Stewart Penn - Los Angeles Condo Specialist

In July and September of this year I blogged about Nicolas Cage selling his Bel Air Mansion for a hugely reduced price.

The property located on Copa De Oro Road in Bel Air has been in escrow since the begining of October and the CLAW MLS indicates the agent is "Looking for Back-ups".

Today News comes out of New Orleans that Cage has lost not one, but both of his homes in New Orleans in a foreclosure auction held yesterday.

Both properties have been purchased for a total of $4.5 Million by Regions Bank, his lender. Apparently no-one bid against the bank.

The City of New Orleans will receive almost $152,000 in unpaid property taxes as a result of the foreclosure.

Now Nicolas Cage is suing his ex-business manager, claiming "he (the business manager) lined his pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while sending Cage down a path to financial ruin."

The facts should emerge in a hearing scheduled for February 2010, but one can't help questioning whether Cage isn't personally responsible for his financial predicament considering he purchased 15 personal residences (including two castles in Europe), a Gulfstream jet, 22 motor cars and 4 yachts.

The Famous (or infamous) Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is about to receive a $6.5 Million facelift after more than 75 years of use - $5.4 Million in city funding and $1.1 Million from the federal stimulus package.

Sunset Blvd is a major arterial street serving more than 60,000 commuters on a daily basis.

The Sunset Strip Beautification project which includes repaving the street, repairing sidewalks and adding landscapes and medians, is expected to take six months to complete and will commence in January 2010.

I'm excited about this project because the strip is an integral part of the Los Angeles.

Many well-known clubs and bars are situated on this part of Sunset Blvd, some with good stories, some with bad ....

but whatever the case may be, the 'Sunset Strip" is always bustling, always busy, and an exciting place to see and be seen.

The Washington Post has published an article stating that the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has threatened to stop social services for those in need if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law.

In terms of a bill headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, churches would not be required to perform same-sex marriages but they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians. This sounds decent and "Christian" to me.

But the church is worried it may be forced to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples. This doesn't sound fair nor "Christian-like" to me.

In effect the church is playing politics and using the homeless as pawns in it's Washington power play.

I believe that in such a case the church should loose it's tax-exempt status as it discriminates who it will assist based on religious beliefs.

Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said: "The city is saying in order to provide social services you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."

I find this statement unbelievable ..... and wonder if Jesus would have said the same thing!

It's my opinion that the West Hollywood condo market is improving!

This month there have already been a healthy number of closings with two units selling above the magical $1 Million mark and there have also been a few units in the popular price range of $600,000 - $700,000.

1100 Alta Loma Rd - $1,775,000 (Listed at $1,995,000)

8703 West Knoll Dr - $1,100,000 (Listed at $1,200,000)

935 Westbourne Dr - $678,500 (Listed at $724,000)

1010 Curson Ave - $640,000 (listed at $674,900)

8121 Norton Ave - $612,500 (Listed at $699,000)

It's noteworthy that 33 of the 159 units currently listed For Sale are above $1 Million ..... representing 21% of active listings in the area.

(Statistics are obtained from The CLAW MLS and are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed)

CNN's Lou Dobbs ("Mr. Independent") is leaving the network.

Dobbs' resignation is effective immediately and tonight was his last broadcast on CNN.

During his final program this evening Dobbs said he has been "urged by political and business leaders to leave his television platform to engage in constructive problem-solving on national issues."

He went on to say: "Over the past six months it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and effecting all of us."

I remember when Lou Dobbs handled the business reporting for CNN, and I thought he was quite good. But over the last few years he became rather pompous and bombastic. I found his program annoying and eventually could no longer watch his ranting.

I'm not sure if it was his sense of self-importance or a genuine passion for his beliefs and opinions.

Whatever the actual reason, it became clear that his presence at CNN was in conflict with the more level-headed programming of the network.

And so he "resigned" ...... but why is he leaving in such haste?

Why is Lou Dobbs really leaving CNN?