Tom;

I think some of these items belong to Northern california.

> 2. You make over $250,000 and still can't afford a house.
> 11. Gas costs 75 cents per gallon more than anywhere alse in the U.S.


Houses here are much more expensive than Southern California as is gasoline. As of last week when I checked our gasoline was about 50 cents more a gallon than L.A.'s. We pay nearly $2.00 a gallon for regular. In the San Francisco Bay Area a 1200 square foot 40 year old fixer upper will start at $550,000 and someone will come along and offer $900,000. This is not a joke! Of course we have Berkeley, where all the "real trends begin"! 900 square foot houses in San Francisco that are 100 years old, have two wire AC (do not turn on more than one 40 watt light bulb at a time) and require new plumbing go for at least $1,200,000. They require new plumbing as it takes about an hour to fill a bathtub with water. If you are patient you can use the original plumbing which has 100 years of mineral buildup inside the pipes. A million-dollar dream home! Not really, as it will take a small fortune to bring it up to code.


To make another comparison between Southern and Northern California:
1. When there is a draught Northern California (which supplies water to Southern California) goes on water rationing. This has happened twice. Southern California will continue to fill its swimming pools while we cannot flush the toilet.
2. When there is a electrical power problem Northern California gets rolling black outs (happened yesterday and will happen today as an example) and Southern California does not.

What is the difference in Southern and Northern California? Population – votes! The Southern part of the state has more political clout and we have more resources and money. Therefore we have to give more to keep Southern California afloat. Remember Silicon Valley provides 25 % of the Nations Export. Southern California gives us movies and television programs. Watch the numbers of the economy as our power goes off. We will all be picking vegetables before you know it. No more .COM just good old agriculture like it was 50 years ago.

Tom