Party Parrot

Our Party Parrot needs a name. What do you think about everyone picking a name as a contest and Dave you select his name.......

PBC Nutrition Workshop Map

Click on Header and map will appear. On the left side of map, click twice on the blue -( minus ) sign and the minimized map will allow you to find the address better. Mike

HEALTHIER STATE IN 2008

I apologize for late notice, and apologize to the Extension Svc because UCO told them to go buy an ad if they wanted to tell CV about their program.

Free program - truth in nutrition information.
The PBC Cooperative Extension Service will be conducting a workshop titled, “Healthier State in 2008.” A panel of registered dietitians will be available to answer questions. After the presentation, you are invited to stroll through the botanical garden and visit stations set up with activities and educational information. (+ valuable coupons for places like Wal Mart, I believe)
http://www.pbcgov.com/newsroom/0308/03-03-08_coop_extension.htm
Location: PBC Cooperative Extension Svc/ UFClayton Hutcheson Building, Exhibit Hall A559 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008Time: 9 a.m. to noon.

Election Results

Today at the UCO office, a recount is ongoing. I am completely amazed that after taking such pains to assure the fairness and accuracy of the election, by having teams counting the ballots and observers present, that the Chair would dismiss EVERYONE before compiling the results.

Once left alone to complete the results, you leave open the potential of
changing the ballots (completed in pencil), changing the tally sheets (completed in pencil), and even completing the final tally incorrectly.

I only hope in the recount that this shortcoming is discussed and never
permitted again.

I would like to thank those who encouraged me to run, and voted for CHANGE, and again clearly state that I had no political ambitions and therefore never intended to campaign, rather only to offer choice to you the voter. Campaigning is exactly what is wrong with “politics”, in that promises made are rarely kept and usually “pandering” to “get” elected.

Even my mentioning that I intended to advocate that UCO should be operated by ‘paid” staff was grossly misunderstood. Any effort to bring to the Delegate Assembly a change would require specific costs relative to the proposal, and opportunity for pro and con discussion of such change. As a leader, my role should have been to present to the Delegate Assembly for consideration any ideas that may warrant discussion, for you to decide.

Thanks again for all your kind words and support.


Bob Marshall

favorite authors, very humid

“Silly Parrot!”
Did Chris ask for favorite authors? I like Florida backgrounds, all the mad trips thru Florida, greed, vanity, crime, wild incongruity, swamps, alligators, and sunburn. Authors: Carl Hiaassen, Tom Corcoran, even Jimmy Buffett and Frank Cerabino (you owe us for that Frank). Edna Buchanan and Elmore Leonard are always great and sometimes wander into Florida.

CATCHING LARGE MOUTH

These Dover fishermen are just steps from their doors. So it’s not catch and release.
It is catch, step back show to wife and neighbors, and release.

PARROTHEAD REQUEST

In another thread the mighty flying BLOG Eagle has been criticized.

The critic advises that "We are in Parrothead country" and the Eagle should be replaced with the Party Bird of Florida.

Is there general agreement with this opinion? Please let me know, and if the majority agrees, it will happen.

Dave

INSURANCE AND THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Hi all,

At the Delegate Assembly meeting of March 7th. 2008 Dan Gladstone discussed a Court decision placing certain Limited Common Element casualty losses on the Unit Owner or the Association.

Dan characterized this decision as a Direct Reversal of prior law.

The following URL is the decision in question; it was rendered by Administrative Law Judge John Van Laningham. I would suggest that while it is the current state of the Law; it is highly likely to be appealed; and furthermore, related legislation is in the offing!

http://www.katzkorr.com/pdfs/DBPRFountains.pdf

And here is a Sun Sentinel article about the issue:.
Dave
-----------------------------------------------
Legislation may clarify condo claims

By CHRIS GUANCHE Forum Publishing Group
February 21, 2008

Still reeling from the havoc of past hurricane seasons, condo associations soon may be given a specific way in which to deal with insurance claims after the next session of the Florida Legislature, which starts March 4.

The new legislation will be introduced by state Sen. Ted Deutch, D- Boca Raton, and would require associations to pay for every common element they insure.

The new legislation also directly addresses a policy reversal by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which changed the way the department interpreted two landmark cases in condo law.

A ruling handed down in the case of the Fountains South condominium in January by Administrative Law Judge John Van Laningham of the Division of Administrative Hearings was guided in part by an earlier ruling in the case of the Plaza East condominium in Broward County, which declared that associations were responsible for covering any damages to common elements that they insure.

Citing the earlier ruling from the Plaza East case, the department directed the Fountains South association to pay for the repairs.

The Fountains South case decided whether the association should cover the costs for balcony screens that were damaged during Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Although only the balcony is covered by the association, a unit owner filed a complaint with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to make the association pay for damage to a screen enclosure that the unit owner installed.

Coverage conflicts are common because of the changing nature of condominium documents, said Kenneth Direktor, an attorney with the law firm Becker & Poliakoff, which is helping to write the new legislation.

Direktor said that over time, associations began insuring elements such as drywall, windows and sliding doors, which the documents didn't necessarily identify as common elements, making it difficult to understand exactly what each association would cover.

Now associations must follow only what is in their individual documents."What you had is the association insuring these things, but under the documents the owner is being obligated to reconstruct them if they were damaged," Direktor said.

Many cases involving damage repairs have been decided by the department's interpretation of those two landmark cases, Direktor said, and the reversal by Laningham could open a veritable Pandora's Box of new cases.

"Do we have to go back and reconcile and assess the owners whose units were damaged, and reimburse the people who paid their shares, when they shouldn't have been charged those shares?" Direktor said.

While the new legislation does require associations to pay for whatever elements they insure, an association can also vote to opt out and have unit owners insure certain elements on their own.

The legislation also includes an exemption that makes owners responsible for damage to common elements caused by their own negligence, such as forgetting to put up shutters during a hurricane.

Deutch believes the legislation would make the situation more fair for owners."Improvements that are installed by the unit owner are covered by the unit owner's policy," Deutch said. "That way the unit owners don't all share the cost of damage to one particular screen that had been installed by one specific unit owner."

UCO REPORTER MARCH 2008

Hi All,
The following link to the UCO Reporter is by courtesy of Ken Graff.

http://www.centuryvillagewpb.org/online.htm

Or click on the title of this Post.

Dave

Change your Clocks!

Hi everybody, don't forget to set your clocks forward 1 hour tonight before you go to bed. If you read this tonight, you'll be just fine. If you read this Sunday morning, it will be too late and you will probably already be an hour late for something - that is of course, unless you are a smartie and already remembered on your own!!!

Il pozzo di sonno ed avrà domani domenica meravigliosa!

Translation: Sleep well and have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow.

(This time I thought I would try Italian)

OKEECHOBEE LIBRARY CLOSING

The books I picked up this morning at the Okee branch library will be due back on November 3, 2008!!! The library will close from April 1 to November 1.
The manager has sent a notice to the UCO Reporter so look for that in the next issue. Snow birds plan accordingly.
I guess the CV Library will become quite busy.

SAILING

Century Lake sailors run for cover, is that a tornado cloud! A week of tornadoes.
Come out and watch especially on windy Wednesday afternoons, close calls, speed, capsizes!

Art Fest By the Sea

If anyone is willing to take a ride up north at bit, this weekend is the "Art Fest by the Sea" in Juno Beach. It is a wonderful festival and is held right on A1A in Juno Beach at Marksinski Road. Admission and parking is free. There are many, many artist that participate. You will be able to see much beautiful artwork, enjoy the view of the ocean, and munch on some very good food treats. It truly is a lovely festival. Great way to enjoy South Florida.
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM until 5:00


Art Fest by the Sea- Juno Beach
Don't Miss the 20th Anniversary ofArt Fest by the Sea Saturday & Sunday,March 8th - 9th To attend, take I-95 to Donald Ross Road and head east to A1A on the beach. Proceed north to Loggerhead Park. The show is held outdoors on A1A along Juno Beach. FREE PARKING is available at the Florida Power and Light building on Universe Boulevard and a free shuttle will be provided to and from the festival. Follow signs to parking.
For more info visit the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce

ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE

Hi All,
There is lots of opinion expressed on this issue on the CV Q & A. following is the authoritative source for information on this subject:

http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=177937,00.html

1) You will need to file to get your Stimulus Check.

2) It is a simple matter of a few lines on the 1040A short form.

Dave

NEED MORE CARTOONS

We need more cartoons, i tried to get New Yorker and others but they only gave me links not pics.
Google will put a cartoon a day on your home page.
Who are these hypnotised people above - one guess!

APRES MOI LE DELUGE

Après moi le deluge

"After me the flood," words of Madam de Pompadour and not, as often thought, the words of Louis, the next-to-last. But words so indicative of France during Louis XV’s reign that most of us think he said them. What flood will King George unleash?

George L., and his acolytes and sycophants, have for two years wrought havoc; consolidating power and squandering our wealth.

They, quintessential amateurs, believe they rightly own the system. After all, they "run" it, do they not?

We the Unit Owners; kept in the dark and fed bullshit; were nonetheless sufficiently perceptive to vote out the rogue originator of the fruitless multi-million dollar Legal Fiasco, “Wild-Man Solomon”!!

Unfortunately, the Electorate failed to comprehend the basic fact that Wild-Man is merely a puppet of King George. Thus, as a result of the failure to also flush out the source of the corrupt judgment, and fountain of disinformation, the ludicrous Legal Adventure will continue.

The unrestricted squandering published in today’s Treasurer’s report at the Delegate Assembly meeting now stands at $353,459.70.

This travesty escalates daily as Arbitration grinds on and the inevitable court case looms in our future!

This is just the beginning, because King George, like his idol King Louis
XIV, believes in his heart that; 'L'etat, C'est Moi'! Your votes have emboldened him to believe that his mandate has no limit.

Thus, I would suggest, that the very Election itself must be called into question. Why So; because, of the many questions which King George refuses to answer; let’s add these two:

1) Did Hershel Sarasohn, Chair of the Elections Committee, throw every Counter Volunteer out of the room before tallying their individual tally sheets?

2) Were certain names on individual ballots, which were clearly checked by the voter, crossed out after the fact and by whom?

These are simply two new questions which must be added to the growing Decalogue of Deception.

Those of you who voted for the continued autocratic reign of King George would do well to consider the first law of Forensic Accounting and Investigations; “Follow the Money”, because it is your money and mine and when the final decisions come in, and we recover essentially nothing, what nonsense will this power mad King concoct for our entertainment!!!

The Light of Truth remains on;

let's hope all of you are watching!!!

LoT

Election

The Elected officers are

President................George Loewenstein
Vice Presidents......Phyllis Richland
Sal Bummolo
Howie Silver
Frank Cornish
Treasurer...............Dorothy Tetro

Entire results including the Executive Board, will be posted upon being printed and available at the UCO Office

LEST WE FORGET 2

This is the story of the HONORAIR project. The Video is of a Bill Geist Feature first aired on CBS News. It is a worthy tribute to all veterans and may bring a tear to your eye.

Thanks to ChrisJ for the reference:

SEE:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7521994840520978404&q=Honorair&total=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

Or, simply click on the Title of this Post.

Dave

UCO ELECTION

Tommorow, the Delegates vote!

I would like to give our readers something to think about:

King George has spent close to $360,000.00 of our money in pursuit of Solomon's Fantasy Millions. There is no case to support this madness, and the costs rise daily-

King George has spent $70,000.00 on an Engineering report from CH2MHill which does not support UCO's case.

He refuses to provide this report to the Arbitration Judges in defiance of Subpoena; how will that act of arrogance affect our case???

In response to a direct question about this report he now is saying alternately that it does not exist or that it is "Top Secret"

Worse yet; he is shopping for yet other Engineering firms who might testify in our favor; no doubt if he is willing to spend enough of our money, he may find one!

Howie Silver proudly declares that his principle concern is Dividers between the urinals; he calls his Channel 63 slide show an enhancement.

King George and his Court throw our Villagers off the bus for no reason; they close the gate and refuse to open it for an ambulance carrying a possible Heart Attack patient; their volunteer ushers beat up a theatre patron and it is smoothed over with no sanctions taken against the assailant.

How long must we put up with the stress and costs of the Fiasco Legal Adventure that King George continues to champion with no hope of recovery?

How many legally budgeted projects will suffer for lack of funds as King George drains the Treasury?

How much will it cost the Unit Owners of CV when a real, unbiased audit, uncovers his improprieties

Bob Marshall Can, and will, negotiate professionally with WPRF and will end this Horror Story in a fair and mutually satisfactory manner within 30 days of taking Office.

Think about this and if you are a Delegate, vote for a return to peace and common sense Legal Governance; Vote for Bob Marshall.

Following is re-publishing of my previous post, please think about all of these issues when you vote

-----------------------------------------------------------

The Light of Truth asks;
-----------------
1) Where do you think all of this money is coming from; we are taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Legally approved Budget lines to fund UCO's mad legal adventure in search of millions of fantasy dollars from WPRF.
-------------------
Has UCO studied the Resident's Reserve Accounting pertaining to the Clubhouse Restoration?
-------------------
Has UCO studied the CH2M HILL Engineering Report?
-------------------
Do either support UCO's insane Legal fiasco?
-------------------
How long will UCO persist; How much of OUR money will UCO squander in fruitless endeavor?
----------------------
How long will the Delegates be pushed by Solomon's wild Mob tactics?
------------------------
Tell the Delegates the Truth, release the key documents referenced above, and then Resign En-Mass and let the adults clean up your mess!
------------------------
LoT

FLORIDA LOTTERY

We have a suggestion that we put the Florida Lottery link in the Side Bar.
It has been done.

Thanks to Mike for the reference.

http://www.flalottery.com/

Dave

WILL NOT WORK WITH VISTA

Sic transit another HP product – my beautiful Scanner with slide attachment, HP ScanJet 5370C. ‘We are sorry to inform you that there will be no Windows Vista support available for your HP product. Therefore your product will not work with Windows Vista. Please consider upgrading to a newer HP product that is supported on Windows Vista.’
HA, ha, ha. I haven't the money to throw away right now, sorry. Hours of trying to initialize HP! After searching I used a trial version of VueScan, it worked but has watermark. I would like to thank other people online with the same problem for enlarging my vocabulary of epithets for HP.

Ignore Testing: smallest, small, normal, large, largest

Campaign Propaganda

Some of you may have recently encountered some propaganda affixed to your
private bulletin boards. My opponent is patting his back with a list of what he considers his "accomplishments."

I'm very impressed but not by what is listed but rather by what is missing from this document.
What about his involvement in telling the unit owners that they should send their monthly WPRF payments to the County Register and then to the Federal Court, where it was remanded to the unit owners who were then responsible for sending the same money to WPRF.

What about the lawsuit brought by WPRF against George, as a result of his actions?
What about his paying to have this suit moved to the Federal court?
What about the Judge sending it back to State Court for lack of cause? The Judge said that the reason for the movement had not been proven and even if it had been it was not cause for the movement. Have you ever heard of a Lawyer making such a grievous mistake that their law firm would pay the oppositions legal costs? The Judge had determined that these costs would be paid by UCO to WPRF. I believe these costs were between $4 and $5 thousand dollars!

What about this team calling Mr. Levy a thief and a liar? With this stoke of genius they eliminated any chance of his being able to negotiate a reasonable
settlement of what now is the Arbitration case.

In my opinion this was no accident. If this negotiation ended, as most successful negotiations do, with neither party totally happy, one because he did not get enough and the other because he gave too much then George would be the looser as he would have done the negotiation and the unit owners might have pointed the finger at him!
Now, however now if the settlement is less
than desired he can point to the court system and blame it! Is this the definition of leadership? Not in my dictionary!
Now, about the Arbitration case! Depositions are now being heard at the
tune of about $300 per hour for those called by UCO. There is also a court reporter involved. Are you aware the WPRF has again as a part of the Arbitration put the offer of a bit more than $1.8 million dollars on the table?

Are you aware that it is rumored that the CH2M HILL Engineering report
states that the amount owed is about$1.6 million? Why hasn't this report
been made available to interested unit owners?

Are you aware that if the Arbiters agree and award anything less than the offered amount plus 25% the looser, yes, that is the unit owners of Century Village WPB, could be assessed to pay all of WPRF's legal costs pertaining to this mess? WOW, is that an eye opener or what?

Vote Friday for an open Administration! Vote for Change!

BOB MARSHALL

Let them BEE

If you see a swarm of honey bees in an open area (unprotected), as in photo, just leave them alone. We had one for over a week, now they have flown away to find a more sheltered place to build a nest. Thank you to the PBC Beekeepers Assoc who gave me the good advice that the bees were temporary (561) 686-6557. If honey bees should nest in a problem area on your building the beekeepers can come to hive and remove them. As you know the USA is trying to save as many bees as possible since the past few years of hive collapse. No bees = no crops.

FALSE COMCAST VIRUS ALERT

Hi all,
The following Email, purporting to be from COMCAST is a "Phishing" SCAM. Please do not respond to it in any way:
------------------------------------------------------------

From:
custome.rcare@comcast.net
[Add to Address Book]
Subject:
Re: URGENT RESPONSE NEEDED
Date:
Wednesday, March 05, 2008 8:12:30 AM
[View Source]

We are currently carrying out an upgrade on our system due to the fact that It had come to our Notice that one or more of our subcriber are introducing a strongvirus into our system and it is affecting our network.We are trying to find out the specific person.For this reason all subcribers are to provide their USER NAME AND PASSWORD for us to varify and havethem cleared against this virus.Those that refuses, their Email Account will be terminated inthe next 48 hours. Information to send;
USER NAME:PASSWORD:
Hoping to serve you better.Customer Care Center

-------------------------------------------------------------
I repeat, this is a SCAM., do not respond to this Email.

Dave

DELEGATES; DO YOU INTEND TO VOTE POLL

To all DELEGATES,

Do you intend to vote in the UCO Election on Friday, March 7th. 2008? Please answer our Yes or No Poll in the Sidebar.

We are NOT asking you to say who you are voting for, just if you intend to vote.

Dave

Tips for using our CV Blog

I thought for the new folks just joining in, it might be nice to share some tips that we have learned to make it easier to use this blog. Two things that have helped me are the following:

1. Once you sign in, rather than scrolling through all of the different posts, you might find it easier to click on the big orange “B” in the top left corner. If you do this, you can then go to the "Manage Your Blogs" box and click on "Posts". You will then see the name of all the different posts and you can click on any post that interests you.

2. If you are in any particular post (or thread?), you can always click on the Blue CVBLOGANDCHAT on the top left. This will always bring you back to the top, front page of our blog.

Does anybody else have some tips that they found useful?

HIGH SPEED INTERNET

In another thread, Larry Kall Comments:

"It is a difficult task to get people to read this blog or any others as probably 75 to 80 percent of our residents do not have a computer and much less then that may have internet access.Some of our residents use a computer or web tv only for E mail. I have had residents tell me that "back home" they have some kind of high speed internet service but "down here" they use dial up only as it is cheaper".

---------------------------------------------------------
I would like to comment on the highlighted snippet in red!

This statement suggests a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of the INTERNET.

The INTERNET/WWW (World Wide Web) is a Packet Switched Global Communications Network.

Access to this Network is provided by Various ISP (INTERNET Service Providers). The physical access is achieved via thousands of POP's (Points of Presence). These are simply Servers (computers) to which the User has connectivity by any number of means, principally these are "Dial-Up, Cable, and Mobile Cellular Air Card (EVDO).

If you have a National ISP service from any of a number of providers ANYWHERE in the Nation; you have such service anywhere else.

For example if you are a customer of:
MSN, COMCAST, AOL, Verizon, Earthlink, Turbousa, Toast, Copper, Netzero.... and so forth Ad-Infinitum, and said account was opened in New York city; then you have the equivalent service here in West Palm Beach.

Practically speaking if you have MSN Dial-Up in Chicago or New York you need simply obtain from MSN a list of LOCAL (West Palm Beach) Dial-Up numbers in order to avoid Long Distance charges when connecting to the WWW.

For DSL Customers of AT&T; bring your Computer and your DSL MODEM (or buy a second MODEM) and Bingo you are connected.

Likewise; if you are a COMCAST High Speed INTERNET customer in California, Bring your MODEM with you, connect up and Bingo you will be Online.

It is possible that you may have an ISP that is strictly local to your "Back-Home" location, that means they may not have a Local POP in the WPB area, but I suspect these are rare users indeed.

This brings me to the Mobile Cellular Air Card AKA EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized).

This is a small Computer port plug-in, which effectively turns your Computer into a Cellular Telephone. This will work on your desktop or on your Mobile Computer; it will give you connectivity to the INTERNET anywhere that a Cellular Telephone works; the Data rates are very respectable and one can expect High Speed throughput.

So, no matter where you are from,or where you are now; there is no reason that you can not be connected to the WWW.

Last but not least; there are any number of hand-held gadgets, Multi-function Cell-phones and PDA's (Personal Data Assistants), Blackberries... Etc.. which allow Web access, Email, the whole nine yards.

Hope this is helpful.

Dave

WILMA - NO LADY

WILMA – NO LADY

Coming soon to the blog if photos cooperate. A Wilma slide show. Remember the Marshall administration got Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma – conveniently forgotten by the other guys. Above same views as Wilma gets stronger.

LEST WE FORGET

This Site is a fine tribute to all Veterans.

Please take the time to read through it, and listen to the accompanying soundtrack.

Thanks to Elaine for the reference-

Dave

http://members.cox.net/dbudworth/lestweforget.htm

COMPUTER WIZARDS

By. Bob Marshall

Another writer on this Blog wrote about some folks who are, what I call, excellent computer users.

They know how to forage around the net, know all about available programs and how to use them. The names listed on that part of the Blog read like a Who's Who's of users.

Randall, Ken, John and Ed are all extremely knowledgeable. David is a technical wizard able to work miracles of usage and access.

All of these folks are capable of using their computers and solving their usage problems.

I work a bit differently. When I find myself in trouble I call on Mollie!! She is usually able to get me out of whatever mess I've been able to create.

I've seemed to have a knack for understanding what a computer should be able to accomplish for me. I'd have a difficult time getting the computer to do what I want but I'm generally able to express my user desires to someone with operational knowledge and allow them to do their thing.

The dual use of a database comes to mind. As the Clubhouse rebuilding was in the planning stage it was suggested that UCO and WPRF should use the same database. Data loading could be done only once and the resulting data shared. The ID process, transponder sales and gate pass sales all use the same information but are now loaded separately for WPRF and UCO. It is a waste of manpower or “whoops”, in this case womanpower! It seems to me that wasting time is not a good thing even if the time wasted is volunteer labor.

At Digital I was responsible for distributing Engineering information worldwide to all Manufacturing, Engineering and Purchasing locations. Aperture cards were the industry wide delivery vehicle. My thought was that since we used a computer to design the part and to then store a data base for each Engineering Change Order (ECO) why not massage a copy of the data base into a print ready file, store it on-line in one of the large computer disks and make it available to internal customers worldwide.

It took a lot of time and effort but when I retired there were several hundred thousand drawings available worldwide. Australian offices, for example, could access the file and pull a drawing that they needed in a few minutes. The aperture card distribution method took several weeks.

Let's get the best bang for our bucks and enhance our usage of our computer systems.

Bob Marshall

GOOD TAXI SERVICE

I had very good service from American Eagle Taxis, flat rate trips to all the airports, they have GPS too. PBIA is $12 from CV, better than circuitous Shuttle rides and other taxis that sit at the gate while the meter rolls by $20.
See top of Page 20 in March UCO Reporter for other flat rates and Miami and Ft Lauderdale airports. 561-282-8251
Maybe they could use our letitfly eagle!

40 YEAR RECERTIFICATION

Hi All,

In another Post, a Larry Kall comment directed to me states as follows:
------------------------------------------------

“I know that you have a great concern if Palm Beach County goes to 40 year recertification and perhaps you could give us some more details on how this might work.”

Good question Larry-

----------------------------------------------

The 40 year Recertification Program has been law in Miami-Dade for 30 years and in Broward County since 2006. It requires comprehensive inspections of Building structure and electrical systems. If dangerous deficiencies are found, the building will be required to bring all such deficiencies “To current Code.” Thus, “Grandfathering” is swept away! In our larger buildings, such sweeping mandate could cost Millions of dollars.

Certain Legislators; such as; Julio Robaina (Miami) of the Florida House of Representatives, attempts yearly, to make 40 year Recertification State Law.

this will happen in Palm Beach County; just when, I do not know.

The law spins out of multiple building collapses of older structures and makes Building Maintenance extremely important so as to avoid critical deficiencies. The following Snippet is extracted from:

http://www.broward.org/codeappeals/40YBSIPBro-Updated12-06.pdf

The entire document is highly recommended reading!!

Start Extract-------------------------------------------

40 YEAR AND OLDER BUILDING SAFETY INSPECTION PROGRAM

PROGRAM SUMMARY


The 40 year and older Building Safety Inspection Program was created in 2005 and has become effective throughout Broward County in January 2006. Modeled after Miami-Dade County’s program, which is now more than 30 years old, Broward’s program calls for structural and electrical safety inspections for buildings 40 years old or older and every ten years thereafter. One and two family dwellings, U.S Government, State of Florida buildings, schools under the jurisdiction of the B.C. School Board, and buildings built on Indian Reservations are exempt from this program. Miami-Dade County’s effort exempts other buildings under 2,000 square feet while the Broward program excludes all buildings under 3,500 square feet. Both Counties have had instances of structural building failures. By instituting this program we are minimalizing the possibilities of future building failure and will be better prepared for hurricane winds.

The program for 2006 is part of a six year phase-in to help reduce and manage the work load of buildings to be inspected . This year only buildings 11,000 square feet or more and dating from 1924 to 1965, are to be reviewed .In 2007 buildings 7,000 square feet and larger will be included. Enclose are checklists and guidelines for buildings to be inspected for structural integrity and electrical safety. State licensed architects and engineers will be hired by private building owners to do the safety inspection. The local government has the authority to establish a fee to review the Safety Inspection Reports. The Building Department will review the reports submitted to verify if the inspecting agency has deemed the structural and electrical systems as safe. If any deficiency is noted, the building department shall follow the guidelines of Policy #05-05 (copy attached).

End extract------------------------------------

Common sense suggests that we emphasize our Building Maintenance programs and keep a keen eye open for Legislative change; consideration of Reserve Lines in our budgets may also be a prudent step!

Dave

VOTE FOR SUPER COMPUTER PEOPLE

When you vote, power up UCO with folks who can problem solve, do research, find efficiencies and economies with their computers.
Vote for Dave Israel, Ed Black, Ken Davis, and Randall Borchardt.
With knowledge of 718, bylaws, and computers most every question can be answered any problem solved.
If I missed someone please add them.
John Saponaro is also a wiz, but is already a UCO fixture.

REVERSE MORTGAGE - THINK TWICE - GET LEGAL ADVICE

The following article was published in the NYT Business section today :
Thanks to Mike for the reference.

Erika Baker says she was steered into a loan with high fees.

Tapping Into Homes (equity) Can Be Pitfall for the Elderly
By CHARLES DUHIGG

Published: March 2, 2008

Erika Baker was 67 years old, divorced and worried about her job when a saleswoman showed up at her door in late 2006.

A reverse mortgage, the saleswoman explained, would give Ms. Baker instant access to hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in the value of her home. Such a loan, typically available only to homeowners in their 60s and older, would not have to be repaid until Ms. Baker moved out, the saleswoman said.

And if she never moved, the loan would be settled by selling her house after she died. “Your Home Pays You Cash!” read a brochure the saleswoman left behind.

Ms. Baker, who lives just outside San Diego, jumped at the offer, borrowing a little more than $200,000 through a company called Senior American Funding. Then the problems began. The saleswoman pressured her to put the proceeds of the loan into complex investments that put her money out of reach, Ms. Baker said. She received only about $33,000 in cash, far less than she needed for her final years.

“I thought this was a safe way to make sure I’d never run out of money,” Ms. Baker said. “Then everything became so confusing. No matter where I turned for help, it seemed like things got worse.”As the United States has become an older nation, reverse mortgages have grown into a $20-billion-a-year industry, with elderly homeowners taking out more than 132,000 such loans in 2007, an increase of more than 270 percent from two years earlier. In surveys, many borrowers say reverse mortgages have improved their lives and provided money they needed for retirement.
But hundreds of people who have sought reverse mortgages — in lawsuits, surveys and conversations with elder-care advocates — have complained about high-pressure or unethical sales tactics they say steered them toward loans with very high fees. Some say they were tricked into putting proceeds of their loans into unprofitable investments, while sales agents pocketed rich commissions.

“Every scam artist is getting into this business,” said Prescott Cole, an elder-care advocate who has worked with numerous reverse mortgage borrowers. “Because reverse mortgages are so complicated and give you money up front, years can pass before a senior realizes they’ve lost everything.”Reverse mortgage lenders and brokers dispute those accusations, noting that the loans are heavily regulated and have helped hundreds of thousands of people.

“For a lot of elderly people, their only real asset is their house,” said Peter Bell, president of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, a trade group. “A reverse mortgage is one of the few ways someone can access wealth that’s otherwise out of reach, while still living in their house for as long as they want.”However, some borrowers find their wealth is still out of grasp, even after they have sought a reverse mortgage.

For example, Senior American Funding, the company that sold Ms. Baker her loan, has been sued three times in the last 13 months by clients who said they were misled. (Two of those cases were settled out of court for undisclosed sums. The third, filed by Ms. Baker in California state court last month, is pending.) The company, which is licensed in 16 states, has originated mortgages worth more than $100 million since 2004.
“We never pressure clients,” said one of the company’s founders, Matthew Copley. “We just try to make sure they know about their options.”However, a former sales agent, Hani Shenoda, and an agent who still works at the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retribution, said in interviews that managers at Senior American Funding encouraged them to pressure older homeowners into unwise loans and investments. The company disputes that assertion.

On Tuesday, after being contacted by a reporter, Senior American Funding announced it would no longer sell combinations of loans and investments like the one Ms. Baker had bought.“When we make mistakes, we address them as responsibly as we can,” Mr. Copley added.

Ms. Baker owned a home worth about $600,000 but was living paycheck to paycheck, teaching child-rearing skills to low-income mothers for about $400 a week, when she was told in 2006 that her job was ending. Months earlier, she had received a mailing from Senior American Funding, one of the hundreds of reverse mortgage companies that have emerged in the last several years. She scheduled an appointment with a saleswoman named Laurie Spencer. (Ms. Spencer no longer works at Senior American Funding, according to the company, and could not be located.)

“This saleswoman was so friendly and personable,” Ms. Baker said. “It was like God had sent me a friend to tell me how to survive.”In the kitchen of the home, where Ms. Baker displays watercolors of dolphins and flowers she has painted, the saleswoman recommended a loan of $218,900, with a variable interest rate initially set at 6.57 percent.

Because reverse mortgages do not require borrowers to make immediate repayments, the interest charges are added to the debt every day, and the total amount owed grows over time. The saleswoman did not explain that within 10 years, Ms. Baker’s $218,900 loan could grow to as much as $400,000, Ms. Baker said. That debt would be paid by selling the house when she moved out or died. The saleswoman also did not emphasize the high fees, Ms. Baker said. The loan’s fees cost her $17,100 — almost 8 percent of the total loan — which was paid out of the proceeds as soon as the loan closed.

To ensure that borrowers know such details, the federal government requires them to speak to an independent adviser before closing a reverse mortgage.“We make potential borrowers talk to a counselor to make sure they understand what they are doing,” said Renée Shadel, an investigator with the Washington state attorney general’s office. “These can be great loans for some people, but only if they understand them.”
But critics say these counseling sessions are often brief and unhelpful. Some elderly borrowers, for instance, said their sessions lasted only 10 minutes, rather than the 60 to 90 minutes most counselors say they need to explain the loans. Critics say some sessions are so brief because reverse mortgage companies are paying for the advice. One of the largest reverse mortgage counseling companies, Money Management International, often asks lenders to pay for providing advice to the lender’s clients, according to a company spokeswoman.

Money Management International, which is a nonprofit company, received $900,000 from reverse lenders last year. By regulation, counselors may not charge clients, though they are allowed to seek support from lenders.“Anytime anyone gives a counselor a donation, they expect a quid pro quo,” said Buz Zeman, a reverse mortgage counselor with Housing Options Provided for the Elderly, a nonprofit group financed by government grants. “The point of counseling is to make people consider other options. That’s difficult if you feel like your next paycheck relies on convincing someone to get the loan.”

A spokeswoman for Money Management International says it seeks payments from lenders because government grants do not cover costs. The group’s counselors educate clients only about how loans work and do not recommend whether to proceed, she said, adding that the average time a counselor spends with a client is 58 minutes.“There is no quid pro quo relationship with lenders,” a Money Management International spokeswoman, Catherine Williams, said in an e-mail message, adding that clients receive the same advice whether a lender pays for the session or not. “Funding is not tied to the outcome of any case.”

Even when lenders do not pay for counseling, it can still prove unhelpful. Ms. Baker’s counseling session, which was provided by an agency that does not accept money from lenders, lasted only about a half hour, and she walked away from the conversation still confused, she said. Then the saleswoman persuaded her to sign the loan forms. After the reverse mortgage closed, Ms. Baker used the proceeds to pay off a $68,000 traditional mortgage on her home, and she put about $33,000 into various savings accounts.The remaining $100,000 was used to purchase, at the saleswoman’s urging, two deferred annuities — complex contracts that offer monthly income in exchange for a large lump-sum payment.Those annuities prohibited Ms. Baker from gaining access to most of her funds for seven years unless she paid a stiff penalty.

Moreover, the annuities were likely to cost her money rather than pay her. Annuities are so complex that it is impossible to forecast precisely how much Ms. Baker will receive from them. However, based on recent payout data for similar products, she will probably earn about $520 a month from her annuities for the rest of her life. Ms. Baker’s mortgage debt is increasing by about $600 a month as the interest compounds on the money she used to purchase those annuities. If Ms. Baker collected monthly income from her annuities for 10 years, she could receive $62,400. However, the debt she would owe over that period would likely increase by $79,000 to $300,000, depending on how her loan’s interest rate changed.

“Buying an annuity with the proceeds of a reverse mortgage is incredibly dangerous,” said Mr. Cole, a critic of reverse mortgages. Indeed, the practice is so troublesome that many annuity companies and states either tightly regulate or forbid it. The salespeople at Senior American Funding were richly rewarded for their sales: the company received about $8,750 in commissions from Ms. Baker’s annuities, and $7,200 for processing her reverse mortgage.

Last month, Ms. Baker sued Senior American Funding, accusing it of fraud and elder abuse. Mr. Copley, the Senior American Funding co-founder, defended the company’s actions and said Ms. Baker consented to every transaction. However, Mr. Copley conceded that Ms. Baker was given documents with inaccurate numbers and that sales agents, including him, at the time did not fully understand the products they were selling her.“If we made mistakes, I’m sorry,” he said. Other lenders have also been accused of pushing older homeowners into unwise deals.

A survey released last year by

AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, of more than 1,500 reverse mortgage borrowers found that almost one in 10 were urged to buy other financial products, like annuities. Lawsuits against reverse mortgage companies, including the nation’s largest, Financial Freedom Senior Funding, contend that those firms helped pressure older Americans into bad investments. In court filings, companies have denied those claims.
“Financial Freedom is not involved in selling annuities, does not recommend annuities, and won’t even allow borrowers to use reverse mortgage proceeds to buy an annuity at closing,” said Joel Schiffman, the company’s general counsel. “We only pursue a reverse mortgage when it is in a senior’s best interest.”Some regulators and lawmakers, however, have said that more safeguards are needed, including giving borrowers more information about alternatives to reverse mortgages, disclosing fees more clearly and providing more government money to counselors, so that they do not seek payments from lenders.New laws governing reverse mortgages are under consideration in Congress, though lobbyists for some lenders are mounting strong opposition, Congressional staff members say. For Ms. Baker, now 68, such safeguards would come too late. She says she wakes up in the night, terrified there will not be enough money for food, gas or anything else. To cut her grocery bill, she stopped buying meat and fresh vegetables.“Before, at least I knew my house was safe, and that no one would take that away from me,” she said. “Now, I don’t know if there is anything I can count on.”

Questions to Ask Before Taking a Reverse Mortgage

Reverse mortgages are complex loans typically available only to homeowners older than 61. They permit owners to borrow against their houses, but they do not require loan repayment until the borrower moves out of the home or dies. Then the loan is repaid from the proceeds of selling the house.

Here are some questions that financial advisers and groups like

AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, say potential borrowers should ask before taking out a reverse mortgage:

1. Is a reverse mortgage the best option? Reverse mortgages can be very expensive compared with other kinds of loans, and the amount owed grows every month. Because of these high costs, someone borrowing only a small amount for a short time is probably better served with another kind of loan, like a home equity line of credit.
If borrowers need a large amount, they should consider alternatives to a reverse mortgage. For instance, does it make more sense to sell your house and rent or live off the proceeds after moving to a less-expensive home?

2. How long do you expect to stay in your house? Because the fees associated with a reverse mortgage are high, such loans make sense only for borrowers who expect to live in their home for a number of years. Some financial advisers say anyone who may move in less than seven years should not take out a reverse mortgage.

3. Do you want to leave your children an inheritance? Because repayment of a reverse mortgage is deferred until the homeowner moves or dies, the amount owed increases over time. If a borrower lives in the home for many years after getting a reverse mortgage, the debt can grow to equal the entire value of the house, meaning heirs will not receive anything.

4. What are you going to do with the proceeds of your reverse mortgage? It is almost always a bad idea to use a reverse mortgage to pay for a vacation or to buy a risky investment, like stocks or deferred annuities.
“If anyone is trying to sell you something and recommending you use a reverse mortgage to pay for it, that’s generally a good sign that you don’t need it,” AARP says.

5. What kind of payout is best? Cash from a reverse mortgage can be paid out in several ways, including a lump sum, a monthly payment, a line of credit or a combination of those. If you do not need money right away, it is usually a bad idea to take all the money upfront, since it starts accumulating interest charges immediately.
Because reverse mortgages are complex, homeowners should seek advice from an independent adviser before speaking with a sales agent or mortgage broker. The number for the AARP’s reverse mortgage education program is 800-209-8085.

-------------------------------------------------------

There is also an AARP Reverse Mortage Web Site:

http://www.aarp.org/money/revmort/

Dave

THE MEDIA IS THE MESSAGE

Hi All,



Ye Li is a PH.D. Candidate in Decision Science at the University of Chicago. When he was doing undergrad work at CalTech, he “played around with Flash” and created a catchy version of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire. It’s “not exactly professional”, Li writes on his home page, but it sure is entertaining. Think of it as 60 years of history compressed into 3 minutes.



Click on the Following URL:



http://home.uchicago.edu/~yli5/Flash/Fire.



Go to full screen and turn up the volume!

This is really well done.



Thanks to Mike for the reference

Dave

Loewenstein Rally

Where were you guys who wanted to ask questions? There was I raising my blood pressure for no reason. When I did ask questions George answered but his supporters clearly perceived real questions as hostile. I was treated to glares of pure hatred.
George thought a salary of $80K/yr was too much for a professional manager.
I asked about CH2MHILL whereupon George and Solomon and Shapkin and Silver and Gladstone grabbed the mike and the subject changed all over the place, and I forgot to ask what our case is.
George sez Operations Cmte Mtgs are open, call first and an appropriate size room will be used.
The rally had approx 50 attendees, with praise for CV, softball questions for George, and lead in comments to prompt his admin accomplishments and blame for the previous admin.
The Blog got quite a few mentions, people are reading it if not posting, you should have been there to hand out URLs.

MEDICAL BUILDING CREDIT

George opened his rally today with the following announcement of inclusions for the Medic Bldg. A post office, a coffee & sandwich shop, a bank and something from Columbia Hospital. Applause for George.

CAN YOU FIGURE OUT HOW THIS IS DONE

Hi All,
The following bit of "magic" will no doubt amaze you!

Can you figure out how it is done???

To start, Click on the following URL:

http://www.quizyourprofile.com/guessyournumber.swf

Dave

Correction to the Article of Ms. Tetro in the UCO reporter

I have heard some complaints about the evaluation made by UCO Treasurer Dorothy Tetro, concerning the WPRF budget and just on what the 70% is based.

There is no question that she was not present when discussions began about the RENT ABATEMENT for CASUALITY LOSS. In those discussions both sides AGREED ALL of our payments are RENT.
It is therefore the entire payment against which the abated amount is calculated… FOR THE CASUALITY LOSS. I am amazed that this team, requesting reelection, still does not have a clear understanding of the “dispute”

I hope it has become clearer that we DO NOT HAVE ANY expectation or entitlement to abated rent during any renovation staging. The real dispute, regardless of the multiple fantasy claims of others, is clear! The millennium agreement provides for rent abatement for CASUALITY LOSS ONLY. Our responsibility for delays caused as a result of our efforts to combine “RENOVATIONS” while using the insurances claims money in recover, was to be sure, a difficult operation. The alternative was to permit the insurance money to replace wallpaper, carpet and NOT MAKE ADA COMPLIANT CHANGES TO REST ROOMS AND ENTRANCES. We replaced rotted window frames and windows to preserve the insurance replaced interior improvements eliminating the need for assessments after the insurance funding was completed.

We should be able to discuss openly with WPRF the time line of delays, many of which were permit inspections that repeatedly failed. We should remember both sides mutually agreed to accept the finished report of the CH2MHILL engineering study, that has not been released to the Delegate Assembly and, if memory serves me was about $ 1,600,000.00 they felt was due to residents.
How can they justify 11 Million???

So why are we in arbitration? The engineering report clearly approximates the offer by WPRF. It was a good beginning for opening a serious discussion, and yet, even now, it would seem the UCO Treasurer is unaware of the fundamentals of our COMPLAINT. THE UCO VICE-PRESIDET AND PRESIDENT HAVE FAILED TO EXPLAIN TO EVEN ONE OF UCO’S OFFICERS THE NATURE OF OUR COMPLAINT? At this late date, how is it possible that 7 Officers are not on the “same page” on this dispute?

They have a rally on March 2, 2008; perhaps you should attend and demand an explanation of these important differences. Why do they continue to bash others rather than present their vision of just how we may WIN/LOSE the arbitration? Why have they no vision of major changes to IMPROVE services in this village? Why do we need a office building, which incidentally has INCREASED IN COSTS SINCE THEIR ILLFATED IMPROPERLY NOTICED MEETING, CALLED A “POWERPOINT PRESENTATION, WITH NO NEED TO CHECK-IN". Ask about the increased costs and delays that they cannot justify. Remember this plan was approved, and still it has been 6 months since all was completed, in September 2007. Do you remember their complaint that it took the prior Administration 8 months for permits to completely renovate a 35+ year old building necessitating many code upgrades. Why then has a new building approved and contracts signed failed to begin for the last 6 months?

Attend the rally, hear them speak, decide if you may count on “progress” from this group who has spent most of their effort touting themselves as the “good guys”. Can we believe the next two years will be any different? Just who can you trust, those whose ego drives them to make our decisions or those who want
YOU to DECIDE? It’s up to
Y O U !!
We should be voting for
C H A N G E! They have had their chance and floundered. Now it is "YOUR" CHANCE

Ed Black