So normally I don't bubble over new web services, but I just found something today that I think is brilliant. Genie Town. It's a rating service for local contractors. You go there, pick the type of contract work you want done, and they show you a list of local contractors. You can contact them directly, or make a list and then send the same bid to each of them. It's very nice.
Beta: it's not perfect -- I have already sent them a bunch of feedback, but it is pretty good out the door.
References: I'm not positive, but some commonality in the language of the references makes me suspect that the references are all from the same entity (ie paid staff). Given that it is beta, and given that they need something up there to demonstrate the idea, I'll withhold judgement to see how they deal with real references.
impressed