year, while the design development plans and its cost estimate are expected to be completed in early 2024. In the spring of 2025, all plans and plan checks are expected to be completed, and a final bid and construction contract reward– pending construction funding – should be completed in summer of 2025.
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The Great Harbor Yacht Club has added to its real estate portfolio with its recent acquisition of 19 Nobadeer Farm Road, a deal that will impact several island businesses.
The yacht club closed on the property last Friday for $2.7 million, purchasing the one-acre parcel from island resident Dylan Wallace. The dwelling on the property – located behind the Small Friends early childhood education center – includes a two-bedroom, two-bath unit on the second floor, and a commercial kitchen on the first floor that is currently utilized by the Slow To Rise Bakery and Sushi Sean 11:11, along with Wallace’s Eat Fire Pizza.
The property is located a short distance away from Great Harbor Yacht Club’s existing tennis and swim club at 23 Nobadeer Farm Road. The club’s general manager Stephen Creese confirmed the acquisition but said it’s not yet clear how it will be used in the future.
“We have no definitive plan for the property and are exploring potential club-related uses,” Creese told the Current.
The Nantucket Land Bank held a right of first refusal to purchase the property but voted not to exercise the option, according to a waiver filed with the Nantucket Registry of Deeds.
Wallace said the sale was motivated by several considerations including his growing family, but that he intends to stay on-island and continue both Eat Fire Pizza and Eat Fire Farm. Wallace and his partner Caroline Borrelli have operated Eat Fire Farm since 2019 at the Land Bank’s Mount Vernon Farm property off Hummock Pond Road. The couple has found another property on-island that they will close on in the coming weeks, Wallace said.
“We feel very fortunate and very lucky,” Wallace said. “Everyone has been so gracious to us.”
The Great Harbor Yacht Club has agreed to lease the property at 19 Nobadeer Farm Road back to Wallace through September 2024, which will allow both Slow To Rise Bakery and Sushi Sean another season to operate there if they choose to. The bakery’s owners, Tucker Puljic and Katrina Newfrock, stated they are evaluating all their options now.
“Yes, 19 Nobadeer Farm Rd has sold but the buyer will be renting back the property to Dylan Wallace until October of 202,” they said. “So we theoretically have one more season to rent there, though we’re also keeping an eye on the 5 Amelia (Drive) space (being converted into a commissary kitchen and business incubator), and looking for an eventual retail location.”
Sean Durnin, owner of Sushi Sean, said he would be moving on when his lease at 19 Nobadeer Farm Road expires this fall, but planned to continue to operate around the island.
“I haven’t really heard too much about it other than it’s been sold,” Durnin said. “My lease is up at the end of October. I have had a great business relationship with Dylan and wish him well. Our friends at Yummy’s (off Surfside Road) are leasing to us to continue our pop-up for the fall and into winter and then spring. Whatever next year brings, we will keep it thriving and exciting.
15 September 2023
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Introduced to Parliament in May, the Renters (Reform) Bill seeks to improve the private rental sector for both tenants and landlords. The bill will legislate for reforms set out in the private rented sector white paper published in 2022, which focuses on abolishing ‘no fault’ evictions and reforming landlord possession grounds.
The need for reform
The private rental sector has undergone substantial growth, doubling since 2004. Comprised of 11 million renters, the sector provides essential flexibility and a steppingstone towards homeownership for many.
However, not all renters enjoy the same level of security and well-being within this sector. The practice of ‘no fault’ evictions under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 has left some tenants vulnerable to short-notice displacements, leading to adverse effects on educational outcomes for children, job stability, and community engagement.
Responsible landlords face their own challenges, such as dealing with non-paying tenants, those displaying anti-social behaviour and being undercut by criminal landlords. The Renters (Reform) Bill aims to celebrate good landlords and ensure they have the means to regain possession of their properties when necessary.
Overview of reforms
The Renters (Reform) Bill introduces a range of reforms that have been developed in consultation with landlord and tenant groups over the past five years. The reforms are as follows:
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Abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions: eliminating the uncertainty of ‘no fault’ evictions, providing more security for tenants, and empowering them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction.
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Simplify possession grounds: allowing landlords to recover their property, including where they wish to sell their property, move in family, or evict tenants who are at fault.
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Protection against excessive rent increases: ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessively above-market rents which are designed to force them out, known as backdoor evictions.
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Private Rented Sector Ombudsman: a dedicated ombudsman will provide fair impartial and binding resolution to issues, in a quicker process than the court system.
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Privately Rented Property Portal: an online portal to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, while also supporting tenants to make better informed decisions when renting.
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Right to request a pet: landlords must consider the request and cannot unreasonably refuse; landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to the property.
Other changes to the sector
The Government is also committed to other reforms that were contained in the white paper but have not been included in the Renters (Reform) Bill. This includes a Decent Homes Standard, like that already in place for the social rented sector, that seeks to improve the quality of homes, as well as outlawing landlords and agents from having a blanket ban on renting to tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.
When can we expect to see the reforms introduced?
The bill is currently at the second reading stage, which will provide MPs with an opportunity to debate on the bill’s main principles. However, with no indication of when the second reading will take place, the legislation – which was first proposed in the Conservative’s 2019 General Election manifesto – has been estimated to take up to 18 months to pass through Parliament.
Once the Renters (Reform) Bill has become law, the reforms will be introduced in two stages to ensure there is a sufficient notice period to implement necessary changes. After at least 6 months all new tenancies will be governed by the new rules and then after at least 12 months existing tenancies will also need to adhere to the reforms.
Reception by the sector
Despite the bill providing much needed support for renters, there is fear that a lack of clarity on how the reforms will work could drive landlords away from the sector. This comes after increasing repair, maintenance and mortgage costs are already bringing the viability of the sector into question for many landlords. Given the current housing shortage, it is important that any reforms adequately protect tenants but do not come at an unfair expense to landlords, as to avoid compounding the crisis.
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The City of Pasadena is making progress on planning for the future of the land that was relinquished by the state after the 710 freeway extension was canceled.
A year after the City reacquired the project site, City Manager Miguel Márquez’s office will present an update to the City Council on Monday, highlighting some of the milestones and challenges in the process.
The land, which spans about 50 acres from Columbia Street to Union Street, was officially transferred to the City in August 2022 after the California Transportation Commission voted to relinquish it in June 2022.
The City is now working on developing a vision for the area, which could include housing, commercial, open space and other uses.
Several potential projects on the drawing board for the former 710 extension project area include roadway network improvements, complete streets programs, transit facility construction, traffic signal and intersection enhancements, bike boulevards and greenways. The City has received at least $230.5 million in funding from the state for these projects.
The largest current project is the Pasadena Ave. and St. John Ave. Roadway Network, which would cost $75.1 million and will improve the connectivity and safety of the streets from Walnut Street to Columbia Street. The City has allocated $181.4 million for the planned projects and reserved $49.1 million for future requests.
The planning process is expected to take three years, during which the City expects to face some challenges such as coordinating with multiple agencies, addressing existing leases and encroachments, and ensuring equity and affordability.
The City manager’s office said it will continue to update the council and the public on the progress and seek input and feedback.
The City also announced that it has applied for a federal grant from the new federal Reconnecting Communities Pilot program, which could provide funding of up to $2 million for the SR-710 Northern Stub Reenvisioning Project. The project will aim to reconnect the neighborhoods and restore communities that were divided by transportation infrastructure.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the City Council is expected to act on a recommendation by the City Manager to approve a contract to pointC LLC for “strategic planning and project management services” related to the relinquished SR-710 area. The contract is for a three-year period in the amount of $540,000.
Monday’s Council meeting begins with a closed session at 4:30 p.m. The public session opens at 5:30 p.m.
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The State Water Resources Agency of Azerbaijan Azersu OJSC and
Israel’s National Water Operator Mekorot Water Company signed a
contract for technical consultancy within the framework of the
seawater desalination project, Azernews reports,
citing
Azersu OJSC.
At the meeting with representatives of Mekorot Water Company,
the Agency’s chairman Zaur Mikailov informed the guests about the
work done on the reconstruction of drinking water supply and
drainage systems in Azerbaijan, noting that the experience of
leading world companies was used in the implementation of projects:
“According to the presidential order of 12 April 2023, a pilot
project on production of drinking water by desalination of seawater
has been launched to improve water supply in Baku city and adjacent
territories. Cooperation with Israeli companies in the field of
Caspian Sea water processing is of particular importance”.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Israeli company Amir
Lang said that the company provides 90 percent of the demand for
drinking water in Israel, with about 60 percent of water supplied
to consumers being produced by desalination of seawater.
A detailed exchange of views on further cooperation in the
drinking water supply sector took place at the meeting.
Azersu OJSC is responsible for policy and strategy for the water
supply and sanitation services in Azerbaijan. The company is in
charge of extracting, treating, transporting, and selling water, as
well as taking necessary actions for wastewater treatment. Azersu
OJSC also designs, builds, operates, and maintains intake
structures, reservoirs, pumping stations, water pipelines, and
sewerage collectors. As of August 1, 2018, the company supplies
1434738 consumers with drinking water across the country.
Mekorot Water Company is Israel’s national water company,
responsible for the country’s water supply. The company is in
charge of managing water resources, developing water
infrastructure, and providing water services to the public. Mekorot
Water Company has extensive experience in seawater desalination and
is a leader in the field.
The contract between Azersu OJSC and Mekorot Water Company will
provide technical consulting services for the seawater desalination
project, which is being implemented in Azerbaijan. The project is
funded by state funds and loans from international financing
institutions.
The contract is expected to help Azersu OJSC improve the quality
of water supply and sanitation services in Azerbaijan. It is also
expected to help the company gain valuable knowledge and experience
from Mekorot Water Company in the field of seawater
desalination.
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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Low inventory, high mortgage rates, and high prices have combined to put the national housing market into a state of unaffordability that’s putting a crunch on house hunters, current homeowners, and real estate investors.
According to a recent story from Yahoo! Finance, the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes over the last 18 months have led to mortgage rates hovering around two-decade highs, but so far home prices haven’t fallen as expected, in response.
As Business Insider noted recently, Goldman’s Housing Affordability Index breached a new record low in August. The gauge is based on household income, housing prices, and mortgage rates. Current homeowners holding low rates are understandably reluctant to risk giving up lower rates they’ve secured, and that keeps homes off the market and leaves buyers with fewer options.
According to Goldman, roughly one-quarter of homeowners are sitting on mortgage rates of less than 3%, near the highest on record.
The Case-Shiller US National Composite Home Price Index also showed home prices climbed for the fifth straight month in June, and now the index is just 0.02% below the all-time high reached last summer. The seasonally-adjusted data showed prices climbed in every single city in the group’s 20-city index.
“As we’ve noted previously, the recovery in home prices is broadly based,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jone Indices, said. “Over the last 12 months, 10 cities show positive returns. Otherwise,” he said, “half the cities in our sample now sit at all-time high prices.”
After climbing consecutively for five straight weeks, the average 30 year fixed-rate mortgage reported weekly by Freddie Mac ticked down at the end of August but remained above 7%.
While the market generally believes that the Fed will keep their policy rate unchanged in the upcoming September meeting, mortgage rates remain elevated, and the volatility will likely continue until the Fed sends a more decisive message to the market about its next rate move. With costs of borrowing near their record high and housing supply expected to be tight for the remainder of the year, home sales could remain soft in the next couple months.
Thus, it is likely that the Fed may not raise rates in their upcoming September meeting. With mortgage rates remaining elevated despite their downward movement in the past couple of weeks, the Fed’s hike pause would be welcome news for the housing market, according to a recent report by California Association of Realtors (CAR).
Mortgage applications just began rising after five weeks of retreat, and the housing market might build on its momentum if rates continue to move sideways or even decline in the next few weeks, the CAR report noted.
U.S. employers continued to add jobs in August with the nonfarm payrolls rising a solid 187,000 last month, but job growth recorded the third straight month of a sub-200,000 gain. 150,000 jobs were added on average per month, over the last three months, said CAR.
This would represent a decline from the 238,000-average registered between March and May. The unemployment rate also jumped to 3.8% last month.
The dip in employment because of the Writer’s Guild and Screen Actors’ Guild strikes have also contributed to the increase in unemployment.
In addition, the third-quarter survey results from the Chief Human Resources Officer Confidence Index (CHROCI) released over the Labor Day weekend, by the Conference Board show a substantial pullback in workforce expansion plans.
The Q3 Index found that 38% of CHROs expect hiring to increase in the coming months, down from 51% in the Q2 survey. Overall, the Index fell to 55 in Q3, down from 58 in Q2. (A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses.)
“HR leaders are beginning to feel the impact of a weaker outlook for hiring and expansion,” said Diana Scott of The Conference Board Human Capital Center.
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01 September 2023
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As estate agents, it is important to make sure that your business is efficient and cost-effective. One of the ways to do this is to outsource your calls. Outsourcing your calls can provide many benefits to your business such as improved customer service, access to specialised services and cost savings. In this blog post, we will discuss why it makes sense for estate agents to outsource their calls and the benefits they can enjoy.
The benefits of call answering services
The benefits of an estate agent using call answering services are almost limitless. Firstly, there is the cost savings that come with outsourcing, as it is typically much more affordable than hiring and managing a team of receptionists. Furthermore, when you outsource your calls, you will be able to make use of a dedicated team that specialises in customer service and telephone techniques. This means that customers will always receive professional and polite service, regardless of how busy the day is. Additionally, as an estate agent, outsourcing your calls will allow you to create more time in your day by taking care of customer service enquiries while you focus on other aspects of the business.
How it helps to increase sales
Call Answering can increase your sales potential, as it provides an extra layer of customer service. With someone taking all incoming calls, estate agents are free to focus on what they do best – selling. When customers call with questions about a property, the call answering service can answer their queries and help the customer decide if the property is a good fit. Additionally, the customer service staff on the other end of the line has experience in dealing with buyers and sellers and knows how to guide customers in the right direction. By providing this level of customer service, estate agents can ensure that more of their leads result in conversions.
How it helps to build customer relationships
When it comes to customer relationships, there are many benefits to estate agents outsourcing their calls. Firstly, outsourced call services provide greater efficiency and accuracy when dealing with client inquiries and requests. Instead of estate agents having to answer a large number of phone calls themselves, calls can be routed directly to a dedicated team of experts. This ensures that customers are dealt with swiftly and any queries are answered in a timely and efficient manner.
How it helps to save time
It will save you time by enabling your team to focus on their core duties. An experienced call answering service can offer estate agents valuable insights into customer needs and queries, meaning that they can provide more efficient and targeted customer service. An outsourced call answering service can also help with customer acquisition and retention, meaning that estate agents can benefit from more business. Additionally, outsourcing calls can free up resources and personnel costs. If a professional answering service is used, they can handle both inbound and outbound calls as needed. This means that your team doesn’t need to be on-call 24/7, giving them more freedom to focus on other areas of the business. Furthermore, it allows for improved customer satisfaction through quick response times, leading to increased customer loyalty. In conclusion, estate agents can benefit from using an outsourced call answering service by saving money, increasing customer satisfaction, and freeing up their own resources.
How it helps to save money
Finally, let’s talk about the bottom line – estate agents who outsource their calls save money. For example, businesses that use an answering service can save up to 40% in operating costs in comparison to using a traditional in-house customer service team. This is because outsourcing reduces overhead costs such as salaries and benefits and eliminates the need to purchase equipment and office space. In addition, it allows estate agents to benefit from economies of scale since they only pay for services when they’re needed. Plus, by taking advantage of 24/7 customer service solutions, estate agents can ensure that no lead goes unanswered regardless of when or where it was generated. This can result in more sales and higher customer satisfaction scores.
Mumbai, 14th August 2023: The results of the 2nd Real Estate Agents’ examination, which took place on August 6, have been announced, with 2812 out of 3010 candidates successfully passing. The pass rate for this second examination stands at an impressive 94%, slightly lower than the 96% pass rate of the first exam.
In the initial examination, 423 candidates appeared, and 405 emerged victorious. This time, a substantial increase in participation was witnessed, as 3010 candidates took the exam, out of which 2812 secured success.
Real estate agents are the essential bridge between customers and developers, playing a crucial role in facilitating transactions. The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has led the way by mandating certification for agents through specific training and examinations, ensuring clients receive accurate guidance according to regulatory provisions.
Remarkably, three women from Mumbai have jointly secured the first position with an outstanding score of 96%.
Among the accomplished candidates, 118 are above the age of 60, including 7 women, highlighting the diverse representation of successful agents.
Candidates hailing from various regions such as Mumbai, Pune, Pandharpur, Latur, Jalgaon, Dhule, Amravati, Akola, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nashik, Sangli, Satara, and Solapur participated in the examination conducted on August 6.
Maharera, through an order dated January 10, 2023, has mandated training and certification for new agent registrations and renewals. Acknowledging the pivotal role agents play as intermediaries between homebuyers and developers, Maharera emphasizes the importance of uniform, consistent, and clear provision of essential information about regulatory aspects such as Agreements for Sale, Allotment Letters, built-up area calculations, and defect liability periods.
This emphasis on information transparency and adherence to regulatory standards ensures that consumers make informed decisions when purchasing properties, underscoring Maharera’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of homebuyers, officials said.
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