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Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 24, 2010 at 7:39pm

Celebrities And Their Billionaire Beaus

Couple: Janet Jackson & Wissam Al Mana
The best way to get over an ex? Snag a wealthy businessman from Quatar. Janet Jackson, 44, got together with Wissam Al Mana -- the 30-something director of the Middle Eastern luxury company Al Mana Retail -- following her breakup with longtime partner Jermaine Dupri. Jackson and Al Mana went public earlier this year, making appearances at Paris Fashion Week and on the streets of London where she'd been promoting "Why Did I Get Married Too?”

Couple: Tyra Banks & John Utendahl
It takes a strong, confident man to handle Tyra Banks. Enter John Utendahl, the dashing -- and deep-pocketed -- boyfriend of the over-the-top supermodel and entrepreneur. The pair typically keeps a low profile, but it was a special occasion Monday night when they arrived hand-in-hand to the "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" premiere in New York. Utendahl, who is in his fifties, first hooked up with Banks, 36, in 2007 and they've been quietly dating ever since. The businessman is a veteran Wall Street banker and owner of the Utendahl Group, an investment-banking firm.

Couple: Salma Hayek & Francois-Henri Pinault
First came baby, then came marriage for Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault. The 44-year-old actress and the 48-year-old French luxury magnate -- he's the CEO of the PPR group, which oversees Gucci and Balenciaga, among other brands -- welcomed daughter Valentina in September 2007. They announced their engagement the following summer only to call it off months later. Reconciliation followed and so did two marriage ceremonies: one in City Hall in Paris and another in Venice. A win for both Hayek and Henri!

Couple: Naomi Campbell & Vladislav Doronin
Naomi Campbell met her real estate mogul boyfriend Vladislav Doronin at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and now lives with him in Moscow. The 40-year-old supermodel brought Doronin to her appearance on “Oprah” in May. Sitting in the studio audience, he revealed he was legally married but separated from his wife of more than 10 years. "We don't live together," he said. Campbell told Oprah, "I like the men to wear the pants. I don't want to wear the pants. I like men who know what they want, know what they're doing, make their own decisions."

Couple: Padma Lakshmi & Teddy Forstmann
Stunning "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi recently celebrated her 40th birthday with a lavish dinner party hosted by the wildly wealthy Teddy Forstmann, who is 30 years her senior. The chairman and CEO of IMG talent agency reportedly hired cancan dancers, contortionists, and a marching band. (That is love!) In February, Lakshmi gave birth to her first child, daughter Krishna, now 7 months old. (Krishna's bio-dad is, reportedly, businessman Adam Dell, the younger brother of computer honcho Michael Dell.)

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 24, 2010 at 8:03pm

Texting While Driving Is Taking A Deadly Toll on Roads

(HealthDay News) -- Distracted driving fatalities caused by cell phone use and texting soared in the space of three years, according to new U.S. government research released Thursday Sept. 24, 2010..


Texting alone caused more than 16,000 deaths in car accidents from 2001 to 2007, the researchers estimated. But auto deaths involving cell phones and texting while driving rose 28 percent in just three years, from 4,572 in 2005 to 5,870 in 2008.


"The increases in distracted driving seem to be largely driven by increased use of cell phones to text," said lead researcher Fernando Wilson, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.


"Overall use of cell phones have been pretty steady, but texting volumes have increased dramatically in the last few years," he added.


Distracted driving and its deadly toll was the focus of a government summit this week in Washington, D.C., at which officials called for tougher laws to counter the growing trend. They reported that more than 5,000 people were killed last year in distracted driving crashes.


In January, the government banned truck and bus drivers who travel interstate roadways from using a handheld device to send text messages.


The latest report, published online Sept. 23 in the American Journal of Public Health, uses data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which recorded all fatalities that occurred on public roads in the United States from 1999 to 2008.


Wilson's team found that drunk drivers are less inhibited about using cell phones as they drive. And there were also increased crashes into light poles, trees and other objects, with men involved in growing numbers.


"All this is consistent with people not paying attention while they are driving," Wilson said.


Solving the problem is complex, Wilson noted. He has no ready answers, but he suggested that "we need technologies that inhibit cell phone use while driving" and that more effective law enforcement of cell phone bans would also help.


Frank Drews, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Utah, said that "this is a timely study that adds another piece to the literature on driver distraction."


Drews added: "With work like this, it will be a little bit harder to deny that cell phone use while driving has a significant negative impact on public safety. I think at this point, once again, the question comes to mind, how much more scientific evidence will politicians need to put laws in place that protect the public from the dangers associated with cell phone use while driving?"


Jennifer Smith, a board member of FocusDriven, which advocates against cell phone use while driving, put it more bluntly.


The more than 5,000 traffic deaths each year from cell phone use is "equivalent to a major airliner going down every week in this country," she said. "If that was happening, they would ground all flights until they figured out what the problem was and they solved it. But because everyone likes their cell phones, we have to debate this."


Smith noted that all cell phone use when driving -- including hands-free cell phone use -- is dangerous. "All we need to be doing in our cars is driving. No phone call is that important that you can't wait until you stop," she said.




More information

For more on distracted driving, visit the U.S. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 25, 2010 at 8:42pm

New Facility Highlights Black Worker Center's Mission

Volunteers help fix up the Black Worker Center in the Paul Robeson Community Center. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times / September 24, 2010)






Program seeks to reverse unemployment and loss of traditional employers by helping African Americans get construction jobs.


Beads of sweat dotted Terrence Mason Jr.'s forehead Saturday morning as he brushed white primer on a metal pipe outside the faded South Los Angeles building that houses the Los Angeles Black Worker Center.


Mason, a sheet metal worker, was among dozens of electricians, painters and other construction workers who showed up in work boots and hard hats, tool belts strapped around their hips, to lend their skills to fixing up the center's new headquarters in the Paul Robeson Community Center on South Vermont Avenue.


The occasion was a "day of service and community" to spotlight a fledgling movement aimed at promoting local hiring policies that create career construction jobs for black workers.


"We're fighting to reverse the black job crisis," said Lola Smallwood Cuevas, project director of the UCLA Downtown Labor Center and a creator of the Black Worker Center, where the mission is to study and highlight the needs of African Americans in the Los Angeles labor market. Landlord Oneil Cannon, 93, offered a year's free rent in exchange for renovations.


There was a time when African Americans in Southern California could find jobs in aerospace, automaking and other industries that could boost their families into the middle class. But by 1985, many of those jobs, along with janitorial and hospitality work, had evaporated.


Data show that black workers have also been hit hardest by the recession. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that black unemployment in August was 16.3%, contrasted with 8.7% for whites, 12% for Latinos and 9.6% overall. The overall unemployment rate in California was higher, at 12.4% last month, according to the state Employment Development Department.


Under a withering sun Saturday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas told the assembled group that $900 million of public projects were scheduled to begin soon, not including Phase 2 of the Expo light-rail line and other transit projects also expected to generate thousands of jobs.


"There's a lot of work," he said. "We ought to have access to it.… We don't want to do it … catch as catch can."


With big transit projects and LAX renovations in the near future, Cuevas said training programs would be crucial to ensuring a flow of new workers into the job market.


Among the volunteers was Alisha Doyle, 27, who is learning how to work with power tools and apply for apprenticeships through a program called WINTER, Women in Non Traditional Employment Roles.


Madelyn Broadus, who last week received her journeyman's license as a sheet metal worker but, like many other volunteers, is unemployed, said her goal was to get more women like herself into well-paying construction jobs. A Boston University graduate, Broadus said she got the "bug" for construction after never earning more than $18.50 an hour as a mortgage loan processor.


Broadus, who previously worked on L.A. Live and the downtown Marriott hotel, said supervisors often "don't know where to put me." But she added she was capable and eager. "I will put my life on the line," she said.




martha.groves@latimes.com

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 28, 2010 at 1:14am

Atlanta Bishop Eddie Long Denies Accusations Of Sexual Abuse From Male Parishioners

Bishop Long eulogizing at Coretta Scoot King's Funeral

Bishop Long with his Wife

Bishop Long and Ex-President George Bush

Bishop Long and Pastor Bernice King





ATLANTA — The prominent Pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch near Atlanta denies allegations in a lawsuit that he coerced two young men from the congregation into a sexual relationship, his attorney said.


Lawyers for the men, now 20 and 21, say they filed the lawsuit Tuesday in DeKalb County Court against Bishop Eddie Long. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they were victims of sexual impropriety.


President George W. Bush and three former Presidents visited the sprawling New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia for the 2006 funeral of Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Long introduced the speakers and the Rev. Bernice King, the Kings' younger daughter, delivered the eulogy. She is also a Pastor there.


The men who filed the suit were 17- and 18-year-old members of the church when they say Long abused his spiritual authority to seduce them with cars, money, clothes, jewelry, international trips and access to celebrities.


Craig Gillen, Long's attorney, says the Pastor "categorically denies the allegations."


"We find it unfortunate that these two young men would take this course of action," Gillen said late Tuesday after news of the lawsuit broke. He said Long had not yet been served with copies of the lawsuits.


Long has called for a national ban on same-sex marriage and his church counsels gay members to become straight. In 2004, he led a march with Bernice King to her father's Atlanta grave to support a national constitutional amendment to protect marriage "between one man and one woman."


He also has released several gospel albums, authored books on relationships and spirituality, and hosts a weekly television program.


B.J. Bernstein, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said she opened her investigation after getting a call from one of the boys. She said her law office is now broadening the investigation.


"We are taking calls and we do believe, based on what the boys' statements are, that there are other victims," she said.


Although the relationships started when the plaintiffs were past the legal age of consent in Georgia – which is 16 – she said Long abused his "spiritual authority" to coerce her clients into engaging in sexual acts.


Bernstein also said that Bishop made an excessive number of phone calls and e-mails to her clients. She said most of the notes were not crude, but several of them asked the clients to send him pictures. She said she will subpoena Long for his records.


"It's an irrational number of contacts," she said.


When asked about a possible motive for the accusations, Gillen referred to a break-in at Long's office in June. Bernstein said one of the plaintiffs is facing a criminal burglary charge in the incident, but she said the break-in was a way of lashing out at Long.


Bernstein said she contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office earlier this month when she became aware of the young men's allegations. She did not know what action, if any, the agency planned to take. She said she did not contact DeKalb County authorities because Long and his church have strong ties to county officials.


Patrick Crosby, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta, would not comment on whether federal prosecutors are investigating Long.


A Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said last Wednesday his office wasn't investigating. And Orzy Theus of the DeKalb County District Attorney's office said last Wednesday that county prosecutors do not plan to be involved.


"That's a civil matter. They were over the age of consent, that's not a criminal matter," said Theus.


Long was appointed Pastor of New Birth in 1987. Then, the church had about 150 members. Less than four years later, the church had grown to more than 8,000 members. Athletes and entertainers claim membership at the church.


Long's church was among those named in 2007 in a Senate committee's investigation into a half-dozen Christian ministries over their financing.


Today, New Birth sits on 250 acres and has more than 25,000 members, a $50 million, 10,000-seat cathedral and more than 40 ministries – including the Longfellows Youth Academy, a tuition-based program for young men 13 to 18.


The New Birth campus was quiet last Wednesday morning, with no unusual activity. Administrative staff referred media inquiries to Long's spokesman and people at the church declined to comment on the situation.

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 28, 2010 at 1:33am

(Report: Significant Cheating By FBI Agents On Exam)

WASHINGTON – A Justice Department investigation has found that FBI agents, including several supervisors, cheated on an important test covering the bureau's policies for conducting surveillance on Americans.


Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine said Monday that his limited review of allegations that agents improperly took the open-book test together or had access to an answer sheet has turned up "significant abuses and cheating."


Fine called on the bureau to discipline the agents, throw out the results and come up with a new test to see if FBI agents understand new rules allowing them to conduct surveillance and open files on Americans without evidence of criminal wrongdoing.


The troubling review of the exam on surveillance rules follows Fine's report last week on the FBI's scrutiny of domestic activist groups. That investigation found that the FBI gave inaccurate information to Congress and the public when it claimed a possible terrorism link to justify monitoring an anti-war rally in Pittsburgh in 2002. That IG report also criticized the factual basis for opening or continuing FBI domestic terrorism investigations of some other nonviolent left-leaning groups.


In the inquiry into the exam, the inspector general looked only at four FBI field offices and found enough troubling information to warrant a comprehensive review by the FBI.


In one FBI field office, four agents exploited a computer software flaw "to reveal the answers to the questions as they were taking the exam," Fine said.


Other test-takers used or circulated materials that essentially provided the test answers, he said.


Fine said that almost all of those who cheated "falsely certified" that they did the work themselves, without the help of others.


Last year, Assistant Director Joseph Persichini, the head of the FBI's Washington field office that investigates congressional wrongdoing and other crime in the nation's capital, retired amid a review of test-taking in his office.


Persichini wrote down the answers to the test while two of his most senior managers were in the room taking the exam together, the IG said. Persichini used the answers he had written down to complete the exam another day, the IG added. A legal adviser also was in the room with Persichini and the two agents discussing the questions and possible answers.


Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was "especially disheartened that several FBI supervisors cheated on this exam" and the senator called on the FBI to implement "a more trustworthy exam process going forward and hold accountable those responsible for the cheating."


Most FBI employees took the exam between May 2009 and January 2010.


"This report reinforces that the FBI cannot police itself," said Michael German, policy counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union. "There needs to be stronger oversight and stronger controls over the bureau's use of its investigative powers."


German also expressed concern about the surveillance guidelines themselves, saying they enable the targeting of people for investigation when there is "no factual basis to support that speculative belief."


An FBI professional organization said Monday it supported changes to ensure the integrity of future tests.


"We look forward to working with the bureau to develop better procedures to ensure that future exams are conducted in a uniform manner with clear and consistent instruction in all locations," said Konrad Motyka, president of the FBI Agents Association, which has membership of nearly 12,000 active and retired agents.

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 28, 2010 at 2:18am

(Former L.A. County Labor Leader Investigated)


Probe focuses on $150,000 in consulting fees paid by one ex-SEIU official to another to under a confidential agreement, sources say.

Investigators are said to be questioning labor officers about payments to Alejandro Stephens. (Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times / September 28, 2010)








As part of a lengthy corruption investigation, federal authorities have been examining $150,000 in consulting fees paid to a disgraced former Los Angeles labor leader under a confidential agreement signed by Andy Stern, then president of the powerful Service Employees International Union, according to documents and interviews.


The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles had considered filing embezzlement charges against Alejandro Stephens, who headed the SEIU local for county government workers, in connection with the payments, records obtained by The Times show.


Prosecutors decided last year not to include the embezzlement counts in a criminal complaint against Stephens, who is going to prison on other charges, but investigators were still questioning labor officers about the payments at least nine months later, say three people familiar with the probe. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of the federal inquiry.


They say the FBI and U.S. Labor Department investigators are focusing on whether Stern or other SEIU leaders expected Stephens to perform any work for the money, or if they approved what amounted to a no-show job for him.
SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette declined to answer questions about the agreement. In an e-mail she said, "Alejandro Stephens has had no role or involvement with the union for several years. Stephens violated the terms of his … agreement with the union, and we are aggressively seeking the return of all payments made to him under that agreement."


Stephens, 67, said that he did the work required by the 2007 agreement and that the union still owes him $75,000.


Attempts to reach Stern, who retired last spring and now sits on President Obama's bipartisan deficit-reduction commission, were unsuccessful. Federal officials would not comment.


The 2-million-member SEIU, the nation's second-largest union, has been wracked with allegations of corruption, especially in California. The Times reported in 2008 that another SEIU local in Los Angeles had directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to businesses owned by relatives and associates of its president, Tyrone Freeman, who was subsequently fired.


Federal authorities have since been investigating Freeman and other SEIU officials, according to court records and people close to the inquiry.


While looking into the Stephens agreement, investigators have also sought information about SEIU outlays to other consultants and firms with personal ties to union officers and about a book deal that paid Stern a six-figure advance, say the people with knowledge of the probe.


SEIU helped fact-check and promote Stern's 2006 book, "A Country That Works," and bought it in bulk, union officials have acknowledged. Stern has said that his book contract was entirely proper and that he did not accept royalties from sales to the union.


Legal issues aside, labor experts said such agreements as Stephens' can be troubling, especially when they are confidential.


"It's not transparent, so the union members could not see what's going on with their money," said David Witwer, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, who has written books on labor corruption.


In a separate case, Stephens pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion involving a labor nonprofit and was sentenced to four months in federal prison. He faced up to 43 years behind bars on those offenses but told The Times that he did not cooperate with the government in exchange for a lighter sentence.


"I'm no fink," Stephens said.


As the Stephens agreement notes, he lost his local presidency after his SEIU chapter was merged into a new one. The deal requires him not to disclose its terms or to say anything disparaging about SEIU.


When The Times learned the first details of the agreement in August 2008, 20 months after Stern signed it, SEIU officials said Stephens had violated its terms by staying on the county payroll. But the four-page agreement does not include a requirement that he give up his county job.


SEIU officials later said that Stephens had not done the work he promised to do.


The agreement calls for Stephens to receive a severance payment of about $77,000 and three annual grants of $75,000 each for the consulting duties, which were defined as "retiree relations and other community programs that support the union's work in Southern California."


Stephens said, "There was no money that was stolen, no money that was embezzled from SEIU. I'm getting screwed while everyone else is out there enjoying themselves. I'm the fall guy."


The Stephens arrangement led to the downfall of another SEIU leader, Annelle Grajeda, his former girlfriend.


Amid questions of whether she used her influence to keep him on the county payroll, Grajeda lost her positions as president of the merged local, head of SEIU's California council and one of the union's six executive vice presidents. More recently, Grajeda, who has denied any wrongdoing, retired as an SEIU staff member, Ringuette said.




paul.pringle@latimes.com

patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 28, 2010 at 2:48am

(Heat Topples Records, Bakes Inland And Downtown Los Angeles Area)

The temperature in front of the Provident Bank on Central Avenue in Riverside reads 108 at 4 p.m. on Monday.




Record-setting heat seared the Inland region Monday for a second day in a row, with overworked air conditioners churning up power demand, but the forecast set up the promise of cooler days ahead.


Temperatures will, however, remain well above seasonal averages for several more days.


A couple of high-temperature records toppled Monday.


At Riverside Municipal Airport, the high was 113 degrees, 7 degrees higher than the record for the date, set in 1993.


Lake Elsinore, which recorded a high of 111, saw the record -- 106, set in 1975 -- fall.


It wasn't just the Inland region that saw records. Downtown Los Angeles recorded its hottest temperature ever, reaching 113 just after noon, said Stuart Seto, a National Weather Service forecaster in Oxnard. The all-time record of 112 degrees was set June 26, 1990.


The Gonzalez family, of Riverside, went to escape the heat Monday night at Dairy Queen off Magnolia Avenue. At 8 p.m., it was still 95 degrees and there was a steady line at the outdoor walk-up counter.


Karen Gonzalez said her son Marcus became ill and got headaches. She gave him plenty of water and cold compresses.


The only way to beat the heat was "good old-fashioned ice cream," Rob Gonzalez said.


"It felt like Death Valley," 8-year-old Zoe Gonzalez said. "The ice cream makes me feel cooler."


For some, the heat was exacerbated by power failures that left them without air conditioning.


In Riverside, about 600 people in the Canyon Crest neighborhood were without electricity for about 2 ½ hours, starting about 2 p.m., said Dave Wright, general manager of Riverside Public Utilities. A dozen or so of those customers remained without power until about 6:30 p.m.


Older transformers working under heavy power loads failed, Wright said. He added that the utility expected to end the day with power demand -- 560 megawatts -- somewhere between the fifth- and tenth-highest day in its 110-year history.


Southern California Edison reported some outages Monday, but most were for customers who have agreed to have their air conditioners shut off for an hour at a time during peak demand, said Charles Coleman, an Edison spokesman.


Scott Andresen, another Edison spokesman, said Monday's energy demand hit a new peak for 2010 -- 22,771 megawatts, about 530 below the all-time record.


Edison was still weighing Monday whether to go ahead with planned outages for maintenance work scheduled for today and the rest of the week, Coleman said.


The situation was worse in Los Angeles and Orange counties, where Edison spokeswoman Mashi Nyssen said more than 30,000 heat-related outages had been reported as of 8 p.m. Monday.


While many people sweltered Monday, the Riverside County coroner's office reported no heat-related deaths. San Bernardino County's coroner could not be reached.


As Southern California baked, a few fires erupted, but calm winds kept them small.


A blaze in the Santa Ana River bottom off Mission Inn Avenue, near Mount Rubidoux Park, burned about 3 acres before it was contained at 6:30 p.m., said Riverside Fire Department Division Chief John Martinez. The cause has not been determined.


A firefighter who suffered heat exhaustion was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, but did not appear to be seriously injured, Martinez said.


In Thousand Oaks, west of Los Angeles, firefighters battled a small but persistent brush fire that was estimated at 15 50 acres, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.


The good news is Monday was the peak of the hot weather, said Philip Gonsalves, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego.


Temperatures will begin to trend downward today and the relative humidity will begin to trend upward, he said.


Highs in the Inland valleys are expected to range from 96 to 102 today, then fall a degree Wednesday and Thursday. Daytime highs should be in double digits by Friday.


The rise in humidity could trigger some dry-lightning storms, so while flooding won't be an issue, fires could be.


The Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department has put extra hand crews and strike teams on the schedule but is not on alert, said Jody Hagemann, a spokeswoman for the department.


"We're in normal operations, but fully ready to respond," Hagemann said.


Staff writers Brian Rokos and John Asbury and The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Reach Steven Barrie at 951-368-9466 or sbarrie@PE.com



(Now That's hot)!

Riverside: 113*

Downtown Los Angeles: 113*

Lake Elsinore: 111*

Hemet: 112

Temecula: 111

Beaumont: 100

Lake Arrowhead: 87

Big Bear Lake: 84

* Record

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on September 29, 2010 at 2:01am

(Baldwin Hills: Bedford Parc-Brand New Condominiums Starting at 285K) 3750 Santa Rosalia Drive, Los Angeles, CA. 90008
For more info. call (866)320-PARC(7272) or e-mail:bedfordparcdebut.com

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on December 2, 2010 at 1:10am

Photos of the 2010 Christmas Room Decorations at the White House

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on December 2, 2010 at 8:27pm

Michael Jordan's New Home Built in Jack Nicklaus's Development

This is the first look at Michael Jordan's swank digs in Jack Nicklaus' new "Bear's Club" development in Jupiter, Fla.

Analysis by Cary Lichtenstein of PGA National Real Estate indicates that Jordan paid $4.8 million for the land and $7.8 to build the mansion, and will likely have a total commitment of $20 million in the property when all is said and done. And while Woods' property comprises three lots with both ocean and Intracoastal Waterway access, Jordan's has neither, which could compromise its resale value. (See if you can bargain him down!)

The Jordan estate has 11 bedrooms, a two-story guard house and an athletic "wing" with a basketball court (of course). You'll note that the property isn't far from the golf course, but we're betting Jordan won't have to sneak onto the course at twilight to get in a few holes.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tiger Woods Newly Built $50 Million Bachelor Pad

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on December 2, 2010 at 8:55pm

7 Ways To Save Money On Your Mortgage

----------
Your mortgage payment is most likely your largest monthly expense. But there are ways you can decrease your monthly payment and pay off your loan faster.

Let's walk through the tips using this mortgage example:

•$200,000 mortgage
•30-year fixed rate mortgage
•6% interest rate
•$1,199 monthly principal and interest payment
Savings will vary based on your actual loan facts and timing of the change
----------

1. Make an Extra Payment Each Year

If you have the means, the easiest way to save money on your mortgage is by making an extra mortgage payment each year. These extra payments are automatically applied on your principal, not interest. Not only does your remaining balance drop, but you will not have to pay interest each month on that principal for the remainder of the loan term.

Savings: $47,000. By making one extra payment of $1,199 each year and applying it to your principal, you could save over $47,000 in interest and cut 5 years off the life of the loan.



2. Create Bi-Weekly Payments

Another way to pay off your loan early is by creating a bi-weekly payment plan. Put half of your monthly mortgage payment in a savings account every other Friday (or, on your pay day). Each month, pay your mortgage from the account. At the end of the year, you will have made 26 half payments, which is 13 full payments. This will leave with you an extra payment that you can put toward your principal. Most people manage the separate accounts themselves, but there are companies that you can hire to act as an escrow service and manage the payments for you.

Savings: $47,000. Same as extra payment.



3. Cut your PMI

Many people are forced to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) because their down payment is less than 20 percent. If you are in this boat, you can petition your lender to cancel the insurance as soon as your mortgage balance falls below 80 percent of the home's appraised value. This can happen if your home's value has gone up or you have repaid some of the principal. This may require a new appraisal but could shave hundreds of dollars off your monthly payment.

Savings: $130 per month. If you only put down 5 percent and had a PMI rate of .78 percent, you could save $130 per month.



4. Fight Your Property Assessment

Property taxes can be thousands of dollars a year. If you think your home's value has decreased in the last year and it was not properly accounted for in your tax assessment, you can petition your assessor and fight your assessment. Lowering your tax assessment will lower your yearly taxes.

Savings: Varies. Depends on your local tax rate and home adjustment, but could be hundreds of dollars a year.



5. Recast Your Mortgage

Some lenders are willing to recast (reset) your monthly payment when you make large payments toward the principal of your mortgage. Usually, when you put money toward your balance, your monthly payment stays the same but the term of your loan shortens. When the loan is recast, your monthly principal and interest is recalculated so you end up with a lower monthly payment over the existing term of the loan.

Savings: $120 per month. Putting $20,000 into the loan would reset the payment to $1,079, saving you $120 per month.



6. Loan Modification

If you are late on your payments and are going through a financial hardship, you may be eligible to modify terms of your loan (such as rate, term, or principal balance) to make it more affordable. The goal of these programs is to allow borrowers to stay in their homes and continue making their monthly payments. Not everyone qualifies for these types of programs, but if you do, they can save you a lot of money. To find out if you qualify, contact the servicer of your mortgage or visit the Making Home Affordable eligibility site.

Savings: Varies. It can reduce your interest rate to as low as 2 percent, extend your term to 40 years, or reduce your principal.



7. Refinance Your Mortgage

The most common way to save money is by refinancing your mortgage to a lower interest rate. Reducing your rate can lower your monthly payment and help you save on interest payments. However, there are costs associated with refinancing so you want to be sure you are going to save enough to cover the refinancing fees. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace allows borrowers to shop for the lowest mortgage rates, without sharing any personal contact information with lenders. Borrowers can compare rates, loan programs, and lender ratings and reviews, and then calculate if refinancing makes sense before contacting a lender. With rates at historic lows, if you can refinance, and you haven't already, you should.

Savings: $126 per month. By lowering your interest rate to 5 percent, you would have a payment of $1,073 which would save you $126 per month. If the refinance costs $5,000, you would recoup the fees after 40 months.

Permalink Reply by Phoebe Macon on December 8, 2010 at 3:57pm

Report: Aretha Franklin Suffering From Pancreatic Cancer

Posted Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:26pm PST by Access Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is reportedly suffering from cancer..

According to Detroit's WJBK FOX 2, a relative of the singer told reporter Al Allen that the singer is suffering from the disease. Another relative reportedly said the family is very concerned for the music legend..

Another report from the Detroit News claimed that Franklin has pancreatic cancer, according to a source familiar with the situation..

A rep for the singer was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Access Hollywood..

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, earlier this month, Franklin had surgery for an undisclosed reason..

"The surgery was highly successful," the music icon said in a statement to Access at the time. "God is still in control. I had superb doctors and nurses whom were blessed by all the prayers of the city and the country. God bless you all for your prayers!".

Last month, the multi Grammy-winning music legend announced that she was canceling all concert dates and personal appearances through May..

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