Saturday, February 7, 2009
DEEP SEA FISHING TRIP THIS SUNDAY @ 5;30
GOT TO GET UP AT 4:30, GET ON THE BUS AT 5:30 WITH MY COOLER, HOPE TO CATCH THE BIGGEST FISH AND ALSO THE MOST FISH. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL ON THE BOAT TO HEAR ALL THE FISH STORIES ABOUT THAT LARGE FISH THAT GOT AWAY. JUST TO LET YOU KNOW I WILL CATCH THAT FISH THAT GOT AWAY. WILL LET EVERYONE KNOW ON MONDAY.
Have you eye out for tall grass and overnight parking in driveways.
I can see Keith Stevens, with his camera and a yard stick driving around in his golf cart in the day time looking at the height of the grass in the neighborhood, "yes" he says this lawn is 1/16Th higher than the covenants allows, this person will be fined. Margot Stevens at night is looking for cars being parked in their driveway. "Ho My Gosh", she says "call the cops and get a tow truck". What a team, it sounds like Mutt and Jeff.
Friday, February 6, 2009
CALL THE COPS
THE POLL SHOWS CALL THE POLICE ON ANYONE THAT TALKS ABOUT WEAPONS. IT WAS 10 YES ANSWERS AND 5 NO ANSWERS. WHAT A SICK GROUP
Margot Stevens, CDD Board
Margot Stevens voted to have the residents pay $750.00 or $325.00 with their 50% discount. Doesn't she know we are in a recession. If she has a Community venue show once a month she is no different than the residents of Lake Ashton. She must pay the $325.00 fee because what she is doing has no connection to the CDD Board. She is not a Club or a Group. Please call Tricia Adams 324-6032 or Do Nothing Joe Hunter at 324-5457
Last year I had a New England Dinner and Buffet once a month in the Ballroom. Now I can't do it any more because Its going to cost me $325.00 to rent the hall. Now the restaurant is out of 30 -35 dinners. If they want to play this dirty game of charging $325.00 then they must pay. Yes you are losing your residents enjoyment and rights at Lake Ashton. Every time I walk by the restaurant, there is about 6-8 people having lanch. It is just a matter of time that they must closed their doors because of lack of business. I for one will never have dinner or lunch at the Lake Ashton Grill. There are much better eating places in Lake Wales.
Last year I had a New England Dinner and Buffet once a month in the Ballroom. Now I can't do it any more because Its going to cost me $325.00 to rent the hall. Now the restaurant is out of 30 -35 dinners. If they want to play this dirty game of charging $325.00 then they must pay. Yes you are losing your residents enjoyment and rights at Lake Ashton. Every time I walk by the restaurant, there is about 6-8 people having lanch. It is just a matter of time that they must closed their doors because of lack of business. I for one will never have dinner or lunch at the Lake Ashton Grill. There are much better eating places in Lake Wales.
HEADLINE NEWS Fri Feb 6, 2009
Seas are rising as much as 17' in the coming years off Florida Coast.
One out of four drivers in Florida have no Auto Insurance.
Job unemployment claims highest in 26 years
Stimulus plan as now reach 937 Billion.
598,000 jobs lost last month, worst since 1974.
Unemployment has reach 7.6%.
Michigan is 2% higher than national unemployment average.
One out of four drivers in Florida have no Auto Insurance.
Job unemployment claims highest in 26 years
Stimulus plan as now reach 937 Billion.
598,000 jobs lost last month, worst since 1974.
Unemployment has reach 7.6%.
Michigan is 2% higher than national unemployment average.
Sun City Center sees golf decline
Article Courtesy of St. Petersburg Times
By Saundra Amrhein
February 6, 2009
SUN CITY CENTER — With golf course membership flagging and course operators in bankruptcy, two local task forces have been studying ways to shore up one of Sun City Center's biggest attractions.
The first Golf Course Task Force was formed by the community association after WCI Communities Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall.
The task force sent out proposal requests to 16 consultants to see how much they would charge to study the value and maintenance costs of the North Lakes, Sandpiper and possibly the Caloosa Greens executive courses.
The task force reported back to the board in January, and the board is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to hire the recommended consultant, said Ed Barnes.
Barnes, the association's new president and head of both task forces, said the community association wants to be prepared in case WCI suddenly needs to sell off the golf courses.
WCI, which built much of Sun City Center and runs its golf courses, reassured residents it would maintain its seven golf courses during its financial reorganization.
The association board became involved because it holds the right of first refusal on two of the courses if WCI puts them on the market, which it hasn't.
The second task force is charged with finding ways to increase membership and use of the golf courses, Barnes said.
"The aging population plays less than before," Barnes said. Younger residents moving in recently aren't as interested and enjoy many other hobbies, he added.
"Golfing has pretty much gone down in Sun City Center quite a bit in the last 15 years," he said.
The task force is exploring ways to increase use among current members and ways to find new members, including those living outside of Sun City Center in nearby communities such as Valencia Lakes.
The second task force is expected to complete its report by March 31, he said.
Every resident of Sun City Center has a stake in the fate of the golf courses, he said. The golf courses define the community and play a role in property values.
"If there were some reason for these courses to go away because they weren't viable or making money, we'd see that as having a significant effect on the community as a whole," Barnes said. "This is a community effort to keep those courses viable."
By Saundra Amrhein
February 6, 2009
SUN CITY CENTER — With golf course membership flagging and course operators in bankruptcy, two local task forces have been studying ways to shore up one of Sun City Center's biggest attractions.
The first Golf Course Task Force was formed by the community association after WCI Communities Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall.
The task force sent out proposal requests to 16 consultants to see how much they would charge to study the value and maintenance costs of the North Lakes, Sandpiper and possibly the Caloosa Greens executive courses.
The task force reported back to the board in January, and the board is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to hire the recommended consultant, said Ed Barnes.
Barnes, the association's new president and head of both task forces, said the community association wants to be prepared in case WCI suddenly needs to sell off the golf courses.
WCI, which built much of Sun City Center and runs its golf courses, reassured residents it would maintain its seven golf courses during its financial reorganization.
The association board became involved because it holds the right of first refusal on two of the courses if WCI puts them on the market, which it hasn't.
The second task force is charged with finding ways to increase membership and use of the golf courses, Barnes said.
"The aging population plays less than before," Barnes said. Younger residents moving in recently aren't as interested and enjoy many other hobbies, he added.
"Golfing has pretty much gone down in Sun City Center quite a bit in the last 15 years," he said.
The task force is exploring ways to increase use among current members and ways to find new members, including those living outside of Sun City Center in nearby communities such as Valencia Lakes.
The second task force is expected to complete its report by March 31, he said.
Every resident of Sun City Center has a stake in the fate of the golf courses, he said. The golf courses define the community and play a role in property values.
"If there were some reason for these courses to go away because they weren't viable or making money, we'd see that as having a significant effect on the community as a whole," Barnes said. "This is a community effort to keep those courses viable."
Deerfield Beach may shut off water
Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Linda Trischitta
Published February 4, 2009
Diela Narrabe may be forced to leave her Deerfield Beach condo next month, even though she's done everything right.
Narrabe is one of 28 unit owners — out of 168 — in the Deerfield Palms condo association who still pay their monthly maintenance fees, which are used to pay the community's water bill.
Residents owe the city $90,000. If they don't pay $12,929 by the first week of March, the city is threatening to turn off the water. Because the community has master meters rather than individual unit gauges, the city can't separate owners who are current on their bills from delinquent customers.
If the water goes away, so will Narrabe, a golf club employee and mother of two who says she could not afford both her mortgage and rent on another place.
"I don't know what to do," she said. "If they evict us, that's my big problem. If I was by myself, that's another thing. But my two little daughters? We can't live without water."
Associations with unpaid utility bills also are an issue in Coral Springs,
Deerfield Palms condo resident Diela Narrabe who is up to date on her bills, the condo maintenace company says. Out of 168 units, 140 are not paying their condo maintenance fees at Deerfield Palms. The city will cut off its water Feb. 9 because more than $90,000 is owed.
Lauderhill, Boca Raton and Tamarac, and the problem is likely to spread as joblessness and foreclosures keep climbing.
From December 2007 to December 2008, unemployed workers in Florida increased 80.9 percent, from 415,495 to 751,753, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2008, there were 47,387 commercial and residential properties in some stage of foreclosure in Broward County 23,399 in Palm Beach County, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif. The range covers owners late with mortgage payments to those who have lost their properties.
Armando Fana, director of the Miami office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, estimated more than 80 units in Deerfield Palms are in some form of foreclosure.
"I understand that a lot of people [are in foreclosure] but they are still living here using the water, and they should continue to pay for it," Narrabe said. "It's not fair that the people that pay have to pay for the others."
The community cannot afford a lawyer to chase maintenance fees, said condo board president David Brenelus; nor could the association purchase foreclosed units and pay those monthly fees.
In the fall, Deerfield Beach officials began discussing the water bill delinquency with Deerfield Palms, a community of seven yellow, two-story buildings and 600 residents just west of Dixie Highway. After the units were converted to condos in 2006, residents paid $119,000 to $201,000 for them.
The city, which borrowed $17.5 million last year to improve and expand its water plant, must repay the debt through water sales, City Attorney Andrew Maurodis said. If those obligations are not met, he said, "all the other people paying water and sewer rates could have a rate increase."
In Tamarac, spokesman Andy Berns said the city is negotiating with two condominiums: Arbor Keys, with 232 units, owes more than $193,000; and Southgate Gardens, battered by Hurricane Wilma, has 108 units and is $21,700 in arrears.
"I cannot imagine a scenario in which we would turn off the water," Berns said. "Because we recognize many residents are living there and paying their bills, we believe it would be unfair for us to penalize them for the actions or inactions of their association."
Boca Raton Treasurer Carol Himes Hannigan said her city tries "to work closely with associations if they come up on the shut off list. We have had associations [fall behind] and it's typically just a phone call or the bill is lost. We've been able to come to a resolution."
In Lauderhill, the city this month told some residents of Stonebridge Gardens' 416 units they risked having their water turned off. Assistant City Finance Director Sean Henderson said of the community's four associations, condo one owes $110,124; condo two has a plan to repay $30,000 over six months; condo three owes $135,954; and condo four is up to date.
"We've found some condo and homeowner associations are struggling, when you add their bills from hurricane damages and foreclosures," Henderson said. "We negotiate bills all day."
Jonathan Graham, who owns a unit in Stonebridge Gardens condo two, said Hurricane Wilma forced him out of his condo for two-and-a-half years. He hopes the community and city can arrange a payment plan.
"If unit owners pay their fees when due, the association can support itself," Graham said.
In Coral Springs, five to 10 communities have been in arrears at times, said Financial Services Director David Russek.
"We were able to work out payment plans for them to get back on their feet," he said. "It's not with interest and may be a little bit of a loss for the city. We're not earning a lot on investments anyway because of the markets."
"I don't know what the solution is," Narrabe said. "The problem is so big."
By Linda Trischitta
Published February 4, 2009
Diela Narrabe may be forced to leave her Deerfield Beach condo next month, even though she's done everything right.
Narrabe is one of 28 unit owners — out of 168 — in the Deerfield Palms condo association who still pay their monthly maintenance fees, which are used to pay the community's water bill.
Residents owe the city $90,000. If they don't pay $12,929 by the first week of March, the city is threatening to turn off the water. Because the community has master meters rather than individual unit gauges, the city can't separate owners who are current on their bills from delinquent customers.
If the water goes away, so will Narrabe, a golf club employee and mother of two who says she could not afford both her mortgage and rent on another place.
"I don't know what to do," she said. "If they evict us, that's my big problem. If I was by myself, that's another thing. But my two little daughters? We can't live without water."
Associations with unpaid utility bills also are an issue in Coral Springs,
Deerfield Palms condo resident Diela Narrabe who is up to date on her bills, the condo maintenace company says. Out of 168 units, 140 are not paying their condo maintenance fees at Deerfield Palms. The city will cut off its water Feb. 9 because more than $90,000 is owed.
Lauderhill, Boca Raton and Tamarac, and the problem is likely to spread as joblessness and foreclosures keep climbing.
From December 2007 to December 2008, unemployed workers in Florida increased 80.9 percent, from 415,495 to 751,753, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2008, there were 47,387 commercial and residential properties in some stage of foreclosure in Broward County 23,399 in Palm Beach County, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif. The range covers owners late with mortgage payments to those who have lost their properties.
Armando Fana, director of the Miami office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, estimated more than 80 units in Deerfield Palms are in some form of foreclosure.
"I understand that a lot of people [are in foreclosure] but they are still living here using the water, and they should continue to pay for it," Narrabe said. "It's not fair that the people that pay have to pay for the others."
The community cannot afford a lawyer to chase maintenance fees, said condo board president David Brenelus; nor could the association purchase foreclosed units and pay those monthly fees.
In the fall, Deerfield Beach officials began discussing the water bill delinquency with Deerfield Palms, a community of seven yellow, two-story buildings and 600 residents just west of Dixie Highway. After the units were converted to condos in 2006, residents paid $119,000 to $201,000 for them.
The city, which borrowed $17.5 million last year to improve and expand its water plant, must repay the debt through water sales, City Attorney Andrew Maurodis said. If those obligations are not met, he said, "all the other people paying water and sewer rates could have a rate increase."
In Tamarac, spokesman Andy Berns said the city is negotiating with two condominiums: Arbor Keys, with 232 units, owes more than $193,000; and Southgate Gardens, battered by Hurricane Wilma, has 108 units and is $21,700 in arrears.
"I cannot imagine a scenario in which we would turn off the water," Berns said. "Because we recognize many residents are living there and paying their bills, we believe it would be unfair for us to penalize them for the actions or inactions of their association."
Boca Raton Treasurer Carol Himes Hannigan said her city tries "to work closely with associations if they come up on the shut off list. We have had associations [fall behind] and it's typically just a phone call or the bill is lost. We've been able to come to a resolution."
In Lauderhill, the city this month told some residents of Stonebridge Gardens' 416 units they risked having their water turned off. Assistant City Finance Director Sean Henderson said of the community's four associations, condo one owes $110,124; condo two has a plan to repay $30,000 over six months; condo three owes $135,954; and condo four is up to date.
"We've found some condo and homeowner associations are struggling, when you add their bills from hurricane damages and foreclosures," Henderson said. "We negotiate bills all day."
Jonathan Graham, who owns a unit in Stonebridge Gardens condo two, said Hurricane Wilma forced him out of his condo for two-and-a-half years. He hopes the community and city can arrange a payment plan.
"If unit owners pay their fees when due, the association can support itself," Graham said.
In Coral Springs, five to 10 communities have been in arrears at times, said Financial Services Director David Russek.
"We were able to work out payment plans for them to get back on their feet," he said. "It's not with interest and may be a little bit of a loss for the city. We're not earning a lot on investments anyway because of the markets."
"I don't know what the solution is," Narrabe said. "The problem is so big."
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Call The Cops
That's what Margo Stevens said when she came over my house knocking on my door, thinking that they were going to dig up the street in front of my house to check on the road surface. "CALL THE COPS" she said. Where is she going to be watching cartoons on TV while I call the cops. Now I was told that the person that wanted me to call the cops call the cops on me. This is a no brainier. And looking at the poll, 5 said yes and 3 said no. I guess we have a bunch on no brainiers here at Lake Ashton. Let us all call the cops on everybody, what else is there to do. What was Margo Stevens thinking when she ask me to call the cops. Were they really going to dig up the street to check on the road surface? She is good at calling cops, so why does she need me to call the cops. Now she thinks she knows all the answers to all the questions about our community and is starting her own talk show called "community forum" once a month. She must be reading my Blog. Don't waste your time going to her talk show. Jerry Springer won't be too happy with this competition plus you get a better education with Jerry. Please keep in mind that she wants to pass a covenant to ban cars or trucks in all driveways overnight. This means that when you have a guest they must get permission to park your auto in the Club's parking lot plus somehow find a way back home again or walk home. Living here is beginning to be a nightmare. Also her husband Keith Stevens started the ban on pick-up trucks. He is hired by the developer to take pictures and is given a yearly membership to the golf course. He also wants lawn edging to be a fixed height or you are in violation of the covenants. No one that is connected to the developer should be a CDD or HOA board member. They are in the interest of the developer. With this in mind, the people of Lake Ashton sure knows how to pick board members. It sounds like they are not too educated. Please be aware that Jake Eaton should be either on the CDD or the HOA board, not both.
Foreclosures and How they affect homeowners
The phrase I have heard most frequently regarding foreclosures and declining property value is “death spiral”.
Homeowners increasingly have “upside down” mortgages- they owe more than their properties are worth.
With increasing foreclosures, homeowner associations ultimately face the choice between not maintaining the common property, or levying special assessments which homeowners can’t afford. Increased assessments then lead to more delinquencies and foreclosures, further depressing property value.
Florida is especially hard hit. In 2008, California and Florida accounted for nearly half of all the foreclosures filed. The crisis started with subprime mortgages– no-doc loans (no proof of income required), and high risk loans -- causing a flood of bad debt. But the problem has spiraled far beyond that.
On December 14, 2008, a program on CBS’s “60 Minutes” discussed the second wave of foreclosures. Mortgage defaults on ALT-A and Option ARMs mortgages are expected to dwarf the subprime mortgage crisis.
The declining economy and rising unemployment further aggravate the problem.
On Jan. 19 of this year, an article in The South Florida Business Journal suggested that South Florida foreclosure filings could double in 2009.
To make matters worse, Fannie Mae – which buys mortgages and funds loans, owning about half of the mortgages in Florida- tightened lending requirements on January 15. It will no longer fund loans in condo developments where 15% of the total number of units are late in assessments by 30 days or more. This will affect lending for purchases and refinancing of condo units, and make it even harder to sell condos, leading to further depressed home values and foreclosures. Although this now applies to only condos, it would not be surprising to see a constricting of HOA lending, as well – especially those with significant common property or shared facilities.
Homeowners increasingly have “upside down” mortgages- they owe more than their properties are worth.
With increasing foreclosures, homeowner associations ultimately face the choice between not maintaining the common property, or levying special assessments which homeowners can’t afford. Increased assessments then lead to more delinquencies and foreclosures, further depressing property value.
Florida is especially hard hit. In 2008, California and Florida accounted for nearly half of all the foreclosures filed. The crisis started with subprime mortgages– no-doc loans (no proof of income required), and high risk loans -- causing a flood of bad debt. But the problem has spiraled far beyond that.
On December 14, 2008, a program on CBS’s “60 Minutes” discussed the second wave of foreclosures. Mortgage defaults on ALT-A and Option ARMs mortgages are expected to dwarf the subprime mortgage crisis.
The declining economy and rising unemployment further aggravate the problem.
On Jan. 19 of this year, an article in The South Florida Business Journal suggested that South Florida foreclosure filings could double in 2009.
To make matters worse, Fannie Mae – which buys mortgages and funds loans, owning about half of the mortgages in Florida- tightened lending requirements on January 15. It will no longer fund loans in condo developments where 15% of the total number of units are late in assessments by 30 days or more. This will affect lending for purchases and refinancing of condo units, and make it even harder to sell condos, leading to further depressed home values and foreclosures. Although this now applies to only condos, it would not be surprising to see a constricting of HOA lending, as well – especially those with significant common property or shared facilities.
World Record Set: Most Fish Ever Caught in 24 Hours
January 28, 2009
New World Record Set: Most Fish Caught In 24 Hours
Competitive anglers across America, eat your hearts out! Frabill's Jeff Kolodzinski set a new world record that many fishermen only dream about: most fish ever caught in a 24 hour period.
The Marathon Man caught 1,628 fish from noon to noon on Aug. 22-23 from the shores of Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka. That's one fish every 53 seconds, for 1,440 consecutive minutes. For the first two hours, Kolodzinski actually caught a crappie or sunfish every 22 seconds.
New World Record Set: Most Fish Caught In 24 Hours
Competitive anglers across America, eat your hearts out! Frabill's Jeff Kolodzinski set a new world record that many fishermen only dream about: most fish ever caught in a 24 hour period.
The Marathon Man caught 1,628 fish from noon to noon on Aug. 22-23 from the shores of Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka. That's one fish every 53 seconds, for 1,440 consecutive minutes. For the first two hours, Kolodzinski actually caught a crappie or sunfish every 22 seconds.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
HFC Facility
Received an E-Mail from a lady who uses the HFC clubhouse. She is very concern and wants other people to know what is going on at this facility.
She is a daily user of the HFC and the facility appears to be well organized and well maintained. However, there are some actions by the users of this facility, both residents and their guests, that causes her concerns or gets her PO’d.
1. Leaving the headphones on after their use.
2. Turning up the volume on their TV so laud it drowns out all others and can even be heard with the headphones on.
3. Using the pool or spa without showering.
Some users of the HFC need to be more considerate when using these facilities. It does not take an Act of God to turn off headphones after using them, turn down the volume for your ears only, or take a shower before using the pool.
She is a daily user of the HFC and the facility appears to be well organized and well maintained. However, there are some actions by the users of this facility, both residents and their guests, that causes her concerns or gets her PO’d.
1. Leaving the headphones on after their use.
2. Turning up the volume on their TV so laud it drowns out all others and can even be heard with the headphones on.
3. Using the pool or spa without showering.
Some users of the HFC need to be more considerate when using these facilities. It does not take an Act of God to turn off headphones after using them, turn down the volume for your ears only, or take a shower before using the pool.
Free Breakfast till 2:pm today at Denny"s Tuesday
Denny's is buying breakfast for America today.
The national chain of restaurants will provide a free Grand Slam breakfast to anyone who visits their restaurants between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Denny's announced the promotion in an ad during the Super Bowl. The company anticipates up to two million consumers will take advantage of the offer.
The national chain of restaurants will provide a free Grand Slam breakfast to anyone who visits their restaurants between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Denny's announced the promotion in an ad during the Super Bowl. The company anticipates up to two million consumers will take advantage of the offer.
MONDAY FISHING JOKE:::::Take the Bait
It was a cold winter day, when an old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line and began waiting for a fish to bite.
He was there for almost an hour without even a nibble when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice not too far from the old man and dropped in his fishing line. It only took about a minute and WHAM! a Largemouth Bass hit his hook and the boy pulled in the fish.
The old man couldn't believe it but figured it was just luck. But, the boy dropped in his line and again within just a few minutes pulled in another one.
This went on and on until finally the old man couldn't take it any more since he hadn't caught a thing all this time.
He went to the boy and said, "Son, I've been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You have been here only a few minutes and have caught about half a dozen fish! How do you do it?"
The boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm."
"What was that?" the old man asked.
Again the boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rarrm."
"Look," said the old man, "I can't understand a word you are saying."
So, the boy spit into his hand and said, "You have to keep the worms warm!"
He was there for almost an hour without even a nibble when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice not too far from the old man and dropped in his fishing line. It only took about a minute and WHAM! a Largemouth Bass hit his hook and the boy pulled in the fish.
The old man couldn't believe it but figured it was just luck. But, the boy dropped in his line and again within just a few minutes pulled in another one.
This went on and on until finally the old man couldn't take it any more since he hadn't caught a thing all this time.
He went to the boy and said, "Son, I've been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You have been here only a few minutes and have caught about half a dozen fish! How do you do it?"
The boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm."
"What was that?" the old man asked.
Again the boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rarrm."
"Look," said the old man, "I can't understand a word you are saying."
So, the boy spit into his hand and said, "You have to keep the worms warm!"
Monday Golf Joke "Half hour late"
A couple of weeks ago, I played with new member who shot an even par 72.
We had fun during the round, so I asked him if he wanted to play next week.
He said: "Sure, but I might be a half hour late."
The following week he shows up right on on time, and sets up on the first tee this time playing left- handed. Again he shoots a 72.
I asked him if he wanted to play again next week.
He replied: "Sure but I might be a half hour late."
I then asked him :"How come some times you play right- handed and other times, left-handed."
He said :"When I wake up in the morning and my wife is sleeping on her left side, I play left- handed and if she is on her right side, then I play right- handed."
I then ask ;"So,what if she is laying flat on her back?"
"That's when I'll be a half hour late!" he replied
We had fun during the round, so I asked him if he wanted to play next week.
He said: "Sure, but I might be a half hour late."
The following week he shows up right on on time, and sets up on the first tee this time playing left- handed. Again he shoots a 72.
I asked him if he wanted to play again next week.
He replied: "Sure but I might be a half hour late."
I then asked him :"How come some times you play right- handed and other times, left-handed."
He said :"When I wake up in the morning and my wife is sleeping on her left side, I play left- handed and if she is on her right side, then I play right- handed."
I then ask ;"So,what if she is laying flat on her back?"
"That's when I'll be a half hour late!" he replied
Results from poll. Dinner at Lake Ashton Grill
QUESTION: DO YOU ENJOY DINNING AT THE LAKE ASHTON GRILLE?
Results: 17 said YES
6 said NO
Results: 17 said YES
6 said NO
Back from a 10 day Vacation
Got back from a 10 day vacation on the high seas. MCS LIRICA cruse to San Juan Martinique, Antiqua, St. Maarten, Torola and Cayo Levantado, a private island off the coast of Dominicana Republic. Had a great time.
HOA and a good fence
"Robert Frost once said that good fences make good neighbors. It's not that board members are not well-intentioned. "They just need stricter regulations in order to give them guidance on how to run an efficient and compassionate homeowners association."
Elected officials get an earful about condo association laws
Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By C. Ron Allen
Published February 1, 2009
Boca Raton - Some came in wheelchairs, others with walkers or canes.
By any means necessary, more than 150 residents — from Hialeah to Port St. Lucie — told state representatives Saturday that they need to further reform the laws governing condo and homeowner associations.
"I am shocked that it is so egregious," state Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said after the four-hour meeting at Florida Atlantic University. "I had no idea that the transgressions are so egregious and so shocking."
"We certainly did [get an earful]," state Rep. Franklin Sands, D-Weston, said. "A lot of people had a lot of issues. We have to take that information back and we have to respond to it responsibly."
The problems were varied, but the most prevalent were harassment or retaliation against owners who speak out against the board or a board member; abuse of power by associations; and the lack of protection for owners when boards act inappropriately.
The seminar, sponsored by Cyber Citizens for Justice, a statewide organization of condo owners linked by computer, was a learning experience for several homeowners who discovered several of their rights were being violated.
At least 15 of the attendees said their associations distribute a list of homeowners who are delinquent in their dues at the monthly meetings. But panelist Chandra Parker Doucette, a real estate and investment law attorney, said that was a violation of the law.
"You absolutely have the right to know that of the unit owners, 20 of them are not paying their dues," Parker Doucette said. "What you don't have the right to know is who they are."
Names only become public if the association files a lien against the homeowner, she added.
Several members expressed frustrations over being denied information from their associations on the grounds that the information requested is "under litigation."
Matters pending litigation are not privy to discussion. However, condo owners have a right to know that they are involved in active litigation, Parker Doucette said.
"You have the right to know that you are paying your lawyer to defend 67 lawsuits that you're probably not going to win," she said.
Parker Doucette told the body that everything that is filed in pending litigation is public record. "If you have curiosity about what's going on in pending litigation, go down to the courthouse and you can look up everything that's happening in the court case. But your association does have the requirement to give you the information if you ask for it," she said. "What they're not allowed to discuss openly with you is strategy or settlements."
There was a consensus that residents need to be more involved in their associations and not wait until they are in a quandary to seek help.
"It's all about when your ox gets gored," said Jeff Chester, a resident of Century Village in Deerfield Beach, a community of 12,000 residents and 8,508 units. "I deal with hundreds of residents, and the ones that come to the meetings are the ones who wanted to do something but were told no."
By C. Ron Allen
Published February 1, 2009
Boca Raton - Some came in wheelchairs, others with walkers or canes.
By any means necessary, more than 150 residents — from Hialeah to Port St. Lucie — told state representatives Saturday that they need to further reform the laws governing condo and homeowner associations.
"I am shocked that it is so egregious," state Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said after the four-hour meeting at Florida Atlantic University. "I had no idea that the transgressions are so egregious and so shocking."
"We certainly did [get an earful]," state Rep. Franklin Sands, D-Weston, said. "A lot of people had a lot of issues. We have to take that information back and we have to respond to it responsibly."
The problems were varied, but the most prevalent were harassment or retaliation against owners who speak out against the board or a board member; abuse of power by associations; and the lack of protection for owners when boards act inappropriately.
The seminar, sponsored by Cyber Citizens for Justice, a statewide organization of condo owners linked by computer, was a learning experience for several homeowners who discovered several of their rights were being violated.
At least 15 of the attendees said their associations distribute a list of homeowners who are delinquent in their dues at the monthly meetings. But panelist Chandra Parker Doucette, a real estate and investment law attorney, said that was a violation of the law.
"You absolutely have the right to know that of the unit owners, 20 of them are not paying their dues," Parker Doucette said. "What you don't have the right to know is who they are."
Names only become public if the association files a lien against the homeowner, she added.
Several members expressed frustrations over being denied information from their associations on the grounds that the information requested is "under litigation."
Matters pending litigation are not privy to discussion. However, condo owners have a right to know that they are involved in active litigation, Parker Doucette said.
"You have the right to know that you are paying your lawyer to defend 67 lawsuits that you're probably not going to win," she said.
Parker Doucette told the body that everything that is filed in pending litigation is public record. "If you have curiosity about what's going on in pending litigation, go down to the courthouse and you can look up everything that's happening in the court case. But your association does have the requirement to give you the information if you ask for it," she said. "What they're not allowed to discuss openly with you is strategy or settlements."
There was a consensus that residents need to be more involved in their associations and not wait until they are in a quandary to seek help.
"It's all about when your ox gets gored," said Jeff Chester, a resident of Century Village in Deerfield Beach, a community of 12,000 residents and 8,508 units. "I deal with hundreds of residents, and the ones that come to the meetings are the ones who wanted to do something but were told no."
Monday, February 2, 2009
State Farm Ins will not sell Ins in Florida in 3 years
Article Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By Beatrice E. Garcia
Published January 28, 2009
After selling property insurance in Florida for more than 60 years, State Farm Insurance plans to leave the business in less than three years.
Unless it can charge higher rates, the company says, its Florida unit will be insolvent by the end of 2011. The company claims it's hemorraging $20 million a month.
''If we have any further weakening of our financial condition, it would really hamper our ability to pay all of our claims going forward,'' said State Farm Florida President Jim Thompson. ``This is a very sad day for our company.''
The impact of State Farm Florida's drastic move goes well beyond the mad scramble of customers who own 1.2 million policies -- insuring homes, condo units, rentals, mobile homes, boats, liability and commercial property -- to find new insurers.
The company employs about 5,000 people in Florida. As many as another 5,100 work for its 850 agents in this state. In a 25-page document presented by State Farm Florida to state regulators Tuesday and obtained by the Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau, the firm said it had no immediate plans to cut staff.
However, State Farm agents would be unlikely to maintain their staffs if they could not write property insurance, which represents about 50 percent of their business.
Many regulators, legislators and policyholders were angry and dismayed that State Farm would pull out of the property business over losses and yet continue to write lucrative auto coverage. It also will continue to sell life insurance, annuities and financial services products.
Gov. Charlie Crist effectively bid State Farm ''good riddance'' when he heard of the company's proposed action. ''They probably charge the highest rates in the state anyway. Floridians will be much better off without them,'' the governor said in Tallahassee Tuesday.
''You can't just cherry-pick the lines you want to write,'' said State Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami.
EARLIER LAW
Robaina was referring to a law passed two years ago that aimed to prevent insurers from keeping the money-making businesses and dumping the rest. However, the law has applied to few, if any, companies.
State Farm sells much of its auto policies through other units and through its parent company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance.
Crist said he'd like to see the Legislature strengthen that law.
If State Farm doesn't want ''to partner with the state's consumers on property insurance, they ought to be good corporate citizens and get out completely,'' said Michael Gold, president of Boca Raton-based People's Trust Insurance, which is selling homeowners coverage directly to consumers via the Internet.
Marisel Sanchez Walston said her mother, who lives in Miami-Dade County, has been a 24-year State Farm policyholder whose premium has risen from $300 initially to about $1,800 for a 1,500-square-foot home.
If she can't find another insurer, ''I don't see any other option for my mother other than selling the house when the real estate market gets a little better,'' she said.
Losing coverage for State Farm policyholders wouldn't be immediate.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has 90 days to review and approve or reject State Farm's plan. If it is approved, State Farm then has to give 180 days notice to those policyholders it plans to terminate.
In the documents submitted to OIR Tuesday, the company said approximately 470,000 policies would be eliminated in the first year.
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in a statement that state insurance regulators had been hearing for months that State Farm was considering no longer writing property insurance in Florida.
The company in December outlined plans to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association to cut 655,000 homeowners policies in Florida by 2010.
McCarty had denied a request by State Farm's Florida-only unit for an average 47.1 percent rate increase.
The insurer said its analysis of its risk and projections of losses actually supported a 67 percent increase. Besides needing higher rates, the company contends the higher costs of backup reinsurance plus higher-than-expected costs for credits to homeowners who stormproof their homes have eroded its financial stability.
SENATE BILL
State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is developing a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would limit the policies an insurer declines to renew to 2 percent of the policies on its books. To strengthen the insurance market, Fasano said he is also drafting bill that would create a statewide wind insurance pool. Private companies would write just property/casualty of a homeowners or commercial policy.
House Speaker Ray Sansom invited State Farm officials to come to next week's meeting of the House insurance, business and financial affairs policy committee next week to discuss the consequences of its proposed plan.
For its part, Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer, is encouraging State Farm policyholders who will lose their coverage to shop around with agents who represent other companies.
Citizens, the largest insurer of homes and condos in Florida, has approximately 1.1 million policies on its books, with about half in South Florida. The company was initially created to be the insurer of last resort, but it has become more competitive in recent years as it has begun to write more than just windstorm coverage in the coastal sections of the state.
Agents such as Robert Reynolds, who runs the Morris & Reynolds agency in South Miami-Dade, said about a dozen smaller Florida-based companies such as Tower & Hill and Coral Insurance, are writing new homeowners policies.
National companies such as Allstate and Nationwide have reduced their business in Florida since the 2004 storms, citing the inability to raise rates and convoluted regulation.
Christian Camara, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Florida office, worries that other insurers will need to raise rates in the future if there are fewer and fewer companies willing to write policies in this state.
By Beatrice E. Garcia
Published January 28, 2009
After selling property insurance in Florida for more than 60 years, State Farm Insurance plans to leave the business in less than three years.
Unless it can charge higher rates, the company says, its Florida unit will be insolvent by the end of 2011. The company claims it's hemorraging $20 million a month.
''If we have any further weakening of our financial condition, it would really hamper our ability to pay all of our claims going forward,'' said State Farm Florida President Jim Thompson. ``This is a very sad day for our company.''
The impact of State Farm Florida's drastic move goes well beyond the mad scramble of customers who own 1.2 million policies -- insuring homes, condo units, rentals, mobile homes, boats, liability and commercial property -- to find new insurers.
The company employs about 5,000 people in Florida. As many as another 5,100 work for its 850 agents in this state. In a 25-page document presented by State Farm Florida to state regulators Tuesday and obtained by the Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau, the firm said it had no immediate plans to cut staff.
However, State Farm agents would be unlikely to maintain their staffs if they could not write property insurance, which represents about 50 percent of their business.
Many regulators, legislators and policyholders were angry and dismayed that State Farm would pull out of the property business over losses and yet continue to write lucrative auto coverage. It also will continue to sell life insurance, annuities and financial services products.
Gov. Charlie Crist effectively bid State Farm ''good riddance'' when he heard of the company's proposed action. ''They probably charge the highest rates in the state anyway. Floridians will be much better off without them,'' the governor said in Tallahassee Tuesday.
''You can't just cherry-pick the lines you want to write,'' said State Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami.
EARLIER LAW
Robaina was referring to a law passed two years ago that aimed to prevent insurers from keeping the money-making businesses and dumping the rest. However, the law has applied to few, if any, companies.
State Farm sells much of its auto policies through other units and through its parent company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance.
Crist said he'd like to see the Legislature strengthen that law.
If State Farm doesn't want ''to partner with the state's consumers on property insurance, they ought to be good corporate citizens and get out completely,'' said Michael Gold, president of Boca Raton-based People's Trust Insurance, which is selling homeowners coverage directly to consumers via the Internet.
Marisel Sanchez Walston said her mother, who lives in Miami-Dade County, has been a 24-year State Farm policyholder whose premium has risen from $300 initially to about $1,800 for a 1,500-square-foot home.
If she can't find another insurer, ''I don't see any other option for my mother other than selling the house when the real estate market gets a little better,'' she said.
Losing coverage for State Farm policyholders wouldn't be immediate.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has 90 days to review and approve or reject State Farm's plan. If it is approved, State Farm then has to give 180 days notice to those policyholders it plans to terminate.
In the documents submitted to OIR Tuesday, the company said approximately 470,000 policies would be eliminated in the first year.
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in a statement that state insurance regulators had been hearing for months that State Farm was considering no longer writing property insurance in Florida.
The company in December outlined plans to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association to cut 655,000 homeowners policies in Florida by 2010.
McCarty had denied a request by State Farm's Florida-only unit for an average 47.1 percent rate increase.
The insurer said its analysis of its risk and projections of losses actually supported a 67 percent increase. Besides needing higher rates, the company contends the higher costs of backup reinsurance plus higher-than-expected costs for credits to homeowners who stormproof their homes have eroded its financial stability.
SENATE BILL
State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is developing a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would limit the policies an insurer declines to renew to 2 percent of the policies on its books. To strengthen the insurance market, Fasano said he is also drafting bill that would create a statewide wind insurance pool. Private companies would write just property/casualty of a homeowners or commercial policy.
House Speaker Ray Sansom invited State Farm officials to come to next week's meeting of the House insurance, business and financial affairs policy committee next week to discuss the consequences of its proposed plan.
For its part, Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer, is encouraging State Farm policyholders who will lose their coverage to shop around with agents who represent other companies.
Citizens, the largest insurer of homes and condos in Florida, has approximately 1.1 million policies on its books, with about half in South Florida. The company was initially created to be the insurer of last resort, but it has become more competitive in recent years as it has begun to write more than just windstorm coverage in the coastal sections of the state.
Agents such as Robert Reynolds, who runs the Morris & Reynolds agency in South Miami-Dade, said about a dozen smaller Florida-based companies such as Tower & Hill and Coral Insurance, are writing new homeowners policies.
National companies such as Allstate and Nationwide have reduced their business in Florida since the 2004 storms, citing the inability to raise rates and convoluted regulation.
Christian Camara, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Florida office, worries that other insurers will need to raise rates in the future if there are fewer and fewer companies willing to write policies in this state.
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