Our front page story today about Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s opt-out program for customers who don't want a SmartMeter didn't provide contact information. So here you go: PG&E customers who want to opt out of the program can submit their request online at www.pge.com/smartmeteroptout or call 1-866-

Grabbing headlines this morning is the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index that shows values continued to tumble in November in most major U.S. markets. But how are the

Shasta County Association of Realtors President Doug Juenke noted this week that interest rates are so low and home prices are so affordable that in many cases it's cheaper to buy than rent. So what would your m

Sounds like J.C. Penney is getting rid of sales. Does this mean fewer inserts in the paper? From The Associated Press story: "J.C. Penney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40 percent so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in it

AAA Northern California has announced its 2012 five-diamond hotels and restaurants. The hotels: _ The Ritz- Carlton in Half Moon Bay _ The Ritz- Carlton in San Francisco _ The Ritz-Carlton in Truckee, Lake Tahoe And the top restaurants: _ Cyrus in Healdsburg _ Erna's Elderb

Nobody's ready to say the housing market has turned, but numbers suggest that sellers in Shasta County today may be in a better position than a year ago. Especially if you got a house on the market for under $150,000. There are currently around 900 homes listed for sale in Shasta County, well below the ne

Patterson City Manager Rod Butler was good enough to get back to me Friday regarding my e-mail inquiry of Amazon.com, rumored to be coming to Butler's city. I was off Friday, so Butler's response didn't make Sunday'

Ryan Hall, whom the USA Today calls "America's fastest marathoner", tells the national publication today that he is relying on his faith to make the Olympics. Record Searchlight freelancer Marge Dun

I wanted to get thoughts from the California Restaurant Association regarding the uptick in barbecue in Redding. But alas, the advocacy group's spokesman, Daniel Conway, was out of town and couldn't be reached before today's story

Reuters gives us an in-depth look at this weekend's shopping crush. The piece emphasizes a point that Michael Niemira, chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers, made in a

Despite prodding from my family, I did not make it out at midnight today for Black Friday. No, I slept in and was out in front of Kmart at 4 a.m., along with some 200 other shoppers who were waiting for the Hilltop Drive retailer to open at 5 o'clock. Reports were it was madness at the stores that did ope

You can't build it today for that price. It's a comment you hear a lot about the rock-bottom value of today's housing market. But gosh, buy a bank-repo lot in Sunset Hills and you're certainly off to a good start. Sunset Hills was (still is?) a gated development in Cottonwood that featured 88 "equ

The crusade to stop Target from opening at midnight on Black Friday came to the retailer's corporate offices in Minneapolis today. Target employee Seth Coleman delivered more than 190,000 signatures demand

From Barry Rithholtz's Washington Post column. "The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 is a favorite boogeyman for some, despite the numbers that so easily disprove it as a cause. ..."The market share of financial institutions that were subject to the CRA has steadily declined since the legis

Sometimes lost in the gloom of plunging home values is that it's more affordable than ever to buy in Shasta County. So reiterates the latest installment of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. Roughly eight of every 10 new and existing homes that sold in the th

The number of American homeowners behind on their mortgage has fallen, the Mortgage Bankers Association said this morning. But the trade group reported that foreclosures are on the rise. That news comes on the heels of RealtyTrac's

Buying foreclosed storage units is big business. I did a local story about the phenomenon - a "hobby" whose popularity has been fanned by such shows as A&E's "Storage Wars - in February. Buyers, some

Right on, Anthony Hardwick. First, let me say the preceding declaration has nothing to do with the fact that this reporter is staring the possibility of starting his ubiquitous Black Friday coverage at the stroke of midnight. So who is Anthony Hardwick? Mr. Hardwick is a Target employee in Omaha,

Low mortgage rates and rock-bottom home prices are making home ownership for some more attainable than ever today. But the historic low rates for a home loan aren't good for everybody. The Associated Press reported Tuesday night that Fannie Mae is asking for more taxpayer money. $7.8 billion, to

Across the country, employers are putting out the "Help Wanted" signs with more frequency. The Labor Department said Tuesday that nearly 3.4 million jobs were posted in September, The Associated Press reported. That's the most since August 2008. Economist suggest the increase will continue. "Busin

The Associated Press reports that more homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages. Story cites numbers from TransUnion: The rate that mortgage holders were late with their payments by 60 days or more rose in the June-to-September period for the first time since the last three months of 2009, accordi

Community banks and credit unions across the country are gearing up for tomorrow's "Bank Transfer Day." How much impact will the grassroots movement - a parallel to the Occupy Wall Street protests being staged - have on these neighborhood institutions? Consumes are certainly fed up. Bank of Ameri

To anybody who thinks the voice of the man (or woman) on the corner gets ignored, witness Bank of America's decision today to drop its debit card fee. The banking giant announced in September its plan to charge customers a $5 monthly fee starting early next year. The decision sparked outrage at the same t

Great Place to Work has come out with its best-companies-to-work-for list. Among the winners is fast-food icon McDonald's. "The fast-food giant cares about its employee

It was overhyped after all. That's because it ain't happening - at least for now. CalTrans announcement yesterday that it's postponing "Carmageddon North" because of lousy weather is on the surface a head-scratcher. Workers were set to close the southbound I-5 to eastbound 44 and the westbound 44

You've been out of work for months. You've filled out oodles of applications but have actually interviewed for a scant few jobs. Ever thought of suing because you can't get hired? Accordi

Used to be Starbucks would ask if you wanted room for cream in that morning cup of coffee. Now the world's largest coffee chain is asking customers to help stimulate the economy. The Associated Press reports the Seattle-based chain, starting Nov. 1, will ask customers to donate at least $5 to contribute t

Did you hear? Starting next year, Bank of America is going to start charging customers $5 if they make purchases with their debit card. The fee is a one-time, flat charge each month. Simultaneous to today's news comes this from Consumers Union: Tips for consumers when banks start charging new fees. Here's

Chico has been named one of the 19 Best Town to live in by Outside magazine. The home to Chico State University and Sierra Nevada Brewery had the distinction of being the only community in California to make the list. Ashland, Ore., also was named a Best Town by Outside. Others deemed worthy were:

Plenty of opinions this morning under my foreclosure story about just how much that house in Anderson with the former-million-dollar view is worth. The home, which is more than 4,000 square feet and also boasts a guest house, o

Speaking with Charlie Moss as he shared his thoughts about Moss Lumber & Hardware's closure, I was struck by how much emphasis the former owner of the Redding landmark put on the arduous task of running a lumber yard.

It's the glass-half-full version of this downgrade mess. Main St. reports that consumer credit card rates should be safe amid this debacle. "So call it a cloud with a silver lining. Yes, the stock market is taking a huge hit (Hey, the market is up about 275 points right now), but at least your credit card

Talk to area real estate agents and brokers and some say that the short sale process is getting easier. But a survey released today by the California Association of Realtors, or CAR, suggests otherwise. For the record, a short sale is when the lender allows the underwater borrower to sell the property for

With thousands of square feet of empty retail space conspicuous in greater Redding, is our area really underserved by big box, department store and smaller retail chains? So says Jeff Hess of Hawkins Companies Development, who told Record Searchlight reporter Alayna Shulman in

It's remarkable how crazy Redding's home building market was in 2005 . . . and is in 2011. Of course one precipitated the other. Some numbers: In 2005, a year the city generated a record $222 million in construction dollar valuation, the building department recorded 335 single-family home p

Ever get the feeling that you're not exactly sharing the road with Rhodes Scholars? You're not imagining things. Results from a national insurance survey show Californians have a lower-than-average driving IQ. California ranked 34th in the nation with an average score of 76.8 - which is below the

In today's story about the scam that targeted Redding area residents, including North Valley Bank customers, federal authorities raise concerns about the proliferation of these financial schemes with the growth of mobile banking. FBI offic

It's a question that's come up following last week's news that Southern Aluminum Finishing won't build in Stillwater Business Park. I emailed Redding City Manager Kurt Starman. His response: "No, SAF terminated the transaction prior to the close of escrow. The City still owns Lot 7. Cushman & Wakefiel

OK, let me get this straight. Some SmartMeter haters take umbrage that their liberties are being trampled by PG&E workers who are barging on to their property to install the new technology. And how is that different from the old-fashioned meter reader who walked your property monthly to check your gas

Have you heard about the brouhaha in Reno? Once exclusive to the "Biggest Little City in the World", the annual Hot August Nights car show is hitting the road this year. And the good folks in Reno are none too impressed. Organizers of Hot August Nights, the inspiration for Kool April Nites and oth

My front page story today talked about the economic engine that is Kool April Nites. The annual showcase of chrome and horsepower also is an opportunity to show off some of the area's attractions like the Sundial Bridge, Shasta Dam, the La

"A gallon of regular unleaded in the Redding area hit a record average of $3.87 a gallon Tuesday -- nearly 30 cents more than a month ago, AAA reported." That was the opening graph of my April 23, 2008, story about the unprece

Looking for work? Well, if you're a registered nurse, the opportunities in Shasta County were plentiful in February. That's according to the state Employment Development Department, which started tracking job listings for California counties last month. The numbers show that there were 92 want ads

A comment below from Suggest/Removal in response to the Horizon Air story . The carrier, which has served Redding since 1994, will pull out on April 17. ". . . The hard part is that i5 is the Redding Airport killer

My article today about short sales might have given the impression that these transactions won't hurt your credit. From the article: "Short sales allow troubled borrowers to dodge the hit to their credit scores that would c

UCLA's Anderson Forecast on California's business environment is good news for Stillwater Business Park. The quarterly report, which was featured in today's paper, says the Golden State's regulations aren't necessarily killing off business and motivating companies to flee for states like Texas. No, the Lo

On your mortgage, that is. CoreLogic released a report today that shows nearly a quarter of U.S. borrowers in the fourth quarter of 2010 owed more on their mortgage than their house was worth. It's much worse in foreclosure-ravaged states like California and Arizona, where roughly half of all mortgages ar

Here are some myth-busting tips on saving gas in these times of rising pump prices. The skinny? Don't worry about running the air conditioner, forget about those additives, an

As I reported Thursday, some north state businesses are doing well despite the economic doom and gloom. But the ones that are surviving -- even thriving -- seem to have a common theme: Shasta County is not a dominant compon

Well, we're finally getting that auto mall some have coveted for years. No, they're not dusting off plans to revisit Churn Creek Bottom, nearly four years after Shasta County Supervisors narrowly defeated the proposed 107-acre, $110 million Shasta Regional Auto Mall at Knighton Road and Interstate 5. It w