The latest on West Park

Some things have happened since the last time we reported on the City of Patterson's lawsuit against the West Park development, but we're basically back where we started — i.e., waiting for a decision on the county's motion to dismiss the suit.

Last week, a Fresno County Superior Court judge denied a motion from the city to dismiss the current motion — if you're scoring at home, that's a denial of the motion to dismiss the motion to dismiss the case. So on Tuesday, we should get a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case. That's the ruling that was initially scheduled to be made on Oct. 16.

It looks like we're headed for a trial on Jan. 29, assuming the case doesn't get dismissed. It seems unlikely that the judge would throw out the case, given the recent state Supreme Court ruling in a similar case, but we won't know for sure on that until Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Election update from Lee Lundrigan

Below is a press release sent out Monday by Lee Lundrigan, Stanislaus County clerk and registrar of voters. It certainly appears there are enough ballots out there to change the course of the Del Puerto Health Care District race multiple times. A full update will appear in Wednesday's Irrigator.

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Stanislaus County Elections Update

The canvass of the Presidential General Eelction vote continues. Results from Friday's count of the 28,000 plus absentee / vote by mail ballots received on or just before Election Day have been posted on the www.stanvote.com website. Scanning of the names of Election Day voters located on the polling place rosters has been completed. The hand review of all ballots cast at the polls to identify qualified write-in candidates for U.S. President and for the 19th Congressional District is underway. Reconciliation of each of the 183 polling site rosters and materials is being processed and is expected to take several days.

Over 8,450 provisional ballots and 1,900 military, damaged, 7-day absentee, and reconcillation ballots remain to be reviewed and processed before they are ultimately counted. The office will be closed Tues. November 11th in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. The remainder of the canvass will continue until complete. California law requires certification of this election to be on or before December 2nd, which is 28-days following Election Day.

Lee Lundrigan, Clerk Recorder & Registrar of Voters

More votes counted; Maring now leads Kessler

The Stanislaus County Clerk Recorder released the results of some 28,000 vote by mail ballots Friday night — results that were not included in the totals listed on Election Night. Patterson's results for mayor and City Council are unchanged, as is the outcome for Measure V. I believe some provisional ballots still need to be counted, but those will surely not overturn these three results. 

Measure S inched just slightly closer to the 66.7 percent it needs to pass, but remained agonizingly short at 65.96 percent.

The real interesting race remains the one for the second and final Del Puerto Health Care District board seat. Challenger Anne Stokman easily won the first open seat. And after trailing for most of the night on Tuesday, incumbent Jeannette Kessler overtook fellow incumbent Ed Maring by 11 votes when the final precincts were counted.

Now, after the final vote by mail ballots have been tabulated, Maring's back on top — at least momentarily.

As of Friday night, Maring leads Kessler 2,391 to 2,378, meaning he gained 24 votes with the counting of the vote by mail ballots. Provisional ballots likely won't change much, but in a race this close, anything can happen. Stay tuned.

For full Stanislaus County election results, click here.

Some news on a Monday morning

A couple of news items worth noting on this Monday morning. Some of you may have seen an article in the Bee this morning about two Patterson men who were shot in Modesto late Saturday night. Our reporter, John Saiz, has tracked down the victims' names.

Stephen Grant, 24, and Maurice Schroder, 22, were the victims of the shooting. Both are African-American. No word yet on their condition, but we're hoping to have that soon. Grant apparently suffered the more significant injuries of the two.

Also, I just got off the phone with George Logan, Patterson's city attorney. There were two motions that were supposed to be heard Thursday at the Fresno Superior Court regarding the city's lawsuit against West Park, but Logan says both were continued to Nov. 6.

One of the motions, brought by Union Pacific Railroad, claims that because Union Pacific has not been involved in any negotiations with Stanislaus County regarding the short-haul rail needed for the West Park project, it should not be included in the lawsuit. Logan says the county is on record with the California Transportation Commission saying that it is, in fact, in negotiations with Union Pacific. Then again, the CTC is still waiting for an agreement between the county and the railroad company. That could mean there really aren't any negotiations going on or they're just really not going well.

The other motion — the biggie — is the one brought by PCCP West Park and Stanislaus County that is seeking to have the case dismissed. That one had already been continued prior to Thursday, but Judge Tyler Tharpe decided to push both of them back and handle them both in one hearing on Nov. 6.

SOLD! Diablo Grande deal finally done

It only took seven months in bankruptcy court and five days past the expected sale date, but the Diablo Grande deal is finally done. World International LLC has acquired the property, according to a press release from Laurus Corporation. Here's a brief article I just wrote for the Web (it won't appear in Wednesday's Irrigator because the announcement came after our deadline). I'll have much more in Saturday's paper.

In case you're curious (and judging by the number of e-mails I've received over the past two days, many of you are), I've pasted below the full, unedited text of the press release put out by Laurus, a real estate development company that served as World's negotiator throughout the purchase of Diablo Grande.

So, Diablo residents, how do you feel about all this? Are you optimistic that some of this stuff might really get done this time, or will you treat these all like empty promises until they actually come true?

PRESS RELEASE

Laurus Corporation Negotiates Acquisition of Diablo Grande to World International

Los Angeles, CA – October 7, 2008 – Laurus Corporation (“Laurus”) is pleased to announce that it has successfully negotiated the acquisition of the master planned development known as Diablo Grande to World International, LLC (“World”).

Located in California’s growing Central Valley, Diablo Grande is a residential and resort golf community of approximately 30,000 acres. The historic ranch's location is 80 miles east of San Francisco and 25 miles west of Modesto, and is approximately one and one-half times the size of Manhattan.

The current development plan encompasses the entire acreage with Phase I development already well underway with 2,100 lots, subdivisions, and basic infrastructure which includes access roads, water treatment plant and other basic services (sewage, electricity, etc.) as well as two tournament-caliber golf courses designed by Denis Griffiths and Jack Nicklaus/Gene Sarazen. Nearly 1,000 lots have already sold with several hundred residences already built.  "I am pleased that World International, LLC is purchasing the property," said Donald  Panoz, Diablo Grande's founder.  "I know that the Principals will move forward to make the development a success and will follow through on our vision that started 20 years ago - to make this the best development in California."

World International LLC was formed as an investment vehicle to acquire and develop the property. The partners behind World have over 60 years of real estate development experience through a variety of entities and corporations, and their portfolio of holdings includes resorts, office buildings, shopping centers, and residential developments.

New ownership’s plan is to rename the development - giving the property a fresh start, seeking inspiration from the surrounding beauty and its Californian heritage. The vision for the continued development is a resort-style life where casual elegance, with a focus on wellness, is emphasized. A place where nature and open space artfully combine to create the ultimate in luxury living.

Anchored by a 5-star, amenity driven resort, spa and convention center, the low-density community will have Spanish-colonial villas, townhouses, and single family residences gently placed in large lots within a tranquil secluded atmosphere, equestrian center, bike trails and its own vineyard. A new country club will be added to enhance the golf course, and an additional Residence Club membership will be offered by the resort to enable homeowners to benefit from the countless outdoor activities available. A specialty Spanish-style low-rise shopping village with a grocery store, dining alternatives, banking services, café and office suites will serve the community.

World International, in a joint effort with Laurus Corporation, will be developing the property as soon as a master plan is complete and the various development phases revised. The developers hope to reach out to the existing community, City and County to work in tandem, taking in their comments and ideas. Additionally, the Company plans to actively explore joint ventures and strategic alliances with recognized home developers and other parties that fit the strategic plan for the property in order to successfully achieve the goals laid out for the new Diablo Grande.

Laurus Corporation is a boutique style domestic and international real estate development company that specializes in full service luxury hotels and resorts, master plan communities, mixed-use properties and multifamily. The Company coordinates activities, converting ideas from paper into real property. It creates, manages and orchestrates key partnerships while assembling the process of development from beginning to end.

No Diablo Grande sale yet

I'm still pretty sure there's nothing to worry about, but Diablo Grande's sale still hasn't closed and probably won't until Monday.

The secretary for Dwain Sanders, Diablo Grande's vice president of development, said this morning she was still doing paperwork for the sale and that it would happen late this afternoon at the earliest. Craig Stewart, Diablo Grande's real estate agent for the sale, indicated it would likely be Monday. I'll have a full story in Saturday's paper, though if news breaks in the next hour that the sale closed, that would not be reflected in Saturday's story.

Let the waiting continue ...

Diablo Grande sale might not close today

Oct. 2 has been the date circled on the calendars of most Diablo Grande residents and followers for the last three weeks or so as the day Diablo Grande's sale to World International was expected to close.

The closing of the sale was put off in part because World International needed time to complete a study of the water situation (the results of which did not cause the buyer to back out). But it could only be put off for so long, because the bankrupt golf resort and housing development only had enough money to continue operating through that date — and, of course, the money Diablo Grande is now operating with now came via what are called debtor-in-possession loans. Hopefully a little of that money is still in the bank.

Because here we are, just past midday on the day we've all been waiting for, and so far, there's no sale. And while there might not be a sale today, it really, truly sounds like there's nothing to worry about. The last major hurdle facing this sale was cleared Wednesday at a hearing in Modesto, and at this point, I'm told, all that's left is the paperwork.

Craig Stewart, a real estate agent with Marcus & Millichap's San Diego office, is handling the Diablo Grande sale. I spoke with him about an hour ago, and he said his understanding is that the sale will close Friday. He said all that's left is to cross some t's, dot some i's — and, of course, get some money from World International.

"We have (a non-refundable $500,000 deposit), but the buyer could always decide to forfeit that money and walk away," Stewart said. "Until the money is deposited in the escrow account, it's not a done deal."

More to come (but maybe not till tomorrow).