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Waste not, want not
Earth-friendly living starts at home.
My family's attempts to lessen our impact on the earth remind me of driving a car with a manual transmission for the first time: When you finally take your foot off the clutch, the car lurches forward with a screech, then stalls. Eventually you get the hang of that third pedal and start to enjoy the ride. We, too, have alternately leaped forward (often with a screech) and stalled as we make our way toward a more harmonious, environmentally conscious way of life.
Early on my husband and I coasted. We recycled our recyclables, used cloth napkins instead of paper, and walked whenever possible. We had fun wrapping presents with whatever was at hand: a sock, a scarf, a pillowcase. Sometimes we would use a piece of fabric to wrap a gift, telling the child whose birthday it was that the wrapping was really a cape. And because our children were too young to have an opinion, we never bought those prepared lunches that are wrapped in plastic and encased in a cardboard box.
My first great leap occurred nearly 10 years ago, when we were attending a conference at a university. We ate our meals in a self-serve cafeteria, which my children loved because they could choose not only what to eat but how much. I was appalled as they thoughtlessly dumped their half-full plates into the garbage can. How could they be so oblivious to the waste? How could they not care?
Since then I've looked for opportunities to help them understand that food doesn't just come from the grocery store. We shop at the farmer's market, visit an orchard in the summer and fall, and grow raspberries and tomatoes in our backyard. I've also tried, with limited success, to interest my children in cooking so they will understand the time and effort it takes to bake a cake or assemble lasagna.
Another time I was hand-washing a shirt and thinking about a book called Peace Is Every Step (Bantam) by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, in which he writes that sunshine, rain, and soil are present in every tangerine. I was wondering if there was any sunshine in my rayon shirt when another thought struck me: "Who made this shirt?" I looked at the label: "Made in China."
I pictured a young girl I had heard about on National Public Radio who was forced to leave her home and move to the city to make a living. Now she works in dense, unhealthy conditions elbow to elbow with girls from other farms and villages, as they all sew clothes for 15 hours a day for people in the West. I felt a deep sense of regret for my complicity in an economy that makes this sort of arrangement not only possible but inevitable. I promised to take very good care of the shirt.
New to me
Taking extra care with my clothes only worked for a while. Eventually I realized I had to take the next step: to buy (with very few exceptions) only secondhand clothing for myself. In the beginning our children went along with my plan, but now that they are getting older, used clothes have become a harder sell. I still suggest the resale shop first whenever something is wanted or needed, then if we can't find it there, I usually give in and go to a regular store. But I grouse all the way.
As for my husband and me, our enthusiasm for secondhand merchandise has expanded into many other areas of our household. We've bought plates, glasses, blankets, tablecloths and napkins, furniture, and books from resale shops. I've had several jackets re-lined, we had our couch re-upholstered instead of buying a new one, and we've come to revere our local shoe repair man, a short, stocky Russian with thick fingers who can restore just about anything-from shoes and purses to luggage-to almost-new condition.
Our secondhand economy is continuously sustained by something my husband, who works in manufacturing, once told me: "When you buy something-anything-it causes someone in marketing to tell someone in production to make another one just like it." That thought runs through my head every time I pick up a cute mug from the coffee shop or a stuffed animal my daughter would love. Then I put the thing back on the shelf.
Environmental action in our family sputters to a halt every August and December when it's time to buy school supplies and Christmas presents. All efforts to reuse and recycle during these two months unfailingly meet with overwhelming resistance.
Last Christmas, for example, we were discussing what to buy a niece who loves a certain brand of clothing, of which my daughter owns several pieces she has outgrown. "Why don't we give her your shirts?" I suggested hopefully. Everyone, including my husband, looked shocked: "Not for Christmas!" I deferred to their adamant veto.
Silent witness
Sometimes I fret. Will our children ever understand how consumerism hurts the planet and its people? They are concrete thinkers. It's hard for them to imagine landfills and power plants they've never seen. Even though we tell them that cars pollute and plastic doesn't break down for 10,000 years, they can't actually see these things, so their motivation to conserve resources is low. I have to admit that my speeches, no matter how satisfying they are to deliver, have not been effective.
One day my eyes fell on one of the photo-postcards a friend occasionally sends us. They always come unexpectedly, with no note, so we simply enjoy the beauty of the picture. The silent witness of the tree on this particular postcard somehow reminded me of my father, a person of deep faith who has always been a source of mystery and wonder to me.
The photograph and the memory of my father merged, and I realized I would not have been nearly so fascinated with his faith life if he had talked about it all the time, if he had narrated his life of service and prayer for us all to notice and appreciate. Instead he acted and prayed from his Christ center without a word about it to any of us. My brothers and sisters and I observed and absorbed and wondered and were fascinated by him until the day he died.
I have my answer: If my children ask me what I'm doing as I take a moment to pray an apology for the pollution I'm about to cause with my car, or why I've become a passionate saver of water, or why a cheap new anything holds no appeal to me, fine-I'll tell them again. If not, I'll trust that the spirit of God is moving in their lives as it continues to move in mine.


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Kilgore, Texas, Awarded Membership in Union Pacific's Train Town USA Registry
Omaha, Neb., May 02, 2013
Kilgore, Texas, has been awarded membership in Union Pacific's Train Town USA Registry as part of Union Pacific's ongoing efforts to highlight cities with a historical connection to the railroad. The city will receive an official Train Town USA resolution signed by Union Pacific Chairman Jim Young at a special May 3 presentation at the historic Kilgore Railroad Station. Union Pacific launched its Train Town USA Registry as part of the railroad's 150th Anniversary celebration in 2012.
"We are proud to recognize Kilgore as we celebrate our growing up together," said Clint Schelbitzki, Union Pacific director - public affairs. "Union Pacific was founded to help connect the nation from east to west. Our shared heritage with Kilgore is a source of pride as we remember our past while delivering the goods American businesses and families use every day."
The City of Kilgore was founded in 1871, when the International & Great Northern Railroad company laid plans to provide passenger and freight service to this agricultural area. C.B. "Buck" Kilgore, a nearby town resident, recognized the economic opportunities afforded by the railroad, and built a new home near the station. Many others followed Kilgore's lead, and a community was established and named after him. Today, Union Pacific remains a key part of Kilgore.
Union Pacific serves nearly 7,300 communities in 23 states west of Illinois, covering 32,000 miles.
About Union Pacific
Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2007-2012, Union Pacific invested $18 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure, including a record $3.7 billion in 2012. The railroad's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.
Union Pacific media contact: Clint Schelbitzki, 817-353-7256 email@example.com.
The statements and information contained in the news releases provided by Union Pacific speak only as of the date issued. Such information by its nature may become outdated, and investors should not assume that the statements and information contained in Union Pacific's news releases remain current after the date issued. Union Pacific makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update any of this information.
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Bad Taste
The LikeTelevision movie channel presents a delightful horror classic from 1987 called Bad Taste, produced and directed by Peter Jackson, best known for his work on the JRR Tolkien movies, including the Lord of the Rings series and if fans get their wish, The Hobbit (though that looks bleak now). Well, long before Peter Jackson was a big cheese in film, he made this film with his school buddies over a four year period about a group of secret government agents in charge of keeping the world safe from invading aliens from distant galaxies. The budget for the film was next to nothing though it was a step up from a bunch of his previous efforts shot on 8mm film. Peter finally got a decent camera, a hand wound 16mm Bolex that was used for this movie and a little bit of money from a grant that helped him create more elaborate special effects.Bad Taste is an amazing movie - you can see the genius of Peter Jackson on display even as a young lad. He not only directed and produced this film, he even stars as young Derek, the courageous geek leader of the Alien Protection Squad who has to keep repacking his brains that have partially fallen out of his head.
Brother From Another Planet
LikeTelevision proudly presents - a cult classic low budget alien film called Brother From Another Planet. Written and directed by John Sayles, an alien crash lands in Harlem while on the run from evil outer space bounty hunters. Joe Morton, is the brother from another planet - who is a fugitive slave on the lamb. John Sayles and David Strathaim play the two Men in Black - who are diabolical bounty hunters trying to capture the gentle hero. The film was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival.
God Told Me To
The LikeTelevision movie channel presents God Told Me To starring Tony Lo Bianco as Police detective Peter J. Nicholas who is trying to solve a series of random killings where the shooter claims each time that God told him to. Very weird and creepy, which is what you might expect to find in a movie with Andy Kaufman.
Killers From Space
The LikeTelevision Movie channel proudly presents - Killers From Space - with Peter Graves, Barbara Bestar, Frank Gerstle, James Seay, Steve Pendleton.
One Step Beyond - A Message for Clara
This episode explores automatic writing, when a school teacher starts writing a message on the blackboard and her hand goes haywire. And she starts writing in an old world language she doesn't know.
One Step Beyond - Aerialist
This is another terrific episode of One Step Beyond, a cool Sci-Fi TV show from the late 50s, early 60s... that inspired a few other cool sci-fi tv shows like The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. The Aerialist features Mike Connors, best known for his work as TV detective Joe Mannix, as Mario Patruzzio, the son of an Italian circus family skilled in the art of the flying trapeze. Mario has an argument with his father before the show about his wife, who is acting like a bimbo from the father's perspective. Mario, who is responsible for catching his Dad during the show... says well maybe I won't catch you tonight, pops. Guess what happens? Dad lays paralyzed in the hospital... and Mario contemplates suicide... and then in a bizarre episode of bi-location.... his dad (Gino Patruzzio played by Robert Carricart) saves his son with a daring catch ..... miles away in his hospital bed, still not able to move a muscle. Search for bi-location to view another One Step episode that examines the mysterious happening in the psychic world of the unexplained. John Newland is our delightful host.
One Step Beyond - Anniversary of a Murder
This episode features a Dictaphone machine that plays the last words of a dead man... murdered one year ago. with Harry Townes.
One Step Beyond - Captain's Guests
A young couple rents a summer house in New England - and the husband gets taken over by the dead captain's ghost.
One Step Beyond - Clown
In this episode -The Clown, a jealous boyfriend kills his girlfriend, played by Yvette Mimieux, when he finds her hiding in Pippo the Clown's trailer at the carnival. Then - he is haunted by the menacing clown - but all in some dream world. This episode is probsably the original of all the scary clown tv and movie themes we have seen since. Really great episode - check out that clown's face! As a special treat - we provided this download as MPEG-1 files. Very nice - make a DVD or a VCD of this cool show.
One Step Beyond - Darkroom
This is another great One Step Beyond episode. It stars the remarkable Cloris Leachman - as a young magazine photographer in France who is looking to capture some photos of the soul of France. Leachman is quite young in this episode and very attractive, though she always has a headache. Anyway - she gets a pensive visitor to photograph, played by Marcel Dalio. (you might recognize Dalio from Grand Illusion, where he played the French Officer, Rosenthal). In the end, the mysterious visitor attacks Leachman, and accuses her of infidelity. As it turns out - this guy murdered his wife in the same house many years ago, and has long since died. And - guess what, all the photos that Leachman took of this odd visitor turned out. Because he isn't in the picture... just empty chairs or walls. In another twist of synchronicity - this episode has an assistant director named Erich Von Stroheim, jr., whose dad also starred in La Grande Illusion. woooo... spooky!
One Step Beyond - Dead Man's Tale
One of my personal favorites. I believe this story may actually have happened. Watch it and see if you don't agree.
One Step Beyond - Dead Part of the House
Jennifer, Rose and Mary... 3 dolls or are they the ghosts of 3 children who died in the house??? See Kung Fu's teacher in an early role!
One Step Beyond - Dead Ringer
This episode explores Bi-Location - the ability for a person to be in two places at once. A woman sets fires and blames it on her dead twin sister (uhm... she is bi-locating and setting the fires herself). The other entity is often called the etheric double
One Step Beyond - Devil's Laughter
Cool story about a guy who couldn't be hung - (every time, something goes wrong with the gallows) Plus - he knows how he will die.
One Step Beyond - Dream
During WWII, a man falls asleep while on watch for German patrols. He has a dream about his wife getting killed - his wife also has a dream about him. Pretty cool episode.
One Step Beyond - Earthquake
In San Francisco, two men have a premonition that the city will be wrecked in an earthquake - right before the big one that really happened.
One Step Beyond - Echo
The episode of One Step Beyond features Ross Martin, best known as Artemus Gordon from The Wild, Wild, West TV show. Here he plays a husband, who just got tried - Not Guilty - for his wife's murder. But it seems - he really did it, and he goes mad, killing his brother-in-law from New Zealand, who is about to read him a letter from his dead sister, Ross Martin's dead wife. Funny thing - she only had nice things to say about Ross Martin, and wanted to leave him all her money!
One Step Beyond - Emergency Only
During WWII, a bright star has a dramatic effect on 4 French soldiers in a bunker. All of them drop their guns and quit the war. A true story - this is just one version.
One Step Beyond - Executioner, The
More episodes of One Step Beyond, a cool Sci-Fi TV show from the late 50s, early 60s... that inspired a few other cool sci-fi tv shows like The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. The Executioner is the story of an evil Union Colonel who decides to railroad some poor young Rebel Soldier as a Confederate Army spy. The young kid is probably 16 or 17, and he has a nice dog named Tom. The cruel Colonel gets annoyed with Tom's howling so he shoots the poor thing. Meanwhile, Jess Bradley the Confederate Army spy (not really) is sentanced to be executed. The dog Tom has something to say about all this. Check it out. This episode is very dark, a lot of it was filled at night with nowhere near enough lighting to make it work. bet you still like it!
One Step Beyond - Face
This episode explores recurring dreams - or in this case nightmares. As a young boy, he dreams of how he dies. The dream keeps recurring with the same characters. Watch and see if his nightmare comes true. Based on a true story.
One Step Beyond - Fate
A women keeps having visions of a plane crashing through the ceiling. So she and her husband move into a hotel - and a plane crashes through the ceiling. But the pilot is saved and the couple gets out of the way when they hear the plane coming in. Cool - based on a true story!
One Step Beyond - Forests of the Night
This episode of One Step Beyond features the great Alfred Ryder in the lead role, with Mark Roberts and Douglas Dick. Three guys go hunting, and play a funky fortune telling game with chopsticks. Ryder picks a weird chopstick, and they read him the message. When he hears it, he seems to be possessed - by a leopard, who eventually takes over his spirit. Later on, Ryder disappears - and they find a leopard in the American west, where no leopards live. No zoo or circus has reported one missing either! You probably remember Mark Roberts and Douglas Dick from Perry Mason, where each of them were guest stars in a few episodes. Mark Roberts was also on General Hospital.
One Step Beyond - Front Runner
This episode features a jockey who loses his girl to an older rider, and then bests him by cheating. Cool vintage horse racing footage and an interesting tale of love lost, foul play and vengeance that reaches across the grave.
One Step Beyond - Goodbye Grandpa
There's a broken train rail that leads to a house in the middle of nowhere. When Grandpa dies, he rides past to say good-bye one last time to his grandson.
One Step Beyond - Gypsy
Robert Blake, an escaped convict from prison, gets help from a Gypsy, that is already dead.
One Step Beyond - Hand
Special guest star: Robert Loggia is a piano player who kills a woman in a fit of rage. Soon his hand starts bleeding, leaving stains on everything he touches.
One Step Beyond - Last Round
This episode stars Charles Bronson as an aging fighter. Beware the ghost of Paddy
One Step Beyond - Lost Lovers
A man is bitter after eight years, waiting for a women he met on a distant island (near San Salvador). During the eight years, she dreams she is at the island. Pretty cool episode, plus you get Newland in a funky tropical print talking about teleportation.
One Step Beyond - Lovers
This episode is about a poltergeist making itself known to a couple in love. Not very scary - more charming than threatening.
One Step Beyond - Make Me Not A Witch
This episode features a young girl that can read minds. Her parents think she is a witch. Then she uses her gift to save some children. Based on a true story.
One Step Beyond - Mask
This is another terrific episode of One Step Beyond, a cool Sci-Fi TV show from the late 50s, early 60s... that inspired a few other cool sci-fi tv shows like The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. The Mask features Wesley Lau, best known as Lt. Andy Anderson from the Perry Mason tv show, as a soldier named Wollenski. He got lost in the middle of the Egyptian desert during his tour of duty, and wakes up in the hospital with a pillow case over his head... I guess he got sunburned or something. Anyway, for no good reason, he starts drawing some wild hieroglyphics on a napkin and gives the artwork to a guy named Brimley (and while he looks like Wilfred Brimley on the Quaker Oats commercials - it's a different guy)... who just happens to be an archeologist. Small world, huh? Well... it seems that Wollenski has the spirit of some old Pharoah in him, who wants to reveal the whereabouts of his missing tomb. Wait till you see what happens to Wollenski's face. This episode is real weird one, bet you like it! BTW - you can also check out Wesley Lau in Bonanza - Desert Justice on LikeTelevision's Classic TV channel.
One Step Beyond - Midnight
This episode features a struggling writer who finds a beautiful woman who likes money and trouble. Eventually, the writer murders somebody the couple are robbing - she takes the money, he gets the shaft!
One Step Beyond - Night in Decision
A weird story about George Washington at Valley Forge and a dream he had during the difficult days at Valley Forge.
One Step Beyond - Night of April 14th
This is a great One Step Beyond episode about the maiden voyage of the unsinkable Titanic, and a favorite of fans of this terrific Sci-Fi Tv show. A bride to be, played by Barbara Lord, has nightmares about drowning in icy waters. Her fiance, played by Patrick Macnee then tells her they will not honeymoon in Switzerland, but will take a cruise to New York on the Titanic. Patrick Macnee is best known for his role as Steed in The Avengers with Miss Emma Peel, played by enchanting Diana Rigg. Also of note - John Newland discusses a novel written by Morgan Robertson called Futility, written in 1898, 14 years before The Titanic sank. In the book, an unsinkable ship 800 feet long (Titanic was 882 feet) hits an iceberg and sinks. Both ships could go 25 knots, both carried around 3,000 passengers, and both sunk in April. Oddly enough - the ship in Robertson's novel was called the Titan. You also get some vintage special effects, that compared to James Cameron's 1997 movie look pretty lame, but for their day, these fx were the bomb! I prefer Macnee to Leonardo DiCaprio anyway. And Barbara Lord is very attractive, but Kate Winslet seems more compelling and lovely, probably because Lord is a bit whacko in this episode. This is a great episode - we should offer it as a download in the near future.
One Step Beyond - Open Window
A sketch artist for traditional media gets bored with all the beautiful people and creates his own imagined world through an open window.
One Step Beyond - Ordeal on Locust Street
This episode features a hypnotist who cures a boy who has weird, scaly fish skin. When all appears lost, the boy surprises his mom on Christmas!
One Step Beyond - Prisoner
This episode features a young girl that is filled with hate after being subjected to a WWII concentration camp. She is visited by a German soldier, and writes a letter for him. Trouble is, the guy has been dead for six years. Weird story!
One Step Beyond - Riddle
This another great One Step Beyond episode. A guy riding on a train (The Bombay Express) with his wife in India goes ballistic when confronted by a fellow named Kumar offering to sell him some trinkets and a rooster. Good samaritan... I think not. This guy totally flies off the deep. Then he goes into a fugue state and his wife can't find him, so she gets some help from a missionary after the constable gives her the brush. We learn the India policeman knows a little secret history about the rooster saleman, and somebody is going to get murdered, but you'll have to watch it to learn the details.
One Step Beyond - Secret
This episode features a neglected wife with a rich husband. She eventually finds a new invisible boyfriend named Jerome and things get weird!
One Step Beyond - Signal Received
This episode features people who had premonitions of the sinking of HMS Hood. They receive weird signals foretelling the disaster. Yes folks - this is the very scary Ouija Board episode. Don't mess with the dark side!
One Step Beyond - Sorcerer
A nazi officer wants to puts telephone poles on a gypsy's land during the war. The gypsy puts him under a spell and he shoots his unfaithful fraulein in the altered state of consciousness.
One Step Beyond - Tiger
Mrs. Cartwright, the new mean governess, pushes youg Pamela to the limit. She wishes for a tiger to protect her from the witch - and her wish comes true.
One Step Beyond - To Know the End
A woman has a terrible dream that tells her future!
One Step Beyond - Trap, The
Need another terrific episode of One Step Beyond? No problem. One Step Beyond was a cool Sci-Fi TV show from the late 50s, early 60s... that inspired a few other cool sci-fi tv shows like The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. The Trap which aird on 11/15/1960 features Mike Kellin in a dual role as Dominic DeNovio and Fred Gibbs, two identical twins separated at birth. This episode explores the psychic connection between identical twins. How one twil can burn themselves, and the other will feel it. In this story, Dominic Denovio starts acting very weird and gets sick from dehydration. It turns out his identical twin brother fell in a deserted mine shaft and got hurt. Denovio's ranting in the hospital helps save his identical twin brother. One of my favorite parts of this episode is how different the priest's chin looks. I have never seen one like that. This episode is real weird one, bet you like it! BTW - you can also check out Mike Kellin in
At War with the Army
on LikeTelevision's Movie channel.
One Step Beyond - Vanishing Point
A man is accused of murder after his wife mysteriously disappears. Then, he realizes that previous residents of the bizarre house have also vanished in the past.
One Step Beyond - Vision
A portrait painter has a vision he can't get out of his head. Something psychic going on?
One Step Beyond - Visitor
One Step Beyond - The Visitor, features host John Newland, Warren Beatty, and Joan Fontaine. This episode is a classic - with a weird time warp, where Beatty visits his wife as a young man, and laments the loss of their baby. He has this time warp visitation when he gets in a car wreck in the snow and almost dies. ooooh, spooky!
One Step Beyond - Wedding
A jealous bachelor leaves his best man to die in the Alps after an accident. Later, the bachelor is followed by a wicked chill. Will the poltergeist make him confess?
One Step Beyond - Where Are They?
Yvette Mimeiux. This is the ultimate episode! First, the ghost who drops stones from the sky in Chico, CA. Amazing story. Our second tale is the story of Charles Elton, a man who created a pill to change water into gasoline. That's right, get a jug of water, add Mr Elton's magic gasoline pill and you have a jug of petrol. He demonstrates the pill to the military scientists and disappears, never seen from again. Alien technology, abduction or commercial espionage? Who knows? Where Are They?
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
LikeTelevison proudly presents the Joseph E. Levine production Santa Claus conquers the Martians with John Call and Pia Zadora.
Three Stooges Cartoon - The Three Astronutz
The LikeTelevision cartoon channel presents The Three Astronutz starring the three stooges. (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita as Curly Joe). The stooges land on Mars to collect some specimens - but it looks like they are the ones who will end up going to the zoo. A classic in old school alien TV.
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Whether you are moving up to a larger home, downsizing after your children leave, or relocating for your job, the home selling process can be as complicated as buying a home. Understanding the steps will help you survive with sanity—and finances—intact.
The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It's necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired, and tossed out.
Are you ready?
Ask yourself: If you were buying this home what would you want to see? The goal is to show a home which looks good, maximizes space and attracts as many buyers - and as much demand - as possible.
While part of the "getting ready" phase relates to repairs, painting and other home improvements, this is also a good time to ask why you really want to sell.
Selling a home is an important matter and there should be a good reason to sell - perhaps a job change to a new community or the need for more space. Your reason for selling can impact the negotiating process so it's important to discuss your needs and wants in private with the realtor who lists your home.
Time your sale.
The marketplace tends to be more active in the summer because parents want to enroll children in classes at the beginning of the school year (usually August). The summer is also typically when most homes are likely to be available.
Generally speaking, markets tend to have some balance between buyers and sellers year-round. In a given community, for example, there may be fewer buyers in late December, but there are also likely to be fewer homes available for purchase. So, home prices tend to rise or fall because of general demand patterns rather than the time of the year.
Owners are encouraged to sell when the property is ready for sale, there is a need or desire to sell, and the services of a local realtor have been retained.
Improve your home's value.
The general rule in real estate is that buyers seek the least expensive home in the best neighborhood they can afford. In terms of improvements, this means you want a home that fits in the neighborhood but is not over-improved. For example, if most homes in your neighborhood have three bedrooms, two baths and 2,500 sq. ft. of finished space, a property with five bedrooms, more baths and far more space would likely be priced much higher and likely be more difficult to sell.
Improvements should be made so that the property shows well, is consistent with the neighborhood and does not involve capital investments, the cost of which cannot be recovered from the sale. Furthermore, improvements should reflect community preferences.
Cosmetic improvements - paint, wallpaper and landscaping - help a home "show" better and often are good investments. Mechanical repairs - to ensure that all systems and appliances are in good working condition - are required to get a top price.
Ideally, you want to be sure that your property is competitive with other homes available in the community. realtors, who see numerous homes, can provide suggestions that are consistent with your marketplace.1
Consider these common improvements.
The following improvements and additions may increase the re-sale value of your home. Of course, bear in mind that the value home buyers place on various improvements will vary regionally, and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. But the list might serve to give you some ideas.
1© 2007 Move, Inc. All rights reserved.
2© CPA Site Solutions
Unless you have a buyer in mind, and want to spend a lot of time researching what you need to accomplish as a home seller, you would probably benefit from using a real estate agent.
There's never any shortage of agents, so just do some footwork to find one that meets your needs.
To find a good real estate agent, gather a list of names of candidates you will interview. You may want to consider recommendations from colleagues, friends, and professionals, as well as names listed on posted "for sale" signs, especially for houses that have been sold.
Once you have at least three names, schedule a telephone or in-person interview with the agent. You may encounter some resistance; if you run into a broker who refuses to take the time to answer your questions, just move to the next one.
Be sure to ask potential agents the following:
Sign The Listing Agreement
The listing agreement is a contract between the homeowners and the agent. It states how much the agent will be paid and what services will be provided.
The exclusive right to sell type of agreement gives the broker the exclusive right to sell your house for a limited period of time. Other types of listing agreements vary either the exclusivity or time period of the listing. No matter which of these agreements are signed, the listing agent gets 100% of the commission if he or she sells the house, and part of the commission if another broker sells the house.
Tip: Generally, try to use an exclusive-right-to-sell agreement limited to a period of three months. This agreement will give the broker an incentive to sell the home, and it will still give you an out if you feel the broker is not doing enough for you. If you have substantial confidence in the broker, and you have seen and approved his or her plans for marketing the home, you may wish to sign for six months.
Tip: If, at any time during the marketing process, you feel that your broker is not as effective as he or she could be, switch brokers. Do not waste time with a broker about whom you have doubts.
Source: CPA Site Solutions
Every reasonable owner wants the best possible price and terms for his or her home. Several factors, including market conditions and interest rates, will determine how much you can get for your home. The idea is to get the maximum price and the best terms during the window of time when your home is on the market.
In other words, home selling is part science, part marketing, part negotiation and part art. Unlike math where 2 + 2 always equals 4, in real estate there is no certain conclusion. All transactions are different, and because of this, you should do as much as possible to prepare your home for sale and engage a real estate agent you feel is best able to sell your home.
What is your home worth?
All homes have a price, and sometimes more than one. There's the price owners would like to get, the value buyers would like to offer and a point of agreement which can result in a sale.
In considering home values, several factors are important:
How much is too much?
Because all transactions are unique there is flexibility in the marketplace. The amount of flexibility depends on local conditions.
For example, suppose you're selling a townhouse. Suppose also that there have been five recent sales of the model you own and that sale values have ranged between $200,000 and $210,000. You now have an idea of how your home might be priced. In a strong market perhaps you can ask for $210,000 or a little more. If the market has slowed, $210,000 may be a reasonable asking price, but perhaps more than the final sale price.
Here's another scenario. Imagine that you live in a community of Victorian-style homes, most of which were built in the 1920s. All the homes are different in terms of size, condition, modernization, style and features. In such a neighborhood, an average sale price is just a statistic without much practical meaning. On a single block one home may sell for $400,000 while another is priced at more than $1 million. The average price may be outrageously high for one home and staggeringly low for another.1
Here are four suggestions to start:
Call a couple of REALTORS®. Even if you're not planning to sell your home right away, many REALTORS® will be willing to prepare a comparable market analysis (CMA) for you as a marketing service with the goal of getting your business whenever you decide to move. A CMA shows the prices of recently sold homes that are comparable to yours and the prices of comparable homes on the market. A market-savvy REALTOR® can give you a rough idea of what your home would be worth, given its size and condition and local market conditions.
Purchase a professional appraisal. Unlike a CMA, a professional appraisal is rarely free. However, the several hundred dollars you'll pay for an appraisal, depending on size of your home and the complexity of the work, could be money well spent if you're making a major financial decision that hinges on the value of your home. Appraisers rely on an in-person inspection of your home, recent sales of comparable homes and other data to arrive at an opinion of value. The appraiser's report is a full-blown description of your home and the criteria used to formulate the valuation.
Go to neighborhood open houses. Open houses are a good opportunity to view comparable homes for sale in your neighborhood and chat with real estate professionals about the local real estate market. Two caveats: It's not easy to be objective about your own home and you shouldn't assume that the listing price on a for-sale necessarily reflects the home's true market value. If you keep those points in mind, information gathered at open houses can be worth considering along with data from other sources.
Do research online. A number of Web sites offer home valuation information free or for a fee. The free service at iOwn.com displays sales prices of comparable nearby homes and market activity data within three minutes. Dataquick.com charges $30 for a full home valuation estimate, while Appraisal-net.com offers a comparable sales report for $9.95. VirtualRealEstateStore.com will send a free home price analysis to your e-mail address within 72 hours or you can pay $14.95 for an immediate reply.
Price per square foot is a time-honored method of real estate valuation and not a bad rule of thumb. However, it doesn't account for a choice location, a move-in-ready home or personal criteria and you should factor in how the property was measured and whether the square footage includes the garage or other detached buildings on the property.2
1© 2007 Move, Inc. All rights reserved.
2Copyright © 2000 Marcie Geffner. All rights reserved.
You may have the best agent, your home priced perfectly, and a lot of showings, but if your home is not appealing, it may take a long time for it to sell. Learn about several "tricks" to ensure your home sells more quickly.
There are various things you can do before and during the selling process to move it along—and make it less onerous. A good real estate agent may suggest the following:
This is the point every home seller and buyer anxiously anticipates. . .negotiating the offer and acceptance. Officially, the potential buyer makes an offer and the seller either accepts or declines the offer. A seller can make a counter-offer, however and the whole process starts over again. You'll need a strong negotiating position—and nerves of steel—during this process.
Although it is the broker's job to do the actual negotiating, the home owners should stay involved in the process. Here are some tips for negotiating with buyers, once they have made their first offer.
Overall, it is important to prevent the negotiations from becoming confrontational and thus killing a potential deal. The offers you receive will be 10 to 15% below your asking price. Do not be offended by this or by any low-balling techniques engaged in by buyers. Rather, show a willingness to make some concessions, and make counter-offers to try to bring the offer closer to your asking price. If you feel that an offer is unreasonable, however, there is no reason to entertain it.
© CPA Site Solutions
You've gotten an offer from a buyer and accepted it. All done, right? Hardly. As the saying goes, "the deal's not over 'till it's over." Here are some things to keep in mind in the end stages of the sale.
It might seem as though once a sale agreement has been signed that the selling process is complete. Not only is it not over yet, but some of the most complex aspects of a real estate transaction now begin.
A sale agreement sets not only a purchase price for the home, but also a series of terms and conditions. For instance:
The real estate agent typically arranges required inspections and helps the owner prepare for closing.
When should you close?
With automation now available, closings can occur within a week in some areas -- at least in theory. In practice, it takes time to arrange financing, conduct inspections, obtain appraisals, locate replacement housing, contact movers, pack and actually move.
While instant closings are not practical, neither are closings too far in the future. The problem with closings much past 60 days is that loan rates are difficult to lock in. If mortgage rates go up, it's possible that the buyer will no longer be able to afford the home and thus the deal may fall through.
The result of these considerations is that most homes close 30 to 45 days after a sale agreement has been signed.
What happens?
Closing -- or "settlement" or "escrow" as it is known in some areas -- is essentially a meeting where the closing agent (the party who conducts settlement) takes in money from the buyers, pays out money to the owner and makes sure that the purchaser's title is properly recorded in local records along with any mortgage liens.
The closing agent reviews the sale agreement to determine what payments and credits the owner should receive and what amounts are due from the buyer. The closing agent also assures that certain transaction costs are paid (taxes and title searches).
Closing is also the time when "adjustments" will be made. For instance, suppose you've pre-paid taxes four months in advance. In this case, the closing agent will compensate you for the prepayment at closing by having the buyer pay you additional money.
It could also work in reverse. If you are behind on property taxes, the closing agent will reduce the money due to you at settlement by the amount of the unpaid taxes.
How do you prepare to sell?
It's important to look at the sale agreement and review your obligations. For instance, if you have agreed to paint a room or replace the dishwasher, such work must be completed before closing. Your REALTOR® can discuss your agreement and the steps which must be taken to complete the transaction.
The closing agent will handle both the settlement papers and related documents.
© 2007 Move, Inc. All rights reserved.
Your responsibilities do not end with the sale of the old home and the move to the new one. There are tax consequences, often complex, that need to be considered. How much is the gain? How much of it is taxable? How to minimize the tax impact?
Step one: get professional advice.
Most taxpayers will not have to pay any tax on a gain. This exclusion replaces the old "rollover" rules and the one-time $125,000 exclusion for taxpayers age 55 and older that applied to sales before May 7,1997.
Note: If you have a loss from the sale, it is a personal loss. You cannot deduct the loss. If you have a bad credit report, you should work on fixing it before applying for a loan.
You must report the sale of your main home on your tax return (Schedule D) if you have a taxable gain—that is, where you don't qualify for exclusion, your gain exceeds the exclusion, or you used part of the property in business or for rent.
Where is your principal residence?
Usually, the home you live in most of the time is your main home. It can be a houseboat, a mobile home, a cooperative apartment, or a condominium.
To qualify under the new, post-May-6-1997 exclusion rules, you must generally have owned and used the property as your main home for at least two years during the five-year period ending on the date of sale. To qualify under the old rollover rules, both the home you sold and the one you bought to replace it had to qualify as your main home.
You may sell the land on which your main home is located, but not the house itself. In this case, you cannot postpone tax on any gain you have from the sale of the land.
How secure is your job? Is your company laying off? Could you be fired and, if so, how hard would it be to get another job right away? Unemployment compensation is rarely enough to cover mortgage payments. Are you likely to be transferred to another city within the next two to three years? If you had to sell due to a job transfer, your property would need to appreciate at least 10% to cover the cost of selling; otherwise, you would lose money on the sale. When you buy a home, you should plan to stay put for a while.
If you have more than one home, only the sale of your main home qualifies for excluding the gain. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is the one you live in most of the time.
Example: You own and live in a house in town. You also own beach property, which you use in the summer months. The town property is your main home; the beach property is not.
Example: You own a house, but you live in another house that you rent. The rented home is your main home.
Where a second residence has soared in value and you want to sell, some tax advisors have suggested moving to the second residence for the required period to qualify for exclusion on its sale. If this is your situation, professional guidance is suggested.
Figure your gain or loss.
Key information for determining gain or loss are the selling price, the amount realized, and the adjusted basis.
The selling price is the total amount you receive for your home. It includes money, all notes, mortgages or other debts assumed by the buyer as part of the sale, and the fair market value of any other property or any services you receive. From the selling price, you then deduct the selling expenses such as commissions, advertising, legal fees, and loan charges paid by the seller.
The difference is the "amount realized". If the amount realized is more than your home's "adjusted basis," discussed later, the difference is your gain. If the amount realized is less than the adjusted basis, the difference is your loss.
However, it does not include amounts you received for personal property sold with your home. Personal property is property that is not a permanent part of the home, such as furniture, draperies, and lawn equipment.
How to consider non-traditional sales.
The following discussion covers how to determine your gain or loss if you trade one home for another, if your home is foreclosed on or repossessed or if you transfer a jointly owned home.
Jointly owned home. If you and your spouse sell your jointly owned home and file a joint return, you figure and report your gain or loss as one taxpayer. If you file separate returns, each of you must figure and report your own gain or loss according to your ownership interest in the home. Your ownership interest is determined by state law.
If you and a joint owner other than your spouse sell your jointly owned home, each of you must figure and report your own gain or loss according to your ownership interest in the home. Each of you applies the exclusion rules individual basis.
Trading homes. If you trade your old home for another home, treat the trade as a sale and a purchase.
Foreclosure or repossession. If your home was foreclosed on or repossessed, you have a sale that you may have to report on your tax return. The gain or loss from this sale is generally figured the same way as a gain or loss from any sale. But the amount of your gain or loss depends, in part, on whether you were personally liable for repaying the debt secured by the home.
If you were not personally liable for repaying the debt secured by the home, your selling price includes the full amount of debt canceled by the foreclosure or repossession.
If you were personally liable for repaying the debt secured by the home and the debt is canceled, your selling price includes the amount of the debt canceled by the foreclosure or repossession, up to the home's fair market value.
In addition to any gain or loss, if you were personally liable for the debt you may have ordinary income. If the canceled debt is more than the home's fair market value, you have ordinary income equal to the difference. However, the income from cancellation of debt is not taxed to you if the cancellation is intended as a gift, or if you are insolvent or bankrupt.
Example: You owned and lived in a home with an adjusted basis of $41,000. A real estate dealer accepted your old home as a trade-in and allowed you $50,000 toward a new house priced at $80,000 (its fair market value). You are considered to have sold your old home for $50,000 and to have had a gain of $9,000 ($50,000 minus $41,000). If the dealer had allowed you $27,000 and assumed your unpaid mortgage of $23,000 on your old home, $50,000 would still be considered the sales price of the old home (the trade-in allowed plus the mortgage assumed).
Transfer to spouse. If you transfer your home to your spouse, or to your former spouse incident to your divorce, you generally have no gain or loss, even if you receive cash or other consideration for the home. Therefore, the rules explained in this Guide do not apply.
If you owned your home jointly with your spouse and transfer your interest in the home to your spouse, or to your former spouse incident to your divorce, the same rule applies. You have no gain or loss.
If you buy or build a new home, its basis will not be affected by your transfer of your old home to your spouse, or to your former spouse incident to divorce. The basis of the home you transferred will not affect the basis of your new home.
Start with the "basis".
You will need to know your basis in your home as a starting point for determining any gain or loss when you sell it. Your basis in your home is determined by how you got the home. Your basis is its cost if you bought it or built it. If you acquired it in some other way, its basis is either its fair market value when you received it or the adjusted basis of the person you received it from.
While you owned your home, you may have made adjustments (increases or decreases) to the basis. This adjusted basis is used to figure gain or loss on the sale of your home.
Cost as Basis. The cost of property is the amount you pay for it in cash or other property.
Purchase. If you buy your home, your basis is its cost to you. This includes the purchase price and certain settlement or closing costs. Your cost includes your down payment and any debt, such as a first or second mortgage or notes you gave the seller in payment for the home.
Seller-paid points. If you bought your home after April 3, 1994, you must reduce the basis of your home by any points the seller paid, whether or not you deducted them. If you bought your home after 1990 but before April 4, 1994, you must reduce your basis by the amount of seller-paid points only if you chose to deduct them as home mortgage interest in the year paid.
Settlement fees or closing costs. When buying your home, you may have to pay settlement fees or closing costs in addition to the contract price of the property. You can include in your basis the settlement fees and closing costs that are for buying the home. You cannot include in your basis the fees and costs that are for getting a mortgage loan. A fee is for buying the home if you would have had to pay it even if you paid cash for the home.
Settlement fees do not include amounts placed in escrow for the future payment of items such as taxes and insurance.
Some of the settlement fees or closing costs that you can include in the basis of your property are:
Some settlement fees and closing costs not included in your basis are:
Construction. If you contracted to have your house built on land you own, your basis is the cost of the land plus the amount it cost you to complete the house. This amount includes the cost of labor and materials, or the amounts paid to the contractor, and any architect's fees, building permit charges, utility meter and connection charges, and legal fees directly connected with building your home. Your cost includes your down payment and any debt, such as a first or second mortgage or notes you gave the seller or builder. It also includes certain settlement or closing costs. You may have to reduce the basis by points the seller paid for you. If you built all or part of your house yourself, its basis is the total amount it cost you to complete it. Do not include the value of your own labor, or any other labor you did not pay for, in the cost of the house.
When cost isn't your basis.
If your home was acquired in a transaction other than a traditional purchase, you may have to use a basis other than cost, such as fair market value.
Cooperative apartment. Your basis in the apartment is usually the cost of your stock in the co-op housing corporation, which may include your share of a mortgage on the apartment building.
Condominium. Your basis is generally its cost to you.
Note: Fair market value is the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither having to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. Sales of similar property, on or about the same date, may be helpful in figuring the fair market value of the property.
Home received as gift. If your home was a gift, its basis to you is the same as the donor's adjusted basis when the gift was made. However, if the donor's adjusted basis was more than the fair market value of the home when it was given to you, you must use that fair market value as your basis for measuring any loss on its sale.
If you use the donor's adjusted basis to figure a gain and get a loss, and then use the fair market value to figure a loss and get a gain, you have neither a gain nor a loss on the sale or disposition.
If you received your home as a gift and its fair market value was more than the donor's adjusted basis at the time of the gift, you may be able to add to your basis any federal gift tax paid on the gift. If the gift was before 1977, the basis cannot be increased to more than fair market value of the home when it was given to you. On the other hand, if you received your home as a gift after 1976, you would add to your basis the part of the federal gift tax paid that is due to the home's "net increase" in value (value less donor's adjusted basis).
Home received from spouse. You may have received your home from your spouse or from your former spouse incident to your divorce.
Example: Your jointly owned home had an adjusted basis of $50,000 on the date of your spouse's death, and the fair market value on that date was $100,000. Your new basis in the home is $75,000 ($25,000 for one-half of the adjusted basis plus $50,000 for one-half of the fair market value).
In community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin), each spouse is usually considered to own half of the community property. When either spouse dies, the fair market value of the community property becomes the basis of the entire property, including the portion belonging to the surviving spouse. For this to apply, at least half of the community interest must be included in the decedent's gross estate, whether or not the estate must file a return.
Home received in trade. If you acquired your home in a trade for other property, the basis of your home is generally its fair market value at the time of the trade. If you traded one home for another, you have made a sale and purchase. In that case, you may have realized a gain.
Adjusting your basis.
Adjusted basis is your basis increased or decreased by certain amounts.
Increases to basis include:
Decreases to basis include:
Improvements. These add to the value of your home, prolong its useful life, or adapt it to new uses. You add the cost of improvements to the basis of your property.
Example: Putting a recreation room in your unfinished basement, adding another bathroom or bedroom, putting up a fence, putting in new plumbing or wiring, installing a new roof, or paving your driveway are improvements.
Here are some other examples:
Example: You put wall-to-wall carpeting in your home 15 years ago. Later, you replaced that carpeting with new wall-to-wall carpeting. The cost of the old carpeting you replaced is no longer part of your home's adjusted basis.
Repairs. These maintain the good condition of your home. They do not add to its value or prolong its life, and you do not add their costs to the basis of your property.
Example: Repainting your house inside or outside, fixing your gutters or floors, repairing leaks or plastering, and replacing broken window panes are examples of repairs. The entire job is considered an improvement, however, if items that would otherwise be considered repairs are done as part of an extensive remodeling or restoration of your home.
Recordkeeping. You should keep records of your home's purchase price and purchase expenses. Furthermore, you should also save receipts and other records for all improvements, additions, and other items that affect the basis of your home.
You must keep records for 3 years after the due date for filing your return for the tax year in which you sold, or otherwise disposed of, your home. But if the basis of your old home affects the basis of your new one, such as when you sold your old home before May 7, 1997 and postponed tax on any gain, you should keep those records forever.
Exclusion For Sales After May 6, 1997
If you sell your main home after May 6, 1997, you may qualify to exclude all or part of any gain from your income. This means that, if you qualify, you will not have to pay tax on the gain up to the limit described under Amount of Exclusion. To qualify, you must meet the ownership and use tests described later.
Amount of Exclusion: You can exclude the entire gain on the sale of your main home up to:
Ownership and Use Tests: You can claim the exclusion if, during the 5-year period ending on the date of sale, you have:
Note: If you owned and used the property as your main home for less than 2 years, you may be able to claim a reduced exclusion.
The two years of ownership and use during the five-year period don't have to be continuous. You meet the tests if you can show that you owned and lived in the property as your main home for either 24 full months or 730 days during the five-year period. Short temporary absences, e.g., for vacations, are counted as periods of use, even if you rent out the property during that time.
Example: From 1994 through August of this year, Anne lived with her parents in a house that her parents owned. On September 29 of this year, she bought this house from her parents. She continued to live there until December 15 of this year, when she sold it at a gain. Although Anne lived in the property as her main home for more than 2 years, she did not own it for the required 2 years. Therefore, she cannot exclude any part of her gain on the sale, unless she sold the property due to a change in health or place of employment.
Example: Professor Moore bought and moved into a house on January 4, 2001. He lived in it as his main home continuously until October 1, 2002, when he went abroad for a one-year sabbatical. During part of the leave, the house was unoccupied, and during the rest of the time he rented it out. On October 1, 2003, he sold the house. Because his leave was not a short temporary absence, he cannot include the period of leave to meet the 2-year use test.
Ownership and Use Tests Met at Different Times. You can meet the ownership and use tests during different 2-year periods. However, you must meet both tests during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale.
Example: In 1996, Harry was 60 years old and lived in a rental apartment. When the apartment building went co-op, he bought his apartment on December 1, 1999. Harry then went to live with his daughter on April 14, 2001 because he became ill. On July 10, 2003, he sold his co-op while still living with his daughter. Harry can exclude gain on the sale of his co-op because he met the ownership and use tests. His 5-year period runs from July 11, 1998, to July 10, 2003, the date he sold the co-op. Even though, he only owned the co-op from December 1, 1999 to July 10, 2003--over two years, he lived in the apartment from July 11, 1997 (the beginning of the five-year period) to April 14, 2001 (over two years).
Special Situations. There are a number of special situations that may result in exceptions to the general rules
Individuals with Disabilities. There is an exception to the 2-out-of-5-year use test if you become physically or mentally unable to care for yourself at any time during the 5-year period. You qualify for this exception to the use test if, during the 5-year period before the sale of your home:
Under this exception, you are considered to live in your home during any time that you live in a facility (including a nursing home) that is licensed by a state or political subdivision to care for persons in your condition.
If you meet this exception to the use test, you still have to meet the 2-out-of-5-year ownership test to claim the exclusion.
Gain postponed on sale of previous home. For the ownership and use tests, you may be able to add the time you owned and lived in a previous home to the time you lived in the home on which you wish to exclude gain. You can do this if you postponed all or part of the gain on the sale of the previous home because of buying the home on which you wish to exclude gain.
Also, if buying the previous home enabled you to postpone all or part of the gain on the sale of a home you owned earlier, you can also include the time you owned and lived in that earlier home.
Previous home destroyed or condemned. For the ownership and use test, you add the time you owned and lived in a previous home that was destroyed or condemned to the time you owned and lived in the home on which you wish to exclude gain. This rule applies if any part of the basis of the home you sold depended on the basis of the destroyed or condemned home. Otherwise, you must have owned and lived in the same home for 2 of the 5 years before the sale to qualify for the exclusion.
Married Persons: If you and your spouse file a joint return for the year of sale, you can exclude gain if either spouse meets the ownership and use tests. (But see Amount of Exclusion, earlier.)
Example: Mary sells her home in June of this year and marries John later in the year. She meets the ownership and use tests, but John does not. Emily can exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a separate or joint return for this year.
Example: Now assume that John also sells a home. He meets the ownership and use tests on his home. Mary and John can each exclude $250,000 of gain.
Death of spouse before sale. If your spouse died before the date of sale, you are considered to have owned and used the property as your main home during any period of time when your spouse owned and used it as a main home.
Home transferred from spouse. If your home was transferred to you by your spouse (or former spouse if the transfer was incident to divorce), you are considered to have owned it during any period of time when your spouse owned it.
Use of home after divorce. You are considered to have used property as your main home during any period when you owned it and your spouse or former spouse is allowed to use it under a divorce or separation instrument. Such use is added to your own use before or after divorce.
More Than One Home Sold During The Two-Year Period: You cannot exclude gain on the sale of your home if, during the two-year period ending on the date of the sale, you sold another home at a gain and are excluding all or part of that gain. If you cannot exclude the gain, you must include it in your income.
However, you can claim a reduced exclusion if you sold the home due to a change in health or place of employment. When counting the number of sales during a two-year period, do not count sales before May 7, 1997.
Expatriates. You cannot claim the exclusion if section 877(a)(1) applies to you because you have renounced their citizenship and one of the primary purposes was to avoid U.S. taxes.
Home destroyed or condemned. If your home is destroyed or condemned after May 6, 1997, any gain (e.g., due to insurance proceeds) qualifies for the exclusion.
Home used in business. So long as the business use takes place in the same dwelling unit as your main home, the exclusion is not affected by business use, with this exception: You cannot exclude the part of your gain that is equal to any depreciation allowed or allowable for the business use of your home after May 6, 1997. The 2 out of 5 year use-as-the-main-home test is not applied to deny exclusion for gain allocable to business use in the same dwelling unit, except for allowable depreciation.
Example: You bought a home in 1997 and used it throughout 3/4 as your residence and 1/4 as your home office. On December 30, 2002 you sold it. The gain qualifies for exclusion except that you cannot exclude the part of your gain that is equal to any depreciation allowed or allowable for the business use of your home after May 6, 1997.
This is the current rule. Under the rule in effect before December 24, 2002, only 3/4 of the gain (disregarding the effect of the depreciation deduction) would have qualified for exclusion, since only 3/4 of the home met the 2 out of 5 year test for use as your main home. However, IRS now also lets taxpayers use the current rule described above for sales before December 24, 2002, and claim refunds for tax paid under its old rule.
Reduced exclusion. You are allowed a reduced exclusion in limited cases where you have failed to meet all the exclusion requirements. Reduced exclusion is allowed where because of a change in health, or place of employment, or unforeseen circumstances (such as a natural disaster or a divorce) you either failed to meet the ownership and use tests or you sold after having excluded gain on sale of another home after May 6, 1997 and within 2 years of this sale.
The $250,000 (or $500,000) exclusion is reduced according to a formula whose numerator is the number of days of qualified ownership or use (or between sales of the homes) and the denominator is 730 days (for 2 years). If married filing jointly, duplicate the same calculation for your spouse's ownership and use (or days between sales).
Example: You owned and used your main home for 400 days before selling it at a $150,000 gain following your move to a new job location. Your exclusion is $136,986, that is, 400/730 x $250,000.
Recapture your federal subsidy.
If you financed your home under a federally subsidized program, you may have to recapture all or part of the benefit you received from that program when you sell your home. This recapture is accomplished by your paying more federal income tax in the year of sale. The exclusion does not apply to this recapture tax.


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Equipment & Gear: Cooking With Aluminum
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:57 pm
Post subject: Season Aluminum cookware
Hi, Michael congratulations for this great site!
I love to cook with luminum pans and I have been using Soy Lecithin to season them, just wipe a small amount on the heated pans with a paper towel and keep heating them on the stove for 10 minutes. Try it and let me know.
Regards from Venezuela,
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 3:30 am
Post subject: Aluminum pots and pans
The most efficient aluminum pots and pans Ive found are Wearever brand. These are the pans found in most restaurant kitchens, as opposed to those glitzy pots and pans displayed on the cooking shows, and can be found in any restaurant supply house. They are thick walled, hold heat evenly and well, and very sturdy. For myself, I use the heat resistant rubber handle covers also found in restaurant supply houses. My wife disapproved of my "flaming towel" method of moving the pots when the handles got hot.
They are not necessarily inexpensive a 14-inch Wearever sauté pan with lid (sold separately) can cost over $100. Restaurant supply houses also are great places to find double-walled, heat cored, Vollrath stainless steel stock pots for those acidic foods, but thats another story.
Ive cured smooth Wearever fry pans with great results using Crisco and following the directions given to me by a local chef. Heres how its done: If you dont have at least a 750 cfm exhaust fan, temporarily disconnect your smoke detector. Fill the fry pan with solid Crisco. Heat until oil turns slightly brown. Turn off heat until pan cools. Repeat the process until the oil smokes. Turn off heat and let the pan cool until the Crisco just begins to solidify. Pour the Crisco into a container. Rinse the fry pan in warm water and dry with a paper towel.
Once cured, Wearever fry pans cook like they were teflon providing that sufficient heat, butter and/or oil are applied. Ive tried curing Wearever sauté and sauce pans using the same method with differing results. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesnt. I think it has something to do with the radial machining on the bottom of the sauce and sauté pans.
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:12 am
Post subject: Cooking in nonstick
I cook a lot, and use both nonstick and "other" pans. Including aluminum.
Basically the best pans are the "restaurant quality" pans. First, they are CHEAP. A good cookie sheet costs $7. A good fry pan cost about $30, and they last and don't warp (meant for high heat).
As for sticking: nonstick is good for beginners. It's no good for "real" cooking, at least not for me. First, I need high heat to carmelize foods. Once it is carmellized, it surely makes a mess: all this brown gunk on the bottom! But then, you add a douse of water or wine, which makes this amazing SHOOSH! of steam (very impressive). It's called "deglazing" but the main point is: 1) It cleans your pan and 2) It makes this amazingly delicious sauce.
You can't cook on high heat OR do deglazing in nonstick. You can do both in either aluminum or steel. Steel works better, in my book, because it puts up with more abuse and stays "flatter". However, my steel pan does have an aluminum core, so it doesn't have hot spots. Steel also outlives nonstick amazingly. I had 2 sets of nonstick before I switched to steel, but none of the steel pans have died, whereas the nonstick needs to be replaced every few years, usually after someone else had them on high heat for too long.
I do have one pan that has some sort of "glass steel" coating that is listed as "nonstick" but isn't teflon of any type. It's a different kind of steel. Very expensive, and amazingly effective, and rarely sold.
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Joined: 21 Jun 2008
Posts: 3
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:51 am
Post subject: Aluminum cookware
For those disposed toward needless worry, you'll get a lot more aluminum in your body through the use of antiperspirants than you'll ever get from your pots and pans.
As for non-stick pans being less than ideal for high-heat cooking or deglazing, that's no longer true. There's at least one manufacturer - Scanpan - who makes a line of non-stick pans that use a ceramic-titanium coating over aluminum that can take a great deal of heat, doesn't off-gas PTFEs, and will withstand the abuse of metal utensils. They're also oven and dishwasher safe. On top of all that, they still guarantee them for life.
Of course, they don't give the little rascals away; you'll pay a pretty penny for them. But, if they last as long as they say they will and they're willing to replace them forever, they're a bargain. We have a set here and while we've only been using them for a couple months, They're everything Scanpan says they are, and clean up almost as easily as rinsing. I can't recommend them highly enough.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:11 am
Post subject:
Aluminum pans don't work on induction stoves and have not enough thermal mass to keep temperature high when you put a large hunk of meet in. Nothing for the serious chef.
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Joined: 17 Feb 2010
Posts: 16
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:08 am
Post subject:
Here's my take on aluminum..
I personally don't find it a safe cooking medium; so I don't use it. Basically 2 items are not used in my kitchen; aluminum pans, and the microwave.. I take that back.. I use the microwave to nuke my sponges. 2 minutes on high. But never food. Both aluminum pots and pans, and microwaves do things to food that are bad for you, IMHO.
BUT.. if you want really really sound scientific proof as most are engineers here; I'll give you the argument from the food quality standpoint.
Cast iron heats evenly, browns beautifully, and is cheap to own and will outlast you. Aluminum is soft, and has a funky taste.
I cannot think of a situation in which aluminum is superior to either cast iron or stainless steel with a copper core. Stainless definitely has a more neutral taste; if you don't believe me, throw a few tomatoes into a recipe and see how strange things taste in aluminum pans. Any meats, I prefer cast iron. Anything that is acidic sauce in nature, I prefer stainless.
There is almost no point to arguing that aluminum pans are bad for you, because those who believe it will always believe it, those who don't, will die early..
And I agree with Superchef, slap down a heavy piece of meat and the aluminum pan gets cold.
So you shouldn't use an aluminum pan because it is simply an inferior cooking surface..
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 4:29 am
Post subject: aluminum fluoride
In fluoridated water cities I would throw out aluminum pans because it has been published repeatedly in journals incuding Nature that aqueous fluoride leeches aluminum efficiently during heating. The studies by Varner in Brain Research proved that levels of fluoride intentionally injected into water supplies, when present with aluminum at very low levels, cause aluminum incorporation into brain in tested animals very rapidly with neural degeneration mimicking Alzheimer's disease. It is bad enough cities such as San Francisco and most other large cities in the U.S. must accept fluosilicic acid fluoride in all water, but to also do so while intentionally injecting alum (aluminum sulfate) as a clarifying agent at the same time is unconscionable, with what is now known about aluminum toxicity. The ion itself is usually eliminated from the GI tract, but in fluoridated water the aluminum fluoride complex forms at stomach pH which is probably assimilated in the duodenum prior to acid neutralization in the jejunem of the intestine. In any event, aluminum is rendered a toxic substance in fluoridated water, when nondrugged water would have left aluminum well enough alone as a nontoxic metal ion.
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:38 pm
Post subject:
I would much prefer to err on the side of safety....
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1235
Location: central PA
Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:49 pm
Post subject:
err any side you'd care for, but Dr. Mercola is a Quack.
no science, all hyperbole
Last edited by Dilbert on Sun Dec 12, 2010 11:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Michael Chu
Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)
Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:12 am
Post subject:
Dilbert wrote:
err any side you'd care for, but Dr. Mercola is a Quak.
no science, all hyperbole
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:07 pm
Post subject: Cookware
When I began learning about food I cooked with aluminum, Now Stainless Steel has been my preference for years now.
Natalie C.
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Joined: 24 Nov 2011
Posts: 1
Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 6:08 am
Post subject: Aluminum Griddle
I had a 3/8" Stainless Steel Griddle along side my 6 burner Gas Range top. It was heated from the center only and gave very uneven heating results. I replaced the Stainless with 1/2" Cast Aluminum plate (Seasoned with Canola Oil). The temperature distribution across the entire Griddle Cooking area is now very even (if I remember correctly it is within +- 10 Degrees F) and gives perfectly golden brown pancakes 8 at a time.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:58 pm
Post subject: Cooking Apple Butter in an aluminum pot
Man!!! And All I really wanted to know was; if I cooked my apple butter in an aluminum pot will it change the flavor or just deepen the color?
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1235
Location: central PA
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:25 pm
Post subject:
"classical" prep for applebutter is a very long slow cook time -
I would not recommend using aluminum - the acid of the apple will darken the pot and over that length of time, you could pick up some off flavor.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:18 am
Post subject: The imaginary hazards of microwaves
How exactly do you propose a microwave oven "changes" food aside from cooking it? There is no difference, between microwave cooked or any other food. You probably are the sort of idiot that has to wait a few minutes to even open a microwave despite the fact any microwaves will dissipate at the speed of light
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text:
Kinetic Traxle – Fine
Product No.T-2100
In stock
The Kinetic Traxle is a precision-machined replacement thru-axle for bikes that easily adapts any 12mm thru-axle system to firmly lock into bike trainer cone cups. Specifically engineered to work on Kinetic trainers, the system is still adaptable enough to work with most other trainer brands making it a perfect solution for bike shop fitting stations and home-use alike.
Follow the steps here to find the Traxle you need »
The Kinetic Traxle comes in 3 thread pitches, T-2101 Coarse - M12 x 1.75mm, T-2102 Medium - M12 x 1.5 and T-2100 Fine - M12 x 1.00mm (Fine XL has the same thread pitch and is a longer version of the fine traxle), to fit most bike brands. Unlike stock thru-axles, the Kinetic Traxle has tapered heads that stand out just far enough from the bike frame to fit into the cone cups on a trainer.
Bike frame manufacturers determine thread pitch on their frame sets. It's important to know which thread pitch your bike uses before ordering a Traxle. For instance, DT Swiss makes axles based on manufacturer specifications not a standard single thread pitch, so refer to bike manufacturer to determine which Traxle you need.
Product Notes
Part no. T-2100 | UPC 851061001136
Thread Pitch: 1.00mm
Over-locknut dimension x diameter: 135mm to 148mm x 12mm
Axle length: 12mm x 185mm (spacers included)
Refer to our Help Center to see if you need a Traxle
See "Step 2." here for the Bike Brand/Model Menu to select your Traxle
Download a Traxle Fitment Guide


text:
Beginning Programming For Dummies
Beginning Programming for Dummies shows you how computer programming works without all the technical details or hard programming language. It explores the common parts of every computer programming language and how to write for multiple platforms like Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. This easily accessible guide provides you with the tools you need to:
- Create programs and divide them into subprograms
- Develop variables and use constants
- Manipulate strings and convert them into numbers
- Use an array as storage space
- Reuse and rewrite code
- Isolate data
- Create a user interface
- Write programs for the Internet
- Utilize JavaScript and Java Applets
In addition to these essential building blocks, this guide features a companion CD-ROM containing Liberty BASIC compiler and code in several languages. It also provides valuable programming resources and lets you in on cool careers for programmers. With Beginning Programming of Dummies, you can take charge of your computer and begin programming today!
The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
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text:
(2006; 4 pages)
The WHO mission in the area of essential medicines is to help save lives and improve health. WHO's interactions with countries and other pharmaceutical sector stakeholders are central to its activities. Upon request from a country, the Organization can provide four specific types of support; three of them involve projects and activities at country level (one country only). The fourth type focuses on inter-country, sub-regional, regional and interregional programmes and activities (more than one country).
Financing for such support may come from WHO resources (country office, Regional Office and headquarters) or may also be provided by bilateral or multilateral donors to the country as a loan or grant. In the case of donor funding, WHO may be involved, as implementing agency, in the whole process of preparing and appraising the project together with the funding agency (the donor) and the beneficiary (country).
In this issue of the Newsletter, we share some information on the Sierra Leone Pharmaceutical Project May 2003–March 2006 funded by the African Development Bank (ADB) and for which WHO was the implementing agency on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone...


text:
On the surface, Club Industry's Top 100 Clubs list for 2011 looks a lot like the Top 100 Clubs list for 2010. The top four clubs this year were the same top four clubs last year.
24 Hour Fitness, San Ramon, CA, is once again at the top of the list with an estimated $1.352 billion in 2010 revenue. This marks the eighth consecutive year that 24 Hour has topped the Top 100 list. 24 Hour, a private company, did not provide a specific revenue number, instead stating that its revenue was more than $1 billion. However, based on the company's number last year, we have estimated the $1.352 billion. Whereas 24 Hour listed more than 425 clubs in operation at the end of 2009, the company listed 420 clubs in operation at the end of 2010 after the relocation and closing of some clubs.
LA Fitness, Irvine, CA, is second for the second year in a row with an estimated $1 billion in 2010 revenue. LA Fitness reported 36 more clubs in 2010 than it had in operation in 2009. (LA Fitness also would not offer a specific figure for 2010 revenue.)
Earlier this year, LA Fitness was in discussions to acquire Urban Active, Lexington, KY, which is owned by parent company Global Fitness Holdings, but that deal fell through. Urban Active just missed making the top 10 on this year's list, coming in at No. 11 with a reported $100.2 million, a 16 percent increase over its $86.7 million revenue in 2009. The proposed acquisition might have pushed LA Fitness into the No. 1 spot on next year's Top 100 Clubs list.
Life Time Fitness, Chanhassen, MN, is No. 3 on the list with a reported $912.8 million in revenue, a 9 percent increase from its 2009 revenue of a reported $837 million. Despite the recession of the previous two years, Life Time has steadily increased its revenue the past three years. It experienced a 9 percent increase in revenue in 2009 from $769.6 million in 2008.
Club Corp., Dallas, holds steady at No. 4 with an estimated $812 million in 2010 revenue. Although the company did not provide specific numbers, a source confirmed that the $812 million estimate was in line with the same revenue the company reported in 2009.
The new club on this year's list is not really a new name but perhaps the most intriguing. Bally Total Fitness, Chicago, which became a private company after two bankruptcies and did not report revenue figures a year ago, is No. 5 with a reported $550 million in 2010 revenue. That figure is a 48 percent decrease from its reported revenue of $1.059 billion in 2006. Bally's decline includes a sharp drop from 2006 to 2007 revenue ($650 million) and a slight decrease from 2007 to 2008 revenue ($634 million).
Bally reported 276 clubs in operation in 2010. That's also a sharp decline from the 400 clubs it had in operation in 2006. Bally closed a number of clubs after its second bankruptcy in 2009.
It remains to be seen whether Bally will appear on next year's Top 100 Clubs list. As of the date this story was posted, there were indications of serious negotiations of a sale of Bally to Gold's Gym International, Irving, TX, which would produce a seismic shift in the landscape of the industry. Gold's, which is owned by private equity firm TRT Holdings, has not reported revenue figures for several years, although it did report 700 clubs in operation in 2010. A Bally sale has been rumored in the past, especially after its second bankruptcy. According to several sources, this time, a sale could be imminent.
Town Sports International, New York, comes in at No. 6 on this year's list with a reported $462.4 million in revenue. That's a 5 percent decrease from 2009 ($485.4 million) and a 9 percent decrease from 2008 ($506.7 million).
Planet Fitness, Newington, NH, continues its steady rise on the Top 100 Clubs list, ranking No. 7 with $157.1 million in 2010 revenue, a 21 percent increase from 2009 ($129.5 million). Planet Fitness, which was No. 8 last year and No. 10 two years ago, reported 390 clubs in operation compared to 310 in 2009. The 2010 revenue for Planet Fitness includes its 33.3 percent stake in PFNY LLC, Yonkers, NY, a Planet Fitness franchisee that operates 26 clubs in the New York City area. PFNY is No. 20 on this year's Top 100 list with $56.3 million in 2010 revenue.
Capital Fitness Inc., Big Rock, IL, which operates Xsport Fitness, is No. 8 with $142 million in revenue. Rounding out the top 10 are No. 9 Western Athletic Clubs, San Francisco ($121 million, which was a 13 percent increase in revenue), and No. 10 Lifestyle Family Fitness, St. Petersburg, FL ($102.4 million).
After Urban Active at No. 11, the next four club companies on this year's list also are familiar names in the industry: No. 12 Midtown Athletic Clubs, Chicago ($93 million); No. 13 Millennium Partners Sports Club Management, Boston ($92 million); No. 14 Sport and Health, McLean, VA ($90 million); and No. 15 Club One, San Francisco ($79.5 million). Of those four companies, Midtown Athletic Clubs experienced the greatest revenue growth—a 12 percent increase from its $83 million in revenue in 2009.
Equinox, New York, which was No. 6 on last year's Top 100 Clubs list with an estimated $344 million in revenue, did not provide numbers for this year's list, so it has been moved to the missing club company list.
For all companies on this year's Top 100 Clubs list that did not provide specific revenue figures for 2010, their revenue was estimated flat.
After the July issue of Club Industry went to press, Spectrum Athletic Clubs, El Segundo, CA, reported it had $90 million in revenue in 2010, which would have placed the company in a tie for 14th on this year's Top 100 Clubs list. However, because its 2009 revenue of $89.2 million was an estimate, the company does not appear on this year's list.
Also, New York Health and Racquet Club (NYHRC), New York, responded with its financial information for 2010 after the July issue deadline. NYHRC reported $41 million in revenue for 2010, which would have placed the company 27th on this year's list. However, it is listed at No. 21 on this year's list with a flat estimate of $55.7 million from 2009.
One company that made a huge leap on the Top 100 Clubs list was American Leisure Corp., Nanuet, NY. American Leisure jumped from No. 83 on last year's list (when it had an estimated $7.2 million) to No. 48 with a reported $20 million in 2010. Officials at the company credit the acquisition of a few big accounts—one of which is in Saudi Arabia—for the increase.
PH Fitness Inc., dba Fitness First, Frederick MD, also had a dramatic increase in revenue. PH Fitness reported $36.8 million in 2010, good for 31st place on this year's list. Last year, PH Fitness was at No. 45 after reporting $25 million in 2009. Owner Peter Harvey credits implementing personal training in his clubs for the rise in revenue.
"Frankly, it's getting more competitive than ever," says Harvey, referring to the club industry landscape.
Making its debut on the Top 100 Clubs list is Mountainside Fitness, Tempe, AZ, which tied for 44th with Healthworks Fitness Centers, Boston, with $23 million in 2010 revenue. Eight of the nine Mountainside clubs are in Arizona, with the other club located in Colorado.
Anytime Fitness, Hastings, MN, and Snap Fitness, Chanhassen, MN—both 24-hour key-card club companies—climbed a few spots this year. Anytime Fitness reported $33.7 million in revenue in 2010, a 12 percent increase that moved it from 38th to 35th place on this year's list. Snap Fitness reported $29 million in 2010 revenue, a 9 percent increase that moved it from 44th to 41st place.
Cooper Fitness Center, Dallas, saw a decrease in revenue, caused by the fact that it no longer owns the Craig Ranch location but does have a management contract to run the facility. Cooper Fitness Center reported $8.3 million in 2010 revenue after reporting $12.4 million in 2009 revenue, resulting in a fall from 62nd to 78th place on this year's list.
Of the 100 companies on this year's list, nearly half (47) reported increases in revenue from 2009 to 2010. Only 17 club companies reported decreases in revenue compared to 36 companies that had decreases on last year's list.
In some cases, revenue increases or decreases were influenced by the number of employees that companies reported in 2010. Of the 100 companies on this list, 28 gained employees, and 28 had fewer employees than they had in 2009. Almost one-fourth of the companies (23) had no change in their number of employees.
The Top 100 Clubs list ranks club companies by revenue in the previous year. It is not intended to rank clubs based on quality or segment service.
Missing Clubs
The following clubs and franchisors are large enough to be included on the Top 100 Clubs list, but their owners did not complete a Top 100 Clubs form, and we were not able to find another way to estimate their revenue.
- The Alaska Clubs, Anchorage, AK
- Bailey's Gym Inc., dba Powerhouse Gyms, Jacksonville, FL
- Brick Bodies, Cockeysville, MD
- California Family Fitness, Orangevale, CA
- Champion Fitness Inc., dba Bally Total Fitness, Syracuse, NY
- Chelsea Piers, New York, NY
- Club Fit, Jefferson Valley, NY
- Curves, Waco, TX
- Equinox, New York, NY
- Fitness USA, West Bloomfield, MI
- Franco's Athletic Clubs, Mandeville, LA
- Gold's Gym International, Irving, TX
- Healthplex Sports Club, Springfield, PA
- In-Shape Health Club Inc., Stockton, CA
- Lady of America, Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Lakeshore Athletic Clubs, Chicago
- MVP Sportsclubs, Orlando, FL
- PRO Sports Club, Bellevue, WA
- SIM Investment Corp., dba The Right Stuff Health Club, San Jose, CA
- Spectrum Athletic Clubs, El Segundo, CA
- Titan Fitness Holdings, McLean, VA
- Wheaton Sports Center, Wheaton, IL
- Women's Workout World, Chicago
- WOW! Work Out World, Wall, NJ
- WTS International, Rockville, MD
Special Thanks
Thank you to Rick Caro, president of Management Vision, New York, for reviewing the information provided by the club companies and helping with the analysis.


text: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release : On a number of analogue and digital devices, these four parameters form the basis of an envelope generator. Attack = the duration from a zero to a maximum amplitude ; Decay = the duration from the initial maximum amplitude to a stable state amplitude ; Sustain = the level of the steady state amplitude ; Release = the duration from the steady state to its final zero amplitude. (Source - Dictionnaire des arts médiatiques (...)


text:
A 70-year-old Red Bluff man was arrested Monday after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl at his home on June 18.
The Tehama County Sheriff's Office began investigating the alleged assault June 19 after the girl reported that Lynn Thomas Jondro "removed parts of her clothing, and sexually assaulted her," after she drank wine mixed with prescription medication, according to a press release.
The Sheriff's Office said the victim is not related to Jondro and that the alcohol and prescription medication belonged to the victim.
On Monday, the Sheriff's Office arrested Jondro without incident at his home on Moody Road on suspicion of sexual battery and sexual penetration by foreign object, according to the release.
Jondro was booked into Tehama County Jail with bail set at $75,000.
Jondro was arraigned Tuesday and is due back at Tehama County Superior Court at 8 a.m. July 8 for his entry of plea and setting.
Jondro is out of custody after posting bond.


text:
Tag: Winifred Bird
More Insight into the Bird Cars, the Farnesworth Garage and the 1962 "Car Auction of the Century"
VanderbiltCupRaces.com viewers continue to share stories and information on the unique car collection of Wallis Bird, his Farnesworth garage and the 1962 "Car Auction of the Century".
The 1962 "Car Auction of the Century" at the Farnesworth Garage
Continuing yesterday's story of the "Farnesworth" garage, around 1924, the estate was purchased by a Standard Oil heir Wallis Clinton Bird and his wife Marjorie Winifred Kendall. Wallis kept a spectacular collection of cars in the garage.
Mystery Foto #74 Solved: The C.K.G. Billings "Farnesworth" Garage in Locust Valley
Steve Babinsky provided this week's Mystery Foto of an estate garage located in Nassau County which is still standing today.


text:
Much to ChryslerCo's chagrin, 'jeep' is something of a catch-all that doesn't just refer to the American offroader. It stands for just about any Jeep-like vehicle and trust me, there are a lot of Jeep wannabes.
So, taking a slightly liberal approach to what a jeep is, I'm gonna say that I have a particular affinity to the Beijing Jeep BJ212.
It's a Chinese copy of a Russian copy of a mixture between a Jeep and a Land Rover. There's something baudrillardian about it. It is a copy so far removed from the original that it no longer tries to pretend it's a faithful ripoff. It's its own design now. The BJ212 debuted all the way back in 1965 and is still being sold today and dammit, I kinda want one.
What's your favorite jeep that isn't a Jeep? Be creative — I'm keeping a very broad definition of what is and isn't a jeep.
Photo Credit: Beijing Jeep via auto.cntv.cn


text:
Fierce wind and heavy rain from typhoon Saola has battered the Philippines, killing at least 10 people and displacing 145,000 others. The storm has sustained winds of 120 kilometres (74 miles) per hour and gusts of 150 kph (93 mph).
A boy swims amongst storm debris after two barges smashed into an informal settlers' area in ManilaPicture: TED ALJIBE/AFP/GettyImages


text:
Laws, Regulations & Annotations
Business Taxes Law Guide – Revision 2019
Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law
Article 1. Administration
Section 30455
30455. Divulging of information forbidden. It is unlawful for the board or any person having an administrative duty under this part to make known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained by an investigation of records and equipment of any person visited or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof, set forth or disclosed in any report, or to permit any report or copy thereof or any book containing any abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person. However, the Governor may, by general or special order, authorize examination of the records maintained by the board under this part by other state officers, by tax officers of another state, by the federal government, if a reciprocal arrangement exists, or by any other person.
Successors, receivers, trustees, executors, administrators, assignees, and guarantors, if directly interested, may be given information as to the items included in the measure and amounts of any unpaid tax or amounts of tax required to be collected, interest, and penalties.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the board from exchanging with officials of other states information concerning interstate shipments of cigarettes or tobacco products.
Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both, in the discretion of the court.
History.—Stats. 1989, Ch. 634, in effect September 21, 1989, substituted "federal government" for "Federal Government" in first paragraph and added "or tobacco products" after "cigarettes" in second paragraph. Stats. 1997, Ch. 620 (SB 1102), in effect January 1, 1998, added "Successors, receivers, trustees, … interest, and penalties." as the second paragraph.