is a really good album.

Controversial Los Angeles Laker star Ron Artest is caught up in an investigation of welfare fraud against his sister Latoya Holmes-Ivey.

Police and housing authorities raided the home Latoya Holmes-Ivey and her three children rent at 336 E. Burgess Ave. Wednesday morning.

Holmes-Ivey is suspected of receiving federal housing assistance, as well as other social services, while receiving financial assistance from her millionaire basketball/rapper brother, and not reporting it.

That is welfare fraud, and is a criminal offense.

A tip came from a former CPA that handled Ron Artest financial affairs a Tennessee-based accounting firm called TriStar Sports and Entertainment.

According to court documents, the ex-employee sent an e-mail to the Housing and Urban Development Office in Indianapolis claiming that TriStar, under the direction of Artest, was using one of his bank accounts to pay all of Holmes-Ivey’s bills.

 The man requested to remain anonymous, saying that he could not, in good conscience, fail to report such an ethics infraction.

Ron Artest may want to check the wording in that non-disclosure form that I am certain the former accountant signed, as the accounting firm’s reputation has got to be destroyed by this leak. Confidentiality between their clients is key to their business.

If the former CPA did sign a non-disclosure form, then his disclosure of this information, even if it is to be found true, will be admissible in court, and will be the reason that all charges will be dropped.

 Housing authorities said that if the allegations are true, Holmes-Ivey would have used at least $34,000 in taxpayer money she was not entitled to. According to court documents, the ex-employee sent an e-mail to the Housing and Urban Development Office in Indianapolis claiming that TriStar, under the direction of Artest, was using one of his bank accounts to pay all of Holmes-Ivey’s bills.

 The man requested to remain anonymous, saying that he could not, in good conscience, fail to report such an ethics infraction.

 Housing authorities said that if the allegations are true, Holmes-Ivey would have used at least $34,000 in taxpayer money she was not entitled to.

Note that the investigation and any future charges will be against Holmes-Ivey and NOT Ron Artest. It is the responsibility of the benefactor of Federal aide to report any income or gifts to the Welfare department so they can determine if the individual is actually in need at that time.

The neighbors of Holmes-Ivey said they were skeptical of her, because she used to brag about who her brother was.

“I never understood why she was on assistance because of that, when she told me he was her brother,” said Marcia Taylor. “The people who do need the assistance don’t get it, when the people who don’t need it get a lot of time.”

None of the parties involved were available for any further comments on this matter.

Follow the story here, as well as this trusted source, The Indychannel.com…

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/21726762/detail.html

Cali Fair

A segunda coleção criada por Reinaldo Lourenço para a C&A chegará em 45 lojas da rede no dia 15/12, mas para quem quiser garantir suas peças em primeira mão, poderá comprá-las pela internet a partir do dia 24/11, no site da C&A.
A coleção, inspirada nos temas Festas e Resort, traz vestidos para comemorar as festas e peças fresquinhas para as viagens de final do ano. Além de vestuário, Reinaldo desenvolveu oito modelos de calçados e um de bolsa. A pré venda, que terá quantidade de peças limitada, pretende alcançar as regiões que não receberão a coleção e atender as mais empolgadas pelos lançamentos do estilista para a C&A Collection.

Fotos: Divulgação.

Fonte: Petiscos.

Você com certeza tem um roupa com uma etiqueta de logomarca vermelha e azul, com tres letras brancas: C & A.

 Mas você sabe o que está por trás destas letras?

Logo da C&A ao longo do tempo

Em 1976 era inaugurada em São Paulo a primeira loja de varejo de moda da C&A, no Shopping Ibirapuera. De lá para cá, espalhadas por todo Brasil, estão quase 170 unidades, onde é fácil encontrar peças de roupas de qualidade que estão em plena conformidade com as tendências do mercado nacional.

E afinal de contas, o que significam as letras C & A? Estas são as iniciais dos nomes dos dois irmãos que sairam da Alemanha e fundaram na Holanda uma tecelagem que depois viria se tornar a primeira loja da C&A 1961 - Clemens e August  Brenninkmijer. Vindos de uma família com tradição na área de tecelagem. Eles foram muitos espertos ao abrir uma loja e oferecer roupas prontas de vários tamanhos e com preços acessíveis e, principalmente, boa qualidade. Esta fórmula de sucesso fez com que, já em 1910, a marca crescesse e se expadisse, aumentando o número de lojas pela Holanda, fundando as primeiras lojas fora da Holanda em 1911 na Alemanha 1922 na Inglaterra. Mas foi com o advento das loja de prêt-à-porter, depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial, que a cadeia de lojas C&A se espandiu pelo mundo, começando pela Bélgica (1963), seguindo para a França (1972),  Brasil (1976), Suiça (1977), Luxemburgo (1982), Espanha (1983), Austria  (19784), Portugal (1991), República Tcheca (1999), Polônia (2001), Hungia (2002) e Rússia (2005), totalizando assim, 1084 lojas em  13 países da Europa.

No Brasil, a rede de lojas, suporta também o Instituto C&A, uma organização social voltada para educação da crianças e adolescentes, existente desde 1991, confirmando a política social da empresa, que é voltada para organização familiar. Para saber mais sobre o Instituto C&A  visite o site da instituição www.institutocea.org.br .

Além de produtos de qualidade, a C&A oferece junto com seu parceiro o Banco Ibi, cartões de crédito, seguros, títulos de capitalização e empréstimos para pessoas físicas e jurídicas. Tudo pra você usar e abusar do mundo da moda.

Uma coisa muito bacana que a C&A tem feito, já a algum tempo, é convidar estilistas de renome nacional para desenvolver coleções exclusivas para a loja, no projeto C&A Collection. Passaram por lá Fause Haten, Amir Slama, Isabela Capeto e aguard-se com ansiedade a coleção desenvolvida por Reinaldo Lourenço, que está sendo pré-vendida no site www.cea.com.br .

Aproveite que tem lojas espalhadas por todo Brasil, confira as novidades do alto verão e aqueça o seu guarda roupa.

fotos: site C&A 

So I’m very excited about my new job and my impending move to Hayward and the East Bay.  After my first day on the job yesterday, me and my boyfriend stopped in at the local gay bar called the Turf.  I’ve been here once before while I was visiting friends and I was reminded how quaint local pubs can be.  This storied establishment has a long history serving the GLBT community here and the long, pronounced bar when you first walk in is a great indicator why.  They’ve added a pool table since I last was here and obviously, you won’t find a patio with such a grand garden anywhere in the bay area.  I’m looking forward to having many a night cap with David and enjoying getting to know some of the locals who frequent the world famous Turf Club. 

Winter light is magical in San Francisco.  South Park is always interesting and sometimes beautiful. Today the  light was bouncing around in interesting ways. The playground is aglow with yellows from the late afternoon sun. The girl in the yellow blouse adds just the right touch to a beautiful scene.

Je suis un type plutôt naïf. Ca doit être la faute à mon optimisme forcené, mais on peut me faire gober quasi n’importe quoi. Prenez ce pote de collège, qui un jour à eu l’excellente idée de m’appeler au milieu de l’aprem’ un mercredi en se faisant passer pour une radio locale, me tenant la jambe quinze bonnes minutes à me faire jouer à un jeu débile pour me faire gagner des CD. Je n’avais pas reconnu sa voix, ni celles de ses copines de chez qui il téléphonait. La blague s’acheva sur une explosion de rire généralisée et des vannes dans la cour de récré pendant une bonne semaine. Ah ah qu’on l’a bien eu ce jeune Le Reilly. Or s’il y a bien un truc que je hais sur cette planète de merde, c’est les canulars. Dix ans plus tard, je l’ai retrouvé sur Paris (preuve s’il en fallait qu’ils prennent vraiment n’importe qui au Celsa). Et après toutes ces années, j’avais toujours un début d’envie de lui coller mon poing dans la gueule.

Je suis un type plutôt marrant. J’ai vide adopté la maxime comme quoi fille qui rit, à moitié dans ton lit. Fun fact, ça fonctionne. Mais dans l’humour comme dans le reste, il y a des crimes. En ce qui me concerne, j’ai un très faible niveau de tolérance au canular. Dans les faits, c’est fomenter et créer le malheur ou l’humiliation de l’un pour faire rire l’autre. Ce n’est donc pas se moquer de quelqu’un qui glisse sur une banane, c’est mettre la banane sous ses pieds. S’il existait une police de l’humour, le canular serait répréhensible, considéré comme le crime qu’il est. Je dis ça sans une once d’hypocrisie. De toute ma vie je n’ai jamais appuyé sur un interphone au pif, je n’ai jamais composé un numéro dans l’annuaire pour faire une farce, je n’ai jamais orchestré la chute de quelqu’un pour m’en moquer. Je dois être un kikoo lol, trop préoccupé à me mettre à la place de la victime pour esquisser le moindre sourire.

Je suis un type plutôt sérieux. Dimanche quelqu’un à trouvé le moyen d’accéder à mon Twitter pour poster une connerie : « LeReilly se demande le prix d’une escort-girl aux States ». Lolilaule. J’ai pas ri. Je crois que personne à ri en fait. A part le crétin congénital auteur anonyme. Une personne qui ne connait pas l’adage comme quoi les blagues les plus courtes sont les meilleures en refusant de revendiquer son minable tag’ à la face du web. Attention point Godwin : Ben Laden revendique ses attentats lui au moins. Sauf que je suis sérieux. Et quelqu’un qui s’amuse à infiltrer mes comptes, non seulement ça me fait pas rire, mais ça me met en rogne. Sérieusement. Imaginez que vous rentriez chez vous pour voir une bite dessinée au marqueur sur le mur du salon. Qui à les clefs de chez moi ? Comment il les a eues ? Ce serait dans la vraie vie, la police, ça la ferait pas rire non plus. Ah oui mais on est sur le net, un endroit magique et bucolique où rien n’a d’importance.

Je suis un type plutôt geek. Sur le net j’ai mes mails, mes réservation d’avion, ma carte bleue, pas mal de mon boulot. L’usurpation d’identité, le hack ou whatever, ça va nettement plus loin que la simple blague. C’est un beau motif de poing dans la gueule. A fortiorri quand on ne vient pas avouer, rassurer, faire amende honorable à la victime sur le dos de qui on s’est bien marré. Alors j’ai passé deux jours à tout sécuriser un gros coup, faire des déductions, pris de nouvelles habitudes. Et la confiance que je pouvais accorder en tous mes amis/connaissances/contacts vient de baisser d’un cran. Un ninja UMP n’aurait pas été plus efficace. C’est dans ces moments là que j’aurais aimé qu’existe une police des mauvaises blagues, constituées de clowns de Stephen King, pour rappeler à certaines personnes ce qu’ils sont. Pas. Drôles. (et lâches accessoirement)

Allez, rendez-vous demain pour une note bittersweet.

How Do I Avoid Foreclosure:

A step by step process for distressed homeowners.

Part 4

This is the fourth in a series of posts designed to be a step-by-step directory for distressed homeowners to use to try an avoid foreclosure.

We continue the discussion of various options that a distressed homeowner may have.  Some of these options only apply to homeowners in very specific situations and will not apply to most; however, if you meet the criteria you should take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself.

Rent the Property

This is an option that will work if you can rent the property to a tenant who can meet their rental commitment long term.  The danger in an economy with over 10% unemployment and 26% underemployment is that the tenant can lose their job or take a pay cut in order to keep their job.  If that happens, the rent checks are likely to stop coming in while the mortgage payments are still due each month. 

Over 40% of home in foreclosure were not owner occupied, meaning that they were rentals or vacation properties.  When the rent checks stopped coming in the owners could not continue to make their payments and lost the property to foreclosure.  The F word has a major impact on their ability to buy anything on credit for seven to ten years.

The issue of cash flow is also important.  Not all homes will rent for enough to cover the mortgage, taxes, insurance and upkeep.  Many landlords try to cover the mortgage payment with rental income and have to cover some or all of the taxes, insurance and upkeep with income from other sources; a difficult thing for most of us to be able to do long term.    

Refinance

This option becomes increasingly more difficult as housing values decline.  A few years ago, when home prices were increasing in leaps and bounds 100% financing was easy to obtain.  Today, lenders want to see some equity in the property before they will even consider a loan.  Lenders want to see an 80% loan-to-value ratio; that is to say, that they will loan up to 80% of the current market value on a property if all other factors are acceptable.  Some will consider going up to 90% of current market value in rare circumstances, but they will charge higher interest rates.  It is the risk/reward issue.  The higher the risk, the greater the reward to the investor.

Unless you have an equity position of 20% or more given the present market value of your property, refinancing will be very difficult at best.

If your equity position is less than 10% it is not an option.

Here are links to a few web sites with helpful information for less specific situations:

                               http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/hud/topics/avoiding_foreclosure

http://www.ForeclosureStopper.org

http://www.CDPE.com

In future posts we will discuss other options people may use to avoid foreclosure.  Those posts will be coming soon.

Feel free to contact Mike West, Realtor, CDPE if you have any questions or need help.

(916) 337-0658              e-mail:   Mike@BMikeWest.com 

Did you know that you can lose significant amounts of power and fuel economy your truck once had just because you may have neglected your intake filter? A simple cleaning and re-oiling of your intake filter can make a world of difference. Let OCDiesel.com explain why this happens…

Your engine needs airflow. It’s one of the most important things that an engine needs. This is especially true in a Diesel engine. It needs oxygen rich, cool, clean air to run at peak performance. If you have an intake filter you have not looked at in 3 years then chances are you have been robbing your engine of this. Because better combustion from better airflow directly reflects how much power and fuel economy your engine will be getting. It should be important to make sure you have a clean filter.

OCDiesel.com carries aFe’s whole line of filter restoration products. This is one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to bring more airflow to your engine.

Not all oil is created equal. Highly refined oil from aFe will not harm MAF sensors and cause engine light warnings. It works great with aFe filters and is a great way to upgrade competitors oiled filters. The cleaner is specially formulated to release dirt without harming the microfibers critical to efficient filtration and airflow

Be sure to check out our Black Friday – Cyber Monday Weekend Long Sale!

I have been kinda whiney lately. Will try to fix it, for everyone’s benefit. After Thanksgiving and a few school deadlines, I need something of this flavor:

This was taken in May, I believe, on our Northern Cali trip. We drove from Vegas to Carson City, through Tahoe and then hit this. A gorgeous trail and waterfall on a rainy day hike in Eldorado National Forest. I used this picture for my “nature” requirement in Photo 101 last semester. It was taken with The Man’s infrared camera.

Eldorado, I love you!!

That’s right! Keep a look out for Bully Dog at www.OCDiesel.com on Nov. 27/28/29/30, 2009.  There will be some incredible offers you CANNOT pass up!!

PS. Looking for the #1 ranked tuner from  SEMA 2009? Check out the Triple Dog GT Tuner, and definitely look for it at www.ocdiesel.com on 11/27, 11/28, 11/29, and 11/30!!

While traditional hospitals seem to slow down around the holiday season, this year they are moving full steam ahead.  There are new jobs opening and interviews taking place while we’re eating our turkey.  If you’re on vacation for the holiday, don’t forget to have your phone with you so that you don’t miss any new travel nurse positions that might be just right for what you’re looking for.  Also, as we talked about last week, you don’t want to miss that phone call from the nurse manager!

This Week’s New Positions Include:

ICU in Fort Worth, TX

Peds in Miami, FL

ER in Wynnewood, PA

ICU in Gainesville, FL

L&D in Orangeburg, SC

PICU in Mesa, AZ

MS/Tele in Conroe, TX

L&D in Modesto, CA

ER in Chinle, AZ

ICU in Sebring, FL

MS in Billings, MT

NP in Columbia, SC

ER in Tampa, FL

ICU in Grants, NM

OR in Ketchikan, AK

A primeira coleção que o Reinaldo Lourenço fez para C&A causou frisson e fez as fashionistas correrem para as araras da loja, o que resultou no esgotamento das peças mais procuradas rapidinho!
Com o sucesso, a C&A lança a segunda coleção agora, já está em pré-venda no site. A coleção tem muitos vestidos, calças e blusinhas de tecidos mais finos. Nada de jeans! Tudo em branco, preto e algumas peças disponíveis em vermelho também.

Shorts R$59,90 cada

Vestido R$99 ,90 cada

Vestido R$99 ,90 cada

E os sapatos, saem por R$119,00 cada, que foram o must-have da última colecão e esgotou voandoo:

Sapato com laços, alguém me segura!

Minha aposta é que nessa não vai ser diferente! eu quero um de cada

O estilista Reinaldo Lourenço lançará, no dia 3 de dezembro, sua segunda coleção para a C&A. As peças, no entanto, poderão ser compradas pelo site da loja a partir desta terça-feira (24).

A coleção, composta por 45 modelos e com preços que variam de R$ 69,90 a R$ 129,90, teve inspiração nos temas festas (com apelo para o fim do ano) e resort. A cartela de cores foca os neutros preto e branco, com incursões pelo cinza e vermelho.

Além das roupas, a coleção conta com oito modelos de sapatos, entre eles sandália com tachas, sandália em cetim com meia-pata, escapirn de cobra e peep toe com paetês.

As compras feitas pela internet durante a pré-venda serão entregues em todo o Brasil, mas terão quantidade limitada de peças disponíveis.

Fonte: www.uol.com.br

by Sean Glouster

from his Breathtaking Photos flickr

November 2009 Exercise – Kelly G. Mullarney, Owner, Chef Innovations, Inc., Orange, CA

Pan-Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Braised Celery Hearts, Oven-Dried Heirloom Tomatoes and a Celery Leaf Salad

To participate in the next exercise, please send an e mail to: jeffrey@bauscherinc.com

See all your favorite chefs’ collections of past submissions at the Deep Plate page on Facebook.  Please become a “Fan”. 

http://deepplate.wordpress.com and “Deep Plate” on Facebook

Ctsy Dr. Paul Keith