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We’reTexas

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by We’reTexas

  1. Yes, totally agree. Not to mention other development issues (like efforts to block multi family housing near BART stops) or that Bay Area public transit was totally overwhelmed by the volume pre-COVID.
  2. In San Francisco (and most CA cities) there’s aggressive rent control and other tenant protections. You’ll often see stories about people subleasing from some old lady to pay 1980-level rents or packing up three generations in a one-bedroom in the Mission. A high minimum wage sort of helps. Prop 13 severely curtails property taxes, and until two years ago you could incredibly pass on your tax rate with your estate. In other words, SF manages it through market-distorting policies that make then problem worse in the long term. As to how working class people “do” it? I honestly don’t know - it doesn’t seem worth it to me, but I guess if it’s your home you just deal with it. You get used to paying more, and for homeowners you come to expect a rate of appreciation that justifies putting most of your wealth in your home. It’s that mentality transplanted to Austin that is fueling the craze, IMO. In defense of Texas, I do think the property tax regime makes sense. Homeowners immediately feel the sting of a rising market, prompting frank discussions over what to do about it (like this thread). Compare that to California, where Prop 13 allows homeowners all of the upsides of appreciation and no downsides, leaving the homeowner class indifferent to housing policy.
  3. Lotta Californian transplants surprised that property taxes can go up.
  4. What @Vegas64means is that he would need to buy 90% of shares to effect a DE short form merger and effectively go private. The anti-takeover measures prevent him from doing so in the first place.
  5. No, institutional investors like Vanguard generally hold for the long term. That news is actually from a 13G amendment filed last week and indicates the trigger date was March 31 (the trigger being the purchase of 1% of outstanding securities). I’d guess the increase was responsive to ISS/Glass Lewis reports and other evaluations given it’s proxy season.
  6. Do you have any familiarity with working with Elliott, and have you followed any of the Twitter saga over the past two years? Elon wants Twitter to be his. That would never happen with those sponsors. Sure, maybe with others, but I’d have a hard time seeing Elon as being anything but a red flag.
  7. Why on earth would Silver Lake and Elliott join him? They just staged a proxy fight two years ago in attempt to oust one impetuous tech billionaire - why would they yield any voting power and directorships to another who has no interest in the economics of a deal and no horizon to sell?
  8. I doubt Silver Lake would want that deal. What a terrible idea - Twitter would be dead without the ability to offer broad based equity comp to its employees.
  9. Matt Levine is great, but he tends to get things wrong when he plays securities lawyer. What I was saying is the below tweet indicates Musk had been discussing a board seat for weeks. That type of discussion would resulted in a 13D obligation from the outset and would have needed to be disclosed. Musk just has a shitshow of a personal staff, it seems.
  10. I’m not sure I follow this, but his initial 13G filing was eye-raising given his history. It was also strange that his initial filing was 9.2%. The filing threshold is 5% and there’s an amendment requirement for the acquisition of 1% of outstanding shares - we now know he just busted it, but at face value he would have somehow had to have moved 5% of Twitter in one day. When Twitter’s CEO announced the board seat, he mentioned discussions had been going on for weeks. It’s pretty clear he should have always had to file a 13D, and those negotiations should have been disclosed. Edit: He did this in his personal capacity, so he couldn’t rely on TSLA counsel. But presumably at this point he knows this and is staffed up. Given he stopped at 9%, I assumed he did so on advice to avoid becoming a Section 16 filer.
  11. David O is a legend. Yes, agree but if you know you want to practice in Texas and wanted to avoid >$200k in debt, UT Law would make sense as many Ivy grads could roll in with substantial scholarships.
  12. Austin is basically there. I mean obviously not if you really number crunch, but subjectively listings like that give me the same “WTF” feeling I get when I see 800 sq ft 2/1s asking $1.5M in SF. Just nonsensical. Edit: and to add, if I had to pick, I’d feel better about buying in SF or many parts of LA right now.
  13. At least his arm wasn’t ripped off as he was carjacked by a 17 year old out on bail for armed robbery.
  14. Temescal is the place to be. Daytrip, Snail Bar, Rose’s - lots of stuff. Viridian has a strong argument for being one of the best new bars in the country in the past few years. Tomato Beef cocktail is the truth.
  15. El Born is probably the hippest neighborhood right now. My favorite hood is Grácia, near Parc Guell (but has a very non-touristy, local profile). Poble Sec, which used to be pretty run down, is now a pretty hot nieghborhood, and El Raval, which used to be really run down, is really cool. Mirablau on Tibidabo for views of the city. Barceloneta for drinks on the beach. Festival of Sant Joan is late June, so that should be a party.
  16. Also, the cable car may seem touristy but IMO it’s awesome (I take it to work!). If you want to do it, skip the lines in the Hyde route and take the California line. Better Bay Bridge views anyways.
  17. Walking (or urban hiking, as we call it) is IMO the best way to explore SF. The city is actually only 7x7 square miles so it’s very easy to get around. Few favorites, but there’s tons of stuff: - North Beach/Chinatown. Grant Street’s transition from deep Chinatown to deep North Beach is a great juxtaposition. -Russian Hill. Ina Coolbrith is one of my favorite views of the city. Francisco Park is a new park that will have great Bay views, should be open soon. -Fort Mason for great Bridge views. -Pac Height. Alta Plaza Park and Billionaire’s Row. -The Presidio, easy to hike around and can check out Crissy Field and Baker Beach. Can walk to Land’s End as well. - Golden Gate Park. JFK Drive is car-free (for now) and has become an awesome pedestrian walkway. Wings at Kezar or San Tung. - The Mission. Check out the murals on Valencia and Mission, get a burrito. Also get a contact high at Dolores Park. - Bernal Heights. One of my other favorite views of the city and walkable from the Mission. Also, do not bother with Muir Woods. It’s touristy and overcrowded. You can actually hike into parts of it from Mt Tam with zero crowds. As Txzen mentioned, my favorite easy hike is the coastal trail loop from Rodeo Beach. About 2.5 hours and has great views of the city, super easy to get to.
  18. Back in San Francisco right now and just saw some dude running in a K95.
  19. Would recommend Bayou St John and City Park to walk around. There’s a Cafe du Monde in City Park, and tons of bars and restaurants around. Also, could take the ferry to Algiers Point. The Point is a pretty nice historic neighborhood, and while it’s got a pretty sleepy feel there are a few places to try: Crown and Anchor, Old Point and Dry Dock Cafe.
  20. Streetcar is not cash only. You can (and should) download the RTA app and just buy tickets on your phone. There is a baby orangutan at the Audobon zoo. Also, Spotted Cat has a parklet now - saw lots of families listening to the daytime shows on Frenchman.
  21. Sunday: After a Bacchanal Sunday, tried Seafood Sally’s (from the Marjie’s Grill folks). It was great. Didn’t have much of a raw bar that night, so went for the boil platter, turkey necks and fried catfish. Monday night was back on Oak to see George Porter at Maple Leaf. Intended to eat healthy but ended up at Bouligny Tavern for some beet-cured salmon with rye blinis and crawfish gougéres. Bouligny is a great neighborhood spot on Magazine - their Fig Old Fashioned is great. Mid-City yesterday. Clesi’s for crawfish, the Pal’s. Hit up Finn McCool’s for beers beforehand - love that they’ve expanded outdoor seating during COVID.
  22. James Beard finalists are out. Saint-Germain and Mosquito Supper Club, as well as Isaac Toups. We’ve hit Saint-Germain’s patio up many times and done the tasting menu as well, but keep striking out on tickets to MSC.
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