Judge halts state plans to privatize nursing jobs

By Paul Egan/ Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Lansing— An Ingham County judge ordered a halt Friday to the state's plans to privatize nursing aide jobs at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, saying she feared the change would cause "irreparable harm" to the more than 600 vets who live there.
The privatization "all comes down to money, really," said Circuit Judge Paula Manderfield, noting state officials said they need to save $18,000 a day by turning 170 resident-care aide positions over to a contractor, who pays workers about half as much money.
"The home can make cuts in other areas, or perhaps they can get some more money from the state," the judge said.
Assistant Attorney General Joseph Froehlich, representing the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs that runs the home, said he will appeal. Manderfield denied his request for a stay of her order pending the appeal.
Lead plaintiff Tony Spallone, a Vietnam veteran and a resident of the home, bused to Lansing with other residents to testify in favor of the injunction. They said workers hired by the contractor, J2S Group of Grand Rapids, don't get enough training and don't stay on the job long because they make about $10 an hour.
The company already supplies some of the nursing aides, and the state wanted to give all the work to J2S effective Oct. 1.
Gov. Rick Snyder, who forecast $4.2 million in savings from the move, is disappointed and anticipates an emergency appeal, his spokeswoman, Sara Wurfel, said. "We continue to be focused on providing the highest quality of care and respect for our veterans," while implementing reforms to get the state "back on a sustainable, financially viable track," she said.
pegan@detnews.com
(517) 371-3660

Money Insider: Offset mortgages make the most of your savings

By Andrew Hagger

In these times of economic instability and high inflation people are getting savvier when it comes to saving or making money on banking and insurance products, but for many there is the potential to save much more.

Whether it's squeezing a little extra interest out of a savings account, saving a few pounds by moving car insurance provider or changing gas and electricity supplier, there's plenty of switching and saving going on.

It's great that people are making the effort to get a better deal from their bank or insurance company, as it keeps the providers on their toes, however there's still an area where people have the chance to save even more money for very little effort, and that's by taking out an offset mortgage.

We're not talking about saving the odd few pounds here and there, this breed of mortgage products offers the opportunity to save thousands of pounds, or to trim years off the term of your home loan, just by being smarter with your money.

With savings rates still barely above record lows, offsetting your nest egg against your mortgage is sensible, even more so for higher-rate taxpayers.

With an offset mortgage you don't have any tax to pay on your savings interest and the rate you receive is effectively the same as your mortgage rate. Another important plus point is that you always retain access to your entire savings balance in case your circumstances change and you need to dip into it.

Recent statistics reveal that less than one in 10 borrowers consider an offset product when taking out their mortgage.

A major reason for the poor take-up is that consumers think it's a complex product and only suitable for the super-rich, but both of these assumptions are incorrect as I'll illustrate later.

Another issue within the industry is that not all banks and building societies offer the offset facility, and therefore some customers are missing out because they aren't given the chance to take advantage of the financial benefits and flexibility of an offset product.

Along with Barclays and First Direct, Yorkshire Building Society is one of the big players in the offset market and unlike some providers it allows offset to be used on its entire range of standard mortgage products with just a 0.1 per cent loading on the rate.

This week its Chelsea brand made its debut in the offset mortgage market with some very competitive pricing on an extensive new range of 70 per cent, 80 per cent and 90 per cent LTV loans. A couple of the stand-out products include a 2-year fix at 2.79 per cent with £195 fee and a 2-year offset tracker at 2.39 per cent with £195 fee.

To give you a taste of the savings you can achieve with this type of mortgage and to prove that it is a viable option for those with a fairly modest savings balance or those who intend to save on a regular basis, I hope the following numbers speak for themselves.

For someone with savings of £5,000, offsetting it against a £100,000 mortgage at 4 per cent would save interest costs of £8,016 and take 1 year and 3 months off the term of a 25-year mortgage.

Similarly, if you are able to put aside £150 per month into your savings account, then you'll save £20,518 in mortgage interest charges, cut 3 years and 2 months off the length of your mortgage, and end up with a savings balance of £39,300 when the mortgage is repaid.

In the past, people have opted for a standard mortgage and not given the consequences a second thought, but with a growing number of new and more competitive offset options to choose from, maybe we'll see more borrowers take advantage of the long-term financial benefits.

Although considerable investment in terms of money and staff resource are needed to develop offset functionality, lenders should be doing more to offer and promote offset so it's no longer the exception but the becomes the norm when it comes to choosing a mortgage.

KRBS launches ONE-year savings best buy

This week krbs (formerly Kent Reliance Building Society) leapt to the top of the fixed-rate savings best buy tables this week with a one-year bond paying 3.6 per cent gross. The account can be opened in branch, by post or online and requires a minimum balance of £1,000. The maximum balance is £100,000 and comes with the option to have the interest paid monthly. It's the best one-year rate seen since February 2010, so you'll need to act fast if you want a piece of the action as it's not likely to be around very long.

Andrew Hagger – Moneynet.co.uk

Make your home a pest-free zone

By Alex Newman
This may be the dawning of the Age of Design, move-up buyers are in their seventh house, and urban chic is aligned with sophisticated elegances, but I have an admission to make. My clean-lined interior had mice.
The first sign was a subliminal blip on the household maintenance radar — half the fringe on my lovely wool Berber seemed to be missing and not in a typical pattern of wear and tear.
Next were the not so subtle pellets, bits 
of compost appearing mysteriously in odd places, and abstract drawings etched in potatoes with tiny sharp teeth.
I thought about my options — borrowing a cat, buying some poison, or moving — and ultimately settled on mousetraps, the humane kind with a spring lock and a trap door. They were kitted out with cheese for several days, but each morning, the cheese was gone. So was the mouse.
I asked around. Try peanut butter suggested one friend. Try jelly beans said another. Try the real mousetraps said a third, making a throat-cutting motion with his right hand.
Since it was around the same time that rats started showing up on my, um, lush exterior, I gave up the DIY efforts and called an exterminator. Several actually, since not everyone does mice and rats, and most specialize in either insects or animals.
True to its name, All-Pest Control ( www.allpest.ca) handles everything and owner Kim Bryson admitted he’s run off his feet lately; he’s definitely noticed an increase of pests in the past few years, including hornets, carpenter ants and spiders. It has nothing to do with personal hygiene and everything to do with global travel, apparently, which introduces critters from other countries through the lowly suitcase. And climate change, which has brought increased humidity. Bugs love it warm and moist.
Unfortunately, these changes occur while governments grow tougher on pesticide use, thereby limiting the tools to effectively wage war on pests. Take termites, for example. They are rampant in Toronto but you can only use permethrin, which pushes the pests away from the house, but doesn’t kill the colony, according to Aetna Pest Control’s Richard Murphy ( www.aetnapest.ca). There are termiticides in the works, he says, expected to be approved by Health Canada in the next year. But for now, it’s permethrin — and altering the environment of the home.
“Termites love moisture, so you want the driest basement foundation you can make for yourself,” Murphy says. “No wood to soil contact, so don’t stack firewood next to the house. Windows below grade should have cement sills, and decks should be elevated with cement tubes according to code.”
A structural approach reducing the environment’s attractiveness to bugs and animals is the one Bryson favours. He recommends watering the garden only when it’s dry, otherwise humidity levels soar and create a perfect insect breeding ground. And keep night lights off to deter insects.
Bryson also blames house construction. About 85 per cent of his rodent business comes from homes 35 years old or less because they’re not built as well and animals can enter more easily. In older homes, maintenance is key. “When a house is in poor shape, leaking roof, or weak and punky soffits, squirrels can chew their way in and racoons rip and tear.”
Certain materials are pest magnets, like cedar shingles and stucco, which animals can scale and birds can wiggle into. Given that Toronto is the raccoon capital of North America, and they have to live somewhere, chances are good they’re choosing your address.
But when I told Bryson about the pitter-patter of little feet I kept hearing at night, he said it was probably squirrels on the roof, not in it. “If they’re inside, it will sound like a bowling alley when they roll their pine cones and nuts around. And raccoons are even noisier.”
But back to my mice — and rat — problem.
“Don’t even waste your time on the traps,” says Michael Haralampopoulos of Budget Pest Control ( www.torontobudgetpestcontrol.com). “So you catch one every couple of days — that will never keep you ahead of the curve since they have litters every few weeks.”
You can try sealing the house, but “the truth is no house is impenetrable to a mouse,” Haralampopoulos says. “They can scale walls, like Spider-Man, and can get in through a hole the size of a dime.” One thing he says helps is cutting back any overgrown landscaping. “Mice, like most of the animal kingdom, prefer cover.”
Whoever you call, make sure they bait the attic and the exterior since mice and rats are part of the urban landscape, Bryson says.
Professional Solutions
 • Rats and mice: These call for pesticides stored in heavy plastic “stations,” which can’t be broken into by cats or dogs and are placed near where the rodents are, either inside or out. A one-time treatment might do the trick, but many companies offer a package that includes a monthly or quarterly inspection, which costs $500 and up per year. It includes checking to see how much bait has been eaten, the amount of feces and, if there’s no activity, moving the station. “If more people did this maintenance thing,” Bryson says, “the rodent population would drop immensely.”
 • Raccoons and squirrels: These guys are removed, not killed. Once the entry and exit points have been determined, and closed up, the company installs a one way door so that once outside, they can’t get back in. In the case of a litter left inside, Haralampopoulos says the parent returns to the one-way door screaming, and babies follow the screams and get out. Bryson says that vulnerable areas of the house must be further addressed because animals can smell where others have lived and will try to again occupy the area (attic).
 • Lice: These may not go under the category of household pests, but they are a reality of life, and incredibly difficult to get rid of, especially since they are growing immune to the chemicals in commercial lice shampoos. After weeks of going through your child’s hair every night with a (literal) fine tooth metal comb, and dousing their scalp with chemicals, you will probably conclude, as I did, that it’s time for professionals. Lice Squad (around $250) is money well spent and saves time and aggravation.
 • Bedbugs: Declared a pandemic in 2011, with Toronto an epicentre, there’s a huge amount of info available. Bed bugs travel with humans and their belongings, says Bryson, so the entire premise needs to be treated after an “extensive preparation by the occupant.”
 • Spiders: This year’s infestation — due to high humidity levels attracting more insects — has made me look like an even worse housekeeper than I already am. Not only are there webs in every corner, but small dropping dots that look like small tobacco stains, which Bryson says are almost impossible to remove.
 • Termites: Telltale signs include mud “tubes” on drywall and basement walls. Since they eat every bit of wood in sight, act immediately and call in a professional. Murphy says treating termites depends on the level of infestation. “If it’s really bad, you will have to open up the drywall and see if structural repairs need to be made.” He wants to know how the house was built and insulated; insulation like spray or rigid foam, either inside or outside, are real termite attractors. Because termites live in the soil two to five feet down, you need to dig around the foundation, fill any holes, and put chemical into the soil around the house. If the house has moisture problems, waterproofing will need to be done as well.
Alex Newman writes a weekly column for www.yourhome.ca on design and decor. You can contact her through her website www.integritycommunications.ca.

Halle Orchestra wins funding to make Ancoats church home

By Deborah Linton

 Manchester's Halle Orchestra will be able to fulfil its dream of turning an historic church into a second home after winning almost £1m grant money.
The symphony orchestra will bring St Peter’s Church, in Ancoats, back to life as a rehearsal and small scale performance space after securing two cash awards.
Halle bosses have been handed £702,000 from Viridor Credits, which supports community and heritage projects.
It comes within days of confirmation of a £150,000 grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation for charitable organisations.
The cash means the Halle can begin work planning the transformation of St Peter’s, a pretty 19th century church in the heart of Ancoats.
It will provide the orchestra with a permanent rehearsal space for the first time in its 153-year history and will also act as a base for the Halle Choir, Youth Orchestra, Youth Choir and Children’s Choir as well as education and community work.
Grade two listed St Peter’s sits on the newly developed Cutting Room public square – the centrepiece of Ancoats’ regeneration.
The exterior, which has already been painstakingly restored, will be preserved when redevelopment gets underway.
The symphony orchestra is based at Bridgewater Hall but currently rehearses at a number of venues around the city. It has been looking for a permanent site for some time.
Halle chief executive, John Summers, said: "This is brilliant news, both for the Hallé and the sleeping beauty that is Ancoats.
"We are delighted to be able to focus our education and community work in an area which played such a central role in Manchester’s emergence as a city of world significance. We are hugely grateful to both Viridor Credits and the Garfield Weston Foundation for giving us such an excellent start to our fundraising campaign."
Viridor, which puts money from landfill tax back into the community, has allocated the cash as part of its tenth anniversary awards.
General manager Lisa Nelson said: "We were inundated with entries for our tenth anniversary commemorative awards but the Hallé really stood out to us.
"Not only will it help to restore the impressive St Peter’s Church for everyone to enjoy, but it will also help to provide valuable space for the prestigious Hallé Orchestra, helping to regenerate this area of Manchester."
Coun Jim Battle, deputy leader of Manchester council, added: "The Hallé is very much in tune with our aspirations for the regeneration of east Manchester.
"The presence of such a world-renowned cultural institution in the heart of Ancoats, especially bringing this building back to life as the base for its community and education programmes, is brilliant news for the area and the city as a whole."

Shelter say renting privately in the UK is unaffordable

The old purse strings have had to remain tight for a good few years now. Words like “credit crunch” and “recession” now make us sigh, as we know exactly what they entail and that’s why at iSUBSCRiBE.co.uk we love to give you such cheap offers – like our House and Garden magazine subscription for just £1 an issue.
Chances of buying your own home have dwindled since mortgage lenders are reluctant to give out money and the deposits you have to put down to even secure a mortgage are getting higher, thank goodness for being able to rent, hey? Saying that, reports from housing charity Shelter have been released today and they show that the cost of renting a home in 55% of local authorities in the UK is “unaffordable”. So it seems we’re losing either way!
According to the charity, in the 10 years up to 2007, rents have risen one-and-a-half times the rate of incomes and a number of families are having to cut back on other things, such as food, to pay their rent.
As we’re paying so much for the homes we live in, it’s no wonder we always want them to look their best – we can’t afford to go out so will be spending our time there! It’s a good job then that it doesn’t break the bank to get a House & Garden magazine subscription.
The magazine is filled with great inspiration on how to make the most of your home and at just £5 for the first 5 months, it’s a real bargain.
Subscribe and save on a House and Garden magazine subscription today. Posted by Arabella Gibson.

Morgan Spurlock: 'I asked cigarette and gun companies for money to make a film'

BY Catherine Shoard

The man behind Super Size Me has made a documentary about product placement – and funded it by featuring a fruit juice. Here, he reveals the murky world of movie sponsorship

 Two years ago, Morgan Spurlock rang Abercrombie & Fitch to offer them his services as a model. The response wasn't wholly positive. "Have you looked in the mirror?" the company's press agent asked. "You're pale. You're out of shape. You're not very good-looking. You have a moustache. You're going bald." That offending 'tache shakes with laughter at the memory. "She broke down every flaw for me. She said I was an ugly person. She was very, very offended by my offer."

So Spurlock – pale skin quickly thickening – returned to his phone book and called more companies hoping to cut a deal; 600 in all, of which he scored with 15. This 2% success rate left him with a "tremendous sense of despair", a heightened empathy for call centre workers and, finally, a film: POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (though sadly the cameras weren't rolling when Abercrombie slapped him down).
An examination of how films are funded by product placement, and paid for in exactly this way, The Greatest Movie is a doddle to flog, especially for such an expert salesman. The crowds at the Sheffield Doc/Fest, where we meet in June, lap up his Barnum-style charm; putty in his light-touch jazz hands. Spurlock is a breath of confident showmanship in a genre not notorious for it, just as The Greatest Movie is light relief amid the tub-thumping and brow-furrowing. It's more intricately gimmicky than McDonalds-for-a-month experiment Super Size Me (2004), the film that introduced us to Spurlock's brand of human guinea-piggery. And more tone-appropriate than his second, the bounty-hunting travelogue Where in the World is Osama bin Laden? (2008), the critical mauling of which seemed likely, for a time, to spell the end of his big-screen career (he hasn't read his press since).
The Greatest Movie was dreamed up in January 2009, but it took nine months of ring-rounds before anyone took the bait. "There were countless times when we were just like: fuck, what if nobody comes on board? There was no plan B." Then, the first handshake: vaguely eco roll-on deodorant Ban. Then Sheetz, the petrol station chain, then a dribble more interest, then the hotel chain Hyatt, and, eventually, the big kill: a headline sponsor, who paid $1m in exchange for their brand running above the title. In fact POM, a pomegranate juice outfit that was 39th on Spurlock's list of drinks, has more than paid their way. For it's they who've unexpectedly added spice to the mix: since the film's release, POM's claims over the cardiovascular and prostate benefits of concerted swigging have been the subject of action by the US Federal Trade Commission, which POM is challenging. ("If I were to drink this for a year," says Spurlock, "I'd get the greatest erection ever sold.")
What Spurlock wanted was more of this kind of controversy. "We tried to get the shittiest people to give us money. The worst corporations. Gun manufacturers. I thought: we gotta get rifles in the movie, things that actually kill people. I called cigarette companies. I called BP. They wanted nothing to do with it. There was a real ethical conversation to be had about where to draw the line. It's a shame we couldn't do it."
What one is left with is a film that worries at the limits of personal integrity. Spurlock now believes the moment art hops into bed with commerce "there's a 100% chance the content will get corrupted". For cash-strapped film-makers, he thinks the only route forward is to shoot commercials for cash and then self-fund your documentaries. It's hardly a new dilemma. "Art has had sponsors for centuries. People would have their work subsidised, whether by the rich or the church, and then take the money and then go off and fight the man on the side. Now I've got all these commercial offers flooding in, and the question is: can I take that money and then go and blast the doors open on other types of arena?"
To some extent, the dilemma that emerges most pressingly from The Greatest Movie is not one for the artist but the consumer. "Making this film has made me infinitely more aware of how I want to raise my kid," says Spurlock. "It's made me much more cognisant of where I want to spend my money. If you wanna live in a box your whole life then maybe you shouldn't see the movie."
Part of the sell of the film is its interactivity: getting involved with it, in any capacity, is an extension of the experiment itself. When you see it, when you read these words, you'll be fulfilling some of those obligations (ticket stubs sold, media impressions managed) demanded by the investors. On some level you're as implicated as those residents of Altoona, Pennsylvania, who took $25,000 to rename their city POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, PA for two months this summer.
It also raises intriguing teases about to what extent people – in their professional and personal lives – are reliant on their own brand (Spurlock's is professionally analysed in the hope that'll match him more closely with potential investors, and comes back as "mindful/playful"). When he asks people on the street to deconstruct their USP, they're acute and funny; but they don't take it seriously. Should we? Ought people to have a more accurate sense of commodity value?
Spurlock takes a holistic approach. "I think your sense of self should be your commodity value – period. You're marketing yourself every day based on that self-worth." Isn't that different: what you produce, rather than what you are? "But it's an extension of who you are, of your sense of self. Whether you stand for quality or value or truth."
With Spurlock, of course, the separation of self and occupation is an unusually sticky one. His personality has long been his wares to hawk; right from his first break hosting an MTV dare show in which punters would scoff unsavouries for cash (full jar of mayo = $235, worm burrito = $265). So perhaps it's natural he tends to overestimate the connection for others.
"My father was an entrepreneur," he says. "And he was all about hard work and saying what you mean and meaning what you say. He never had a contract; if he shook your hand, that was all you're needed. And that as a person bled into him as a businessman."
Spurlock is the same: an honest, average Joe. But he's also canny enough to know that being a human guinea pig, no matter how high-falutin' the experiment, isn't something you can necessarily keep doing into middle age (he's 40). Spurlock's shtick – a consumer superhero who confronts people we all might if we had the gumption – either needs to toughen up to enable him to take on harder targets, or to adapt. The former isn't going to happen: Spurlock is a natural cheerleader who likes being liked and feels at home in the mainstream (upcoming documentary subjects are the comic convention Comic-Con and sports agents).
But that's not to say he's not without serious artistic ambition. The goal of all documentarians, he says, is "to get their film into the cinema". Digital release may ensure an audience, but "is it the best-case scenario for you as a film-maker? Of course not. Is that what you wanted? No."
And Spurlock would, as it happens, like to make the move into fiction – when we chat in June, he talks about "getting his feet wet with a $10m project … of course I would love to do that. You'd know how the story ends, which is just the best thing ever. You would have a finite shoot period. You wouldn't just have to keep on shooting until you stop." He enthuses about the Peter Jackson model – going from Heavenly Creatures straight to Lord of the Rings.
At the time, it sounded like a pipe dream; since then, details have emerged of Little Green Men, an adaptation of the Christopher Buckley novel about a political talkshow host who is abducted by aliens, on which Spurlock seems to be installed in the director's chair. It'll be fascinating to see whether he pulls it off, and without resorting to product placement. Pepto-Bismol Presents: Little Green Men, anyone?

Savings at home

As if any more evidence were needed, a recent survey offers more reasons why Indiana should direct more long-term care dollars to home-based services instead of costly institutional care.
Genworth Financial’s 2011 Cost of Care Survey finds that Indiana is one of only two states where the cost of receiving care in the home has decreased – by 0.5 percent a year over the past six years. Meanwhile, the cost of a private nursing home room has increased by 5 percent annually over the same period.
Another new study, by AARP and the SCAN Foundation, illustrates the long way Indiana has to go in making home- and community-based care more available for Hoosiers. The state ranks 47th for long-term services and support for older adults, people with physical disabilities and family caregivers, according to the study. It ranks 49th for access and affordability of long-term care services.
If Indiana followed the model set by Minnesota, the best-performing state, it could provide more than 7,600 additional Medicaid waivers, which are required if an individual qualifies for nursing home-level care but prefers home services. That would eliminate the waiting list for waivers, which was 5,351 as of Sept. 15.
More important, it would provide the community-based services that Hoosiers prefer.
“Over 90 percent of our clients make the statement” that they would prefer to stay at home, said Connie Benton Wolf, president and CEO of Aging and In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana. “It’s a method of getting people the support they need that builds around their strengths.”
Orion Bell IV, who oversees the counterpart agency in central Indiana, noted the indirect cost to the state when family caregivers have to provide services at home. Often, a spouse or child has to quit work or reduce hours to care for a loved one at home.
Indiana has made progress in rebalancing a system that for too long favored more costly nursing-home care. Under an aging reform agenda adopted in 2006, the goals were to rebalance long-term care spending, increase service capacity and improve public awareness. The number of certified assisted living providers has increased, as well as the number of adult day service providers and adult foster care homes.
The two-year budget approved this spring initially included a 15 percent reduction in funding for home-based care, but lawmakers restored the money – a strong indication that they are listening to their constituents when it comes to providing for low-income Hoosiers in need of services.
Kristen LaEace, CEO of the Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging, notes there is more that could be done.
“Ohio has been able to aggressively rebalance its long-term care system by essentially combining its nursing home and Medicaid waiver budgets, and making waiver services a state entitlement, compared to the federal entitlement of the nursing homes,” she said in an email. “In Indiana, the waiver and nursing home budget are administered separately, and there is no waiver entitlement.”
LaEace also said the federal Affordable Care Act has two programs the state could use, the Balancing Incentives Payments program and the Community First Choice program.

“They provide enhanced federal match for Medicaid waivers to aid in state rebalancing efforts,” she said. “We are hopeful the state is considering making applications for these programs.”
Indiana’s progress so far is worth noting, but the AARP study illustrates how far it has to go, while the survey on annual care costs offers more evidence that, fiscally, it’s clearly the right direction to go.
Source www.journalgazette.net/

Home sales rise as hot Manhattan market spills into Lower Hudson Valley

Written by Ernie Garcia

Homeowners trying to sell their properties had better success this summer, though they got less money than a year earlier. 

Westchester County enjoyed a 9 percent increase in home sales in the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same period last year, while sales rose 9.8 percent in Putnam and 7 percent in Rockland counties. The Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors and Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service reported that 1,804 single-family homes were sold in the three-county region from July 1 to Sept. 30, up 8.8 percent from the same 2010 period. 

Despite the higher sales numbers, the median home price in Westchester was off 6 percent to $684,005 and 2 percent to $418,000 in Rockland in the third quarter compared with the year-ago period, while the median sales price remained stable in Putnam at $330,000 versus last year.

Real estate analysts credit the higher sales to reasons including record-low mortgage interest rates, skyrocketing prices in Manhattan pushing more New Yorkers to consider the northern suburbs and local unemployment rates lower than statewide and national figures.
"Manhattan is very hot. That's having a pretty strong impact on Westchester County," said Mike Graessle, an associate broker at Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty in White Plains and president of the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors. "As their prices go up, ours start looking more attractive. People are starting to make the move to Westchester as a cost savings."
Graessle also noted that the Putnam-Rockland-Westchester region had a 6.5 percent unemployment rate in August, compared with a statewide rate of 7.7 percent and a 9.1 percent rate nationally, according to state Department of Labor statistics. He said there are many buying opportunities for people who are employed and have confidence in their job security.
There are also several factors for the lower sales prices, said Jerry Lott, Rockland County Board of Realtors president-elect. He cited a large inventory of homes sitting on the market for a long time, more realistic pricing of houses, higher property taxes, tighter lending requirements by banks and private-sector job losses.
"Lederle labs laying off (nearly 2,000) people has a huge impact on the housing market," said Lott, referring to the Pearl River pharmaceutical plant now owned by Pfizer that is ending manufacturing there and cutting two-thirds of its staff by 2014.
Despite continuing struggles in the national economy, Graessle said there are signs for optimism in the latest numbers. He noted that though the year-to-date sales of single-family homes in Westchester were down from the same period in 2010, they were higher than in 2009, when the Great Recession officially ended.
"I sense, from what I'm seeing with buyers and sellers, that we've bottomed out," Graessle said.

Make Money at Home Dropshipping Music Products For Big Profits!

Posted by Amanda Brooke

If you are dreaming of working from home in a profitable online business, you may want to take a look at dropshipping music products!
Music has been a favorite thing of men and women alike for centuries. In fact, far back in the dawn of civilization, ancient cultures were making music with crude instruments. Music has played a big part in many religious and spiritual ceremonies, including those of the Native American Indians and many others. Down through the years, love of music has not diminished at all. If anything, it has increased due to the many modernized ways of listening to it!

Click Here For a FREE Dropshipping e-Book!

What does this mean to you? It means that dropshipping music products offers a wealth of opportunities for big profits and a very nice income. The demand for music products is high. If you supply that demand---you will make money. It’s just that simple.
Here are some interesting stats that will illustrate clearly what a lucrative niche music is:

• Worldwide music industry revenues are projected to be $67.6 billion in 2011 Source: eMarketer
  

• Worldwide recorded music revenues are predicted to hit $34.7 billion in 2011Source: eMarketer
  

• Overall music sales in the US hit record highs in 2008 and have continued to climbSource: IFPI Digital Music Report 2009

It is easy to see the potential for sales in this category and why dropshipping music products is a great niche for anyone who is looking to start a home business with a large target market of potential customers.
Drop Ship Access has more than 232,000 high quality, popular music products available for you to start selling now! With a Low Price Guarantee, you can be sure of getting true wholesale product prices that will leave you plenty of room for tidy profits. Drop Ship Access is a reputable, established company with thousands of happy customers and is a member of the Better Business Bureau.
Check out the fantastic selection of dropshipping music products from Drop Ship Access today and start making money in a profitable home business right away!
If you liked this article, you may also like this one: Dropship Tips: Working at Home---Habits of

Bring profits home and create jobs? Maybe not

By Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In a time of high unemployment, slow growth and record debt, there's been a renewed push by many on Capitol Hill to give companies a tax break if they bring their foreign profits home.
The problem is there is very little agreement on whether a foreign profits tax break would help the economy.
Proponents from the left and right say it could create jobs and boost revenue. Critics -- also from the left and right -- say it would do just the opposite, costing the economy jobs and the government revenue.
Just this week, a group of fiscally conservative House Democrats sent a letter to the congressional debt committee endorsing the idea, while Senate Democrats Carl Levin and Kent Conrad sent a letter urging the panel to reject it.
And both sides are pointing to various studies of a repatriation tax holiday in 2004 to bolster their case.
What the debate's all about: Bipartisan bills in the House and Senate would coax U.S.-based companies to bring home profits they made abroad by offering them a lower tax rate on those earnings than the 35% imposed on profits made on U.S. soil.
Right now, earnings made abroad aren't subject to U.S. tax until they're "repatriated" through the distribution of dividends from the company's foreign subsidiary to the parent corporation.

Hiring gains momentum

As a result, proponents of the tax break say, companies have more than $1 trillion "trapped" abroad in low-tax countries. That money, they argue, could be put to much better use in the U.S. economy.
It sounds logical. But the truth is that the money is not really locked out of the United States at all, said corporate tax expert Edward Kleinbard, a former chief of staff for the Joint Committee on Taxation.
"A large portion of these earnings is kept in liquid investments, and those in turn invariably are in U.S. dollar liabilities of U.S. borrowers, like U.S. bank deposits, commercial paper, and Treasuries. All those investments already are fully at work somewhere in the U.S. economy," Kleinbard said.
What's more, Kleinbard said, the large multinational corporations that would benefit most from a repatriation holiday are not exactly hard up for cash. On the contrary, they have a lot of money sitting on the sidelines and have access to low-cost debt financing. So if they wanted to make more of an investment on U.S. soil they could, Kleinbard notes.
 The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that a repatriation "holiday" could boost revenue by about $26 billion over the first three years -- but lose as much as $80 billion over the next decade.
And the Senate's permanent subcommittee on investigations, which Sen. Levin chairs, released a report this week that said the 2004 tax holiday resulted in a loss of nearly 21,000 jobs among the top 15 repatriating corporations, and cited other studies which found no evidence that the holiday increased overall employment.
Proponents of the holiday challenge JCT's assumptions and assert that Levin's report is "one-sided." They point instead to a study done by economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, estimates that a repatriation holiday could result in the creation of roughly 2.9 million jobs and a $360 billion boost to GDP.

Friends help make Abbeyfield home

By Sandra Brooks, Special To The Citizen
Every day at the Duncan Abbeyfield House is a "day of caring."
Staff, volunteers, board members past and present, and local community groups contribute in generous ways to Abbeyfield. These are the people we call Friends of Abbeyfield.
This home is filled with enthusiastic and caring people dedicated to its residents. Staff members Kelly, Melinda, Barb, Lorraine, Marian, Julia and Shelly and the volunteers, Julie and Lois, all treat the residents with dignity and enjoy their time together whether it is just sitting down to talk about their day or while making meals.
There are many volunteers and local community groups who have also made significant contributions by keeping the building and yard safe and beautiful.
In particular, this past year, the local Rotarians have performed work projects to improve Abbeyfield grounds. The Duncan Lions Club gave donations to perform major bathroom renovations.
We have the ongoing contributions of neighbour Mac Conway, who keeps watch on the yard, mowing the lawns when needed, as well as other contributions here and there.
The Vancouver Island University's carpentry programs have also donated their time, under the tutelage of our board member, Jim Cooper, to construct our new pantry room for the storage of kitchen supplies and goods. We also had many volunteers donating assorted items and working at our garage sale day in June which raised money for Abbeyfield.
All board members are very hands-on at Abbeyfield.
Jim Cooper and Dave Conway have performed routine maintenance on the home and have organized work crews for major tasks. Board members and volunteers will assemble to paint a room after a resident has vacated. Board members have contributed their time by personally giving tours of Abbeyfield to potential senior residents. President Kathy Skovgaard attends many meetings and advocates for Abbeyfield, which requires a tremendous amount of time. Past board member, Linda Moir, acted as treasurer for Abbeyfield and shopped weekly for years. Moir continues to shop weekly for groceries for Abbeyfield as a volunteer and Friend of Abbeyfield.

More People Learn How to Start a Home Based Internet Business to Make Money in Tough Economy

By Ed Dixon
With unemployment at record highs in parts of the country, and pay and benefits being reduced, many people are looking for ways to make money from home. For many the idea of starting a home-based internet business is becoming an alternative.
While the idea of working from home, and now the concept of an internet based business sounds appealing, many are afraid that they do not have the capital required to get a business started or the knowledge required to start an online business.
While the internet is full of “get rich quick” scams, there are some legitimate successful internet marketing experts willing to share their knowledge making it relatively straight forward for the average person to generate a second income from an online business. Like any business, for some, there is the opportunity to grow the business into a primary income generator.
“The truth of the matter is that you can start your home business with no money at all. Ask yourself this, do you have a spare room or space in your house. Do you have a computer with an internet connection? Do you have a phone line? If you have these three things you have the essentials of an office from which your home business can be made,” according to Steve Clayton one of the most successful internet marketing millionaires.
Clayton left his regular marketing ‘day’ job after discovering the power of what is known as “Affiliate marketing” using the internet. This type of marketing refers is essentially the process of promoting someone else’s products and receiving a commission for doing so.
The advantages are many including, no inventory, customer support, payment processing, etc. In affiliate marketing, the individual simply gets paid for referring someone to the website of a company which sells a product. Using the internet, the company is able to track where the referral came from, and then send a commission to the person who made the referral.
If you go to most any large e-commerce retailer like Amazon.com and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see a link for “Affiliates” or something similar. This is a program where Amazon.com will pay you for referrals to their site.
While some large e-tailers like Amazon have an in house program, many rely on third party companies like Commission Junction to manage their affiliate programs for them. These companies act as a middle man between major corporations who sell products and services which we all use every day, and the individuals and companies who promote (or advertise) their products and services.
Obviously, the biggest question becomes how to make the referrals and send people to the sites willing to pay you a commission. There are a number of ways to generate this “internet traffic.” Some are expensive and some techniques require only time, effort and knowledge.
Over the years, Steve Clayton has release a few “how to” videos and programs to teach the average person how to create an online business and make money from home using both affiliate marketing as well as a traditional e-commerce web site selling products directly.
Recently Clayton and his partners have combined some of their video and tutorials into a new program which they call the “Internet Marketing Advantage” or IMA. The program is designed to show individuals at all levels of expertise, from complete novice to relative experts, how to enter the internet marketing arena and succeed, with step-by-step videos, tutorials, and even online help and forums to get assistance every step of the way.
As with any business, it appears that with the internet, you get out of it what you put into it. There is no magic bullet, and no short cuts for earning a sustained income. However, with the right training and some consistent effort, it does appear very realistic to create and run a very real online business from home.

Occupy Wall Street protest hits closer to home

By Bill Hess/Arizona Range News

BISBEE - The Founding Fathers would be on the side of the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters and would show up to support the actions against corporations who make their money through the New York Stock Exchange, a retired Army command sergeant major said Sunday.
Although he only would give his first name - Joe - the Vietnam War veteran said those who created the United States more than 200 years ago did not envision corporations having more rights than American citizens.
Appropriately, the Bisbee Occupy Wall Street event, a phenomena which is happening across the nation, was held at Goar Park in the city's Brewery Gulch, outside a building which was the Bisbee Stock Exchange in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today it is a bar, where some of the old exchange boards can still be seen behind glass.
Although many would think because of Joe's military service he would be conservative in his views, his comments to the Herald/Review proved somewhat different.
As more than 90 people gathered for the 5 p.m. start of the hour-long event, the retired senior noncommissioned officer - on his hat was a pin indicating he was awarded a Silver Star - brought a large American flag which was put up near a rendition of the Statue of Liberty with a sign stating "Help America. Tax Wall Street."
A woman held a sign stating "America, Land of the Fee$, Home of the $lave$."
Joe said his problem with the greed emanating from Wall Street, and corporate board rooms is, "A corporation doesn't bleed, doesn't die for the country," as members of America's armed forces are called upon to do.
And, "Corporations should not have more rights, than citizens," the retired soldier added.
The Rev. Rod Richards, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Southeast Arizona in Sierra Vista, read a statement put out by the Occupy Wall Street organizers in New York.
"This statement was voted on and approved by the general assembly of protesters at Liberty Square on Sept. 29," he said.
The statement outlined a number of grievances "to express a feeling of mass injustice," Richards said.
The protests began in and around New York's Wall Street with small numbers but growing, leading to increasing arrests, with nearly 700 taken into custody the first weekend of this month.
The movement is spreading across the nation, including in Arizona, with one held in Prescott last week. One is scheduled to be held in Tucson on Saturday morning.
The Occupy Wall Street statement has a list of grievances, reading much like the Declaration of Independence in which the reason for seeking freedom from Great Britain in 1776 outlined the founders' rationale for severing ties.
However the statement seeks redress in their list, which Richards read, and includes:

"They (the corporations,) have taken our houses through illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

"They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give executives exorbitant bonuses.

"They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of ones skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

"They have poisoned the food supply through negligence and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

"They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

"They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay an safer working conditions.

"They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

"They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers' healthcare and pay."
The list continues accusing "they," the corporations, of influencing the judicial system, finding ways out of providing health insurance, being too directly involved in determining national economic policies "despite catastrophic failure" and donating money to politicians who are suppose to regulate corporations and other complaints in the statement, read by Richards.
For Alice Hamers, of McNeal, a self-confessed left progressive Democrat, she believes the unions are involved in the protest and sees no problem with that because of their organizational capabilities.
However, for her the majority of those who take to the streets must be individuals who have been badly impacted by corporation and politicians, of both parties.
Saying when President Barack Obama ran for president, before being selected by the Democratic Party to carry the banner in the 2008 election, she supported Dennis Kucinich.
But once Obama received the party's nomination she voted for him because she could not give her ballot of Republican Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain.
But, Obama has failed and is on the wrong path, she said.
The street protests, which are growing throughout the country, is as much is a warning to both major parties and to the technically unofficial Tea Party, Hamers said.
The politicians, of both parties "are to blame" for the nation's economic woes which can be seen by the horrendous deficit Congress and administrations created in the budget process, she said.
What is needed is a "people's budget," on from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Andrea Witte will outline the "American Dream Budget, aka The People's Budget," at the Sierra Vista Library, Hamers said of the free public meeting, Hamers said.
Joe said during his career, as an Army Ranger, he briefed retired Army Gen. Norman Schwartzkopf, when he was a lieutenant colonel battalion commander in Vietnam. Schwartzkopf led Operations Desert Shield/Storm against Iraq. The retired command sergeant major also worked with retired Gen. Colin Powell, when he was secretary of state.
With the growing unhappiness concerning the nation's political arena, he said if some of the founding leaders of the country were still alive he has no doubt they would support the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Saying he wished he brought his grandchild to the Bisbee event and believes children need to see American democracy at work, Joe said, "Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Paul Revere would be at the (current) protests, serving food."

Home building booms again

By Garry Marr, Financial Post

 The Canadian housing market continues to defy the odds in the face of a world economic slowdown, as new statistics from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show newhome construction soaring again.
The latest data put September starts at 205,900 on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, in line with the 20022008 housing boom when starts checked in at more than 200,000 a year.
This time it appears the condominium sector is driving the market, a commonality across the country.
That construction is expected to be a key economic driver.
Royal Bank of Canada forecasts 2.4% growth in gross domestic product in the third quarter on an annualized basis, with the housing sector responsible for 50 basis points of that growth.
Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter said Tuesday there are now 4.3 construction jobs in the United States for every one in Canada, far off the historical norm of seven to one.
"It's tough to believe" Canada can continue at its present pace, Mr. Porter said in a note.
"We don't anticipate the large-scale collapse we saw in the United States," said David Onyett-Jeffries, an economist at RBC. "Maintaining residential construction growth has positive implications for GDP and is going to provide support to it."
CMHC said urban multiple starts, largely composed of condominiums, accounted for most new-home construction last month.
Urban-multiple starts were an annualized 118,000 in September.
Who is actually buying those condominiums remains anybody's guess.
Estimates by such groups as Urbanation Inc., a condominium research firm, put up to 60% of condo purchases in the hands of investors as opposed to people who plan to occupy the dwellings they buy.
"The anecdotal story is [that] foreign money is buying condos, but we don't have any data to back it up," said Mr. Onyett-Jeffries, adding there are several arguments in favour of housing for foreign investors.
"[Canada] has a stable economy and a stable banking system and the housing market is fundamentally strong, especially as compared to the United States. Given global uncertainties, you can make the argument Canadian real estate has been solid all the way through," Mr. Onyett-Jeffries said.
Ben Myers, executive vicepresident of Urbanation, says Toronto set a record for quarterly construction with 40,000 units begun in the second quarter of this year. "Investors are not working on the same dynamic. A lot of them are looking at it as a place [to store their cash]. They want out of whatever international market they are in. They look at it as a straight investment and their others are not performing as well," he said.
At the same time, individual homebuyers are still a strong force, partially driven by near-record low interest rates. "There is a feeling in Canada that the economy is performing well. Interest rates have kept people in the market," said Don Lawby, CEO of Century 21 Canada. "As long as people feel they have a job, the future looks OK, they have money and interest rates are where they are, people will continue to look to get into the market."
Francis Fong, an economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, said European turmoil has led investors to buy government bonds, which has kept rates low and improved affordability, but he doesn't expect that to continue forever.
"Spending fatigue and high levels of debt among Canadian households will lead to further moderation in the housing market," he said. "We forecast that housing starts will slow to an average of 180,000 by next year, only to trend lower the year after."
MULTIPLE UNITS KEEP STARTS RISING

Aid cuts forecast for winter heating season

By Brian Boyd

Local assistance programs are bracing for cuts in home heating oil aid, even as the federal government predicts record prices this winter.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects the average price paid by households in the Northeast this winter will reach a record $3.71 per gallon, a 10 percent increase over last winter, the agency announced Wednesday.

Until Washington lawmakers agree on a final budget, local nonprofit leaders are uncertain how much money will be available for families trying to stay warm. They expect the same number of applicants as last winter, but the competing budget plans include cuts ranging from about a third to half of last year's federal aid.

"Whatever the figure we're going to get, it's definitely going to be a cut," said Elizabeth Berube, director of a fuel assistance program at Citizens for Citizens Inc., a social services provider for the Fall River and Taunton areas.

In the meantime, officials have planned for the worst as they work in the dark.

"Trying to predict what this government is going to do, you would be better off going to a casino," said Bruce Morell, executive director of People Acting In Community Endeavors, a New Bedford-based social services provider.

The average oil price has more than doubled over the last seven winters, from $1.45 per gallon during the winter of 2003-04 to $3.38 per gallon in 2010-11. By comparison, the average price of natural gas for households grew 14 percent in the same period, the Energy Information Administration said.

This week's average price for heating oil in Massachusetts is $3.64, up from $2.94 at this time last year, according to a survey by the state Department of Energy Resources.

The White House and Congress have proposed different amounts for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. The Obama administration's plan would provide $81 million for Massachusetts, compared with $183 million last winter, Berube said.

The Senate and House are considering more generous allocations, but their plans could still result in about a third of funding being cut, according to Berube and Morell.

For now, local programs have to get ready for the assistance season, which begins Nov. 1, without a concrete figure.

"We're just waiting and hoping we hear something before the end of the month," Berube said.

Assistance will be available for families of four who earn up to $60,035 a year, for a family of three making up to $50,429, for a family of two making up to $40,824, and one person earning up to $31,218, she said.

The state had to set an initial maximum benefit before the season began, and it had to go with $400 for the neediest households based on the White House's stingier plan. Last year, the state began with a $500 cap and increased the number to $1,050 on Jan. 15 after additional money was appropriated, Morell said.

A smaller appropriation this year could be stretched by rising prices and stable demand for the assistance.

"We're expecting demand not to change significantly one way or another" compared with last winter, Morell said.

His agency sent out 14,000 applications to existing clients, and he estimates they have received about 5,000 replies. New clients must make in-person appointments to apply.

Berube said her organization had approved 2,257 applications as of Wednesday and another 6,761 are pending, about the same number at the same time last year.

With the potential cuts, Citizens for Citizens has 16 employees processing fuel assistance paperwork, down from 20 or more last year, she added.

"We have not brought all of the staff back because of all of the uncertainty," she said.

How to Pick the Right Mortgage

Managing your biggest asset your home is really about managing your mortgage, your biggest debt. That's why you'll want to select a loan that fits both your budget and your lifestyle. Keep in mind that reducing your borrowing costs wherever you can is an important part of the home-buying process. After all, a home doesn't pay for itself. You pay for it.
Find the right fit. Whether you choose a fixed-rate or an adjustable-rate mortgage depends a lot on your future plans, especially how long you plan to stay in your home. The longer you plan to live in the house, the more a fixed-rate mortgage makes sense.

• Plain vanilla. A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is the most basic loan, and it's your best choice if you plan to stay in your home a decade or more. But over the long haul, these mortgages are really expensive. If you were to get a $200,000 mortgage today with a 5% interest rate, you would pay $185,000 in interest over the life of the loan, in addition to the $200,000.
• Slow and steady. While you pay the same amount each month for a fixed-rate loan, you pay most of the interest costs first, which means your repayment of principal will be excruciatingly slow. If you don't pay anything extra, it will take you more than 10 years to pay off the first $50,000.
• Shorten the term. You can pay off the mortgage faster simply by adding an additional amount to your payment every month or every year, or you can start with a 15- or 20-year mortgage. You'll have higher monthly payments but you'll pay substantially less interest over the loan's life.

ARMs length. Adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, make the most sense if you plan to move within seven years or less. Then, you can take advantage of the ARM's lower initial rate, while avoiding worries about how the interest rate on the loan might climb once it starts adjusting.

• Flex pay. With an adjustable-rate loan, you're likely to have a lower monthly payment and pay less annual interest. But your chances of actually paying off a home are slim because you'll be restarting the mortgage clock every time you move.
• Go long. Focus on ARMs that adjust after five years or more and avoid loans that adjust after the first year or two. With the latter, you could end up with substantially higher payments not long after you get all the boxes unpacked.
• Confront the worst case. Calculate how large your payment will be if the interest rate rises to the highest level allowed. If you can't afford that payment, you should consider a different kind of loan. Use our fixed vs. adjustable rate calculator.

Fine print. Pay attention to the various additional charges. Origination points are just another fee, with one point equal to 1% of the loan. Discount points are charges you pay upfront to reduce the interest rate you pay.

• Discount deals. Discount points can be a good deal if you can recoup the cost of the points while you own the home. Using an online mortgage calculator, figure out how long it would take for your interest savings to exceed the cost of the discount points. If you plan to be in the house at least that long, it's a good deal.
• Penalty payments. Some lenders charge a steep prepayment penalty if you refinance or sell your home in the first few years you own it. Generally, these are a bad deal, but they can pay off if you get a lower interest rate in exchange for agreeing to the penalty.

What not to do. Given that a mortgage is your biggest obligation, you want to proceed with caution in deciding how much you can comfortably borrow.

• Don't let debt drive. Debts should help you meet your goals, not get in the way of them. You should never have to decide whether to pay the house note or pay into your retirement plan.
• Don't be seduced. It's so tempting to borrow just $10,000 or $20,000 more to get another room or the cuter house. Don't forget that it's still real money. You'll pay a little more every month, which adds up to a lot more year after year.
• Don't pay origination points. You'll pay plenty in fees for the appraisal, title insurance and closing costs without paying for these. 
• Source www.smartmoney.com/

The art of the deal

By Jon Greenberg
ESPNChicago.com
CHICAGO -- They need to make a T-shirt. Check that, T-shirts plural, thousands of them. The Cubs need to turn Wrigley Field into the world's largest beer garden/printing press.
Obama campaign-style "Believe" T-shirts; Theo Epstein T-shirt jerseys with his name and 12 on the back; Epstein kicking a goat right in his goat tuchus.
This is no time to be shy. The Cubs need to dress this city in Theo Epstein's face and remind everyone this is a Cubs town.

And trust me, the Cubs suits aren't shy. They'd sell naming rights to the players if they could.
Starlin Castro and Wrigley Field used to be the franchise's only marketable assets, but once the five-year, multimillion-dollar deal is final, it's Epstein's team and Epstein's town.
Optimism has finally returned to Wrigley Field, and to the far-reaching, self-pitying Cubs fans across the globe. After a few soul-killing years, positive thoughts can be found in the minds of the disinterested fans, the disaffected employees and the distrustful players.
The timing of this news is fortuitous indeed. Season-ticket invoices are slated to go out on Friday. Don't believe the team's spin, the Cubs need help keeping fans at these prices. It took a lot of work to keep 2011 attendance on par with 2010, which was already down from 2009.
But with Epstein and his golden-boy sheen on his way, everything has suddenly changed for the franchise. For now, anyway. False hopes have been raised before. See: Baker, Dusty; Piniella, Lou; Soriano, Alfonso, etc.
The Ricketts family are good people, and well-liked in baseball circles and among their employees, but this organization needs an infusion of "baseball guys," and Epstein is the perfect blended executive who appeals to old-school types, has the respect of players and is adored by the Tom Rickettses and Wally Haywards of the world.
As they say in Wally's World, Epstein has crossover appeal. He has baseball credibility, which is sorely lacking now that general manager Jim Hendry is gone.
Team president Crane Kenney is the kind of guy who refers to lawyers and marketing executives as "rock stars," but Epstein actually is one. He famously plays guitar, and after two World Series titles, he was more popular in Boston than Steven Tyler.
Landing Epstein, which isn't official as of this writing, is surely a franchise-shifting move, perhaps the first meaningful hire in the Ricketts era.
It's a sign that Tom Ricketts, the sole Ricketts in charge, can get big things done. His reign thus far has been judged harshly, and sometimes unfairly, but this is a home run and Tom deserves to doff his cap to the crowd.
But to paraphrase Dusty Baker, his name is Epstein, not Moses. He's not a miracle worker, and I hope that fans, and the media, remember that when the hype machine gets tuned up.
Franchise fixers have come and gone in the past 30 years, from Dallas Green to "boy wonder" Andy MacPhail. The drought remains intact. Jim Hendry got a window to cut some big checks, but it only got the Cubs close enough to disappoint.
And Epstein is not perfect. He spent more than $100 million to get Daisuke Matsuzaka and his fictional "gyroball" to Boston, six years and $52 million in a contract, and a $51 million negotiating fee to his Japanese team. In the past two offseasons, Epstein has "chased" signing John Lackey to a five-year, $82.5 million deal and Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million deal.
If you're a baseball fan, you know how those deals look right now.
But Epstein had to spend to keep pace with the Yankees. OK, he didn't have to, but there is an arms race scenario between the clubs. Epstein will have money to spend in Chicago, but not silly money.
What Epstein can do, just by his experience and his fresh eyes, is improve the organization, from the ground up, and help the Cubs eliminate the peaks and valleys that have plagued the club for years. Hendry did a lot for this team, but it will be a good thing to get new blood in here.
Epstein will need money from the ownership group, which seems like it's coming, and complete control of the baseball operations, which should be there, considering the front office isn't rich with "baseball guys." Patience wouldn't hurt, either.
I'm sure the first thing Epstein does is create an advanced statistical analysis team, and a computer akin to the Red Sox's "Carmine." Epstein is a known sabermetric guy, though he's not a true "propellerhead," as the old school calls the post-"Moneyball" gurus.
Right now, the advanced stats department, as far as we know, is really just Ari Kaplan. Ricketts hired Kaplan to be the statistical analyst manager in 2010, after Kaplan consulted for teams for two decades, according to his self-aggrandizing website, www.ariball.com.
I'm sure Kaplan is an extremely bright and capable analyst -- I've heard he's a whiz with databases and technology -- but since we can't see his analysis work for the Cubs, I have to judge him on his website, which is ... interesting. For instance, he wrote that at 2010 spring training, pitcher Charlie Haeger threw 80 percent curveballs. Haeger is a knuckleballer. There's plenty more "analysis" where that came from. It'll be interesting if Epstein keeps him around or just starts fresh.
Here's another question that speaks to the organizational dysfunction. Why did the Cubs invest $2.4 million in a hitting coach in Rudy Jaramillo if they don't teach his style throughout the system? As it stands, each level has a different coach teaching a different hitting style. There needs to be a Cubs Way of doing things and Epstein needs to be the author.
Speaking of a Cubs Way, some wonder if there needs to be an overhaul in the front office. Fans, and reporters, are always asking how Kenney has kept his job through the sale of the Tribune Co. to the Ricketts family.
Most baseball fans of other teams have no idea who is running their business operations department. I'm guessing Kenney is the only one who gets heckled in public.
Let's get it straight, Kenney's main gig is acting as the point man for three separate projects: the new spring training home in Arizona, the Wrigley Field updates and the new home in the Dominican Republic. He will be judged by the successes.
Kenney's reputation as meddler to Hendry has spread across baseball, but he won't have an opportunity, or really a reason, to undercut Epstein.
In fact, I'd bet the two presidents wind up getting along fine. In any event, Epstein is coming in as the savior. He gets a bump in the pecking order by coming over, and is operating in a position of strength.
Ever since Ricketts took over, Kenney hasn't spoken much to reporters. He will admit that's a good thing. He's a suit, not a baseball guy.
Kenney, a heavy even in his days at the Tribune Co., has experience being unpopular. He was one of the public faces on the team's ticket-scalping service, Wrigley Field Premium Tickets, among other unpopular job tasks.
Considering the Arizona spring training deal is done, and is fiscally amenable to the Cubs, I don't see Kenney leaving for a long time, if ever. His next big project is getting the city to foot half the bill for the massive rebuilding of Wrigley Field.
The team can use Epstein's popularity and the new buzz around the franchise to push the city into making an investment, through tax breaks or otherwise, into a private business. Everyone wins. The money supposedly goes right back to the baseball operations.
Hell, if the Cubs can follow the Red Sox Way to the World Series, the cries of taxpayer waste will get trampled by the dreams of a citywide parade.
Forget front-office politics and the minors for a minute. Epstein's easiest task will be to revamp the major league roster on the fly. First up, he needs a new manager, sorry Mike Quade, but no sense keeping a one-year lame duck. Not in this town. Then he needs a new coaching staff.
You can't fire the players, but you can fire the manager and coaches, and that's a crucial decision Epstein has to make.
Bobby Dernier and Pat Listach could stay, I suppose, but the new manager needs better coaches. Ivan DeJesus can do anything in the organization, but he can't coach third base anymore. A new pitching coach is vital. Quade got shafted when Larry Rothschild bolted for the Yankees.
A new manager can't have a new pitching coach. As a young Cubs pitcher said to me late in the season, Rothschild's replacement, Mark Riggins, did as much as he could, but "He's just not Larry, you know."
Epstein needs to figure out if Carlos Pena and Aramis Ramirez are still options at first and third -- the team needs someone to hit with power -- and he's got to spin off Marlon Byrd for a hitter with more pop.
He also might want to trade Geovany Soto and Carlos Marmol, two pieces who could bring back valuable returns. Then, of course, there's the Carlos Zambrano situation. I'm guessing Zambrano and his agent deliver an ultimatum: Trade him to Florida or keep him or release him.
Epstein needs to make sure he avoids pressure, internally or otherwise, to make a Soriano-like splash, while at the same time, not being too cautious.
A president/general manager's presence can sell only so many tickets. To get this team back to 2008 levels of popularity, Epstein needs to build a winner and do it quickly.
The clock hasn't officially started yet, but barring another change of heart (remember his brief 2005 sabbatical?) the Epstein era has begun. He's now the face of the Cubs.
Jon Greenberg is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com.

City, Home Depot join up to make over 70 homes

By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 In an extension of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's volunteerism program, the Home Depot Foundation and community groups are coming together to upgrade about 70 homes belonging to veterans, senior citizens and low-income residents. The new project -- called the Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership -- will focus on homes in East Liberty, Garfield, Homewood and Larimer.
The foundation is providing a $500,000 grant for labor and materials, but some of the heavy lifting will be done by volunteers in Mr. Ravenstahl's ServePGH program. The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority and community groups -- Nazareth Housing Services, Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh and Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, among others -- also will lend a hand.
"We're excited to be partnering with the Home Depot Foundation, yet again, to improve the quality of life for our city's most vulnerable residents," Mr. Ravenstahl said.
The foundation previously provided $10,000 for Love Your Block, a ServePGH initiative that has given face-lifts to 11 city blocks to far.
"The cornerstone of our lives is usually the place we call home, where we gather with our families and friends, and we are proud that our grant funding and the volunteer efforts of our associates will help the Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership to repair and refurbish homes for those who are most in need of help," Kelly Caffarelli, foundation president, said.
The work will include electrical and plumbing upgrades, structural repairs, construction of wheelchair ramps, weatherization and security improvements.
In all, 10 community and service groups will participate in the project, partly by selecting the property owners who will be helped. The groups already provide housing-related services to disadvantaged residents.
"The waiting lists for services from our partner agencies are extensive, and this opportunity will enable them to make needed repairs to those who have previously sought their services," Rebecca Delphia, the city's chief service officer, said in an email. In addition, she said, the foundation money will give the groups, which often rely on government funding, more flexibility in choosing program participants.
The project is "the first ever formal partnership among so many home-repair and homeowner-support agencies in our region," Ms. Delphia said, predicting increased efficiency in delivery of services.

Joe Smydo: jsmydo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1548.

Banks backing off on foreclosures in Palm Beach County

By Jeff Ostrowski  

  Once a lender takes a home, it is responsible for upkeep and homeowners association fees. 
In an unexpected bit of fallout from the real estate crash, lenders are filing far fewer foreclosures.
Alas, that's not because the economic picture is improving but because the housing market is flooded with repossessed homes, and banks and courts are inundated with default proceedings.
Foreclosure filings in Palm Beach County plunged 70 percent in July, August and September compared to the same three months a year ago, research firm RealtyTrac says in a report to be released today. Filings fell 57 percent in Florida and 34 percent nationwide.
In normal times, a sharp decline in foreclosure filings would be cause for celebration. But these aren't normal times.
Nearly 2 million Floridians owe more than their homes are worth, and the state's unemployment rate has been stuck above 10 percent for more than two years.
Foreclosure experts say several factors have lenders taking back fewer homes. One is simple supply and demand; banks typically sell properties they repossess, and they know that putting more homes on the market will hurt values.
"The banks don't have a motivation to push these through quickly," said Tom Ice, a foreclosure attorney in Royal Palm Beach. "There's a lot of expense involved in owning the houses. And they understand that flooding the market with properties is going to push down the resale value of their own properties."
John Tuccillo, chief economist for the Florida Realtors, agrees.
"Banks are in business to make as much money as they can, or to lose as little money as they can," he said. "It's a bad business decision to flood the market."
Once a lender takes back a home, it pays the costs of owning the property, including insurance premiums, homeowner association fees and maintenance. So banks seemingly have decided that it makes sense to leave a deadbeat borrower in the home.
"There is an economic benefit to them of leaving the homeowner in the property," Ice said.
Another factor: Legal controversies surrounding foreclosures have caused banks to slow their court filings. Palm Beach County Clerk Sharon Bock pointed to the "robosigning" debacle and to the difficulties lenders have faced in proving ownership of foreclosed homes.
"The banks just simply are holding back," Bock said. "They have many more loans in default than they're putting through into foreclosure."
RealtyTrac's Daren Blomquist agreed that legal concerns have created what he called an "artificial slowing."
"Trying to adjust to the huge volume of foreclosures in 2010, lenders were resorting to questionable procedures," Blomquist said. "To make sure they don't get into trouble again, they have to take longer and can't process as many as they used to."
Yet another reason: Lenders have begun to push short sales as an alternative to foreclosure. In a short sale, a homeowner owes more than the home is worth and finds a buyer willing to buy the property. The bank agrees to forgive the difference between the loan amount and the sale amount.
While lenders have been notoriously slow to approve short sales, two major banks have begun to encourage short sales by giving homeowners as much as $20,000 at closing.
"Bank of America and Chase have rolled out more aggressive incentive programs for short sales," said Damian Turco, an attorney in Palm Beach Gardens. "Lenders are recognizing that it's a better business decision to avoid foreclosure."
While banks take a hit on a short sale, they're likely to incur an even bigger loss on a foreclosure.
"Lenders are getting smarter," Tuccillo said. "I talk to a lot of people who say the process is getting more rational."
There were 5,528 foreclosure filings in Palm Beach County in the third quarter, RealtyTrac said, down from 18,413 in the third quarter of 2010.
RealtyTrac counted 1,895 foreclosures in September, down from 2,035 in August and down from 8,943 in September 2010.
The Palm Beach County Clerk's Office reported a different tally: 1,188 new foreclosures filed in September, up 5.5 percent from August but down 38 percent from September 2010. The clerk's numbers and RealtyTrac's statistics don't match because of differences in timing, but they agree on the broader trend of fewer foreclosure filings during the past year.