Homes For Sale Miami

New Year, New Online Destination for Lake Havasu Real Estate

2010-01-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

Buyers will find that the site features an easy to search database of available properties, from Lake Havasu homes for sale to Lake Havasu City foreclosures, as well as community links, calculators, financing resources, and more. Sellers will find the most recent real estate news updates and can also take the first steps in finding out how much their home would be worth if placed on the market today.

The new year brings a new online resource for buyers and sellers of Lake Havasu real estate – http://www.DerekSelman.com. Built by Realtor Derek Selman of Selman & Associates, the recently launched site provides a wide range of tools, guides and information all aimed towards easing the complexities of the real estate process for both buyers and sellers.

Buyers will find that the site features an easy to search database of available properties, from Lake Havasu homes for sale to Lake Havasu City foreclosures, as well as community links, calculators, financing resources, and more. Sellers will find the most recent real estate news updates and can also take the first steps in finding out how much their home would be worth if placed on the market today.

The Lake Havasu area, dubbed “Arizona’s Playground,” has long attracted homebuyers who are drawn to the region’s many recreational possibilities and excellent quality of life. Current market conditions notwithstanding, the long-term growth projections for the area remain positive, making real estate here a solid investment choice.

The “Properties” and “Search Listings” pages provide interested investors with a comprehensive preview of what the market here has to offer. Whether one is looking for a waterfront property, a vacation condo, or a strategically-located piece of commercial real estate, the Lake Havasu Real Estate market will provide options aplenty.

News Source: news.yahoo.com

Advertise your Business

Assessment Declines Not as Bad as County Officials Feared

2010-01-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

A lower-than-expected, though still significant, drop in the assessed value of commercial real estate across Arlington could help the county government survive a difficult budget year with fewer spending cuts and less need for tax increases.

All told, the assessed value of taxable property across Arlington declined 7.2 percent over the past year, to $53.6 billion, according to figures released Jan. 15 by county government officials.

And, as expected, it was the commercial real estate market - office buildings, industrial facilities, hotels and apartment buildings - that took the brunt of the declines. Yet they were not as bad as expected.

County officials had been bracing for a drop of 14 percent or more in the total assessed value of commercial real estate, which represents just under 45 percent of all taxable property in the county. But when the final figures were released, the decline was 12.7 percent, representing a 13.6-percent drop in value of existing property values and the conversion of some apartment units to condominiums, offset by a 1.4-percent increase in total valuation due to new construction.

On the residential side, the average residential real estate assessment in Arlington declined 3.25 percent, to $503,700, bringing the total average decline since 2007 to 7.1 percent - relatively modest compared to some outlying jurisdictions in the region. New construction during 2009 added about 0.7 percent to the total residential tax base across the county.

Declines on the residential side were roughly in line with projections made by county government officials. And they were broad-based: three-quarters of all parcels declined in value, with only 5 percent seeing assessment increases. The remainder saw no change.

Single-family homes saw an average decline of 2.2 percent, while condominiums and cooperatives declined in assessed value by 4.5 percent.

Late last year, county government officials estimated that the decline in assessed value would leave the government and school system with a combined $80 million to $100 million deficit to fill with a combination of tax-rate increases and service cuts. Based on the new assessment date, the government’s revised estimate is for a $65 million budget hole to fill, out of a total government-and-schools budget of about $1 billion.

What property owners will pay in real estate taxes this year won’t be known until after the County Board sets the tax rate in the spring. Arlington’s real estate tax rate last year was 86.5 cents per $100 assessed value, plus a 1-cent-per-$100 surcharge for all properties for stormwater-system improvements, and a 12.5-cents-per-$100 surcharge for commercial property to fund transportation improvements.

Last year, a typical Arlington homeowner paid $4,551 in real estate taxes, up $50 from the year before, as the rate was raised to offset declining values. Arlington was one of the few jurisdictions in the area where homeowners saw their real estate tax burden increase from 2008 to 2009.

New assessments have been mailed out to all property owners in the county, containing details on how to appeal assessments.

News Source: sungazette.net

Realtor news letter

Real Estate Portals Adopting Rental Search

2010-01-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In a strategic move, two of the biggest real estate sites -- Zillow.com and Trulia.com -- are joining the crowded ranks of rental Web sites.

The decisions come as more people are shut out of the housing market. Some 30 percent of households rent, but that figure is growing amid high unemployment, rising foreclosures and tighter mortgage lending standards.

Zillow launched its rental search function last month. While it only has about 2,000 rentals listings right now, the company plans to boost that number sharply in the next couple of months by taking in listings from brokerages.

''We think about one-quarter of all home shoppers now are dual tracking, they're actually in the market to buy or to rent,'' says Spencer Rascoff, Zillow's chief operating officer.

Trulia expects to debut its rentals search with more than 4.5 million listings within the next six months.

''We're building multiple tools to help consumers compare, contrast and make better decisions on whether they should be renting or buying in today's market,'' spokesman Ken Shuman said.

Seven out of the 10 most visited real estate Web sites last month offer rentals, according to Hitwise, an Internet tracking firm.

Increasingly, real estate agents are advertising homes on Web sites like Realtor.com to find tenants, not just buyers. Some rental sites are also getting listings from Multiple Listing Services -- databases of homes compiled by real estate agents.

''A lot of times we now notice that a home will be listed both for rent and for sale on our site, because the homeowners are having trouble selling the home,'' says Douglas Pope, co-founder of real estate search site HotPads.com.

A bounty of choices is a good problem to have if you're a renter. But don't expect to find the universe of available properties on a single Web site.

It helps to know what kind of rental you prefer: a house, an apartment in a small building, or a bigger complex full of amenities like a gym, pool or 24-hour security.

Generally, Web sites for rentals let users comb property listings for free. Most display photos, interactive maps, the ability to search by city, ZIP code or attributes such as number of bedrooms, price or amenities. They also include contact information for the leasing agent or owner.

Narrowing choices is the name of the game, and some sites make it easier than others.

Craigslist.org is a favorite with individual building owners, homeowners and property management firms. The portal, which has sites for 30 or so markets, doesn't charge for ads.

But its no-frills approach makes winnowing searches cumbersome and time-consuming compared to other sites. You can try to focus a search by ZIP code, or city, but you may get listings that are outside those parameters.

Still, it has filters that help someone looking to rent a room, swap houses or rent their property for only a few months -- something many other sites don't.

And Craigslist's rental listings are sorted by date and die off after a week in several major markets, which means they can be more current than those on other rental sites.

Some portals, such as Apartments.com and Rent.com, cull many of their listings from property managers handling large apartment complexes or condos. I didn't see many smaller properties turn up in several searches, however.

Others sites, like Realtor.com, offer condos or single-family homes listed by real estate agents, but not apartments.

Rentals.com gathers all kinds of rental property listings and lets users narrow searches by type of property. The firm says it has 72,000 unique listings, but cautions that available properties vary from market to market and ''sometimes can be very low.''

Zillow, meanwhile, which already provides a trove of neighborhood data, among other features, estimates people looking to rent account for more than 10 percent of its visitors.

Those would-be renters can search homes for sale or rent at the same time. They can also find Zillow's estimate on what it would cost them to rent or buy in the same neighborhood.

The concept is similar to a feature HotPads rolled out three years ago. The site lets users scan a map dotted with homes for sale and for rent. Trulia.com appears to be planning a similar rent-versus-own feature.

With the foreclosure crisis expected to continue this year, that's a calculation a many potential renters will be doing.

News Source: nytimes.com

realtor flyers

Alexi Giannoulias runs for U.S. Senate with President Barack Obama as a mentor

2010-01-15T06:53:00.000-08:00

As Barack Obama ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, his friend and booster Alexi Giannoulias confided he was so inspired by the campaign that he was thinking about running for office.

"Don't run for office before you're 35," the future president told Giannoulias, then 28, suggesting he start a family and establish a career. "Don't even start."

But less than two years later, Giannoulias sought Obama's support for state treasurer. After many talks, he got the senator's backing.

"I literally had to earn his endorsement," Giannoulias said of the man he considers his political mentor. "He wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing."

After one term as treasurer, Giannoulias is running for Obama's old Senate seat without his friend's backing. The White House even spent last summer trying to enlist Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who declined.

Giannoulias, 33, is trying to convince voters he's not too young or inexperienced for a promotion to the Senate, the same way he convinced Obama he was ready to run for state treasurer. He's a top contender in the five-way Feb. 2 Democratic Senate primary.

Yet the former banking executive finds himself having to explain big losses in a college savings plan, his family bank's loans to a Chicago crime figure and his ties to Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a convicted fundraiser for ex- Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Giannoulias, who met Obama more than a decade ago while playing basketball, said he isn't bothered by the White House's overtures to Madigan and said his relationships with Obama and those in Washington are strong.

"The truth is they want to do everything to keep this seat. I was talking to (Obama adviser David) Axlerod and he said, 'Listen, she's been doing this for a long time, she's got great name recognition, great polling numbers. We want to keep this seat.' I said, 'So do I!' " he said in a recent interview. "We let them know that we're going to make sure we keep this seat."

Giannoulias grew up on the 30th floor. His Greek immigrant father, Alexis, wanted to live near the lake, so he got a place in an Edgewater high-rise where he and his wife raised three boys. His father started out selling pickles, later forming a real estate company and then a bank down the street, Broadway Bank. The boys -- Demetris, George and Alexi -- played running bases in the hallways and hockey in the neighborhood. But it was basketball that drew in Alexi.

"Get the ball to Alexi," recalls Mike Marks, a lifelong friend who played on the team at St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Church. "He wanted it and we wanted him to have it. There was a coolness about him. ... You could depend on him in those situations."

He played basketball at Latin School, University of Chicago and Boston University. After leaving the U. of C., Giannoulias still played ball in Hyde Park and he soon hooked into a group of guys playing pickup games that included Obama, eventual first brother-in-law Craig Robinson, future U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and John Rogers, head of Ariel Capital Management.

"Looking back on it, it's pretty extraordinary," Giannoulias said.

After a year in Greece playing pro ball and getting his law degree at Tulane University in New Orleans, he kept in touch with the group, including Obama, who motivated him to think about politics -- something he hadn't been very interested in. Giannoulias registered to vote at 21 and didn't cast a ballot until seven years later in the 2004 primary when Obama ran for Senate.

Giannoulias came back to work at Broadway Bank with his brothers and father. It was four years of work Giannoulias cited as his qualification for Illinois treasurer. But his tenure as vice president and senior loan officer was touched by controversy.

During the treasurer campaign, the Tribune revealed Broadway Bank had loaned millions of dollars to Michael Giorango, a convicted bookmaker and prostitution ring promoter. At first, Giannoulias played down the relationship but later admitted he met Giorango in Miami to inspect property the bank had financed. Giannoulias also backtracked on comments that none of the loans went for casinos, when one in Myrtle Beach did. There has been no suggestion the loans were illegal.

Broadway Bank also issued loans to Rezko, a political insider later convicted as part of the Blagojevich scandal. Giannoulias defended the bank's loan to Rezko, noting Broadway later declared Rezko in default. He also defended Blagojevich's appointment of his brother Demetris to the Illinois Finance Authority board.

"My brother graduated with honors from Yale University and this was an unpaid position that was approved unanimously by both Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate," Giannoulias said.

Despite the controversies, Giannoulias was elected and then sworn in Jan. 8, 2007 -- a date he has inscribed on a pair of cuff links he received as a gift.

He entered office like he was leading a fast break.

Giannoulias pushed for reforms in the treasurer's office, auctioned off a controversial Springfield hotel that owed the state money and overhauled the office's Bright Start college savings program. But Bright Start lost $150 million of parents' money. Giannoulias recently reached a deal with the firm that lost the money -- OppenheimerFunds Inc. -- that allows families to get a little more than 50 cents on the dollar back of what they lost.

As he runs for Senate, Giannoulias is stressing job creation through tax cuts and supports a public option for health insurance. He also said he's still learning as he goes.

"While I can't promise you that I'm going to be a perfect candidate and I can't promise you that I'm not going to make mistakes," he recently told union members at a Mexican restaurant in Little Village, "I can unequivocally promise you that no one, no one, will work harder on your behalf, no one will fight harder with you and no one will make you more proud."

News Source: chicagotribune.com

Real estate FAQ

Man reportedly killed in Miami-Dade police involved shooting

2009-12-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY - Miami Dade police early Monday were on the scene of a reported police-involved shooting.

The incident is believed to have happened about 1 a.m. near NE 82nd Terrace and 4th Place.

A civilian male is reported dead at the scene.

No other details were immediately available.

News Source:sun-sentinel.com

Business Ads

Candidates hustle to win undecideds

2009-12-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

Paz Kahana is exactly the type of voter that each of the four Democrats in the US Senate campaign is trying to woo. He has yet to decide whose box he’ll check in tomorrow’s primary.

“I just woke up to realize, ‘I have two days to decide,’ ’’ Kahana, a Newton resident who runs a software company, said yesterday before listening to Attorney General Martha Coakley’s stump speech at a school in Newton. He left impressed with her personality, disappointed she didn’t deliver more specifics, and still undecided.

In the final weekend before tomorrow’s vote, the four Democrats, and the two GOP contenders for US Senate, fanned out across the state to rally supporters - and try to attract new ones. Coakley earned a key backer: former president Bill Clinton recorded a telephone message that will be blasted out today to 500,000 voters urging them to elect her.

Alan Khazei was the only candidate to visit any churches, attending Charles Street AME Church in Dorchester in the morning and in the afternoon, the Spanish Church of God, where he danced in the aisles and repeatedly chanted “Si se puede’’ (“Yes we can’’).

Stephen G. Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics, started the day with about 30 supporters in Harvard Square who waved to a smattering of passersby and yelled “What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!’’ He ended it by releasing a TV advertisement that lasts two minutes, much longer than traditional spots.

US Representative Michael E. Capuano, wearing a dark coat and a red scarf, walked with his wife for more than a mile along the Christmas parade route in Taunton, waving to the crowd and uttering “Merry Christmas’’ dozens of times.

Coakley, the presumed front-runner who appeared relaxed and confident, held a rally in a small school auditorium in Newton before heading to similar ones in Marlborough, Worcester, and Springfield.

“We want to send somebody to Washington,’’ Coakley told about 150 supporters in Newton. “Namely, me.’’

She posed for photos with children, wished them a Merry Christmas, and, spying a dog adorned with her campaign stickers, said, “I hope we’re getting the K-9 vote.’’

Last night, her campaign announced that President Clinton had recorded the phone message.

“Martha Coakley will go to Washington to fight every day to create good jobs with good benefits and to get health reform with a strong public option,” Clinton says in the message. ”You can trust her to get results in the Senate just as she has as your attorney general. This election is very important to Massachusetts. So don’t forget to vote tomorrow and please vote for Martha Coakley.” (For the full text of the message, visit www.boston.com/globe.)

The US Senate primary campaign, which began shortly after Edward M. Kennedy’s death 15 weeks ago, will end tomorrow when voters narrow the fields to one of the four Democrats and one of two Republicans, state Senator Scott P. Brown of Wrentham or Duxbury businessman Jack E. Robinson.

Robinson spent the day campaigning in Western Massachusetts, before heading to an appearance before the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. Brown, who is in the National Guard, fulfilled his monthly service requirement before holding two fund-raisers and attending a forum with other Republican politicians last night in Woburn.

Massachusetts hasn’t elected a Republican to the US Senate in 37 years; the Democrat who wins tomorrow will be heavily favored in the Jan. 19 special election.

Each of the campaigns is focused heavily on getting supporters to vote, in large part because the election is falling at a rare time - between Thanksgiving and Christmas - when many residents are focused more on decorations and shopping than debates and position papers. And although Coakley has been leading in the polls, the likelihood of a low turnout makes any result difficult to determine.

Capuano spent about an hour yesterday marching in the Taunton parade, waving to several thousand people with little expectation of being recognized. The parade was devoid of campaign signs and buttons, and Capuano walked in a small group behind a banner that read, “Elected Officials.’’ They were overshadowed by a pack of police motorcycles and a dozen pirouetting dancers.

Most of the campaign work was going on behind the scenes, Capuano said, to marshal existing supporters and remind them to make it to the polls tomorrow.

“The average person’s not going to vote. I know that,’’ Capuano said. “It’s going to be a handful of people, and the ones who do, they’ve paid more attention than people realize.’’

Capuano was accompanied during the parade by state Representative James H. Fagan, who introduced Capuano to a couple of people along the route, including Frances Duffy, a Taunton woman whose son, Shane, was killed in Iraq last year.

Capuano paused to offer his condolences to Duffy, who thanked him. “Are we doing the right thing by you?’’ Capuano asked her, along with her son’s widow, Jamie, and infant daughter, Mackenzie.

Capuano yesterday also held two of his “open mike’’ events, one in Boston and another, the 70th of the short campaign, at a Holiday Inn in his hometown of Somerville.

Khazei, clad in a dark pinstriped suit, had a front row seat at the Spanish Church of God in Dorchester yesterday afternoon during a lively service that included drums, an electric guitar, and maracas.

More than 100 congregation members - Khazei included - were on their feet, clapping and swaying their hands in the air.

“I am a son of immigrants, just like many of you,’’ Khazei said, through a translator. “My father is from Iran. My mother’s Italian. My mother is a classic Italian. She’ll fall in love with you over the phone. If she was here she’d hug and kiss every one of you. I will do my best to live up to her example.’’

On his way out of the service, the band started playing music and Khazei danced down the carpeted center aisle, shaking hands with congregation members, and clapping with the music, as he made his way toward the exit.

“That was incredible,’’ Khazei said outside the church. “I’m definitely coming back.’’

Last night, Khazei was scheduled campaign at a bowling alley in Lowell.

Pagliuca started the day in Harvard Square, wearing an oversized Celtics parka and walking beside his son Joe, who hauled the Celtics 2008 NBA championship trophy. Later he targeted voters at youth-league basketball games in Holyoke and a sports bar in Springfield.

“Hopefully we’ll get the momentum,’’ Pagliuca told reporters yesterday morning. “I think people have really started to focus on this in the last couple weeks.’’

Although perhaps not on a cold morning in Cambridge, where there were few passersby.

Pagliuca eagerly approached a man with a camera, only to learn that he was an Italian, not a Massachusetts voter. Pagliuca asked him to pronounce his own name, looking delighted when he did it correctly.

“Have a great trip here,’’ Pagliuca said, shaking his hand. “Welcome to America.’’

“Thank you,’’ the tourist said. “Have a good luck.’’

A moment later, Pagliuca’s Jobs and Health Care Express pulled up, a motor coach with Pagliuca’s portrait and the election date plastered on the side. He clambered on board, laughing about the unlikely interior - mirrored ceiling, rows of lights, racks of champagne flutes and cocktail glasses.

“I think we rented this from Spinal Tap,’’ he said.

News Source:boston.com

Homes For Sale Miami

Alaska Gov. Parnell wants aggressive prosecution for sexual assaults

2009-12-04T04:27:00.002-08:00

Gov. Sean Parnell is pitching a new plan to combat a blight governors have long tried and failed to solve: Alaska's domestic violence problem and highest-in-America rate of sexual assault.

Parnell announced his proposals in Anchorage Thursday on a stage at Bartlett High School, with a wall of uniformed law enforcement officers arrayed on risers behind him.

"We are going to end the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault in this state within a decade," said Parnell, who took over as governor this year and is up for election next fall. "No longer will Alaska lead in that statistic."

Alaska's rate of sexual assault is two and a half times the national average, and children are sexually assaulted at six times the national average. Alaska ranks among the top five states for per-capita rates of domestic violence and the rate of Alaska women killed by a partner is 1.5 times the national average. Parnell's attorney general, Dan Sullivan, promised offenders will be aggressively prosecuted and shown no leniency.

"Those who might otherwise be tempted to abuse Alaska's women and children will come to realize that Alaska has turned into the last state in which you want to go on trial for domestic violence or sexual assault," Sullivan said.

The state will issue new guidelines for prosecutors to ensure no plea deals could allow convicts to avoid being on the sex offender registry, Sullivan said. The administration will also propose that the Legislature toughen penalties by giving harsher sentences to people who commit sexual assaults on victims who are passed out, Sullivan said.

News Source:miamiherald.com

Selling a Property

Alaska Gov. Parnell wants aggressive prosecution for sexual assaults

2009-12-04T04:27:00.001-08:00

Ex-legislator's jury selection starts

2009-12-03T06:33:00.000-08:00

HARRISBURG - Jury selection began yesterday in the first trial in Pennsylvania's legislative corruption scandal, but the process was expected to consume a second day and delay opening statements until tomorrow.

"We're not moving along as quickly as I'd hoped," Dauphin County President Judge Richard Lewis said after presiding over six hours of interviews with potential jurors for the trial of former State Rep. Sean Ramaley.

Twelve jurors and four alternates will be picked from a pool of 34. Only 16 people qualified for that pool yesterday.

The trial could last through next week, Lewis advised the potential jurors.

Ramaley, a Beaver County Democrat, is accused of taking a no-work state job in 2004 that paid more than $2,500 a month and allowed him to concentrate on his first legislative campaign.

He was one of a dozen people connected to the House Democratic caucus who were charged by the state Attorney General's Office in July 2008 with diverting taxpayers' money and resources to political campaigns.

Ramaley is charged with four counts of theft, one count of conflict of interest, and one count of conspiracy stemming from the money and other resources that then-Democratic Whip Michael Veon allegedly made available to him during his 2004 campaign.

Yesterday, Ramaley's lawyer, Philip Ignelzi, quizzed the prospective jurors at length about their awareness of generous bonuses that House Democratic leaders allegedly handed out to staffers for work on political campaigns and whether they held strong opinions about legislators and other politicians.

Ramaley was the only sitting legislator among Democrats charged in the case. He abandoned plans to run for the state Senate after his arrest in July 2008 and left the House when his term expired that year.

Last month, Attorney General Tom Corbett charged 10 members of the House Republican caucus, including former Speaker John M. Perzel of Philadelphia, with similar offenses.

News Source:philly.com

Web Properties

Chechen rebels claim Russia train bombing

2009-12-03T03:04:00.000-08:00

Reporting from Moscow - Chechen rebels took responsibility Wednesday for a bombing last week that derailed a passenger train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, killing 26 people and injuring 87.

The claim was carried on Kavkazcenter.com, a website that often carries information from Islamic rebels seeking independence for the Russian republic of Chechnya.

"We state that the given operation was prepared and carried out as part of the sabotage actions against strategically important facilities of Russia planned earlier this year and successfully carried out on the orders of Caucasus emir Doku Umarov," the statement said.

Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the prosecutor general's investigating committee, refused to comment on the claim but confirmed that committee chief Alexander Bastrykin was injured by a second bomb at the site where the Nevsky Express passenger train derailed late Friday.

Bastrykin said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta published Wednesday that the second explosion, set off as investigators were searching the wreckage, was characteristic of methods used by militants from the Caucasus region.

Analysts said that the Islamic rebels' claim would raise tensions in the Caucasus and lead to an increase in arrests of ethnic people from the region.

"I am afraid people from the Caucasus living in the rest of Russia, especially in big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, will have a hard time in the nearest future as the law enforcement organs will be trying to find the culprits, looking mostly among the people of Caucasus origin," Magomed Mutsolgov, head of the human rights organization Mashr, said in a telephone interview from the Caucasus republic of Ingushetia.

Varvara Pakhomenko of Demos, a Moscow-based human rights center, expressed concern that Chechen rebels might employ new tactics after a lull in major terrorist attacks against Russian sites outside of the Caucasus region.

"The current terror tactics the rebels are using in North Caucasus employs mostly attacks against representatives of regional authorities: policemen, prosecutors, judges and various officials," Pakhomenko said. "If we are to believe their statement, the rebels may have decided to spread these tactics across the rest of Russia."

Continued attacks outside the Caucasus region might trigger tough new security measures, he said.

There was another attempt Monday to derail a passenger train, in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan, RIA Novosti news service reported. The train was slightly damaged but no one was hurt, the report said.

Loiko is a Times staff writer.

News Source:latimes.com

To Buy Property

Pacquiao-Mayweather fight getting closer

2009-12-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, was flying to the Philippines on Tuesday to discuss the boxer's possible megafight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Arum said he also would discuss Pacquiao's participation in a congressional election in that country.

A source familiar with the process who declined to be identified because he's not authorized to speak about the negotiations said there are strong indications that Mayweather has agreed in principle to some contractual details.

A report by Yahoo Sports on Tuesday night said that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight was nearly finalized for March 13 and that Mayweather had agreed to terms.

Contacted late Tuesday night, the lead matchmaker for Arum's promotion company, Top Rank, was more cautious about where negotiations stand.

"This trip was planned," matchmaker Bruce Trampler said. "Manny's got to fight in the first half of the year and Bob has to make the match so he was going to discuss that with Manny -- dates, opponents and Manny's thoughts on his political career."

"I'm going over there to figure it out," Arum told The Times just before departing. "Everything."

Arum said Tuesday that an opponent will run against Pacquiao in the May 10 Philippines election, which will force the boxer to campaign extensively in the weeks preceding the election. Arum and several others who are attempting to negotiate a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight would ideally like the bout to occur on May 1.

-- Lance Pugmire BASEBALL

Drug approvals rise slightly

The number of major leaguers approved to take drugs for attention deficit disorder rose to 108 last season, up from 106 in the 2008 season and 103 in the 2007 season.

The significant use of ADD drugs, perceived as a way to skirt baseball's amphetamine ban, emerged as an issue in congressional hearings after the release of the Mitchell Report. Baseball responded by toughening the requirements to obtain approval for ADD drugs, but the number of players authorized to use them has yet to decline.

The annual report on baseball's drug policy, released Tuesday by the commissioner's office, also revealed 11 players tested positive for the ADD drug Adderall, without an exemption permitting its use. Under the policy, players testing positive for stimulants the first time are not suspended.

-- Bill Shaikin New York Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon and Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada were among the free agents who weren't offered salary arbitration, moves that enable new teams to sign them without losing draft picks.

With about two hours left until the deadline, 18 players had received arbitration offers, including St. Louis outfielder Matt Holliday, Boston outfielder Jason Bay, Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre, Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Boston reliever Billy Wagner and St. Louis pitcher Joel Pineiro, and Yankees Hideki Matsui and pitcher Andy Pettitte.

The Dodgers have confirmed broadcaster Vin Scully will return to the booth for his 61st season in 2010.

HOCKEY

Ovechkin is suspended

Alex Ovechkin has been suspended for two games for his latest on-ice indiscretion.

The NHL disciplined the Washington Capitals star, a day after his knee-to-knee hit on Tim Gleason in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The league's reigning two-time most valuable player hurt his right knee in the collision. He was in obvious pain on the ice for several minutes.

He said Tuesday the knee was merely sore and the injury is "not that serious."

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo is expected to be sidelined for at least eight weeks after his right leg was cut by a skate and required surgery.

The Bruins have signed forward Marc Savard to a seven-year contract extension that would keep him in Boston through the 2017 season.

News Source:The Los Angeles Times

Miami Beach Houses For Rent

Miami man gets 45 years for fatal shooting

2009-12-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

A Miami man will serve 45 years in prison for fatally shooting a man during a high-speed car chase stemming from a row over a girl, a judge ruled.

Police said that in December 2005, Anthony Figueroa, 22, shot and killed Johnny Cuevas, 18, whose truck then plowed into a Little River house's yard, also taking the lives of at least four caged bunnies.

A jury convicted Figueroa in October of second-degree murder with a weapon.

Prosecutors said Figueroa, in his auto, chased Cuevas' truck, firing at the vehicle -- mistakenly thinking that his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend was inside. Cuevas was hit and killed.

``He had a callous disregard for human life,'' Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Ankur ``Alex'' Sevak told Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick.

News Source:sun-sentinel.com

Rent Homes Miami

Police widen search for officer killings suspect

2009-12-01T04:12:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE — Dozens of police officers fanned out over two counties, storming homes and canvassing city streets with dogs in an expanded search for a man suspected of gunning down four police officers at a Washington state coffee shop.

Maurice Clemmons has received help since the Sunday morning shooting from a network friends and family who gave him places to stay, medical aid, rides and money, police said. Officers late Monday detained a sister of Clemmons who they think treated the 37-year-old suspect's gunshot wound.

"We believe she drove him up to Seattle and bandaged him up," Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Police believe people close to Clemmons have mislead officers, and Troyer said anyone helping him could face charges. Clemmons' sister wasn't in custody late Monday, and her name wasn't released.

Authorities said the gunman singled out the officers and spared employees and other customers at the coffee shop in Lakewood, a suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. He then fled, but not before he was apparently shot in the torso by one of the dying officers.

Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

Police said they aren't sure what prompted Clemmons to shoot the officers as they did paperwork on their laptops. Clemmons was described as increasingly erratic in the past few months and had been arrested earlier this year on charges that he punched a sheriff's deputy in the face.

Troyer told the Tacoma News-Tribune that Clemmons indicated the night before the shooting "that he was going to shoot police and watch the news."

Police spent much of Sunday frantically chasing leads, at one point cordoning off a park where people thought they saw Clemmons. They also alerted hospitals to be on the lookout for a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.

Authorities found a handgun carried by the killer, along with a pickup truck belonging to the suspect with blood stains inside.

Police surrounded a house in a Seattle neighborhood late Sunday following a tip Clemmons had been dropped off there. After an all-night siege, a SWAT team entered the home and found it empty. But police said Clemmons had been there.

Throughout Monday, police officers worked to narrow down Clemmons' whereabouts, searching multiple spots in the Seattle and Tacoma area. Authorities posted a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

"We need to get him into custody and we need to end this," Troyer said Monday night.

Authorities in two states were criticized amid revelations that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. He was released early after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.

Huckabee cited Clemmons' youth in granting the request. But Clemmons quickly reverted to his criminal past, violated his parole and was returned to prison. He was released again in 2004.

"This guy should have never been on the street," said Brian D. Wurts, president of the police union in Lakewood. "Our elected officials need to find out why these people are out."

Huckabee said on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" Monday night that Clemmons was allowed back on the street because prosecutors failed to file paperwork in time.

Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons' parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee's comments were "red herrings."

"My word to Mr. Huckabee is man up and own what you did," Jegley said.

Clemmons was charged in Washington state earlier this year with assaulting a police officer and raping a child, and investigators in the sex case said he was motivated by visions that he was Jesus Christ and that the world was on the verge of the apocalypse.

But he was released from jail after posting bail with the assistance of Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.

Documents related to those charges indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress.

"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," a Pierce County sheriff's report said.

News Source:The Associated Press.

Residential Property

High-tech wheelchair causes Disney ruckus for South Florida mayor

2009-11-30T09:14:00.001-08:00

North Miami Beach Mayor Myron Rosner, a paraplegic, has a fancy, high-tech wheelchair that allows him to elevate on two wheels. But two wheels are too few for Disney.

On Sunday, security guards at Animal Kingdom told Rosner his wheelchair violates the parks' ban against Segways. He heard the same thing the day before at Epcot.

"I'm sorry, but this is not a Segway," said Rosner, 49, who was injured eight years ago in a construction accident. "It's an approved medical device."

Unlike the Segway, where the rider stands up, Rosner sits in his wheelchair – but at a higher level so that he is eye-to-eye with other people.

Rosner's iBOT Mobility System is like a Transformer wheelchair that can ride on two or four wheels, climb up stairs or plow through sand.

Rosner said he was told to convert it to four wheels or he would be asked to leave the park. He refused.

"I'm not a dog. I don't want to be on all fours," Rosner said.

Disney officials said Rosner was informed of the park policy against two-wheeled motorized contraptions but was allowed to stay in the parks. Rosner said he was harassed and followed by Disney employees.

"The IBOT vehicle is allowed in the park," said spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez. "To ensure the safety of our guests, we ask that they be on all four wheels while boarding attractions."

Rosner, who is mayor of North Miami Beach, owns one of the few hundred iBOTs that were manufactured by Johnson and Johnson until production was discontinued earlier this year. The company cited the wheelchair's $30,000 price tag, low sales and the inability to get Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for the chair as the reasons for its demise.

Rosner said he, his wife, and children have been coming to Walt Disney World for years and his two-wheeled iBOT has never been a problem before.

But in 2007, Disney instituted a policy prohibiting the Segways, contending their 10 mph speed and balancing problems created safety hazards for other guests. The ban was protested by activists for people with disabilities and resulted in a lawsuit.

"I'm not going down on four wheels, no way," Rosner said. "They're trying to push me down and I've already been there."

News source: sun-sentinel.com

House For Sale

Satellites to monitor countries for climate change under Gordon Brown plan

2009-11-28T06:53:00.001-08:00

It is part of a desperate bid by the Prime Minister to ensure a climate change deal can be salvaged at the Copenhagen summit in 10 days time.

Last night at a meeting in Trinidad he reached agreement with Commonwealth leaders and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, to put forward a new £10 billion fund to tackle what Mr Brown said was “a climate emergency.”

He said the Launch Fund would allow the world to break the “deadlock” over a deal at Copenhagen and “get moving on climate change as quickly as possible”.

Mr Brown said: “'Together the collective power of the Commonwealth must be brought together to tackle a new historic injustice, that of climate change.”

Ahead of the UN-sponsored climate change conference in the Danish capital, Mr Brown proposed a £10 billion rich-world fund - to which Britain would contribute £800 million - to give incentives to developing countries to halt deforestation, develop low-carbon energy sources and prepare for the effects of a warmer climate.

To police the new deal satellites would monitor countries, like Papua New Guinea, Guyana and Indonesia, responsible for deforestation. Any country found not to be abiding by the deal would have their funding halted.

But some countries, not least China, are likely to be very wary of allowing international satellites to spy on their country.

The fund would cover the years 2010-12 and deliver funds to poorer states on a “payment by results” system, under which those which showed they were taking action to halt climate change would receive more cash.

Mr Brown added: “The deal would make sure that some of the poorest countries, who are most affected by climate change... can get help so they can mitigate climate change and adopt and make the changes that are necessary.”

Mr Brown will present his ideas to world leaders at the Copenhagen summit. He is confident that Barack Obama will endorse it, despite the American President only attending for a short period at the beginning rather than the end of the gathering.

Britain has accepted that a legally-binding treaty cannot be sealed at Copenhagen, but believes it can be finalised in a matter of months if a top-level political commitment can be reached by world leaders in the Danish capital.

The European Union has already proposed a 100 billion euro (£90 billion) fund for the period up to 2020, but Mr Brown believes it is necessary to get mechanisms in place more quickly in order to ensure that there is no delay in reversing the rise in global temperatures.

Last night Greenpeace gave a lukewarm welcome to Mr Brown’s plan, but urged him to devote more energy to the issue of climate change to try and get a breakthrough at Copenhagen. Leaders have already effectively downgraded what they expect to achieve in December.

John Sauven, Greenpeace’s UK director, said: “Gordon Brown’s plan for a 10 billion dollar climate fund represents an admirable level of ambition, but that’s the easy part.

“The Prime Minister must now prove his commitment to this plan by actually putting the UK’s fair share of the money on the table.

“His Government came up with a rescue package for the banks almost overnight. By showing just a fraction of this urgency, he could help break the deadlock over funding and help kickstart the fight against climate change.”

News Source: telegraph.co.uk

Homes For Sale

2009-11-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

Gaps for consumers in Democrat health care bills

2009-11-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON — For consumers, the health care bills taking final shape in Congress don't rate close to a perfect 10.

The Democratic measures would leave 12 million or more eligible Americans uninsured. Many middle-class families who'd now be required to buy coverage would still find the premiums a stretch, even with government aid. A new federal fund to provide temporary coverage for people with health problems would quickly run out of cash.

For now, these bread-and-butter concerns take a back seat to more pressing issues for Democratic lawmakers trying to deliver on President Barack Obama's signature issue.

Congressional Democrats are trying to resolve differences within their own ranks on abortion, taxes and allowing the government to sell health insurance as a competitor to private companies. Those are all crucial policy questions, and House and Senate Democrats have taken conflicting approaches. But in the end, the concerns lawmakers are focusing on may not match the needs of their constituents.

The House passed its health care bill 220-215 earlier this month. The Senate cleared the way Saturday for debate on legislation unveiled by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The bill, a compromise between two committee-passed versions, could undergo significant changes as senators amend it during weeks of arduous debate ahead.

Both bills would require all Americans to carry health insurance, with government help to make premiums more affordable. They would ban insurance companies from denying coverage or charging more to people with health problems. They would set up new insurance markets for those who now have the hardest time finding and keeping coverage — self-employed people and small businesses. Americans insured through big employer plans would gain new consumer protections but wouldn't face major changes. Seniors would get better prescription coverage.
"For the first time, we're going to allow American consumers to be involved in a buyers' market for health insurance," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., one of the authors of the Senate bill. "This Congress is going to pass, and this president is going to sign, a national health care program for all Americans."

Before any signing ceremony, lawmakers must clear some tall hurdles.

On abortion funding, the House adopted strict limitations as the price for getting anti-abortion Democrats to vote for the final bill. Abortion rights supporters are backing Reid's approach in the Senate bill, which tries to preserve coverage for abortion while stipulating that federal dollars may not be used except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.

In the end, Reid may have to bend. Catholic bishops say they can't accept his approach because it would let federally subsidized plans cover abortion. They vow to oppose the health care bill unless, like the House, the Senate enacts stronger language. Democratic senators opposed to abortion are already threatening a battle.

On financing, the House relies mainly on an income tax hike for upper-earners to pay for expanded coverage. The Senate opted for a tax on high-cost insurance plans, a Medicare payroll tax hike on the wealthy and fees on medical industries. In polls, the House approach is more popular. The Obama administration has signaled it likes the Senate's insurance tax.

That leaves the controversy over a creating a government health plan to compete with the insurance industry. It has dominated the debate and remains unresolved.

Both House and Senate bills now provide for a government insurance plan, but Reid's bill would let states opt out. It's not clear that Reid has the votes. He may be able to get a compromise to allow a government plan only if, after a reasonable time, insurance companies fail to deliver lower premiums.

Resolving these policy issues would be a historic accomplishment for Democrats. But the bill could still leave consumers feeling a little cheated.

The main consumer protections and financial help for the uninsured won't kick in for three to four years. The delay was necessary to tamp down costs. Even then, not all Americans would be covered.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates some 12 million eligible Americans would remain uninsured after the House bill is fully phased in, in 2019. Under the Senate bill, roughly 16 million would not have insurance. The bills would provide coverage to more than 30 million now uninsured, but workers would still be more likely to be uninsured than seniors.

Some who remain uninsured might be people who'd rather pay a fine than comply with a mandate to get coverage. But for others, federal subsidies won't go far enough. People with solid middle-class incomes who buy their own insurance are vulnerable, because subsidies are mainly aimed at lower-income households.

For example, a family of four headed by a 45-year-old making $66,000 a year would still have to pay about 10 percent of its income for health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's after government help of about $4,500 and doesn't count the cost of deductibles and co-payments.

Finally, a temporary safety net for people with health problems has a hole.

Since government subsidies and insurance protections don't start until 2013 under the House bill and 2014 in the Senate version, both bills would set aside $5 billion to provide insurance for people who can't get coverage now because of health problems. But the budget office estimates that the money would be used up before the end of 2011.

"As we get toward a final bill that the public can look at more closely, the adequacy of the underlying coverage is going to emerge as a much bigger issue," said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Foundation, a nonpartisan research center. "That is going to put policymakers in an unenviable position."

News Source: The Associated Press

Houses For Sale In Miami Florida

Pope to meet with Anglican leader amid rising tension

2009-11-21T04:55:00.000-08:00

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday, the first meeting between the religious leaders since a Catholic overture to disaffected Anglicans that some commentators compared to a hostile takeover on Wall Street.

Rowan Williams, the nominal head of the world Anglican Communion, threw down a theological gauntlet to the pope in a highly challenging speech in Rome in the run-up to their meeting.

He laid out a series of questions suggesting that decades of hard-won apparent reconciliation between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations might have weak foundations.

He also proposed that a truly universal Christian church might have to be structured more like the Anglican Communion -- with no central authority laying down the law -- than like the Catholic Church, with the pope on his throne.

"Is there a mechanism in the church that has the clear right to determine for all where the limits of Christian identity might be found?" Williams asked. "Is the integrity of the church ultimately dependent on a single identifiable ministry of unity to which all local ministries are accountable?"

The meeting comes in the wake of a Vatican move that some say will shatter more than 40 years of efforts to reconcile the Catholic and Anglican churches.

The Vatican announced in October that it had worked out a way for Anglicans who are dissatisfied with their church to switch allegiance en masse to Rome.

The process will enable groups of Anglicans to become Catholic and recognize the pope as their leader, yet have parishes that retain Anglican rites, Vatican officials said. The move comes some 450 years after King Henry VIII broke from Rome and created the Church of England, forerunner of the Anglican Communion.

The number of Anglicans wishing to join the Catholic Church has increased in recent years as the Anglican Church has welcomed the ordination of women and openly gay clergy, said Cardinal William Joseph Levada, the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in announcing the move in October.

Williams was said to have been taken by surprise by the move, which critics described as an end run around a long-established Catholic-Anglican dialogue.

"The Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion," Levada said.

Levada said "hundreds" of Anglicans around the world have expressed their desire to join the Catholic Church. Among them are 50 Anglican bishops, said Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

Catholic and Anglican theology and rites are broadly similar, but Anglicans have long allowed priests to marry and have children.

In recent decades, the Anglican Communion has allowed women to become priests. The Episcopal Church, the United States branch of the Anglican Communion, has ordained an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, and appears to be on the verge of ordaining more.

Those developments have caused controversy within the communion, with more conservative parishes setting up alternative structures of authority.

Pope Benedict hinted clearly when he last met Williams in Rome almost exactly three years ago to the day that Rome did not look kindly on the Anglican moves.

"Recent developments, especially concerning the ordained ministry and certain moral teachings, have affected not only internal relations within the Anglican Communion but also relations between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church," the pope said in November 2006.

"We believe that these matters, which are presently under discussion within the Anglican Communion, are of vital importance to the preaching of the gospel in its integrity, and that your current discussions will shape the future of our relations," he added.

There are about 77 million Anglicans worldwide, and about 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.

News Source:cnn.com

Condos Miami

SNAP ANALYSIS-Obama prods North Korea back to nuclear talks

2009-11-19T03:37:00.000-08:00

SEOUL - U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Asia may increase pressure on North Korea to return to stalled nuclear talks, but it is a long way from ensuring that Pyongyang will take permanent disarmament steps.

Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said after a summit on Thursday that destitute and isolated North Korea could win massive aid and better global standing if it scraps its nuclear plans. [ID:nSEO199957]

Obama's talks in Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, where he won backing for dispatching his administration's first envoy to Pyongyang on Dec. 8, likely dashed one of North Korea's time-tested tactics of trying to drive wedges between its dialogue partners.

Here are some implications of Obama's Asian tour on nuclear diplomacy with North Korea:

* Regional powers will expect North Korea to take some action to reduce the security risk it poses to Asia after U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth visits Pyongyang in December.

* The United States and others want to see at least a return to commitments reached in 2005 under a six-way deal where the North resumes dismantling its ageing Yongbyon nuclear plant that makes arm-grade plutonium and permits international inspectors to verify claims it made about its nuclear programme.

* The United States will keep pressing for strict implementation of fresh U.N. sanctions imposed after the North's nuclear test in May aimed at cutting off the money it receives from selling weapons, its biggest export item.

* Washington will keep in reserve a threat to clamp down on the North's international finances.

* South Korea will pressure North Korea by refraining from giving unconditional handout, which at one time were equal to about 5 percent of the North's estimated $17 billion a year economy.

* The pressure alone may not be enough for North Korea to move beyond commitments it made, but has since abandoned, namely to disable and then dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear plant.

* Few expect North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, which Pyongyang regards as its main leverage over what it sees as a hostile United States and also the crowning achievement of leader Kim Jong-il's "military first" rule.

* North Korea's disarmament decision will likely be based on the state of its finances. Leader Kim is coming under pressure at home due to his pledges to rebuild the country's economy by 2012 and implement succession plans, which will require him to spend big to ensure the support of top level cadres.

* North Korea may try to increase its bargaining leverage through military moves that could include missile launches, skirmishes with the South or even another nuclear test.

News Source : reuters.com

Florida Homes Miami

Jenson Button likely to have to move to McLaren despite world champion status

2009-11-17T01:54:00.001-08:00

The acquisition of Brawn GP by Mercedes ought to have provided the financial muscle required to meet Button's demands. Clearly, Mercedes do not want him at the £8 million price.

The likely move to McLaren is hardly a disaster. Neither is it anybody's idea of first choice. Button was established at Brawn, his home since 2003 when the team were under the ownership of British and American Tobacco. His heart was set on Fairytale II; building on the incredible world championship season just gone.

The last thing Button imagined when he gave us that karaoke moment on the team radio at Interlagos was an endgame that saw him talking tactics with Lewis Hamilton. Why would anyone want to put their name next to Hamilton's at McLaren? That was a seat too hot to handle for a double world champion when Hamilton was a rookie.

Button would not fall into the same temperamental trap that warped Fernando Alonso's relationship with the team. Hot head Button is not. Nevertheless the same structural difficulty presents itself. Hamilton is a fixture at Woking, McLaren boy and man. The car is built with a Hamilton bias. Button will get equal use of it, but the car was not designed with him in mind.|

Oh, and one more thing. Hamilton is a phenomenon, the like of which Formula One has arguably never seen. Button is an exceptional talent the like of whom we have seen a few times over.

At least he made it to the end of the season before learning how highly Brawn valued him in pounds, shillings and pence. Hill was dumped three races before the title was decided, Arrows eventually picking up his tab.

Button is carrying a career curse in contract terms. The hefty break delivered by Williams in 2000 turned to mush when Sir Frank dumped him after a season to accommodate Juan Pablo Montoya. David Richards rescued him from the Benetton/Renault disaster, taking him to BAR, where he embarrassed Jacques Villeneuve before rattling up 10 podium finishes in 2004.

That old siren call from Williams proved impossible to resist and in August that year he announced he was heading back to Grove. "Oh no you are not," BAR said, and took their case to the Contracts Recognition Board, who agreed. A year later he was off to Williams again only to change his mind when news broke that Honda would be buying BAR.

An expensive wrangle ensued costing Button an estimated $30 million to buy himself out of the Williams agreement. No blame attaches to Button in this case. The voluntary pay cut he took to compete this year does not make him Mother Teresa, and he was rewarded with a world championship. Nevertheless he deserved better from fate than to run into a reluctant new owner in Mercedes.

Telegraph Sport learnt of Mercedes' interest in August, by which time Button's management team were in negotiation with Brawn about a deal for 2010 and beyond. Mercedes denied a buy-out was on the table. Button was not in the loop. Brawn were not obliged to keep Button informed. Now we understand why.

It's a shame. Ross Brawn wanted to keep him. Drivers were never his priority, not even world champions. Safeguarding the future of the team was. The deal with Mercedes has achieved that, for which Brawn deserves much credit. For Button a new challenge beckons. I would sooner walk naked with lions.

News Source : telegraph.co.uk

Miami Condominiums

Manatees arriving for winter

2009-11-16T05:32:00.001-08:00

Here come the manatees, and right behind them, here come the police.

Manatee migration season began Sunday in South Florida, as slow-speed zones went into effect to prevent boats from whapping into the endangered marine mammals arriving for the winter. Extra police officers took to the water to nab violators, and boaters began calculating extra time into their trips.

"It's a major inconvenience," said Barry Brimacomb, a fishing captain who said the speed zones add 25 minutes to a one-way trip from Lake Worth to Peanut Island. "I don't know anybody that wants to purposely hurt manatees. It's not the fishing captains. We go out of our way to be careful and not hurt them. It's the pleasure boaters who are just blasting down the Intracoastal."

But the restrictions appear to work.

Last year a record 900 manatees were counted in a single day in Broward County, as cold fronts drove them to the warm-water discharges of the county's two power plants. But despite the high concentration of manatees bobbing in the water, just three were killed by boats in Broward that year.

"With that many manatees in Broward County, it could have been a disaster," said Katie Tripp, science and conservation director for the Save the Manatee Club. "We didn't see a spike in mortality because you've got speed zones, you've got compliant boaters, you have boaters who are concerned about manatees."

Broward and Palm Beach counties put extra law enforcement on the water to protect manatees.

Broward County has an officer dedicated to patrol the loop of south Broward waterways from the power plant at Port Everglades to the power plant south of Interstate 595 and east of state Road 7.

Palm Beach County has contracted with various law enforcement agencies to generate a 25 percent increase in water patrols.

In Palm Beach County last year, a record six manatees were killed by watercraft. Three have been killed this year.

During last year's manatee season, officers in Palm Beach County issued about 1,000 warnings and 600 citations. Despite the spike in watercraft deaths last year, the extra patrols appear to be working, said Allessandra Medri, senior environmental analyst.

"We have seen a lot less violations of manatee zones," she said. "It's been very effective."

In addition to catching speed-zone violators, Medri said the extra officers issued about 350 citations for other violations, such as boating under the influence or failing to have proper equipment, such as life jackets.

The manatees arriving in South Florida this season come from as far as southeastern Georgia, said Chip Deutsch, associate research scientist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, who served on a team that tracked the movements of 78 manatees. They come south for warmth, heading down when the water temperature falls below 68 degrees.

They have a low metabolic rate, which means they don't generate much heat. And unlike whales, seals and other marine mammals of the north, manatees lack a thick layer of blubber to retain heat.

So why do they leave at all? Why not follow the example of the retirees from New York, New Jersey and other cold states and simply remain in South Florida?

The answer appears to be food. Manatees find more sea grass to feed on along the Banana River, Indian River and other waterways to the north, Deutsch said. Although this has probably always been the case, he said, the development of cities in South Florida over the past 100 years further reduced their feeding opportunities, he said.

But some mysteries remain, he said. Why do some manatees stay in South Florida year-round? Why do some manatees go only a hundred miles or so north, while other head to Jacksonville or southeastern Georgia? "There are still some unknowns," Deutsch said.

Arnie Sedel, an avid fisherman from Lighthouse Point, said he watches the surface for roiling water, an indication of manatees, as he heads out to go after tarpon, redfish or snook. But whether or not he sees signs of manatees, he observes the speed zones. He doesn't mind the inconvenience, even if it means he gets home a little later.

"It's not an issue if you're a gentleman and don't want to hurt them," he said. "It's the law and you follow the law and do what you got to do."

News Source : sun-sentinel.com

Miami Condo