Make your weekends productive with these home improvement projects

Homeowners and renters who want a greener home have tons of options for saving money and preserving the environment. Some take minutes to implement, others may take a weekend. Here are a few ideas to jump-start weekend energy efficiency projects:

Figure out that thermostat: Programmable thermostats, set to run based on a family's true needs, keep air conditioning units from working too hard when no one is home. They're ideal for individuals or families who are away from home during set hours each day.
When used efficiently, homeowners can save about $150 a year in energy costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Yet more than 70 percent of homeowners with programmable thermostats do not use them, perhaps because they haven't taken the time to understand how. Retailing from about $20 to $60, these thermostats are easy to install and affordable.
Shutter shades are in: Cellular shades and shutters block heat and lower air conditioning costs. These blinds have air cells, provide additional insulation on the windows and have a reflective back to keep sunlight at bay. For the most value and greater energy efficiency, look for shades with more cells. Bigger cells offer better insulation.
Also consider insulating curtains or shutters to help decrease temperature exchange. Shutters are highly efficient because they're thicker than other window coverings.
Exterior shutters take more work to install and operate, but they help guard against air infiltration and heat. For maximum insulation, combine shutters with other window treatments. On hot days, remember to close window coverings on the south and west sides to keep homes cooler.
Put your garage to work: John Evans, of Millsboro, Del., found a lot of value insulating his garage door, given that garages are often the largest non-insulated area of a home. Glass fiber manufacturers sell garage door insulation kits with easy-to-follow instructions.
Evans also purchased screens for his garage opening that have vinyl insets. This way, he can open the door in the winter to allow sunlight in to heat the garage. The heat rises from the garage to warm his home above.
Shower water waste: Hot water heaters may consume about 20 percent of a home's electric bill. For example, says Charlie Szoradi, founder of Greensave.com in Wayne, Pa., hot water tanks are usually factory-set above 140 degrees. Instead, consider resetting tanks to 120 degrees.
“You don't need it at 140 because it's too hot,” Szoradi says. “You're overpaying on hot water and mixing it with cold so it's not scalding. Set it to warm instead.”
Wrap hot water heaters with insulation to reduce standby heat loss by 25 to 45 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Insulation provides an insulating value of at least R-8 (a measure of thermal resistance). For greater savings, put a timer on the water heater so it only cycles to heat water twice a day for a total of four hours.
Szoradi suggests investing in a high-performance shower head to cut water use by 40 percent compared with conventional showers.
Szoradi recommends a shower head with a 1.6 gallons per minute (gpm) flow rate.
“They weren't as efficient in the past, but now you feel like you're taking a traditional shower, but you're not wasting as much water,” Szoradi says.

Getting Married? Add a Home Purchase to Your Bridal Registry

Instead of Having Cups and Toasters on Your Bridal Registry, Why Not a Home?

By Beverly Meaux

Whether or not you are about to get married, it is always cumbersome and hard to save money towards a downpayment on a home.
So, when you are planning to get married, instead of creating a list of items and things that can fill a place you will live after you get married, why not give a list that will help you actually purchase a home?
Planning a wedding is exciting and life-changing, with memories and gifts that will hopefully last a lifetime, or at least a long time. What most brides-to-be don't realize is that they can set up a bridal registry to help reach their goal for a downpayment on a home. 
Here are two ways you can do this:

1. Follow the little known FHA Bridal Registry program.
2. Set up your own Bridal Home Registry program.

The first way, the FHA Bridal Registry program, introduced in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, lets you receive money as a wedding present that can be used towards the downpayment on a home. Your friends and family — all your wedding participants — can make gift payments into an interest bearing account on your behalf. Your gifts earn interest and can be used towards an FHA loan, which is a popular loan to use today because of its low 3.5 percent downpayment requirements.
Here are the FHA Bridal Registry Program facts:

• You will open a savings account — as a Bridal Registry Account — at your local bank prior to the wedding.
• Friends and family will be given the banking information where the gifts will be deposited. According to the program, funds may be deposited by friends and relatives directly into the Bridal Registry Account, or given by cash or check to the couples or individuals for deposit.
• All of the gift funds can go towards the FHA required 3.5 percent downpayment.
• Anyone with an interest in the purchase of the home cannot be party to the gift funds.
• Maintain a ledger (register) listing the dollar amount, name of the donor(s), and date for each monetary gift given to the bridal registry.
• The bride/groom must supply copies of the bridal registry bank statements to their mortgage lender, verifying the deposits showing in their Bridal Registry ledger.
• Bridal couples or individuals are not obligated to use the money in the Bridal Registry Account for a downpayment on a home. The couples or individuals control how the funds will be used, and if plans change, the money can simply be withdrawn and used for something else. 
• There is no requirement that you be married prior to closing on your new home.

"The key to making the FHA Bridal Registry work is opening the correct account with a local bank," said Erdine Skelton, a home mortgage consultant at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
"Some local banks may not be familiar with the HUD letter which gives permission to open these kinds of accounts; I wasn't initially. Brides/grooms wishing to open FHA bridal registry accounts should bring the HUD letter with them, should their bank be unfamiliar with the process."
Skelton stressed that a separate savings account must be established at their bank (FDIC or NCUA insured) to use as a bridal registry account; the bride/groom cannot "co-mingle" these funds into their own checking/savings accounts.
She continued to say that in addition to the ledger, the bride/groom and mortgage loan officer must also provide a letter — at the time of the mortgage application — that states all monetary gifts were made by friends/relatives who do not have a financial interest in the real estate transaction, nor were any gifts given by the seller of the home or the real estate agent(s).  
When I was brainstorming home purchase options with a new client a few weeks ago, I came across information about the FHA Bridal Registry program. I called around to seven mortgage consultants and loan officers from the big banks to the local lenders and was surprised no one immediately knew what I was talking about. Some of them have been in business for about three years and others for 30 years or more: no one knew of this program.
Once they did some checking, they were happily surprised it existed but couldn't answer why it seems people don't use it much.
After my research I found that not all banks and lenders support this program so you must always ask first before starting your mortgage loan application.
"I've been in mortgage and title related businesses since 1973 and this was the first I had heard of this program," said John R. Izzolino, senior mortgage consultant at Omega Financial Services, Inc., a direct lender.
"We do support it and looking at the overall concept I would suggest people establish priorities right now. I mean, what's more important; having a big wedding, a big new Lexus, or taking advantage of this key time when people are giving you gifts and use it towards a downpayment on a home in a market where prices and rates are so low?"
The second way you can do what I will call a Bridal Home Registry is to set up your own program.
Just have a separate savings account, or not, and let your guests near or far know you have created a Bridal Home Registry to help in the purchase of your home and all monetary gifts mailed or given to you will be deposited to go towards this.
"Keep a ledger and make copies of the front and back of any checks you receive so you can show the source of the deposit," said Fred Burt, a senior loan officer at Superior Mortgage Corp., a direct lender.  "If it's cash, you will need to have an explanation letter and possibly proof of withdrawal from the gift donor's account."
Normally when a person gets a mortgage loan, the bank or lender always has to track where the downpayment money is coming from. If it is "seasoned" — it has been in your bank account for more than 60 days — documentation is not needed and neither of the options I'm discussing really matters, according to the mortgage consultants I spoke with.
If it has not been in your account for at least 60 days, that's where you have to be more diligent and careful and use something like one of the ways being discussed here.
Usually when the buyer receives money towards a downpayment from someone, a gift letter needs to be completed and signed by the person giving the money. The buyer has to do this for each and every amount received. The buyer also has to document where the gift came from via a copy of the gift check and/or withdrawal documentation. Questions may also arise as to why the buyer needed the gift funds and whether this was a sign of the buyer's ability to afford the home. When it's a wedding gift, things are treated a little differently and easier, but you will still need some documentation as discussed above.
Amounts matter, too, so always consult with a mortgage person.
"If they, for example, have a wedding gift that's a $20,000 check, in addition to a copy of the front and back of the check, most lenders will ask for a copy of the marriage certificate or if they are not married yet, the wedding invitation or something that proves they're actually getting married," Burt said.
Izzolino also noted that when you're talking about a significant amount money from one person as a gift, it may just be easier to do a separate, standalone gift letter.
Whether you go the formal FHA Bridal Registry program route or the informal one I call the Bridal Home Registry, know this type of registry is a possibility and you don't have to be a first-time homebuyer to do this, either. So, think about it, if you are simultaneously planning for a wedding and a home purchase, why not get money towards the home purchase instead of getting another vase or waffle maker to go in the home you don't yet own?
Walk down the aisle ... then directly to your home.

Cut years off your home loan

By Alex Tilbury

 WOULD you like to shave 10 years off your mortgage? How much interest could this save you?
It's not rocket science, it's simply a matter of making more repayments more often and making sure you've got the best mortgage for your situation.
Of the millions of homeowners, only some are getting out from under mortgage payments years, sometimes decades, before their neighbours. How?
They make an effort to pay off their mortgage early.
The average home loan is now about $300,000, but living mortgage-free is not a pipe dream.
You may only need to find an extra $200-$500 every month so that you can exceed your mortgage payments. While many think they can't afford that, you'd be amazed at how much money you can save on a monthly basis.

Suncorp Bank executive manager of personal lending Tony Meredith says many people don't know exactly where their money goes.
"Get to know your incomings and outgoings, and identify where savings can be made. You may be astounded to learn just how much you're spending on eating out, takeaway or coffees each month," he says. "By paying even an extra $20 per fortnight off your mortgage, you can make a significant difference to the balance.
"Spend your tax returns wisely. For example, depositing a $2000 tax return as a lump sum into an average $300,000 mortgage can potentially shave about eight months off a 30-year-term, saving a mortgage holder almost $12,000. Do this each year and watch the years drop off your loan."
WORK IT OUT
There are plenty of free online mortgage payment calculators which will show you exactly how much money you can save by ramping up your repayments.
The monthly repayments on a $300,000 mortgage over a 25-year term at 7.25 per cent are about $2168. But a person could pay the loan off 10 years earlier and save $158,277 in interest by increasing their monthly repayments by $575.
Finding the extra money might not be easy, but it's surprising how much people can reduce their incidental spending if they scrutinise their household budget. Ask yourself if you really need it, or do you just want it?
PAY FORTNIGHTLY INSTEAD OF MONTHLY
AMP financial planner Dianne Charman says on a $300,000 mortgage, a person can cut four years and six months off the life of the loan and save $82,823 in interest simply by swapping to fortnightly repayments.
"The loan is reduced faster as there are 26 fortnightly repayments each year, instead of 12 monthly repayments. If the person was to also boost repayments by $180 a fortnight, it would shave 10 years off the mortgage," she says.
LUMP SUM REPAYMENTS
People can also attack their loan faster by making lump sum repayments whenever they can.
Charman says tax returns, work bonuses or inheritance money can all be pumped straight into the mortgage to help reduce interest.
"On a $300,000 mortgage, one lump sum payment of $5000, made five years into the loan, would save $15,681 in interest and reduce the term by 10 months," she says.
"While it's tempting to spend cash windfalls, people should try to stay focused on the main prize, that is to be debt free sooner."
Brontie Chambers, manager of products and member value at Community CPS Australia, says even $5 extra each week can save you thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan and reduce your home loan term.
"However, make sure your loan allows you to make additional repayments without penalty," she says. "Fixed-rate and basic (or 'no-frills' loans) often have restrictions on extra repayments or charge a fee for the privilege."
KEEP YOUR SAVINGS IN AN OFFSET ACCOUNT
Since the global financial crisis, Australians have started saving again. While many people choose to park cash in high-interest online accounts or term deposits, it may be better to save in a 100 per cent mortgage offset account.
Any money in the offset account will be working to reduce interest and pay the loan off faster.
Another advantage of mortgage offset accounts is the cash can be easily accessed if necessary.
CONSOLIDATE YOUR DEBTS
You could can end up paying less interest because home loan interest rates are often much lower than personal loan, credit card and store account rates.
Chambers says that by reducing your monthly repayments into just one home loan repayment, you could reduce your monthly commitments so that you have extra cash available to make additional repayments off your home loan.
"However, this option requires discipline around future use of credit cards and store accounts, such as reducing limits or closing the account," she says.
SWITCH CAREFULLY
Home loan exit fees have been abolished on all mortgages taken out from July 1, 2011, making it easier for consumers to shop around for a better deal.
However, people with loans taken out before this date need to carefully consider the costs associated with moving a mortgage.
There can be numerous exit and set-up charges which include early termination fees, application fees, discharge and registration fees, mortgage insurance and valuation fees.
Before making the switch, it's important to check whether all these costs will outweigh the potential savings from having a lower interest rate, and how long it will take to break even.
Edwards Marshall Financial Solutions manager Grant Edwards says one of the biggest mortgage-busting tips is to make sure that your interest rate and bank fees are competitive.
Reduce or stop using your credit cards it's too easy to spend other people's money. Any reduction in discretionary spending will reduce credit card repayments and the money saved can then be allocated to increased mortgage repayments.
"Don't spend your tax refund, pay it off your mortgage. Make sure your gas, electricity, phone and internet providers are the best deals you can get," Edwards says.
"Allocate whatever you can save on these costs to increasing your mortgage repayment. If you're offered overtime or a second/part-time job, consider taking it and allocate the increased income to reduce your mortgage.
"Even if it might not seem like much, every extra dollar you pay off your mortgage goes off the principal, which is the real driver to mortgage reduction. For example, a 10 per cent increase in mortgage repayments will reduce the term of the mortgage by 20 per cent."
LOW MORTGAGE RATE AND INTEREST RATE
Make sure you have the best interest rate you can find. Most home loan mortgage rates should be offered at between 7 and 8 per cent interest. If you are higher, refinance now. Keep track of every penny that you spend for a month or two and you'll be amazed at how much of it is frivolous.
PLAN AHEAD
It is a good idea to factor in further rises in interest rates and, if possible, start making contributions at the higher rate. It will ease the stress when repayments do increase and will also put you ahead of the scheduled loan term.
Alternatively, if rates decrease you should keep your repayments at the higher amount to enable you to pay off your loan sooner.

India is where I make my money: Veena Malik

This is the image that Pakistan. actor Veena Malik has created for herself - sleazy and loud. Courtesy, her appearance on a reality show on Indian television.

But the actor, who is now taking a big leap into Bollywood, is unperturbed about the image she has been associated with. "I don't understand why there is such a fuss about it," she says.

Veena, who made headlines with her onscreen histrionics with actor Ashmit Patel, is currently busy shooting for her debut venture in B-town, Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai. "It's different from all the comedy films the audience has seen so far. There is no singing and dancing in it. Moreover, I have a dual role that has made the project all the more challenging and interesting," says Veena.

The industry buzz has it that Veena will soon set temperatures soaring with an item number and a guest appearance in Phir Mulakat Ho Na Ho by Bobby Sheikh. "I have got an offer, but nothing has been finalized," she says. However, Veena maintains that joining the item girl bandwagon has its share of difficulties. "I worked really hard on my body, but it's not easy to maintain it. Looking good is a difficult task," she admits.

The actor has had her fair share of controversies too. Her recent remarks against the Mumbai terror attacks did not go down well with the Pakistani press and they wrote her off as a drama queen who should leave Pakistan."I have a right to say whatever I want. I was deeply hurt when I heard about the attacks. Such terrorist activities should not go unnoticed. They can happen anywhere in the world," she says and adds, "India is also my country and people here love me. Moreover, this is where I make money."

The actor's growing popularity has made Veena a much sought-after actor today. She even claims that she got an offer to join a political party back in her country. "I have been receiving offers from few parties to join them, but I believe there are other ways to help my countrymen. Also, I am an artist first, and will never choose politics over films."

Finally, quiz her about the rumours that Veena wants to change her nationality and that she has applied for an Indian passport and replies, "I do plan to make India my second home. But I am not applying for an Indian passport. 
Source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Let college athletes make money — but don’t pay them

More than at any point in its history, the NCAA finds its member schools maneuvering to compensate student-athletes in one form or another.
The latest buzz-phrase is "full-cost scholarship," meaning money over and above the "sticker price" of a college education, purported to be money for clothing, transportation extra course fees and other essentials. A full NCAA scholarship (and the scholarships in men’s basketball and football, the main sports under discussion, are required to be) covers tuition and fees, room and board and course-required books. Some other expenses, course fees, parking permits, student IDs, transportation and clothing are not covered.
But as you’ll see below, many of those incidentals — and more — are met through other means of funding already available to student-athletes.
Most of us, if we’re honest, are of two minds on this. We see the huge revenues generated by college sports, we see schools selling players’ jerseys and the NCAA selling their likenesses (whatever they want to say) for video games and cashing in, while the players who are doing the work get nothing for it above what other athletes get (athletes who do not generate that kind of money for the universities and in fact whose very scholarships are paid for by the funds generated by those revenues) and we see unfairness.
Particularly in commercial ventures like video games and merchandise sales, I have written about it. The obvious solution, for the NCAA and college sports in general not to give in to commercialization and commoditize their athletes, has long since left the station.
My big problem in all this is that the NCAA and its coaches are preaching to players to forgo the money when they themselves do nothing but scratch and claw for every red cent they can collect on the backs of these players who must take vows of (for some) poverty.
But I have just as big a problem with the notion of schools themselves paying players, or the NCAA codifying and sanctioning such a thing. As I’ll demonstrate here, there are too many logistical hurdles and too many ramifications for college sports for that to be enacted.
The reason this is coming to the forefront again now is clear from a glance at the Sports pages. Football players at Ohio State trading school memorabilia for tattoos and other items. Cam Newton’s father shopping him to colleges. Football players at North Carolina talking about the influence agents have in the game.
The reasoning is that if players had enough money in college, some of those issues would go away. It is a naive notion. The amounts of money the NCAA is talking about providing to players would in no way be a deterrent to the kinds of players it is trying to target (unless it wants to make sports cars a provision of the "full-cost scholarship.")
There’s big money in college sports. But as I’ll demonstrate, the pockets of these athletic programs and the NCAA itself aren’t deep enough to win bidding wars with the forces they’re fighting against.
There is a model that would allow star athletes to receive more compensation that would keep schools from being the sources of that revenue, while also addressing the inequality that comes from marketing these players for money. I’ll also discuss that here.
But first, I want to address this notion of the "full-cost scholarship" and why I think it’s a bad idea for college sports.
1). IT OFTEN IS NOT NECESSARY. The idea that college football and basketball players don’t have enough money to meet necessary expenses right now is false. Many of them live in special housing. They are well fed. And they’re not without spending money.
Flint Harris is a former academic adviser at two SEC schools who now writes the college football blog HolyTurf.com. His report on how much players receive above their tuition, fees and books is the most important piece produced this year on the issue of full-cost scholarships. Read it here. Recently, he demonstrated how football players actually can receive up to $17,000 per year above their basic cost of attendance. Summing up his report, money is already available to players in the form of:
- Pell Grants: Available to many players whose families fall below a certain income level, these are grants of up to $5,500 per year from the government that need not be repaid. Many players take advantage of these.
- Clothing allowance: Flint says if a player qualifies for a Pell Grant, he or she also qualifies for a $500 clothing allowance.
- Room and board. Don’t forget, this is covered in the scholarship, so any assertion that players need more meal money is ridiculous. Many players live on campus and have meal plans, including training tables with far better (and more plentiful) fare than is available to the average student. If they live off campus, they’re given the equivalent of what the on-campus housing would be, plus a monthly check for food money. For anyone who has ever paid on-campus prices, you know that those checks usually exceed what you’ll pay for housing or food off campus, so players are left with extra cash there. At Arkansas, for instance, Flint says players got $8,024 per year for room and board if they lived off campus. He said that the nicest apartment complex near campus cost $480 per month per person.
But there’s more money available:
- Special funds set up through NCAA bylaws to assist players who need money. Again, from Flint:

According to Bylaw 15.01.6.2 in the NCAA Manual, each athletic department can use the student-athlete opportunity fund money for anything but financing salaries, scholarships (though paying for summer school is allowed, but a football player’s scholarship covers summer school), capital improvements, stipends, and outside athletic development. The NCAA gives each school a chunk of money each year…roughly $200,000 to help student-athletes out with whatever needs they may have deemed fit by the senior staff member in the athletic department in charge of the money. This money is not just for football, but the entire athletic department. Regardless, if a football player needs money to pay for gas, more new clothes, or a plane ride home, they can legally get money for that.

And that’s not all. He continues:

Football players also have access to a special assistance fund too. According to NCAA bylaw 16.12.2, money from the special assistance fund may be requested as additional financial aid (with no obligation to repay such aid) for special financial needs for student-athletes. I know one school used this fund to fly their basketball players home for the Christmas break. Completely within NCAA rules.

- Free meals. And finally, he says players are allowed an occasional meal provided by boosters.
By his estimate, a typical non-freshman player at Arkansas received a little more than $17,000 above tuition, fees and course books. And this is standard practice.
The players are not hurting for essentials.
2). MOST SCHOOLS CANNOT AFFORD IT. By NCAA estimate, only 22 athletic departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision are operating without subsidy from their universities. Everyone looks at the big numbers being talked about in college sports — the NCAA’s contract from the men’s basketball tournament or the BCS bowl payouts — and assumes athletic departments are awash in cash. But while it’s true that they are spending like never before, they are not doing it independent of aid from their universities, most of whom are enacting budget cuts on the academic side.
There are entities getting rich off college sports, but they are not the schools themselves. To add the kind of number that is being talked about — $3,000 per student in the so-called "head-count" sports of football, men’s and women’s basketball and women’s gymnastics, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball — you’re talking about just under a half-million dollars per school — not counting the inevitable added bureaucratic costs of implementing the program. (The actual amount would vary by school, but this is a ballpark figure.)

To try to make this expense more palatable, those pushing the notion of the full-cost scholarship say it would not be mandatory. Of course, that would make the playing field even less level than it already is (a point I’ll discuss later.)
The next great crisis facing college sports isn’t the nickel-and-dime shenanigans of athletes being shopped to schools or selling bowl rings to get money, but the mega-millions being spent by the richest athletic programs, and the risky strategies being undertaken by those schools trying to keep up with them. We really don’t know yet about the long-term reliability of ventures like the Big Ten Network or whether the big-money being paid for college sports broadcasting rights is here to stay, or a function of temporary market forces. If the television business tells us anything, it’s that few things stay on top forever, and while sports have stood the test of time by and large, if the NCAA and its membership tinker too much with the college game they could puncture their own media rights balloon. Certainly, flirting with public disillusionment by creating an institutional lack of competition is one such way they could do such a thing.
Regardless, some say that the added expense on these few sports, particularly the moneymakers of men’s basketball and football, is fine, that the needed money can come from other sports that don’t carry their own financial weight. My question is, what sports? Where are you going to get a half-million in savings? Baseball is the obvious choice, but why go after one of your more popular sports? And women’s sports? That brings up another issue:
3). TITLE IX. IT’S THE LAW, REMEMBER. Even if you talk about just instituting full-cost scholarships for the head-count sports, you’re still offering 98 men those enhanced full rides, but only 51 women. Balancing gender equity already is a tenuous situation, but most schools overcome that imbalance in numbers by funding more women’s sports than they do men’s. This arrangement, however — a straight-up extra benefit for twice as many men as women — would not stand any serious legal test.
Title IX isn’t some kind of charity program. It’s a law that says if your school takes Federal money for any purpose, it will adhere to practices that guarantee equal opportunity for female students (athletes) with regard to proportionality in scholarships and equity in facilities and funding and other areas.
Despite all the other reasons for universities not to go down this road of paying athletes themselves, this is the most important. The practice would not stand even the first civil rights legal challenge from female athletes, a challenge, by the way, that should be brought the day it is enacted, unless the full-cost scholarship were offered to every athlete on campus — and that’s something few schools are in position to do financially.
4). THE LEGAL FINE PRINT: The full cost of attendance is a legal term and is an accepted part of life on the academic side of campus. (As of Oct. 29 of this year, Federal law will require every U.S. university that receives Federal aid to post its full-cost of attendance figure publicly.) Any legal challenges to universities on the grounds that giving such an enhanced scholarship to athletes makes players employees likely could be sidestepped because of this, and because the additional funds to athletes would be handled through the school’s financial aid offices and treated as scholarship funds.
The legal challenge would come if the NCAA were to allow a situation where some schools awarded these full-cost scholarships and some did not — with the only determining factor being the school’s ability to pay for them. In such a system, the NCAA would be acknowledging that such full-cost scholarships are not essential for student athletes, and opening the door to questions and perhaps legal challenges over whether it is an extra benefit and, in fact, amounts to pay legally in some sense.
In other words, the NCAA could have a problem arguing legally if that this is a necessary step if it doesn’t require all schools to take it. And it can’t require all schools to take it, because most simply can’t afford the expense.
In general, I’d say that the courts have been extremely (if not totally) reluctant to tell the NCAA how to conduct such business. But the climate is changing, and the skewing of the playing field has drawn the attention of a group you don’t want breathing down your neck, which is the subject of my next point . . .
5). THE EDGE OF THE ENVELOPE: Hanging over all of this is the tenuous assumption that university athletic departments do what they do as part of an educational mission. State courts have upheld any number of NCAA or school actions in defense of this. But it is under an increasing number of challenges, and the NCAA without question is on the U.S. Department of Justice radar, with any change in status being reviewed heavily.
Essentially, every step the NCAA and its members take now is a step closer to the line that separates educational enterprise from business enterprise, and each step could eventually be the step over it. And once that threshold is crossed, everything changes. Athletic revenue could be considered taxable. Arrangements such as this full-cost scholarship scheme could be challenged as collusion. Now, in this economic environment, with a government in need of revenue and a justice department already inquiring into NCAA antitrust matters, is no time to be pushing that envelope.

So then, is there a solution? Is there a way to compensate players?

There is a way. But it is one the NCAA and its members will resist, because it takes some degree of control out of their hands. Here is the way:
If a player’s jersey generates a million dollars in sales in a given year (just a hypothetical number), give him a cut of it. Determine the percentage. Give each player whose likeness is used in a video game (a small percentage of skill players, to be sure) a percentage of the take. Allow players to make money from their notoriety in a limited way. Allow them to make public appearances for money under certain guidelines. Set up a system that allows them to work in the offseason for what the market will give them.
In the case of merchandise and video sales, let the money go into an account to be given to the player if certain educational goals are reached (or perhaps if they complete a certain period of eligibility at the school, say, three years.)
In the case of their own income, it is their own income.
Is it fair that a quarterback at Ohio State might get a high-paying job in the summer while a quarterback somewhere else can’t? No. But life isn’t fair. As long as the job falls within whatever guidelines the NCAA wants, that’s his business.
Great college musicians and computer code writers and performers and those with extraordinary talent do the same things all the time.
You still can’t play for money. And the schools themselves aren’t paying athletes.
This is the only way I can see that allowing compensation to athletes will work, because it is the only way that allows those star players who generate the income to be compensated while leaving the rest of the system in place.
Schools and the NCAA won’t like it because it will allow third parties influence over some players. At least, if a player has a good job making real money in the offseason, there’s a chance he won’t fall prey to agents who can lure him with money for nothing. An extra $3,000 on the top isn’t going to stop most players if they’re inclined to deal with agents.
It’s a thorny issue. And I’m not completely comfortable with letting third parties pay players. But if colleges cross the line of paying players, the game is altered, any sense of parity is gone, and a messy financial situation in college sports will grow a great deal worse in a short time.
Source http://blogs.courier-journal.com/

Sacramento region is a magnet for Filipinos

By Stephen Magagnini and Phillip Reese
Last weekend, the Kapit Bahay Association celebrated its grand opening in true Filipino style.
A Filipino priest, the Rev. Vic Teneza, blessed the club's new headquarters inside Seafood City, a mega-shopping center on Mack Road in south Sacramento that draws 3,000 customers daily.
They feast at Filipino fast-food giants Jollibee, Chowking and Red Ribbon or the Filipino grill inside the gleaming Seafood City supermarket. They buy plane tickets at Mango Tours, send money home through Filipino banks and consume stacks of free Filipino American newspapers.
Framed by an American flag, more than 25 Filipino community leaders feasted on roast pork, pancit (thread-thin noodles) and bibinka (flour rice cakes), and capped off the celebration with "My Way," "Let Me Be There" and other karaoke classics.
They hope that Kapit Bahay, which translates as "Neighbor's House," can become an umbrella for the more than 60 local organizations spawned from Sacramento's surging Filipino population.
At 41,500, Filipinos are now Sacramento County's largest Asian ethnic group. Drawn by the region's burgeoning health care industry and relatively affordable housing, they have arrived by the thousands over the last decade, eclipsing the region's 39,000 Chinese. Another 15,000 mixed-race residents identify as part-Filipino.
Generally affluent and well-educated, Filipino immigrants have flowed seamlessly into Sacramento and its suburbs. They're making their mark on the region's churches and hospitals, and have added Filipino flavor to the local food scene.
Many come with nursing degrees, cash for homes and cars, a strong Catholic faith, and a desire to share their culture and good fortune.
Ingrained in the culture is the Tagalog principle of bayanihan, or "being a hero to someone else," explained Joseph Monteagudo, an Elk Grove businessman who works to fight poverty in the Philippines. "We strive to be good neighbors, and to know all of our neighbors."
Teneza, who is pastor at St. Paul Catholic Church in south Sacramento, said his parish is now 80 percent Filipino. "They're the biggest donors," he said. "They share because they can."
The newcomers are well-educated – roughly 40 percent of the region's Filipino adults have at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 30 percent of all area residents, according to U.S. census data. The area's full-time Filipino workers earn about $45,000 a year. A quarter are health care workers, and 8 percent are registered nurses who make an average of $95,000 a year.
Many are transplants from the Bay Area or Los Angeles who bought in the area's newer neighborhoods in North Natomas, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova. About 4,700 Filipinos, two-thirds of them from the Bay Area, moved to the region in 2005, at the height of the housing boom.
"We buy elephant homes, cameras, cellphones, cars – all the latest version," said Mena Domondon, a Filipina finance manager for the state Department of Motor Vehicles. "We came here to enjoy life but also to make money. We strive very hard."

Nursing is family affair

Their biggest impact is in health care – especially nursing, a signature profession in the Philippines. About a third of Sacramento's nurses are Filipino, said Zenei Cortez, co-president of the California Nurses Association. "A lot of them go into nursing because somebody in their family's a nurse," said Cortez, a Filipina who followed in her aunt's footsteps.
Sacramento also has Filipino doctors, licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants and lift teams to move patients.
You can find plenty of Filipinos working on 4-East, the medical-surgical floor at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento. Among them are registered nurses Rey Chatto and his wife, Ivy, both 34.
The couple and their 8-year-old daughter, Renee, epitomize Sacramento's new wave of Pinoys, or Filipino immigrants.
In 2007 they moved from Los Angeles to Elk Grove, where Filipino immigrants now make up 8 percent of the population. After bunking with a Filipino nurse for a few months, they bought a 3,700-square-foot, five-bedroom home in Elk Grove for $530,000.
They plan to host relatives, "and some time in the near future, brothers and sisters from the Philippines can stay with us," said Rey, who has the pool table ready.
Their typical summer day revolves around the medical center, where Ivy, clad in pink scrubs, works a 6:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. shift in urology. At 3 p.m. Rey arrives, hands off Renee, puts on his blue scrubs and works as an orthopedic nurse until 11 p.m.
The secret to Filipino nursing success, Rey said, "is you have to be patient. And I don't know how you could be a nurse if you don't have a genuine love for people."
Ivy and Rey were afraid they would be bored and lonely in Sacramento. "But we were wrong. We love the outdoors, and Sacramentans are more polite than Los Angelenos, especially behind the wheel," Rey said.
Both grew up on tropical southern islands in the Philippines. Rey met his wife in nursing school on the island of Bohol, where he was raised. Ivy is from Cotabato on the island of Mindanao. "People walk a lot faster in Manila," Rey said.
"We couldn't afford Spam or fresh milk. We all drank powdered milk," Ivy said. "Here, we eat steak."
"And she cooks a mean chicken adobo when she feels like it," Rey added.

Strong Catholic ties

They shop at Seafood City, which makes Sacramento feel just like home. The giant supermarket anchors the Filipino-friendly mall.The market overflows with Asian delicacies – exotic fruits like durian, jackfruit, rambutan and custard apples. There are plenty of oysters and giant tables of fresh fish. The Chattos stock up on pompano, tilapia and milkfish, Renee's favorite.
They each send $300 a month to relatives back home.
BPI Express, one of the remittance companies in Seafood City, funnels $8 million a year to the Philippines from Sacramento, said manager Mary Mastrili.
The couple also gives at St. Joseph's Church in Elk Grove, where they have befriended other Filipino families.
About 85 percent of Filipinos are Catholic, and Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto recently met with 100 area Filipinos, asking them to assume a greater leadership role in the Sacramento diocese.
"I came here in 2007 and was quite frankly startled by the size of the Filipino community and how involved they were," said Soto. "They're very talented, skilled people."
Soto encouraged them to engage in local charities and to find ways to keep youth involved in the church through volunteer work.
"I need them to step up in these areas, and I know they can do it because I hear stories of what they do back home," said Soto.
More than half a dozen area churches are heavily Filipino, including 65 percent of the 4,000 families at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Elk Grove. Divine Mercy in Natomas is 80 percent Pinoy.
"We have two Tagalog masses – one at Divine Mercy and one at St. Clair," said the Rev. Cesar Ageas, Filipino liaison for the Sacramento diocese. Tagalog is the most widely spoken of more than 100 dialects spread across the Philippines' 7,107 islands.
Filipino clergy are playing a critical role in the future of a church struggling to find new priests. There are 36 Filipino priests in the diocese, out of 220. And 17 of the 36 seminarians are Filipino.
"The support from the family to become a priest or nun is very strong," said the Rev. Paul Gumapo, Sacramento's first Filipino priest. "It's a joy, a blessing and a point of pride. There's sort of a competition among families."

'One heart, one mind'

As their numbers grow, Filipinos are looking to unite their many island groups and strengthen their collective influence. California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon are among Filipino Americans who have risen to positions of power."Filipinos are now coming out in politics. Politics is the bread of life right now," said Violet Sykes of the Filipino-American Association of Greater Roseville.
At the Kapit Bahay Association's coming-out party in Seafood City, Teneza told the group that Filipinos will better serve themselves – and the rest of Sacramento – "if we learn to unite and be of one heart and one mind."
Kapit Bahay will allow them to join forces to provide job training, wellness seminars and other services, said Lilia Rivera, president of the Filipino Community of Sacramento.
To start raising money for a community center, they auctioned off the prized head of a roast pig. Then they heated up the karaoke machine.
Rick Pasolo, who with his wife, Margie, runs a DJ and karaoke business, sang a soulful rendition of "After The Lovin' " and "Damdamin," which means "Feelings" in Tagalog.
"Filipinos love karaoke. Give them a microphone and they'll never give it up," Rivera said.
"Filipinos love everything," Pasolo corrected.

Living Safely in Your Santa Cruz Home

There are resources available to help keep your home environment safe.

In my last column Should You Stay or Should You Go?, I discussed what options are available for seniors who choose to continue living in their homes as they age. I want to follow up on that before moving on to the “Should You Go” portion of the topic, which will be discussed in next week’s column.
First though, I have a couple of announcements. You can now find my Senior Centered column on all four Santa Cruz County Patch sites: Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Capitola and Watsonville.
Also, I will occasionally be featuring a “Senior in the Spotlight.” If you know of a senior citizen who is doing something remarkable, if you have any news tips regarding seniors in Santa Cruz County or if there is a topic you would like me to cover in this column, please tell me in the Comments or email me.
Helping Hands
Hannah, an 80-year-old woman in Santa Cruz County, recently had a fall. Consequently, she found it difficult to climb stairs, get in and out of the shower, other things many people take for granted.
Who did her doctor recommend she go to for help? The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County’s “Helping Hands Senior Home Repair Program,” which provides free safety related repairs for low-income senior homeowners who are 60 and older.
For 14 years, volunteers in the program have been helping seniors maintain their homes by installing hand-rails and grab bars, repairing broken steps and other projects. And with the downturn in the economy, the Center is getting more calls than ever before from seniors who can’t afford to make these repairs.
“In the last 3 weeks alone we have responded to 50 new client requests,” said Carol McGuire, Helping Hands Program Coordinator. “Seniors have been hit particularly hard by our current economy.”
Safety Second?
According to the Volunteer Center, senior homeowners living in Santa Cruz County need an annual income of $38,000 for basic expenses. However, the median retirement income is around $20,000. Because of this gap, many seniors forgo safety repairs in order to pay basic living expenses.
That’s where Helping Hands comes in, and they’re proud of their track record of helping 100% of senior requests. But with the increased calls for help, the program itself is now struggling to finance the work, and the all-volunteer program relies on community organizations and individual donations.
“Our program simply could not exist without sustained community support,” McGuire said. “We are so grateful to those who have been willing to donate their time and money…As the need rises we hope to maintain our track record through increased fundraising and financial support.   
“Our ultimate goal is to help [seniors] maintain safety and the sense of independence they desire,” McGuire said.
If you need safety related repairs, or if you would like to volunteer or donate, contact Carol McGuire at 831-427-5070. Besides the Volunteer Center office in Santa Cruz, there is also an office in Watsonville.
Other Help for Seniors Living at Home
Besides the resources mentioned in my last column for seniors who wish to stay in their homes, Safe at Home Senior Care in Capitola can help you with such daily activities as meal preparation, light housekeeping, shopping and assistance with bill paying and bathing. Call Safe at Home to discuss their fees.
If you live in Scotts Valley, contact the Scotts Valley Senior Center or Kristin Ard, who is the City of Scotts Valley’s Senior Recreation Specialist, by email or at 831-438-3251.
Source http://santacruz.patch.com/