Without a doubt one of the biggest reasons that we were able to do what we were able to do was the guys at EMRL Floyd and Stephen are working on another level from the rest of us when it comes to getting a story told, they built this website and helped craft the vision for LJ Urban.  That is not to say that we were not authentic, that is just what is so amazing about them, its like they sat down with us and found the passion that was deep inside and pulled it out and brought it to life.  They should not call themselves an advertising company but rather a Business Consultant / Shrink.  They get to the bottom of who you are and tell the story like no one else can.

I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for all they did for LJ Urban.  I know that they will play a major role in the next version of what we become…

Go check out their site www.EMRL.com

Levi

The plan was to take the year off so we would not keep spending money on overhead but the values kept plummeting and the banks and lenders became impatient.  Despite sleepless nights, migraines, ulcers and everything else we put into making it work, the end result is a company with no book value and no future as a property development company.

But what LJ Urban really was at the heart of the company was so much more than the property values or the LLC Documents, LJ Urban was a movement, this site has had over 400,000 visitors every years since we put it together, LJ Urban represented for so many of us a new way of thinking. We built a company that set out to do things differently not just as a marketing campaign or motto but because we believed that we were coming into a market that was broken.

We believed that the wasteful tract housing trend is dead wrong and that there is a better way, we believed in cities, we believed in the power of communities made up of millions of people all over the world who wanted to see cities made into better places to live. We fought against long commutes and construction of more and more new roads to more and more identical rows of matching houses, and do you know what? We were right, spending countless hours each week in the car just to have a big yard and 3000 square feet of home to live in is not only wasteful its sick and wrong. More than 50% of the world lives on less than 2 dollars a day and we still continue to build larger houses with more room to park our SUV’s. What’s worse is that before all this happened with the market we as a community of people who cared about the earth and the people who live in it were actually getting somewhere with convincing the Americans that they needed to be more sustainable but as soon as the recession hit it was like everyone felt that they no longer had to do the right thing, the motto became “me first” as everyone tried to grab what the could for themselves. But the truth is if we had been more conscious of the impact of the things we were doing not just on the earth but to the people that live on it on both sides of the globe, if we cared about the other expenses that came along with our lifestyle we might just have avoided this whole thing. You heard me right, we brought this on ourselves by caring more about the flashy image we presented than the foundation on which we were building our lifestyle.

I tell you the truth, LJ Urban will rise again, maybe not as the same company or even with the same name but there has to be a movement of people who care and they have to be doing things right to prove to the world that there is a better way, without it who is going to stand up and say with authority that not only are we doing the wrong direction but that there is a better direction to go in and it works? Who is going to be the spokes person for true communities in the heart of our cities? Communities that build instead of tear down, and use less than they can of the worlds finite resources. Who is going to stand against American consumerism and all its negative effects around the globe and say that we as Americans want to export something other than greed and selfishness?  Because we can choose to export more than just capitalism but we can choose to export a better way of life, one that impacts the world for good rather than for bad.

What gets me the most frustrated about all this is that we had a business model that was actually viable, we were not like the RED campaign that Bono put together that relied on donations just to keep all the marketing alive, we could have kept going if the whole world did not melt down a the hands of the Americans greed. Lets face it, this mess was our fault and we should have seen it coming. A country with an average of more than 9,000 dollars of credit card debt per person and loans that grow their balance instead of shrinking it, should not have stood up and tell the world that we had a stable economy in 2003, we should have been trying to fix things back then before we disgraced the world with our disaster.

I wish this post could be one big ‘I told you so’ but it isn’t, I screwed up to, I bought the lies and believed in things that were not real, I told myself that everything was going to be ok and that we could just go on building. I focused to much on the environmental un-sustainability of our economy instead of the financial volatility we were facing as a country.  I should have been more careful and spent more time trying to build a solid foundation for LJ Urban, instead I got caught up in changing the world and did not spend enough time making a strong company to do it with.

But let us not take this time and continue to look backwards on our failures, let us move forward and stand up for what is right, let us take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in front of us today and most of all let us lead the next revolution. Sustainability is not dead just because its believers are distracted by financial stress, it’s the next few years when our country is going to be put on a new path, everyone agrees that we as a country had it all wrong, so now is the time for us to stand up and proclaim a better way to the world.  Let us lead by example and show that we can do right as well as wrong.

I walk the streets of Ethiopia and rent movies from Obama DVD and buy groceries from Obama Market because the world still looks up to us. So its right now more than ever when we need to be something to look up to.   It’s amazing that our name is not mud, but I tell you the truth if we keep this up it will be.

The last thing I want to say is thank you, thank you to everyone who stood by and supported LJ Urban, who believed in our effort to be more than a company, more than just another developer out to make money, investors who put their money where their heart was and invested in something that was going to make the world a better place, people who spent afternoons rolling out sod for makeshift parks in parking spaces, people who helped tear down chairs after we watched yet another documentary on the right way to build cities, people who got up in the morning, read our blog and commented, helping us decide which kind of countertops and flooring materials to use.   Thank you for believing in community, I only hope that the hundreds of people who emailed me over the years to say that they were inspired are still inspired, I hope that you do not take our end as proof that the movement is dead, because its only just beginning and you are right in the middle of it. Most of all I want to thank Jason Presley who in the last few years of his life put more creativity into LJ Urban and made more brilliance appear out of thin air than anyone could have. It’s his vision and passion that made this whole thing come to life.  Also thank you to the people who worked at LJ Urban and poured their hearts into the details to make it all work, I only wish I could have kept things rolling if not just to keep working with you all.   Jason, Micah, Steve, Vanessa, Mary, Scott, Molly, Brandon, Cindy, Chinua, Ben, Makayla, and Lia. The most creative gang of people in the world.

We are going to leave this website up as a resource to inspire people that there is a better way, and if you want to leave a comment about the ways that LJ Urban impacted or inspired you, we would love to hear it, or if you want something to remember us by, buy a shirt, we still have quite a few left and would love to walk down the street and see people who choose to make a difference in the world wearing one of them.

Be sure to check back from time to time, as we will post here when we come back with a new version of LJ Urban.

There will be more…

Thank you

Levi  Benkert

I went for a ride today in a friend’s Tesla Roadster.  Wow! again Wow! I have been awaiting the ride since I first found out that he had made the deposit required to get on the waiting list.  Well he finally got the car a couple months ago and he says it was very worth the wait. It goes 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and I wasn’t counting but I am pretty sure it did that.  I have to say, as I was driving, my conversation wasn’t much more than Ooooo, wow!, holy crap! oh man this is cool, but he did bring up a good point.  He said that he had met a handful of other buyers at a couple events that were held by Tesla and found it refreshing to hear how many of them were buying the car to A) help unleash the U.S. from the bondage of foreign oil or B) to minimize their carbon footprint.  What I like about the argument in favor of electric cars is that it can address both people’s political leanings.  I know, I know, this is a very expensive car and not realistic for the masses but it takes something spectacular to move people at times.  The sedan that Tesla is planning will be half the cost and seat seven apparently.  I personally do see electric cars as the future because electricity is the common platform which the world uses to do work.  Once the finite oil supply is gone the game will become who can produce electricity the cleanest and cheapest.

Any way.   Just wanted to say that its still a shock being somewhere so remote and removed from the world.

Levi

Number of days without electricity – 22

Number of days without running water – 30

Number of hours spent waiting for a taxi – 50+

Number of miles walked – 240

Number of times we have heard people yelling “You, You, You!” – 1,254,965

Number of bed ridden illnesses in our family – 8

Percentage of the time our kids choose the squatty potty over our “western toilet” 90%

Percentage of times we have to send back our eggs because they are slippery and runny 80%

Number of  farm animals now living in our yard – 12

Number of those animals we purchased – 2

Number of mosquito bites on our family combined – 100+

Number of times we cried since coming here – 7

Would we still come if we knew how hard it was going to be?  Yes.

Taxi’s in our town cost 1 Birr.  The exchange rate for the Birr today is 11.5 to the dollar.   But what is more appalling that the low prices of those taxis that that more than 95% of the people still choose to walk instead of ride.

I know that I knew most of this about Africa before I came here but its still appalling to see it up front and to be poking new holes in my belt because I lost so much weight from walking so far.

The whole world can not live like this I know.  We would be going way backwards but the whole world can not live like Americans either or we would need a few more planets resources to eat up…

Levi

We are in Addis Ababa (the Capitol city) with a few of the children from the childrens home who needed medical care that we were not able to find in Jinka.  Its actually only dental work but we were told that the one practicing dentist in our little town has lost many patients.   He aparently does not have any tools but pulls any tooth that is hurting, leaving a hole that can so easily get infected….. Not good.

Anyway, I am tired.  We just arrived in our hotel after 17 hours of driving in a landcruiser with 6 children from 12 weeks to 8 years old.  Yeah way tired.

Updates are assured over the next few days, I promise.

Levi

Calif.  Hi-Speed

Rail  Auth.

Approves  Projects

Business Wire

With a new chairman at the gavel, the California High-Speed Rail Authority today approved its scope of projects that could qualify for federal stimulus funds. The package includes submissions for each of the proposed California high-speed rail system corridor segments, thereby encompassing the Authority’s full system development plan.

The Board’s action was required so that the State of California could meet a July 10 “pre-application” deadline imposed by the Federal Railroad Administration for a share of $8 billion in stimulus funding for high-speed trains under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Earlier in the meeting, the Board elected Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle to be its chairman, replacing Judge Quentin L. Kopp who had served two terms as chairman. Former California Assemblymember Tom Umberg was elected vice-chairman.

While the Authority is considering the scope of a formal application for ARRA funding, which will be submitted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in two parts coinciding with FRA deadlines in August and October, the pre-application submission identifies the scope of projects that would likely qualify for planning and engineering funds (Track 1 under FRA guidelines) and construction funding (Track 2):

TRACK 1 — The Authority is developing project submissions for completion of preliminary and project level environmental work in six corridors including: Los Angeles to San Diego // Los Angeles to Palmdale // Palmdale to Bakersfield // Merced to San Jose // Sacramento to Merced // Altamont.

TRACK 2 — Based on its adopted phasing plan and progress in the environmental and planning process, the Authority has identified Anaheim/Los Angeles, Bakersfield/Merced, and San Jose/San Francisco as three initial segments meeting FRA requirements for construction funding. Each of the three corridors is critical to the success of the project, demonstrates independent utility, and is completing project level environmental review.

“High-speed trains are needed in California,” said Pringle. “The state must find a viable surface transportation alternative to ease auto and air traffic congestion between major urban centers and high population growth areas like the Central Valley.

“We have obtained environmental certification for the general statewide alignment and station locations for the 800-mile system designed to carry over 100 million people by year 2030, as well as secured California state bond proceeds resulting from passage of Proposition 1A. These are the kinds of things that position the state very competitively to secure matching federal funds through ARRA to begin construction on three key segments and to complete the preliminary engineering work on the linking segments,” said Pringle.

“Our task over the next several weeks and months is to reassess our project timelines based on FRA requirements and determine which specific projects we will put forward for ARRA funding,” said Pringle.

Pringle is the former Speaker of the State Assembly, where he represented part of Orange County for eight years during the 1990s. He was first elected Mayor of Anaheim in 2002 and is widely recognized for his expertise in economic development, land use planning, transportation and government finance reform. He also serves as a board member of the Orange County Transportation Authority.

“I have long believed in the value and benefit of a high speed rail system for our great state, and to be elected as chairman of the California High Speed Rail is an honor,” said Pringle. “We have a lot of work to do on the state and federal levels, but by working together great things can and will happen. This is an exciting time for high-speed rail and I look forward to future progress.”

Pringle actively serves as governing board member for the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership, California State University, Long Beach, as well on the boards of the Tiger Woods Learning Center Foundation and the John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes.

Tom Umberg is an attorney with the law firm of Manatt, specializing in federal and state policy and regulatory matters. He was selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of commercial litigation. In 1995, He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles and Orange County. Umberg was appointed Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1997. He served three terms in the California Legislature, most recently between 2004 and 2006. In the state Assembly, he chaired the Environmental Safety and the Elections and Redistricting Committees.

I went up to Portland, OR for a couple weeks to work on a small project and had the pleasure of some incredible bike rides around the city.  This photo is so Portland.  What a great place to ride.

Jinka sounds beautiful and set back in time.  Levi and Jessie and the three kids finally got into a house after apparently two weeks of one room hotel stays.   I hope that soon Levi will be able to post to the LJ site but until then I will try and update you.

I do an awful lot of talking about this particular beverage but am by no means an aficionado. I brewed another IPA the other day with my buddy Steve. I think I have only brewed IPA’s except for the first brew I ever tried, a Hefeweizen. I have always known it was the world’s oldest alcoholic drink but I was surprised to find out yet another great historical fact. My Grandma Elenore is 93 years young and never ceases to amaze me. Seriously she is witty, intelligent and can still dance a jig. She moved to Alaska on her own with three or four kids back in the 60’s and built a grocery store. Her life really should be a book, but anyway back to the beer.

She got her license to sell liquor and had it shipped in from Seattle along with all the other goods she sold. So the other night I was with her and talking about my brewing in a nonchalant cool way and she just pulls out the “do you have a capper?” and motions the capping mechanism. I was like what, you brew too!?! She brewed it and gave it to her friends, and soldiers on leave ( I am sure that is a great story too). Anyway the thing that is great is that although it has been done through the ages it has the ability to relate across generations. I love that my grandma brewed beer. You too can get in on the action by going over to the Home Brew Outlet don’t mind the guy that works there, he was born that way. That’s what he said anyway.