The Eastsider L.A. blog mixes up some nice ruminations on the effect of the economy on housing developments, as well as an alert on Tweaker Tom. The site notes that the new Durbin condos going up on Echo Park Avenue and Delta are due to be shown to prospective buyers (at $400k and up) in April — even as the housing market continues its merry freefall. In fact, people in this and other neighborhoods have become attuned to any silence at construction sites around town, lest it means the projects have lost their funding.

Meanwhile, Eastsider L.A. notes the continued smash-and-grab depredations of the man cops dub Tweaker Tom. He's a suspected meth head who's been smashing his way into Echo Park cars and grabbing whatever Best Buy electronica the owners have left behind. (People: iPods are not that much trouble to take into the house with you!) As the economy tumbles, expect to see more broken glass glittering on the pavement. One cop quoted in the piece describes Tweaker Tom and his buddies in rather cinematic terms:

“They are like zombies out in the middle of the night.”

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