Entries by Babs De Lay

Can’t Pop that Bubble

For those of you hoping that the crazy housing market is just a bubble about to pop, the news is baaaaad.  Home prices in February have shot up in Salt Lake County by a whopping 23% over last year with Utah County coming in at a record high of 30% in 12 months, Davis County […]

NEEDLE PARK

Decades ago, in New York City there was a forgotten 10 acres of public space called Bryant Park at 1071 Avenue of the Americas between West 40th and West 41st Streets. By the 1980’s it had become our version of what our Pioneer Park looked like-a campground for the unsheltered, a place to buy and […]

MULBERRIES

I love local history, and this time of year history is in bloom. Mulberry trees which are scattered all over the Salt Lake Valley and down as far south as St. George are getting ready to produce fruit this summer which can be used for jam or wine. These historic trees were planted by the […]

Gas Attack

OMG. Have you filled up your gas tank this past week? As someone who virtually ‘drives for a living’ I’m not a happy consumer at the pump. What’s causing these hellish gas prices? Primarily, GREED.  We have enough gas for the vehicles in this country in reserves, but suppliers cut way back during COVID because […]

FREE FARES NOW

I had the opportunity to serve for two years on the Utah Transit Authority Board of Directors before the Utah State Legislature put a kaibosh on a Board of any kind and turned over the major decisions to a few people appointed by the Governor. It was a fast and fascinating education about mass transit […]

So High!

As we like to say in real estate sales, “They ain’t building any more land!”  Dirt that you can build on is a precious commodity in all our major cities in Utah right now, so the next best frontier is to build UP.  I always thought that if I moved back to New York I […]

Salty Roads

We’ve had a few good storms this year, enough that UDOT has brought out the plows to scape our streets in our northern cities in the state. With the plows comes a mix of salt and dirt treated with magnesium and calcium to spread on the roads to make it safer for Utahn’s to drive. […]

Buggery 2021

Mosquitos in November? Who thinks about them when you you’re trying to swat the last of fall flies and sweep up those interminable elm bugs? November is the time of the year when people who own property must pay their annual property taxes, and part of those taxes in Salt Lake City/County go towards mosquito […]

Gas is Only Cheap At Taco Bell

Just when you thought there was enough bad news to go around, it appears we’re in for another kick in the pants with predictions that utility prices are going to jump this winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in October that residential propane prices (most of us don’t use propane in Utah) were starting […]

SUPPLY CHAIN HELL

Raise your hand if you’re about ready to slap the next person who says the words “supply chain issues”! Snow tires are stuck on container ships and may not arrive until after the Easter Bunny comes in 2022. Rumors abound week to week that we’re running out of toilet paper again, that paper towels, yeast […]