Thinking of the Children:  Child advocacy group First Focus has reported that roughly 40,000 Nevada children will be affected by foreclosure.  This is part of 2 Million kids nationwide. Meanwhile, there are about 2,000 homeless teenagers in Las Vegas. Efforts are underway to get them “survival kits” that include “hand wipes, anti-bacterial hand gel, a toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, sunscreen, bandages, socks and snacks.”

Looking for a really unique Vegas home?  Well, one is to be auctioned off in early June.  The garage alone is 6500 square feet, 2 to 4 times the size of a typical local family home.  The home itself is 9500 square feet on 2 acres.  Open house this weekend!  Opening bid is only a half million dollars, or $53 per square foot — excluding the garage. Twice this price would be a bargain by any local standard. Here’s a gallery of pictures.

“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately!“  (Quote from Ben Franklin): The Christian Science Monitor asks whether taxpayers will end up paying for the subprime mess one way or the other.

At least there’s one good consequence:  Our current real estate troubles are helping conservationists, both by scuttling projects in environmentally sensitive areas, and by making it easier for areas to be converted to parks and other conservation areas.

And finally, a cartoon:   “moral hazard.”

Have a terrific weekend, everybody!