Wall Street troubles hit Main Street hard

Coachella Valley families were feeling the repercussions as Wall Street continued to plunge last week.

How Steven LaBarbera and his family will get by in an increasingly troubled economy “is what I concern myself with on a daily basis,” the Indio resident said.

An Army veteran who served in Iraq, LaBarbera works part-time at the Indio Police Department while using the Montgomery GI Bill to attend school full-time at Cal State San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus.

His wife, Elana, works full-time at the Riverside County courthouse. The couple have a 10-month-old son, Nicholas.

Over the past three months, the credit limit on the couple's credit cards has been cut — some of them eliminating all remaining available credit, LaBarbera said.

“At this point, it hasn't gotten to where we feel cornered,” LaBarbera said. “But I think of the bigger picture, if it were to continue this way, and things were to get worse.

“If we were to have another tight month — and it's already happened; someone backs into you and you have to pay your (car insurance) deductible — you look to this money and suddenly it's not there. Unless you have money saved up, you no longer have a way to pay.”

Caring for their baby adds a layer of concern as the economy worsens, LaBarbera said.

“If things continue the way they have, we could find ourselves being limited in what we can do for him — even if it's something as simple as we need to buy baby gates to make the house safer,” he said. “We can't do it because we're in such a tight spot.”

Pam Harwell of Palm Desert said she's seen her IRA rapidly decline with the stock market in recent days.

Harwell points the blame directly at the members of Congress responsible for banking oversight and irresponsible home-lending they allowed and many encouraged.

“What happened with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was abominable, and I think the people on that finance committee, be they Republicans or Democrats, should all resign,” she said.

“I think that's where it all started.”

Dyson and Dyson closes valley offices

After 10 years in the Coachella Valley's luxury real estate market, Dyson and Dyson began closing shop last week.

Owner Bob Dyson blamed the struggling economy, personal and business finances — county records show his Bighorn home is in the early stages of foreclosure — and personal health reasons for his decision.

“This economy has done a number on everybody. We're not excluded,” Dyson told The Desert Sun.

“It's just time for me.”

Dyson sent an e-mail to agents saying, “We are experiencing unprecedented change and turbulence financially, economically, socially and in our personal and business stability.”

Dyson encouraged his agents — who are independent contractors able to swap their license to another agency — to merge with the Indian Wells-based Windermere Real Estate Company.

It was unclear how many of Dyson's local agents would go to Windermere.

Dyson and Dyson is the valley's first major real estate agency to close in the current market downturn, in which the bulk of sales are entry-level homes priced well under $500,000.

The agency had already downsized: In February, Dyson said he sold his Las Vegas real estate operation to existing agents there and he recently closed his office in Rancho Mirage as well.

“We have seen in all markets large real estate firms consolidating multiple offices into fewer offices, but we have seen very few firms of Dyson's prominence in the market simply walk away from the marketplace entirely,” said Pat Veling, president and founder of Real Data Strategies, which has tracked real estate trends nationwide for 17 years.

Drivers beat high gas prices with Smart cars

About 100 drivers are roaming the streets of the Coachella Valley in a Smart car.

The Mercedes-Benz-produced vehicle, officially made available to the United States in January, has become popular among drivers who want to reminisce about their trip overseas or save gas at a time of high fuel prices.

The cars are more compact and more fuel efficient than the average automobile.

That doesn't stop Roy Komassa from getting some funny looks and comments while driving around town.

“A couple people have yelled out the window ‘The back of your car is missing,' “ the Palm Springs resident said.

The car has a 9-gallon tank and gets 41 miles per gallon, which helps Komassa spend $15 on premium fuel every other week instead of nearly $30 per week on his Nissan Frontier pickup truck, he said.

He bought his car through Smart Center Riverside.

The business sold about 425 of the cars in Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties, and about a quarter of them were sold to local residents, brand manager John Gaddis said.

And despite their size, they can hang with sports cars on the freeway.

“The top speed is 90 mph; it has plenty of speed,” Gaddis said.

Uptown Grill shuts down, sells equipment

A liquidation sale is taking place through Wednesday at the Uptown Grill in Palm Springs.

The restaurant has been for sale for at least a couple of years. On Thursday, acquireo.com, a business Web site, listed Uptown Grill for $390,000.

“(The owner) couldn't make it,” said Joanne Plummer, who is handling the liquidation sale for owner Eric Laurie. “He had it up for sale and couldn't hang on to it anymore.”

Across the street from Uptown, Baker's Square also was recently shuttered.

The closing came as a surprise to Bunny Merlo, who said she had eaten at Uptown Grill on a recent weekday night.

“I came here often,” Merlo said. “I really was shocked. It was full on a weeknight.”

The liquidation event is happening at the restaurant, 150 E. Vista Chino. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Regent Palm Desert gets $12M makeover

The public can get a peek at the Regent Palm Desert apartment community's $12 million transformation on Nov. 1.

The renovation includes extensive upgrades to its residential units, clubhouse and outdoor amenities.

Each remodeled apartment home at The Regent Palm Desert, offers kitchens with new stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, hardware and fixtures, oversized closets, central air and heating, upgraded flooring, and large balconies or patios. The second-floor units feature vaulted ceilings.

The 512-unit complex also offers a new, 18-hole putting green, six lighted tennis courts, seven resort-styled pools, six spas. The remodeled clubhouse features a gourmet teaching kitchen, movie theater, fitness center and business center.

Steven Paull, partner and chief financial officer of Monarch Group, said the work was done to attract residents to a new level of community and resort-style living.

“These upgrades to The Regent raise the apartment community to the luxury level, which is part of the Palm Desert reputation,” he said.

The public can view the refurbished property, at 73-373 Country Club Drive, from 1 to 5 p.m.