Fix calls for jacking up high-rise
Posted on July 9th, 2010
Lifting the fourth-floor concrete support is critical to fully stabilize the 117-unit downtown condominium building, an engineer hired to salvage the structure told a crowd of residents assembled at Sarasota City Hall Thursday night.
“The shoring we’ve done is just catching the building from falling any further,” said David Karins, president of Karins Engineering Group.
Acknowledging that the June 24 discovery of cracks in the concrete was a rare event — “there are not many buildings in the country where this has happened” — Karins said jacking is “complicated and difficult.”
That challenge, combined with continued uncertainty about exactly what caused the two-foot thick concrete transfer slab on the tower’s fourth floor to fissure, means residents may not be returning to the building before the year’s end.
“The building will stay vacant until it is actually repaired,” Karins said.
Book Review: No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline
Posted on July 8th, 2010
What’s the secret of success?
Self-discipline, of course. At least that’s what self-help guru Brian Tracy claims in No Excuses! 21 Ways to Achieve Lasting Happiness and Success. Tracy’s latest book describes how you can use self-discipline to become a successful, “superior” person in 21 areas of your life.
Yes, Tracy does occasionally use the rather Nietzschian language of “superior people” vs. “weak and irresolute people.” But his advice throughout No Excuses is so sound, and the book is so readable, that Tracy may just convert you into a self-disciplinarian by the last page. He certainly had me interested long before that.
What’s Inside No Excuses
Tracy quotes Elbert Hubbard to define self-discipline as “the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.” He tells you how to employ self-discipline in 21 well-organized, easy to follow chapters. These chapters are clus
Tags: Excuses, No Excuses
No Comments »
New Rules Will Affect Certain Self-Settled and Pooled Special Needs Trusts
Posted on July 8th, 2010
A New Social Security Program Operations Manual System (“POMS”) Section Regarding Early Trust Termination Provisions for “Self-Settled” Special Needs and Pooled Trusts is set forth below. This will not affect SNTs established with the assets of a third party, such as a parent.
Provided by Sharon Kovacs Gruer, CELA and Richard A. Courtney, CELA
SI 01120.199:
A. Introduction to early termination provisions and Trusts
1. Effective date of instructions regarding early termination provisions and trusts. These instructions are effective 10/1/10 and are to be considered informational until that date. Do not apply the policy or procedures in this section prior to 10/1/10.
2. Appl Read full article…
Tags: Special Needs, Trusts
No Comments »
Shayna Turk Wins “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Award from NFIB
Posted on July 8th, 2010
The National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation, in partnership with Visa, Inc., named Shayna Turk of Agoura, California the 2010 “Young Entrepreneur of the Year.”
Shayna is the director and founder of Shayna Turk’s Academy of Rising Stars (STARS), which she created at just 11 years of age. The musical theater camp takes in 30 kids annually, producing musicals under Shayna’s direction.
Shayna will receive a $10,000 scholarship to help pay for her tuition at the University of Southern California. Four other winners of the the Young Entrepreneur Award will each receive $5,000 scholarships.
All the proceeds from the camp are donated to Music for Heart, a charity which raises funds for children born with congenital heart disease. The charity pays to send medical missions to developing nations which lack sufficient resources to provide children with cardiac care. Read full article…
Tags: Shayna Turk, Turk
No Comments »
HOME CLOSINGS MIRED IN CRUDE
Posted on July 6th, 2010
“When the well started to flow, I knew what the capability would be, and it looked to me like it was going to spread everywhere and be at the mercy of the winds,” said Williger, a Texan who works in the oil business. “I really liked the unit, and really liked the price, and everybody was happy with everything.”
No one can quantify how many homebuyers are abandoning deals because they fear oil may come ashore in Southwest Florida, but it is happening.
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate says that six of its 22 sales that failed to close in late May and early June were on waterfront homes and the direct result of buyer qualms about the spill.
Realtors are reluctant to share such stories. They are just emerging from five tumultuous years — marked by hurricanes, the bursting of the housing bubble and the financial crisis — and hoped that a big boost in sales spurred in part by the federal tax incentives meant there were better times ahead.
There is no way to know yet whether oil will wash up on Southwest Florida’s coast.
NC Probate Filing Fees Increase
Posted on July 5th, 2010
Effective July 1, 2010, the fee for opening a probate proceeding in North Carolina increased by $1.00 to $89.00. While one dollar is not much of an increase, it is representative of the trend over the last few years to raise court costs. It will only get worse, making living trusts to avoid probate that much more attractive.
Tags: Fees Increase, Increase
No Comments »
Why “Free” Cellphones Aren’t Actually Free
Posted on July 4th, 2010
The iPhone 4, the latest and hottest gadget to hit the markets, carries an astonishingly low up-front price tag. On AT&T’s website or in its stores, bright orange letters blare out the bargain – only $199 for the pinnacle of Steve Jobs’ engineering and design.
But as with all things, there’s no free lunch – and there are no real free phones, either. In the tech industry, products like the $299 Xbox 360 and $199 iPhone 4 are called loss-leaders. The company will lose money up front on the hardware, then make it all back on the software and services.
With an iPhone, you must sign up for a two-year deal to get the $199 price. The cheapest data package, at $15/month, is far too small to handle typical iPhone traffic, so you have to upgrade to at least $25/month, then add in a minimum of $40/month in minutes and $5/month in texts, for a total of $70/month – before taxes and fees. Read full article…