Smoke in the sky on Saturday

The news has the story about the smoke that could be seen yesterday from Palermo: "Palm Springs firefighters successfully put out a half-acre brush fire that started Saturday afternoon in Chino Canyon just north of Palm Springs. The fire, which was west of Highway 111, created smoke that was visible across Palm Springs and as far away as Vista Chino and Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City. Firefighters were called to the area about 4 p.m. and had the fire contained just after 4:30 p.m. The fire was in an undeveloped desert area and no buildings were threatened." Miss Penny Lane says: She's on fire today to get some housekeeping brushed out of the way.

Happy Father's Day, Palermo

Happy Father's Day to all at Palermo Palm Springs and beyond. Miss Penny Lane says: She will celebrate by having a granddaddy of breakfast.

Real estate news

Thee hasn't been much real estate news at Palermo Palm Springs of law. Two homes on Penny Lane and on Melody Lane have been in short sales or foreclosures but it appears they may be off the market now, as the signs are gone. News from the paper: The number of Riverside County homes that fell into foreclosure last month jumped 14 percent, pointing to "a bumpy ride down to the bottom of this foreclosure cycle," a real estate tracking firm reported today. A total of 4,406 mortgage default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions were recorded countywide in May, translating to 1 in 182 households in some stage of foreclosure, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac. The county ranked No. 5 in foreclosures statewide. The number of filings was 14 percent more than in April but roughly 6 percent below the level of a year ago, data showed." Miss Penny Lane says: The only thing she's in the market for is a new floatie.

Positively Palermo inspires new community blog

This was posted yesterday on Positively Palermo: "I loved your blog so much that when I lived in Palermo for 2 years I read it all the time. *(I was renting then) I was able to purchase a house in Escena and created a positive blog about our community here. Please forgive the similarities. I hope to bring a community blog within our development like you do here. http://positivelyescena.blogspot.com/ " Miss Penny Lane says: She's positively honored.

Positively Palermo has been asked to provide the floor plans for the A model loft residence. There are 33 Model A townhome units. The A units are two stories, with 20-foot ceilings and walls of glass windows in the front of the house. They have two bedrooms, an office loft, 2.5 baths, upstairs sun deck, private back yard and one-car garage. They are the largest of all the units at Palermo, with 1,375 square feet. The A models have a unique floor plan that includes high ceilings, loft, and the kitchen area with a huge island in the center of the first floor. A reminder that all seven of Palermo's floor plans (A-B-C-D-E-F and G) are on this site. Get to them by clicking the link on the left side of this page. Miss Penny Lane says: A is for awesome.

Aerial map

The newspaper has had stories about an arrest in "the pipe case." There is an interesting aerial map that shows where the devices were found and even has an overhead view of Palermo. This is the link. Miss Penny Lane says: She's hopping off to the ihop to waffles on this Sunday morning.

A new name for Enterprise Way?

You may have seen the discussion by residents about whether Enterprise Way, named after Palermo's original developer, should be renamed. Enterprise Way is the main entrance to Palermo, off Indian Canyon Drive. The clubhouse and a limited number of residences have Enterprise Way addresses, but when Phase 2 is completed, Enterprise Way will run all the way to San Rafael and have many more units. What do you think? Should Enterprise Way get a new name and shed the past, or do you like it? What would be some other choices? Miss Penny Lane says: She thinks the best name for a Palermo street is already taken.

Primary day

It's Election Day. For citizens of Palermo Palm Springs, you go to vote at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center at 480 W. Tramview Road, according to the elections office. To get there, go up Indian Canyon Drive and take a left. Miss Penny Lane says: She likes to exercise her right to vote and does it just as much as she gets on a treadmill.

Hottest day of the year?

Forecast says it will be 110 degrees for the last day of May. Miss Penny Lane says: She's off to the office and her workplace is always nice a cool because her co-workers are.

When is trash day this week?

Positively Palermo has been asked if trash and recycling day will be Thursday or Friday this week. The Monday service was moved to Tuesday because of the Memorial Day holiday. Miss Penny Lane says: She takes her cans and bottles to the recycle center for a little extra cash for the make-up fund.

A wonderful long weekend at Palermo

Happy Memorial Day, Palermo Palm Springs. Miss Penny Lane says: She has her picnic packed and you might catch glimpse of her at the pool today too.

Clubhouse gardening makeover

Positively Palermo received this comment: "Miss Penney -- Came home at lunch to find the new gardeners trimming and cleaning up around the club house area where some of the plants truly needed to be trimmed, and truly a nice site to see this area get the attention. I think we are getting an Extreme Makeover!!!!! These fellows are workin' it." Miss Penny Lane says: She could use a makeover as well but it will have to wait until the tax refund arrives.

6,600 lost power last night

A news report says 6,600 people were in the dark last night: "Winds have been blamed for a power outage that left thousands of Southern California Edison customers in the dark tonight.The outage happened after several power lines touched each other, a company spokesman said. Power was knocked out to about 6,639 customers in the area of Indian Canyon Drive and Racquet Club Road about 7:37 p.m." Miss Penny Lane says: The power is back on and she's off to brave the world outside of our lovely Palermo.

Power restored at Palermo

The electricity is back on at Palermo Palm Springs. It went off around 8, and then came back on, and went off again. Now the lights are shining bright. Miss Penny Lane says: She has her candles out just in case.

Palermo nicknames, please

Positively Palermo has been asked for the various nicknames that residents use to describe places in the community, such as "the back 40" for the undeveloped area. Please e-mail them. Miss Penny Lane says: Her nickname for Palermo is Paradise in the Desert.

Canadian spending in the U.S.

A new report about Canadian spending in the United States. It says: "Canadians making a run to the U.S. border to shop are costing the economy much more than earlier believed, the Bank of Montreal says. "There are already more than 50 million visits to the U.S. by Canadian residents annually," with the number expected to swell with higher duty-free limits starting June. 1, said Doug Porter, the bank's deputy chief economist. "A culmination of factors is likely to unleash a wave of Canadians cross-border shopping this summer in numbers not seen in two decades," he added. This is happening even as the bank assessed the gap between Canadian and U.S. prices for consumer goods has narrowed to 14 percent on average from 20 percent a year ago. Canadian business owners are not pleased that the government is raising the duty-free limit to $200 from $50 for stays longer than 24 hours and to $800 for visits of two days and more. It has been $400 after two days and $750 for seven days away. Generally, most people aren't charged anything extra on same-day shopping trips for groceries, which are duty free, gasoline or goods amounting to less than $100. Since many people don't report everything they've bought, even a "conservative estimate" of 5 percent more in goods drains an added $20 billion a year from the economy, Porter said." Miss Penny Lane says: She loves the Canadians at Palermo because she considers herself a citizen of the world too.

College of the Desert's design?

Everyone is waiting for the College of the Desert to break ground on its west valley campus on Indian Canyon Drive near Palermo Palm Springs. Some newly completed or planned construction on the main campus in Palm Desert might provide a hint of the look and feel of the new west campus. Here's a picture. Miss Penny Lane says: Sign her up.

Thumbs up for landscaping

Positively Palermo received a note of praise for all the landscaping activity of late. Miss Penny Lane says: She's sporting a new trim too.

Pipe bombs found in Palm Springs, including at Indian Canyon and San Rafael

The Desert Sun this morning is reporting that homemade pipe bombs have been found around Palm Springs, including at Indian Canyon Drive and San Rafael.The latest stories are at mydesert.com. An earlier story said: "Palm Springs police are looking for whomever built a homemade pipe bomb that a resident brought to the department Wednesday afternoon. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Hazardous Materials Unit detonated the bomb outside the station, 200 S. Civic Drive, around 4:25 p.m. “It wasn't that loud,” said police Sgt. Mike Kovaleff, who was in his office when the device was blown up. He added the explosion did not damage any property or cause any injuries. The bomb was about 6 inches long and half an inch in diameter with a fuse attached. A 92-year-old man found it while walking in the area of East San Rafael Drive and North Sunrise Way, police said. The man's son brought the device to the police department shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday after studying it inside the family's garage, according to police." Miss Penny Lane says: Be safe.

More work at Indian Canyon and San Rafael

More work continues at Indian Canyon Drive and San Rafael, near the Palermo Palm Springs sign. Construction crews today ripped out the corner sidewalks near the sign and across the street where the now-closed Julian Market once was (sidewalks presumably to be replace later this week) and earlier cameras went up on new light poles on all the corners. Miss Penny Lane says: She too needs to get into the spirit of renovation.

Back yard walls to shield AC or spa equipment

Positively Palermo was asked by a possible buyer of a condo at Palermo Palm Springs about why some back yards have walls separating air conditioning and/or spa equipment, and some do not. The answer is because the walls were upgrades offered by the developer when they were building the community, to be built by D.W. Johnston Construction. On Penny Lane, the former developer in 2007 charged $620 extra for one wall to shield AC and spa equipment, and $725 for a slightly larger wall. But also on Penny Lane, they charged $1,600 for an inside wall and for changes to the concrete block wall to enlarge the yard for the equipment. Sometimes the walls also were included in "landscaping and pool packages." Miss Penny Lane says: She loved the days of construction and await for them to return.

Spring cleaning

Positively Palermo received an e-mail saying that the burst of activity by the landscape crews for spring is appreciated. Miss Penny Lane says: Her spring cleaning will start soon too.

Julian Market building in bank sale

A bank for-sale sign has been posted on the Julian Market building on Indian Canyon Drive. The market and auto shop have been closed for about six months, since November 2011. Miss Penny Lane says: She likes the new 7-11 down the road on Indian Canyon for a few guilty pleasures.