Cell phone surprise

Time to upgrade your cell phone? Think you've found a great deal on a discounted phone by renewing your plan for another two years? Well, be aware that in California, you will pay sales tax on the FULL RETAIL VALUE of the phone, not the discount price.

Even though the tax code states that sales tax is based on "the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail -- in other words, the amount the retailer received for the product -- Regulation 1585 says that when you get a discounted price by signing up for a service plan, then sales tax is based on the non-discounted price.

For heavens's sake, nobody walks in to the Verizon store and pays full price for a phone without getting a plan, and everyone knows it. The phones are priced accordingly.  Some people have even reported paying more in taxes than they did for the phone.

The state, however, argues thusly: if you were to go in and purchase a data plan without buying a phone, they would not discount the monthly rate for the plan, which "proves" that the plan does not subsidize the cost of the phone. But you pay tax on the plan as well, so this is totally bullshit. According to SFGate, the state rakes in over $181 million annually on this little gambit.

See also:  http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Beware-California-s-hidden-cell-phone-tax-2349249.php

How the heck can the state be going broke?

What's happening in downtown Monterey?

The City of Monterey has released a new video describing the new development that is getting underway. Pretty exciting, downtown needs a little revitalizing.

When we arrived here last year, a large section of Alvarado Street was blocked by a large fence with a painted mural. We wondered what happened, but didn't think too much more about it. A few weeks letter we happened to be reminiscing about a restaurant we used to like, and we realized it used to be right there. Turns out there was a big fire in 2006 and the entire building burned down. Then the recession hit, and it was tough to rebuild.

Finally some new development is getting underway, as well as some other projects in downtown. One of the most interesting parts of the downtown plan is that they are going to add a bunch of residential units. Having people live in a downtown area really adds to its vitality, as well as attracting business. If something like that had been available when we moved here, we might very well have considered it. As we get older, maybe we still will. We've always liked living "downtown"...where the action is, with everything within walking distance.

Check it out.  There's also some interesting history on how downtown Monterey got to this point.

I laughed when they guy talks about people complaining about the Trader Joe's parking lot -- I complain about it all the time. It's a tradition -- Trader Joes' always have bad parking lots. I've never been to one that didn't.

Next project

Everyone is just so much more laid back here--it's part of what makes living here fun.  I was reminded it of this again because I needed to get some tiles to finish our kitchen remodeling project.  The kitchen was seriously outdated and not in great shape when we bought the house, so fixing it up was one of our first projects, and we finished the bulk of it straightaway. But with all the decisions about cabinet styles, colors, hardware, floor tiles, countertops, paint, etc., we procrastinated on choosing a backsplash. And then with other priorities, and it kept getting pushed back. (We lived for months with masking tape covering the gap between the countertop and wall--sheesh!)

Anyway, I finally got back to it, so we headed over to Monterey Tile and Marble to look at tile samples. (We were turned on to this place when shopping for floor tiles by a fellow customer in the Home Depot tile section. He saw us looking at tiles and suggested looking at MT&M as well. ) It's smallish, family-run place with zillions of samples and friendly, helpful staff. We found a few samples that we liked and asked how to check them out so we could try them in the kitchen. No problem. He wrote down my name and that was it. I kept waiting for me to ask for something else. When we did this years ago in Seattle, we always had to show ID, and sometimes even leave some sort of security like a credit card number or even a small deposit. But here, "just take 'em...bring them back in a week or so".

We picked one we liked, and went back to place the order. They gave me a great price and within a few days I had my tiles. These are the ones we picked....aren't they pretty with the granite?

Safeway Rewards

Safeway is offering 70 cents per gallon in its gas rewards program this week if you spend $100 in one shopping trip(not hard to do). Definitely worth taking advantage of. I've used the gas rewards discount at the Chevron right across from Crossroads, and at the one in Morgan Hill just off the highway. The machine at the pump is never able to read my Rewards card when I swipe it though, I always have to enter my phone number. On the way to Safeway, at the Hwy 1/Rio Road intersection by Crossroads Mall, there was a panhandler with a cardboard sign at the side of the road. Instead of the usual request for money, his sign read...."Bet you can't hit me with a quarter". A novel approach, I'll give him that. Though if he really is homeless and hungry, it's more than a bit sad that he would be willing to have people throw quarters at him and then scramble around looking for them in the dirt just to get food.

A trip to the supermarket

What's it like to live in Monterey? Well here's what my weekly shopping trip to Safeway in Carmel looks like. 

The drive to Safeway in Carmel via Highway 1 

from Soledad & Munras (near Del Monte Shopping Center) in Monterey

If video does not appear, click here.

Easy peasy The only downside is that this is the only way in (without going about 10 miles out of the way). If traffic on Highway 1 is backed up--it happens--there's really no alternative. 

Tuesday Market

A warm sunny day really brings out a crowd for the Tuesday Farmer's Market in downtown Monterey.  I haven't been since last summer, so I stopped by. A few changes in the vendor lineup, and surprisingly--no Babaloo truck. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them for a while, and the website doesn't seem to be available (their Facebook page is still there though). I hope they haven't left the area. 

As usual, the longest lines were at the India Gourmet, and rightly so.  They're always offering free samples of several different curries.    When the older gentleman is there giving out samples, you won't be able to resist. Literally, he won't let you. But he's a hoot and it's all in fun. Try everything...they're all good.

Other than street food, there's the usual assortment of crafts, jewelry, musicians playing for tips, take-home foods like jams and sauces, and of course, the produce stands. If you go to the farmer's market for cheap prices, think again. Most of what you see here is more expensive than at the supermarket.  If you want beautiful and fresh, this is the place. Gorgeous trays of brilliantly colored fruits and vegetables. There must be some sort of agreement about prices though, because every stand charges the same price for produce. If you see something you want, just get it, you won't find it for less down the street.

The market runs every Tuesday from 4-7 (4-8 in summer). 

BevMo! comes to Carmel!

There's a new BevMo! store in Carmel. Yippee Skipee!  

Before, the nearest BevMo! was in Gilroy (40 minutes away) which meant it wasn't worth the trip unless you're going to Gilroy for something else anyway, even though the prices are better. Safeway has a small selection of liquors, and if you watch for sales you can get reasonable prices. Trader Joe's also sells liquor, but have a very limited selection (best price on Campari though--$18.99 last time I bought it). For anything more unusual or premium liquors, look elsewhere. There are some liquor stores in the area, but I've found their prices to be more than a bit higher than expected.  It's going to be hard for them now, to compete with a big player like BevMo!

Still, I like when we get new stores.

Outlet shopping is a bust

Another gorgeous day. Weather forecast says 70, but it feels hotter.  Not a cloud in the sky.

We usually for for a walk on Sunday, so today we decided to go for it ...all the way to Cannery Row.  It was loaded with tourists, of course. The Aquarium was super busy with a line all the way out the door, up the street, and around the side, zig zagging through those rails they put up to form an orderly queue.

Just past the Aquarium is the American Tin Cannery, which is supposed to be a outlet mall.  Attempting to play, I guess, on the whole Cannery Row imagery. When we lived here back in '99, this wasn't a bad mall. I remember buying some things there.  But now....it's dead.  There are only five actual "outlet" stores, plus a few places to eat, and a GIGANTIC candy store. (Seriously, the place is huge. And it's not even good candy. If you're going to blow a bunch of calories on sugar, it should at least be chocolate and not brightly colored taffy and lollipops.)

Anyway, the mall is kind of sad. All those tourists nearby on Cannery Row, and they can't attract them over to the mall. There's a major outlet mall in Gilroy, so maybe they just couldn't attract good outlets here.  Maybe they should give up on the outlets idea and recruit some other type of stores.  For now, I'm sorry to say, the Tin Cannery is a miss.