• Clunker Class War – Timothy Egan Blog – NYTimes.com
  Interesting look at the varying perceptions of the government's stimulus efforts and how they might be seen through the class prism. h/t to Ed Cone for the link.
  (tags: economics government)
• The Seventh Sense: Stats from the Cash for Clunkers Program
  Ken Ashford has the top 10 trade ins and the top 10 new cars bought in the government's cash for clunkers program.
  (tags: government)

• Yes! Weekly: Greensboro Campaign Finance
  Yes! Weekly's blog covers some campaign finance disclosures for Greensboro city council candidates. We ain't talkin' big bucks yet.
  (tags: politics greensboro)
• Vie de Malchance: Commercial Property Deflates
  Fec gives me another reason to go "ugh."
  (tags: economics taa commercialrealestate)
• Behind The Forged Letters: Jack Bonner's "White-Collar Sweatshop …
  This piece gave me my new favorite term: "white collar sweatshop." The revelations aren't what I'd call shocking: "Last week, Jack Bonner blamed a "bad employee" for the fact that his lobbying firm had sent forged letters, purporting to be from local minority groups, urging a member of Congress to oppose climate change legislation. (It's since been revealed that Bonner's firm was working on behalf of the coal industry.)" Found via Ed Cone.
  (tags: politics ethics)
• The New Yorker: The Courthouse Ring
  Malcolm Gladwell takes a look at Atticus Finch from a different angle. Found via Ed Cone.
  (tags: society commentary)

• NAA Blog: Is it a profitable time to buy?
  "The number of apartment properties falling into financial trouble is far outstripping the number of distressed communities resolved through sale or otherwise, according to a June report from real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics. Outstanding apartment distress is up $8.1 billion year-to-date and totaled $16.8 billion at the end of May, according to the report. Another $750 million of apartment properties had gone into default or foreclosure through mid-June, the report added."
  (tags: apartment taa)
• Article on Freddie Mac's Capital Markets Execution Program
  "Initially conceived as a way for Freddie Mac to compete in the CMBS market, Freddie’s Capital Markets Execution (CME) program has become the first source of CMBS based on aggregated multifamily housing loans in over a year. The program allows Freddie Mac to continue to provide liquidity to the multifamily housing industry without adding new loans to its balance sheet, says Patti Saylor, Vice President, Offerings and Customer Management for Freddie Mac."
  (tags: apartment economics commercialloans cmbs taa)
• Womble Carlyle Launching New Enterprise to Help Developers With Wetland Mitigation
  "Womble Carlyle Ecology Innovations LLC will work with clients to create or preserve wetlands and other environmentally protected areas. That ecologically sound property can be turned into a credit and sold to developers whose plans will destroy other wetlands."
  (tags: development piedmonttriad)
• Read This If You Hate Meetings – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com
  Why meetings stink.
  (tags: work management)
• Shatner Reads Palin's Tweets
  Another Shatner as Palin classic.
  (tags: politics funny)
• North Carolina Maps: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
  Digitized versions of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of cities in North Carolina pre-1922. Very descriptive and detailed maps of downtown areas. So far four cities have been scanned in: Charlotte, Greensboro, Kinston and Wilmington. Hopefully Winston-Salem will be soon.
  (tags: northcarolina winston-salem greensboro maps)
• Visiting Blogger Diggin' Trade Street in Winston-Salem
  The man behind PingWi-Fi is in Winston-Salem for a while and he's posted twice about our fair city. First he wrote about the local Hells Angels funeral and most recently he wrote about the scene on Trade Street. I think we might be growing on him.
  (tags: winston-salem)
• Ed Cone: Conflicts
  Ed points out that Triad Watch and Fec "have declared jihad against real estate developers on the city council and county commission" and asks "How much rollback is enough, and is it possible to go too far in the opposite direction?"
  (tags: greensboro realestate)

• Shatner Does Palin
  Brilliant.
  (tags: politics)
• Success & Motivation – If(Cash In < Cash Out)= You are a Consultant …
  I love Cuban's equation: if cash in is less than cash out then you're a consultant.
  (tags: business sales)
• 5 most affordable cities in America
  (tags: ping.fm)
• FactCheck: Rep. Foxx Says Health Care Reform Will Cause Seniors To Be "Put To Death By Their Government"
  Oy.
  (tags: government governmentwatchdog healthcare)
• The Seventh Sense: Pepsi v. Coke Logo Evolution
  Very cool graphic showing the evolution of the Pepsi and Coke logos from their founding to today. Coke's is the same while Pepsi appears to be on iteration number 11. Talk about brand identity.
  (tags: marketing advertising branding)

• Media: National Public Radio's Digital Makeover | Newsweek Business …
  NPR picking up the slack for local news? Apparently that's the play for the newly revised NPR.org.
  (tags: media journalism localnews)
• Johnson and Talbott Email Exchange About Who Caused the Economic Meltdown
  Email exchange between Simon Johnson and John Talbott about who caused the economic meltdown. Yes, it seems that the exchange was contrived for publication, but it's still interesting.
  (tags: economics)
• Streaming Kills Piracy
  Fred Wilson briefly looks at how streaming services like Netflix's "Watch Instantly" are killing content pirating.
  (tags: web2.0 media copyright)

• CARS – Car Allowance Rebate System
  This is the website where you can check to see if your car is eligible for the "Cash to Clunkers" trade in.
  (tags: cars government)
• CARS.gov – Car Allowance Rebate System – Home – Formerly Referred to as …
  The government's official "Cash for Clunkers" website.
  (tags: government cars)
• Cash For Clunkers Demystified – INFOGRAPHIC
  Graphic that helps explain the "Cash for Clunkers" program.
  (tags: cars government)

• A NEW CREW: Association focuses on helping women (and some men) succeed …
  A new local association for commercial real estate folks.
  (tags: realestate commercialrealestate triad piedmonttriad)
• Ed Cone: Does this blog make me look fat?
  Ed writes about blogging, particularly how it's not the coolest new thing yet and why it's still important.
  (tags: blogging)
• Lincoln County Shenanigans
  It looks like a story that Fec has been bird dogging for a while is starting to really heat up. The sheriff in Lincoln County hired a blogger who identifies himself as digital media newsman to be his PR rep. Somehow neither the blogger/rep nor the sheriff seem to recognize a conflict of interest in the situation. Now the PR guy has filed a criminal complaint against the editor and publisher at News@Norman and the Lincoln County magistrate has issued a summons. This is gonna get really juicy.
  (tags: northcarolina government governmentwatchdog)

Justin has a pretty bad case of poison ivy (oak?). It’s really bad on his hands, which means we’re having a hard time keeping it from spreading. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

• The Seventh Sense: K'ville's Nathan Tabor Needs To Read The Constitution Before He Comments About It
  Looks like Forsyth County's GOP chair needs to think a little harder about the Constitution and how it works.
  (tags: politics forsythcounty)