With proceeds earmarked for the Education Endowment Fund to help schools in the Delray Beach area, the City Education Board created a pop-up book about Delray Beach in 2006 and it is available either on line at http://www.delraypopupbook.com/buy.htm or in local stores. The six pop-up spreads are colorful, fact-filled about the rich history and culture of the city, recreational activities and celebrations. The cost is $28.
New 1700 sq ft substation and closed-circuit television command post added to Mall for use by Boca Raton police. It will serve as the operational base for the police officers currently assigned to patrol Town Center Mall and will include workspace for four Crime Prevention Unit members. Civilian volunteers and a Community Service Officer will assist patrons with police reports and fingerprinting. A video surveillance monitoring room, separate processing area and conference room are included. More cameras have been added to the 900 cameras already on the property in parking areas, on decks and within the Mall’s interior. These cameras give comprehensive views of the areas, and the area around the property. The Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies has given the Boca Raton police department “flagship status” as a model for other police departments.
Believed to be the most wide-ranging virtual mandate in the US, a new Florida state law requires districts to create full-time virtual schools, collaborate with other districts, or contract with providers approved by the state. Your children and grandchildren who live in Florida will be able to go to school entirely online from kindergarten through 12th grade, never setting foot in a classroom, but about 20% of the curriculum may be taught online and parents must commit to walking their children through the rest of the lessons. School superintendents must be ready by August with details from how to provide the needed technology to how to engage kindergartners attention spans as they sit at the computer for many hours in a row. While this program may eliminate the need to build more schools, the districts still must pay teachers, revamp their curriculum appropriately, and purchase new technology. Districts can choose to pay a state-approved private company to do that . Two online schools are already funded, one for students from kindergarten through eighth grade, and the Florida Virtual School offering middle and high school courses. During last year’s school year, 57,000 students took at least one Florida Virtual School course, but very few committed to an all-online experience. The new Web-based education is expected to attract many students. This year the district will start with 12 students, kindergarten through 8th grade, who are registered for online school through a state program. Students and parents will be asked for input. For accountability, virtual students must meet state standards and take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. There is concern that the virtual experience cannot be provided to students whose families cannot afford home computers and internet access. Opening school computer labs is one alternative being considered. The North American Council for Online Learning will be watching, as will the rest of us, to see how it goes. For more details see http://www.flvs.net/. Online courses are available for adults too. Check it out!
Eligible for matching funds, Living Theaters Inc. has gifted FAU with $1.5MM to fund building of a state-of-the-art movie theatre complex with four theatres and a café on campus. Groundbreaking is planned for December. The gift is eligible for matching funds from Florida’s Alex P. Courtelis Capital Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant Program. Students will have use of the theatre during the day. Evenings and weekends will feature screening of foreign and independent films for community patrons.
Henry Morrison Flagler’s personal rail car, built in 1886, is now on view, and you can walk through the new 8100 sq ft Pavilion at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach to see it. The railway car has been restored to its original appearance, using records from the National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian, the Delaware State Archives and the Hagley Museum and Library in Delaware. See the salon, master bedroom and bath, guest quarters and kitchen. The car is called “A Palace on Wheels.” See the fine appointments, including the oak paneling and desk. Flagler traveled by this railcar in 1912 along the Overseas Railway to Key West to celebrate completion of the FEC Railway, a phenomenal engineering feat. This is the first public Beaux-Arts style building built in the US in 60 years. Its design is consistent with Whitehall, which was completed in 1902. The Museum’s Pavilion Café is also in the building. Flagler owned much of the land along both sides of the hundreds of miles of track, and has been called “Florida’s Godfather.” For more information, go to http://www.flaglermuseum.us/ or call 561-655-2833.
Featuring as many photographers as possible, the Norton continues its longstanding commitment to furthering the visitor’s understanding of photographic history. A recent donation of 162 photographs, The Hunter Gifts, is now on exhibit until September 7th. The collection includes the work of some of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Six international photographers are paired together for easy comparisons of their work. The Norton Museum of Art is located at 1451 S Olive Avenue in West Palm Beach. General admission is $8, ages 13-21 is $3, children under 13 and members are admitted with no charge.
EMPOWER YOURSELF! Attend FORECLOSURE SEMINAR, 7-9 pm, Tuesday 8/26 and Thursday 8/28 at the Deerfield Hilton, I-95 and Hillsborough Blvd. FREE pre-registration (561-338-2122 or www.iberiamortgagecorp.com.) or $10 at the door. Who should attend: First Time Buyers, Bargain Shoppers, Investors, Realtors. What you will learn: No credit or Challenged Credit, How to Profit from the Real Estate Mess, How to buy and repair a home with one loan; How the new House Bill benefits you.
Songs, lectures and a variety of other special events are planned at Cornell’s Old School Square Crest Theatre, including big and small names with varied talents. “Altar Boyz”, a musical comedy, will open The Crest Theatre Main Stage Series November 14-16. The theatre’s season will conclude with “Romanza, the Art of the Tenor, April 3-5. From December 5-7, Spencer’s Theatre of Illusion will be appearing – maybe disappearing - featuring interesting theatrical elements. December 19-21 the Ballroom World Champion Tour will be held for dance enthusiasts. The latest incarnation of The Kingston Trio will present folk music January 16-18. The American Soul & Rock and Roll Choir will bring us cheer February 6-8. “Footloose,” based on the film, will present their national tour March 6-8. A new Celtic inspired dance production featuring Irish, Ottawa Valley and modern tap dancers, The Stepcrew, will appear March 20-22. The 2009 Lecture Series, held Thursdays at 2 pm, will include Secret Service Director Brian Stafford February 19, Author Michael Gates Gill March 12th and author/photographer Lorraine Salem Tufts April 2nd. Other presentations coming up include Tony Award winners Hal Linden, Tommy Tune, and Christine Ebersole with Grammy winner Billy Stritch, For tickets and more information call 561-243-7922, extension 1. The Crest Theater is located at 51 North Swinton Avenue, just north of Atlantic Avenue near the Delray Beach Tennis Center, in Old School Square. Individual tickets prices for Main Stage and Cabaret Series are $40 for matinee and $42 for evening. Individual lecture tickets are $25 for open seating (balcony) and $40 for reserved seating, which includes valet parking and post-lecture reception. Crest Theatre was voted BEST LIVE THEATRE by Forum Publishing Groups, The Best of Delray Beach Magazine, 2007. For seating chart, and more information on performances, see http://www.oldschool.org/crest.asp.
Thinking of moving north to our Canadian neighbors areas? Top price for a condo in a building under construction in Toronto was $25-MM earlier this year, and 2nd was a condo in Vancouver which sold for $18-mm. Now there is a luxury condo in Calgary for sale for $10-MM which is on the top 2 floors of a 35-story high-rise, 4400 sq ft with 1200 sq ft of balconies, overlooking city, mountain and water views. It comes with your own personal 850-bottle wine vault, marble and ebony finishes, marble bathtub and rain shower, home theatre, a library overlooking mountains, big screen media and billiard rooms, grand curving staircases, 30-foot arched windows, barrel ceilings, limestone fireplaces, private elevator, VIP parking, and crystal chandeliers. Included is a $1-MM interior finishing package and a $500,000 home automation and advanced audio-visual system. Astoria on Tenth has 225 suites, starting at about $300,000. Over 50% of the building has been sold. Single family home new communities might start at $6-MM per home. A recent sale of a 6800 sq ft home listed at $8-MM, on the market 36 days, sold for $7,500,000 in Calgary. However, in lower priced homes, there was a 33% year-over-year price decline, according to the Canadian Globe and Mail newspaper. Picture is a rendering.
An Opening Reception will be held at Palm Beach International Airport on Wednesday, September 10th , 5:30-7 pm in the Airport’s Concession Mall, Level 2 Main Terminal, across from Travelers Lounge for exhibits of local paintings, sculpture, photography and mixed-media works, sometimes depicting the flora, fauna and natural places in the County. To see a virtual tour of the art, go to http://www.pbcgov.com/fdo/art/artworks.htm. The artworks, created by residents of various Palm Beach County cities, are for sale. Parking available in Short Term levels 4-7. The exhibit will be on display through September 24th, and is sponsored by Palm Beach County’s Art in Public Places through a grant from the Palm Beach County’s Cultural Council. Selected works with are presented for four months and each exhibition features changing cultural and travel themes. Contact information for artists interested in submitting their works is http://www.pbcgov.com/art/FDORegistry.aspx. 
Now comes word that the anonymous Russian billionaire who bought the exquisite Villa Leopolda historic estate on the French Cote d’Azur paid a higher price than previously reported. This purchase overtakes the previous highest purchase of a London home by Laksmi Mittal for his son for $236,000,000. (WOW these are all a lot of zeros!). Villa Leopolda is between Monaco and Nice, overlooking Cap Ferrat near Villefranche-su-Mer. It is a cream-colored turreted mansion with two guest houses. King Leopold II of Belgium built the villa in 1902. In 1916, King Leopold’s nephew and heir, King Albert I, turned the villa into a hospital for wounded officers during WW1. The Agnelli family later owned the property (Fiat auto tycoons) and held legendary jet-set parties in the 1960’s, with guests including Frank Sinatra and Ronald Regan (in his acting days). Fifty full-time gardeners are employed to take care of 20 acres of gardens and terraces, with 1200 olive, orange, lemon and cypress trees. The grounds are considered among the most spectacular on the Cote d’Azur. Seller was Lily Safra, widow of murdered banking billionaire, Edmond Safra. A Russian oil oligarch is said to be the new owner. But not Roman, Abramovich, owner of the Chelsea Football Club, who owns a $100,000,000 mansion near Antibes. It is reported that 60 villas and mansions on Cap Ferrat are owned by wealthy Russians.
Canceled last year because of budget cuts, private sponsors have made it possible for the thousands who watch the Boat Parade to again do so on December 20th 2008 starting at 6:30 pm at the C-15 canal (Boca-Delray line) and moving south along the Intracoastal Waterway. The sponsors to thank for allowing this 31-year old event to go on include Summit Brokerage, The Boca Raton Resort & Club, Loggerhead Marina, Florida Inland Navigation District and Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County and The Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District. Other sponsorships are available – email elilly@ci.boca-raton.fl.us or call 561-393-7827. As is the custom, boats will stop along the route at various docks and pick up donations for needy kids.
Affordable house prices combined with attractive exchange rates have resulted in our Canadian neighbors becoming the largest group of foreign buyers of homes in the United States, followed by buyers from the UK, Mexico, China, India and Germany. Since May 2007, foreign nationals have purchased between 150,000 and 190,000 homes in the United States. The most popular purchase was single-family vacation homes with an average price of $297,400. Florida led the way followed by California, Texas, New York, Washington and Nevada. Four out of Ten foreign buyers paid for their new homes with cash, compared to 7% of domestic buyers. Average stay for international buyers was 2.6 months during the year. 14% of purchases were $750,000 or more. This information is from the 2008 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity, a survey based on responses from about 4,000 Realtors who serve foreign buyers.
Carol Burnett (1/17/09) Barbara Cook (12/16/2008)
Lily Tomlin (2-10-09)
Jackie Mason (2-2-09)
Steven Sondheim (2-4-09)
Marvin Hamlisch (3-8-09)
Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, original EVITA stars (3-25-09)
Wynton Marsalis (1-28-09)
Dr. John and the Neville Brothers (3-3-09)
Led Zeppelin (1-13-09)
The Pink Floyd Experience (2-14-09)
Blue, a tribute to Joni Mitchell (1/2-4/09)
Kravis Membership is $75 and includes priority seating opportunities based on level of donation. Public tickets go on sale for 2008-2009 at 9 am on September 20th. For more info call 561-832-7469 or go to http://www.kravis.org. Starting in October, for 11 sessions, “Movies by Moonlight” will be presented in the Gosman Amphitheatre including Grease, Sound of Music and Singin’ In The Rain.
The Delray Beach Historical Society is showing “Treasures of the Sea’ in the Archives Room at Old School Square’s Cornell Museum, 51 North Swinton Avenue through August 30th. You will see vintage photos and post cards, artifacts, DVD’s, beach coming collections and other items. This show is being held along with the museum’s exhibit, “Paintings beneath the Sea,” by Jason Mathias. The DBHS website (www.db-hs.org) says, “Throughout the years the sea has provided humans with untold treasures. The people of Delray Beach have always valued their proximity to the sea and it has been a strong part of the identity of our city.” Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm. For more info call 561-243-2577 or email dbhs@bellsouth.net.
Want to find something for the kids to do? Grandkids coming for a visit? Palm Beach Zoo admission fees are waived in August and unlimited carousel rides are offered for kids age 12 and younger. There are over 100 shows a week and 1600 animals to visit. The Zoo is located at Dreher Park in West Palm Beach. Mission of the zoo is to provide an outdoor classroom of living creatures to foster awareness, appreciation and respect for the natural world. More info at www.palmbeachzoo.org.
Join in MISSION POSSIBLE 2008 on August 7th from 6-8:30 pm at Town Center, and take on the role of sleuth in a mystery mission. Proceeds benefit The Haven, a local home for boys age 9 to18 who have been placed in protective care by the state. Sample more than 100 wines and many hors d’oeuvres on August 16 from 7-9 pm at WINE & ALL THAT JAZZ at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Gear up for 5k walk August 19 from 5:30-8:30 pm at Marriott Boca Center. Goal is to collect $375,000 for MAKING STRIDES AGAINST BREAST CANCER. Local celebrities will compete on the dance floor on August 28th, 6-9:30 pm at Pavillion Grille, 301 Yamato for the BOCA BALLROOM BATTLE with proceeds benefiting the George Snow Scholarship Fund. Local business leaders and representatives from area nonprofit and media groups are working together to present these events and many others (40+) throughout the month of August. C’mon over and don’t miss all the fun!
Did you know that FAU’s Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in West Palm Beach is one of the nations oldest nature centers and serves annually more than 25,000 students, 750 teachers and 12,500 adults? A 36-credit course resulting in a master’s degree program in environmental education, needing no additional state funding due to funds from a Pine Jog endowment, is being planned by the Florida Department of Education. It is noted that this is one field where there is a critical teacher shortage. There will be a conversion available from a track in the approved master’s degree in curriculum and instruction to a stand-alone degree in environmental education. The student can choose either to complete the track or transfer to the new degree program. The new program will be held in collaboration with FAU’s Pine Jog Environmental Center. The first Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified “green” elementary school in the state is located on the pine Jog campus. An existing College of Education instructor who focuses on environmental education will be assigned to the program. Funds also come from a continuing contract with the Palm Beach County School Board.
“Letters of interest” in bidding were requested in the past for the 4.67-acre parcel of airport land, recently designated as non-aviation land (not needed for airport use). The bids received did not meet all the requirements, and another request has been made by the Airport Authority. This is the undeveloped land near the Muvico Theater and Premier Aircraft on Airport Road. Approved uses include business and professional offices, retail uses, banks and financial institutions, hotels and motels, educational institutions, radio or tv studios, indoor theaters, bowling alleys, recreational facilities and medical offices. Potential developers would need a conditional use permit from the city. Information about the proposal can be found at www.BocaAirport.com
The Florida Lottery is offering an 8-week “Summer Cash” drawing across the state to tap into the public’s frustration with sky-high gas prices. Prizes include “Gas for a Year” and “Gas for Life.” Tickets are $5. Grand prize is $250,000. 
From 8 to 10 am on Saturday, July 5th, the city of Delray Beach will sponsor a beach cleanup at Atlantic Dunes Park, 1605 S. Ocean Boulevard. Volunteers are asked to assemble at the beach pavilion where the city will provide gloves, garbage bags, litter sticks and light refreshments. Community service hours can be earned by participants. Registration forms can be picked up at Delray Beach City Hall, 100 NW 1st Avenue or downloaded from the City’s website, www.mydelraybeach.com - click Beach Clean Up on the home page or call Jennifer Buce at 561-243-7138.
Have you visited our beautiful ENJOY!
On Thursday, June 26th from 6 to 10 pm “Art and Jazz on the Avenue” in Delray Beach will feature free events, open to the public. The New Orleans’ Second Line Band will perform at Worthing Park and feature the Chief of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a modern-day Mardi Gras Indian tribe. Others include Strictly Business, Hook, Son of Man, Jazz Steam and Totall Kontroll. At the Old School Square’s pavilion come and watch the Southern Dance Theatre. Many restaurants, shops and galleries will offer one-night-only complimentary beverages and samplings, sales, meet-and-greet with artists, summer clearances and register-to-win contest. The Downtown Roundabout free shuttle bus will run until 11 pm. One shuttle starts at the Tri-Rail station on Congress, going east on Atlantic Avenue, another at the Delray Beach Public Library going to the beach and back. They run about every 20 minutes. For more info call 561-243-7322 or go to mydelraybeach.com. Atlantic Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic from 4-10 pm between Swinton and SE 7th.
With the primary objective to save lives of law enforcement officers conducting traffic stops, a statute passed during the 2002 session of the Florida legislature requires that motorists traveling on I-95 and other Florida highways with two or more lanes traveling in the direction fo the emergency vehicle “slow down” or “move over” and out of the lane closest to the vehicle as soon as its safe to do so, when approaching an authorized emergency vehicle stopped on the highway. Drivers are required to slow to 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit if 25 miles per hour or greater or travel at 5 miles per hour when posted speed limit is 20 miles per hour or less.
A call has been issued by the city of 
Eight merry pandas arrived safely in Beijing after a long journey from their damaged reserve near the epicenter of the deadly earthquake in China. The pandas arrived Saturday to spend the next six months at the Beijing Zoo on a special Olympics visit that had been planned long before the quake. If we built a Highland Beach Zoo, would they come?
LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS RANK HIGH NEWSWEEK’s May 21, 2008 “TOP OF THE CLASS” article showed the following area schools in these ranks in the top 1000 of 1400+ public high schools in the US:
Suncoast Community (Riviera Beach) is #3
Dreyfoos School of the Arts (Palm Beach) is #33
Atlantic Community (Delray Beach) is #58
Boca Community (Boca Raton) is #146
Spanish River (Boca Raton) is #196
Palm Beach Gardens (Palm Beach Gardens) #663
West Boca Raton (Boca Raton) is 675
Jupiter (Jupiter) is #859
William T. Dwyer ( Palm Beach Gardens) is #978
Public schools are ranked according a ratio devised by Washington Post Education Reporter Jay Matthews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2007 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 5 percent of public schools measured this way.
One of 5 cities in the nation to win the award, The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association cited North Beach, located between Red Reef Park and Boca’s northern boundary. Successful beach renourishment projects have been completed on the central and south beaches, in 2006 and 2003 respectively. Beaches are restored for storm protection, habitat restoration and recreation. More than 370 beaches in the US have been restored along coastlines in Miami Beach, Coney Island and Venice Beach in Southern California. Three criteria are judged – economic and ecological benefits the beach brings to its community, the short and long term success of the restoration projects and the challenges each community overcame during the project. Judges commented that the North Boca Raton effort “is characterized by its longevity, environmental sensitivity and foresight. The three large Boca Raton beachfront properties are worth over $330-MM, making them the city’s most valuable asset”.
A forthcoming study, Total Cancer Care, that Boca Community Hospital Lynn Cancer Care Institute will participate in, includes association with a major cancer center (the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa), a pharmaceutical firm (Merck & Co) and the state of Florida who will be doing a study that could radically change the way cancer is treated. Moffitt will link with healthcare providers nationwide. Fourteen hospital sites in Florida are participating. The goal of the program is to improve cancer prevention and treatment by using molecular technology to enhance the ability to diagnose and treat patients. Currently tumors can be tested for 30,000 genes which provide molecular fingerprints unique to each tumor. Scientists, by studying these unique molecular structures, will be able to develop individually personalized new drug therapies to enhance treatment responses. With no extra doctor visits, no additional expenses to pay and medical information remaining private, patients that participate in the program will also have access to individualized clinical trials as they develop. 2,500 cancer patients will enroll in the BRCH research program over the next 5 years, collecting tumor, tissue, blood, urine and clinical information at various points of their lives. Focus will be on breast, prostate, brain, lung, pancreatic, colorectal and ovarian tissue. Lynn Cancer Institute is one of the top five largest cancer programs for patient volumes in Florida. Patients are seen by multiple sub-specialists at the same location on the same visit. The newest location, the 98,000 sq ft $73-MM Harvey and Phyllis Sandler Pavilion is scheduled to open this fall.
Help is needed developing the town’s cultural calendar of events, and seeking funding for the events. This position has a 3-year term, and will be filled at a future meeting. For applications go to the town clerk’s office in town hall at 3614 South Ocean Boulevard or call 561-278-4548 for more information.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Analysis shows a negative impact on the health, education, and well-being of children A new report released today reveals that an estimated 2 million children will be directly impacted by the sub-prime mortgage crisis as their families lose their homes due to foreclosures. As the first comprehensive analysis of how the crisis will impact kids, the report explains that this number will rise even higher when accounting for other populations, such as children being evicted from rental units that are going into default and those children whose parents default on conventional loans. These foreclosures will happen primarily during 2008 and 2009. The report, which includes state-by-state estimates of the number of children that are directly impacted by this crisis, indicates that foreclosures often result in disruptions to a child's education, as well as issues relating to their physical and mental health. Moreover, behavioral problems are more likely to arise in children who lose their homes, as positive peer relationships disintegrate when children are forced from their neighborhoods. The report, entitled "The Impact of the Mortgage Crisis on Children" can be found at http://www.firstfocus.net
There is a fixation on what rates will be in the future and what rates were in the past. I’ve heard potential home buyers say, “I’m not sure I want to buy now because rates are ¼ percent higher now and I think I’ll wait.” I ask, “Wait for what?” I say, “Let’s not look at the rate but instead concentrate on what that rate actually represents … your monthly payment. Let’s look at what an interest rate move of ¼ percent really does to a $200,000 mortgage. Say a 30-year interest rate at 6.00 percent “jumps” to 6 ¼ percent. Shall we sit on the sidelines, thinking such a move is suddenly unaffordable?” No! The payment on a $200,000 loan “jumps” by about $32 a month! Now let’s look at a ½ percent increase and the monthly payment increases by $64, which is about the price now of a tank of gas. While not insignificant, it’s hardly a reason to stay on the sidelines of home ownership. Right now, buyers should feel more urgency than ever. Home prices have declined enough to make buying more affordable than it's been in recent memory and interest rates (whether at 6 percent or 6 1/4 percent) are historically low. Can you see now that it's time to buy?
Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun recently said of an area that was hard hit by the housing downturn, that “the worst conditions in the Tampa market may have already passed… I think the second half of 2008 will be better. But if I look at the long-term perspective, five years from now, comfortably, one can say home prices in this region will be 20-30% higher.” He also said that while sub prime mortgages made up only 9% of all mortgages in the US, they made up 53% of US housing foreclosures, dragging down the housing market. Yun noted, “There’s a change in the mood over the last couple of weeks,” and that mortgage rates are at near historic lows, business spending is strong and corporate profits are up, all good economic signs. No doubt this is good news for Florida’s east coast too.
The National Association of Realtors sees a flat pattern in home sales which will improve over the summer. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says the recovery hinges on better access to affordable loans….(which is)… uneven around the country and sometimes within metropolitan areas. In many areas, buyers are looking at homes, but are slow to sign contracts, sometimes waiting for more affordable credit or turned off by unnecessarily restrictive lending practices. Real estate news is “local” with some areas showing sales increases and others not. Yun says, “It is critical to stimulate housing demand by inducing fence sitters back into the market. A home buyer tax credit on any home purchase would accomplish that.” The St. Joe Co., Florida’s biggest landowner, points to stabilization in residential inventory indicating the housing market may have reached bottom. CEO Peter Rummell says rather than “expect that prices are going to be lower tomorrow than today if they just wait,” buyers “must be “retrained” to recognize the importance of making home purchases now.” At Tuesday’s congressional hearing, it appears that mortgage lenders are pursuing unjustified foreclosures against struggling homeowners, piling on questionable fees and misstating amounts due. A law professor who analyzed the system testified that “bankruptcy gives mortgage services new opportunities to engage in abusive practices,” rather than offering families one last chance to save their homes from foreclosure. University of Iowa’s law professor, Katherine Porter’s review of 1700 recent Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases found that lenders regularly disobey laws and rules as they try to collect thousands of dollars more than homeowners feel is owed. Countrywide is cited for abuses, and in one case asked a bankruptcy judge to foreclose on a home though they were current on mortgage payments, and claimed the final mortgage amount was nearly $15,000 more than what the company claimed in bankruptcy court. Proof of payments closed the case. Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, the subcommittee chairman, said that Countrywide “is at the top of the list” of firms responsible for the national mortgage crisis,” and that Bank of America “should think even harder” about whether to complete the purchase of Countrywide.
After 49 years of polo play, Royal Palm Polo, the last polo facility in south Palm Beach County, will close on May 15th. Located on Jog Road in northwest Boca Raton, it was one of the first polo clubs in the country to build a stadium, drawing players from the best in the world to weekend warriors. Equestrian followers can migrate to Wellington for horseshows et al.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has a proposal (H.R. 5830) introduced in the House of Representatives suggesting that the FHA refinance mortgages and be part owners with profit sharing. The bill proposes a declining percentage fee on profits to discourage short-term speculators, and the program would not apply to 2nd home owners, equal to 100% of all profits in year one, 80% in year 2, and so on for the first 5 years. Then there would be an “exit” fee equal to 3% of the sale price. This means lenders would accept losses and would later receive a portion of future profits from the home seller. To the besieged homeowner/seller, getting 97% of a profit after 5+ years is a big relief from total equity loss from a foreclosure.
