Entries by Babs De Lay

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 […]

SCHOOL DAZE

It’s September, when the smell of a pencil erasure or a new pad of paper makes me sigh for school days gone by. If you’re a commuter, you may sigh more often because school zones are now in effect around the state. I recently had a conversation with some buyers who really liked a home […]

BUBBLE BURSTING?

Uh oh! Is the bubble bursting? Park City’s Board of REALTORS reports that all three of their major weekly stats, new, pending and closed listings, continue to drop compared to 2020. That makes seven weeks in a row this has happened. And the drops are either the largest year-to-date (new listings) or second largest (sold […]