Clem Braa of Frederick will be honored for his 80th birthday on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Frederick Community Center. There will be a program at 3 p.m. The event is being hosted by his four children, Monica Ochsner, Doug Braa, Marsha Voegele and Kent Braa. The honoree requests no gifts.
THE ESSENTIAL question asked by tonight's edition of the PBS documentary series "Frontline" is whether Harley Gordon is a good guy or a bad guy.
That the correct answer is "neither" and "both" is compelling evidence that the country has not come to grips with how to pay the enormous costs of taking care of its elderly population. "Who Pays for Mom and Dad?" will be on Maryland Public Television, channels 22 and 67, at 9 o'clock.
Chances are you haven't heard of Harley Gordon. He's a Boston lawyer who has carved out a nice little niche for himself in what this documentary describes as "elder law," a fast-growing specialty.
Gordon is shown conducting a seminar on his specialty, selling his book and recruiting potential clients after his speech. The theme of his talk was simple: Here's how you can get the government to pay for your nursing-home care instead of paying for it yourself.
It has to do with that pejorative term "loopholes." Gordon and his colleagues train people to jump through them.
Economic commentator Jane Bryant Quinn gives a predictable and supportable response to Gordon's message -- he is shifting the burden of nursing-home costs from the well-off people who can afford to pay for it to the backs of the already strapped taxpayers.
But the people profiled in "Who Pays for Mom and Dad?" don't come across as rich tax dodgers eager to feed at the government trough. They look like ordinary taxpaying Americans who have come face-to-face with a concept that will undoubtedly become better and better known over the coming decades -- spending down.
That refers to the federal requirement that a person have only $2,000 in assets before the government will pay for nursing-home care under the Medicaid program -- designed to assist poor people -- not the Medicare program which covers health care for the elderly.
So, say you and your spouse have worked all your lives, have a little pension and Social Security, paid for the house and have saved about $50,000 to support you in your old age, hoping to have a little to leave to your kids.
Well, if both members of the family have to go into a nursing home, "Who Will Pay for Mom and Dad?" shows that it probably will take less than a year to wipe out those assets to the point that the government would start picking up the tab. For the average American couple, it takes 20 weeks to reach the Medicaid poverty level.
Gordon shows people how they can shelter their money with children and trusts so that nursing care will not wipe them out. Is that so bad?
But, as Rep. Henry Waxman of California points out, Medicaid was never designed for this. It was supposed to take care of poor people, and every dollar that people shelter from their nursing-home payment is one less dollar for low-income women seeking pre-natal care.
Still, it seems that if the purpose of Medicare was to take care of poor people, it shouldn't be set up to require people to become poor. And often that means not only the person in the nursing home, but a spouse who watches savings dwindle and loses pension and Social Security checks that now go straight to the nursing home.
So should the government start paying for everybody's nursing-home coverage, even those who could afford to pay their bills? That hardly seems fair, and it hardly seems likely since it would cost tens of billions of dollars a year for a deficit-ridden government in the hands of people who aren't about to raise taxes.
Moreover, if the government started paying for nursing homes, would amoral kids start sticking their parents in them just to remove a financial burden while protecting their potential inheritance?
You meet a few people during this hour, families with spouses and parents struggling with Alzheimer's and age, dealing with the guilt and pain that go along with putting someone in a nursing home. At the same time, these people are facing the fact that once the long-term-care vacuum cleaner is hooked up, a lifetime of savings can be sucked up in a matter of days.
The private sector has, of course, moved in with insurance that pays for nursing-home costs if that becomes necessary. The costs, availability and fine print make this a murky and potentially dangerous area.
But it does raise possibilities. Should there be national insurance for this? Should these costs come under Medicare or even Social Security -- the original plan to avoid poverty for our nation's elderly -- instead of Medicaid? Should we bother to protect the middle class?
Because The Evening Sun stops publication after tomorrow's issue, let's look back at some financial news this paper printed over the last 85 years.
When we first published on Tuesday, April 18, 1910, our financial pages showed that the Dow Jones industrial average stood at 91.67. Roughly speaking, if you had invested $1,000 in the Dow stocks at that time, your investment would be worth approximately $51,000 today.
(Speaking of the Dow Jones average, when The Evening Sun made its debut, the Dow industrials were: American Sugar, Peoples Gas, General Electric, National Lead, U.S. Leather pfd., American Steel & Wire, Amalgamated Copper, American Smelting & Refining, U.S. Steel, U.S. Steel pfd., American Car & Foundry and Colorado Fuel & Iron. General Electric is the only survivor.)
Our presses printed many major financial events. From my Evening Sun collection, a yellowed front page of the "Late Home Financial Edition" dated Saturday, Feb. 25, 1933 (2 cents), shows an 8-column, 1-inch high (72-point) bold-face headline:
The story read: "Attorney General William P. Lane and his staff today began the preparation of emergency legislation designed
to safeguard bank deposits so that the legal holiday and bank closure proclaimed by Gov. Albert C. Ritchie may be ended and the banks resume business on Wednesday."
(Albert Hutzler was president of the Baltimore Association of Commerce and president of Hutzler Bros. department store, Howard and Saratoga streets.)
And a front-page, two-column editorial was titled, "For Your Protection," and said, in part, "The sole object of the three-day bank holiday which Governor Ritchie decreed last night is for protection of depositors.
The holiday does not mean that you will lose your money. That money is still there. As soon as banking law changes are made, banks will reopen and business will go on as usual."
In the same Evening Sun issue, my father's brokerage firm ran this ad on page 13. "Announcement: In order to be of assistance in the present situation, we have arranged to have currency available at our offices to make immediate advances against securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange."
On Feb. 25, 1933, the day the above "bank holiday" story and editorial appeared, the Dow Jones average stood at 50.92, on the way back from its Depression low of 41.22 on July 8, 1932. The Dow didn't climb back to its 1929 pre-crash high of 381.17 until Nov. 23, 1954, a sickeningly slow crawl of 22 years.
(To put the Maryland bank-holiday story in perspective, it should be noted that on March 5, 1933, the day after his inauguration, President Roosevelt ordered a four-day federal bank holiday.)
Our presses printed many other financial events: The stock market crash of 1929 and the Depression that followed; the 50 percent plunge of the Dow in the 1937 recession; World War II price controls (1942); Dow Jones topping 200 for the first time (1946) with a comment, "Stocks are now too high"; U.S. seizes steel mills (1952) and the sharp stock market drop -- and quick recovery -- after President Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
Also we published news of the wage-price freeze of 1971; plunge of the "one-decision" growth stocks in 1974, accompanied by many popular stock averages skidding more than 60 percent; the wild inflation and interest rate surge of the early 1980s (prime rate 21 percent).
More: The "worst recession in 40 years" in 1982; the unbridled speculation and greed of the mid-1980s "go-go" years; savings and loan crisis and collapse of Old Court Savings & Loan in the late 1980s; the Oct. 19, 1987, devastating Wall Street 508-point crash; the astonishing stock market rally of this year, and so on.
When Mary Clatenbaugh and her family moved to Lochearn in 1947, they paid less than $10,000 for a brand new three-bedroom brick-and-clapboard home on a quiet street. Since then, the prices of homes in this neighborhood have changed a great deal -- but not much else around here has.
Unlike many other Baltimore County neighborhoods that have either deteriorated, sprawled or become busy thoroughfares over the decades, Lochearn is still coveted as a family neighborhood that's reasonably well-insulated from the hustle and bustle of nearby Liberty Road and the Baltimore Beltway.
"This is one of the few communities inside the Beltway that has tremendous old oak trees," says Larry Williams, a state employee who brought his family to Lochearn nine years ago.
Reginald Crews, who lives just a few blocks from the Williamses, has lived in Lochearn for 10 years, and he expects to stay there with his wife and two young children at least another decade.
"The neighborhood is family-oriented," he says. "We've met all our neighbors, from the beginning of the block to the end."
One of the enduring attractions of the Lochearn community, which is bounded by Liberty Road to the south and Campfield Road and Patterson Avenue to the west and east, respectively, is that home prices remain affordable.
Prices tend to range from $80,000 at the low end to $120,000 at the high end. Yet the neighborhood is just a stone's throw from the slightly tonier Sudbrook, where many older homes top $200,000.
Although in-filling over the last 20 years has caused some crowding among lots, the architecture is eclectic, with brick Colonials and Cape Cods, stucco and contemporary shingled houses all mixed together.
Affordability is one reason there's been so much buying and selling lately in Lochearn, says Long & Foster Realtor Danny Cohen.
Mr. Cohen notes that the area is undergoing a kind of rebirth, as new families come in to replace longtime owners.
The other significant change in Lochearn is that the community is more racially diverse than in past decades, when it was nearly all-white. In some areas of Lochearn, the population today is two-thirds black.
One testament to Lochearn's enduring appeal is that even families that moved away years ago return summer after summer to enjoy the Lochearn Community Club swimming pool.
The facility, tucked away off leafy Campfield Road, was built nearly 40 years ago, and is a warm-weather magnet that draws many residents who live within walking distance.
The area's scarce open spaces are either informal parks or designated flood-plain areas. That means the already aging housing stock will require considerable maintenance and renovation as the years pass.
But the chances of Lochearn remaining a stable, reasonably quiet neighborhood -- albeit one where home prices do not appreciate all that much -- are good. There's no commercial strip; all that has been siphoned off to Liberty and Reisterstown roads.
The main commercial presence, in fact, is the Augsburg Lutheran Village for independent living, and the adjacent nursing home, which was once an orphanage.
For first-time homebuyers, or for those thinking about moving from a rowhouse, Lochearn is an appealingly old-fashioned neighborhood enclave just west of the city line.
Key stats: Southern Mississippi has been outgained, on average, by almost 72 yards per game. North Texas has a plus-13 turnover margin.
About Southern Mississippi: The Golden Eagles lost four of their last five regular-season games. The defense struggled down the stretch, allowing 34.2 points per game in the last five. LB Michael Boley and FS Trevis Coley are the defensive standouts. The Eagles need a big game from TB Anthony Harris.
About North Texas: Freshman TB Jamario Thomas leads the nation in rushing (189.9 ypg, 17 TDs) and is 155 yards short of Ron Dayne's NCAA single-season rushing mark for freshmen. DE Adrian Awasom and FS Jonas Buckles are the defensive standouts.
The buzz: It's the first bowl of the season. The nation's leading rusher will be playing. That makes it worth watching, right? Right?
VICTOR DeFEO passed peacefully on November 23, 2007, well-loved by his family, friends and neighbors. A devoted family man, he will always be remembered for his caring ways and wonderful sense of humor. He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Marie; his daughter Vicki Burley and son-in-law Chuck; his daughter Ro Defeo and cat Abu; his granddaughter Stephanie Erwin and great-grandson Daquan Alford; his brothers Tony; Doc and wife Evelyn; Joe and wife Gloria; and many wonderful nieces and nephews and their families. Family and friends may call at Schimunek Funeral Home, 9705 Belair Rd. in Perry Hall on Monday, November 26 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m., where a memorial service will be held on Tuesday, November 27 beginning at 1:00 p.m. Interment to follow at Moreland Memorial Park on Taylor Avenue. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care, 555 W. Towsontown Blvd., Towson, MD 21204.
House renovation tasks can do a lot more than make your home more eye-catching. They could increase the value of your investment, make your residence much more energy-efficient, as well as improve the top quality as well. In this article we will go over some of the leading home renovation tasks together with suggestions on the best ways to complete them included.
An useful house improvement tip is to constantly ensure you have the appropriate materials for the work you are trying to execute. It is necessary to use caulk especially meant for kitchen and bathroom surface areas when working in those locations, since they are specifically developed to endure water and resist mildew, whereas other similar materials are not.
If your residence is heated with a wood-burning stove or fireplace, plant new trees in your yard each period. This will certainly aid to compensate for the high carbon impact you are leaving by melting natural deposits as well as emitting smoke right into the ambience. It will also offer you a resource absolutely free firewood in future years, after the trees mature.
Recover your old couch! More than likely you are tired of it due to the fact that the cover is no longer attractive. If you have even one of the most basic of sewing abilities you could repair that by yourself. Carefully detach the old cover piece by piece. Utilize the pieces as patterns to reduce new pieces from newly purchased product. learn more with each other and you have a brand new look!
To enhance your kitchen's worth without investing a lot of loan, include a brand-new backsplash. Backsplashes are very wanted by buyers, and can make your kitchen area look even more put together. To save loan, utilize a product like tin ceramic tile or stainless-steel in place of expensive ceramic floor tile. Be sure to choose something that compliments your kitchen's color scheme.
Before making a significant investment in landscaping products and plants, consult your neighborhood yard center. Most lawn and yard companies are greater than willing to go over initial landscape layout as well as method for little to no charge. This guarantees that you choose plants that are compatible with your upkeep expectations, dirt type, and also quantity of sunlight and also shade.
Do some web research to find out if common products coincide quality as name brand names. In some cases name brand products correspond generics that are available under one more name. No matter what materials you choose to go with, make certain that the specialist installs specifically just what you requested.
Take notice of just how the sun hits your house and also what does it cost? sun it obtains when selecting paint shades for the exterior. Check out paint examples at various times of day to see just how they might search in various amounts of light. Do not forget to evaluate your trim and accent colors in the sunlight also.
Finishing residence renovation jobs is a fantastic method to enhance your house's worth as well as boost the power performance of it as well. In this short article we have actually gone over a few of the top home renovation jobs that you must begin tackling today. We have actually likewise consisted of some valuable ideas to aid you in doing so. Get started today, as well as you make certain to see the benefits quickly.
Hwang Dyer House renovation tasks can do a lot more than make your home more eye-catching. They could increase the value of your investment, make your residence much more energy-efficient, as well as improve the
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The Bulldogs led from start to finish in their Howe Division meeting with the Hornets Tuesday and took the high-scoring affair, 9-6, at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Chris Theriault netted a match-high four goals for the Bulldogs. Kyle Christi had a goal and three assists, Ethan Higbee and Chris Martinez each had a goal and two assists, Max McDaniel had a goal and assist, Shane Williams scored once and Zack McDaniel had an assist. Emmett Jaeger had 24 saves.
Who Cares jumped out to a two-goal lead through two quarters of play in their Howe Division match Tuesday against the Bulldogs, then held on for a 2-1 victory at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Goals by Jake Beardshear off an assist from Lawrence Benavente and by Derek Slayton in the second quarter gave Who Cares a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs drew to within 2-1 in the third quarter, when Trevor Brenden set up a goal by Chris Martinez but could get no closer. Jessica Baltazar had 20 saves for Who Cares, and Dylan Moan had 32 for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs continued Friday to take the bite out of their Norris Division competition, beating the Jets, 5-3, at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. In picking up their third consecutive victory and improving their division-leading record to 7-2, the Bulldogs were led by Jeff Fuzzard, who scored twice with an assist. Single goals also went out to Luke Hamigawa, Blake Jirges, and Bobby Sowma, and Jarrett Powers picked up a pair of assists.
Home sweet home. Six years since playing an on-campus match, the Burbank High girls' tennis team met visiting Flintridge Prep on Thursday in the season opener for both teams. The Bulldogs christened their new courts -- which sits atop the school's parking lot -- with a 12-6 victory. "It's still weird to be here and not at the [Burbank] tennis courts," Bulldog Coach Paul McNiff said. The Bulldogs were set on cruise control midway through the match, as they built an 8-1 lead.
The Bulldogs used a goal by Trevor Brenden to break a tie and defeat the Hawks, 4-3, in a Howe Division match Tuesday at the Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center. The goal was the third of the match for Brenden. Chris Theriault also scored, and assists went to Brandon Pepper, Matthew Bozanich and Sydney Russakov. Jessica Baltazar had 34 saves. Evan Hess scored twice, and Manny Banuelos once for the Hawks. Steven Landis had three assists, one shared with Jake Rennison. Brad Giczewski had 25 saves.
The Bulldogs maintained their narrow lead in the Norris Division standings Friday by doubling up on the Earthquakes by an 8-4 score at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Jeff Fuzzard scored three goals to lead all scorers, and the Bulldogs gained their third victory in succession in improving their record to 7-2. Jarrett Powers also had a big game with two goals and two assists, Luke Hamagiwa netted a pair of goals and an assist, Hunter Nelson scored once, and Blake Jirges had an assist to complete the Bulldogs scoring.
Garrick Langer scored his team's first three goals and went on to post a game-best four goals overall Friday to lead the Sharks in a 6-3 victory over the Fire in an Adams Division opener played at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Tied 1-1 through the first period of play, Langer scored twice and Joshua Ane scored once as the Sharks took a 4-2 lead into the final quarter. Jimmy Rodriguez also scored for the Sharks, and goalie Travis Beckman had 15 saves.
With the vibrations from the stomping of feet in the bleachers inside the two-year-old Burbank High gymnasium, Wayne Teng fed off the noise from the crowd. The Bulldog girls' volleyball coach showed plenty of emotion on his team's bench. It didn't matter if his emotion flowed during a timeout or following a key defensive play. Playing cross-town rival Burroughs also fanned Teng's emotions. Lauren Rowsey finished with 19 kills to power host Burbank to a 25-15, 26-28, 25-12, 25-20 Foothill League victory against rival Burroughs on Tuesday night.
The Meatballs scored the final four goals of their Howe Division match against the Kings, including the game-winner from Daniel Burkhardt in an overtime shootout, to pull out an 8-7 victory at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. It was the only goal scored by Burkhardt, who led the Meatballs with two assists. Travis Hunter, Kristian Burkhardt and Ethan Higbee led the Meatballs in scoring with two goals apiece. Austin Arcala scored once with an assist and Drew Sorbom and Ethan Loy each had an assist.
Kowalski nets four goals in 7-0 win in Campbell Division action.The Breakers broke away from a scoreless first quarter in their Campbell Division match with the Blackhawks by scoring seven consecutive goals to record a 7-0 victory at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Kyle Kowalski started and ended the scoring spree by posting consecutive goals in the second and third periods. Goals were scored in between by Aaron Maccabi, Ian Gibbons and Alexander Taros. Taros and Gibbons each had two assists, and Aaron Cree had one assist.
Alabama Street and Joliet Avenue: A man reportedly kicked his bulldog multiple times and threw the animal against a wall at 1:13 p.m. Monday. AREA 1 Carousel Lane: Fireworks were reported in the 16600 block at 12:05 a.m. Saturday. Edinger Avenue: Two restaurants reportedly had their front glass doors smashed, with the cash drawers ransacked, in the 5900 block at 7:42 a.m. Sunday. Neely Circle: A residential burglary was reported in the 4800 block at 6:14 p.m. Saturday.
The Mighty Pucks scored six goals over the first two periods and went on to polish off the Sharks, 7-0, in Adams Division play Friday at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Leon Sandeberg and Nicholas Upstill each scored two goals to pace the Mighty Pucks on offense. Single goals went to AJ Gatto, Jeremy Lee and Christina Kao while Jenna Gatto had an assist. Dillon Makoff had eight saves as the Mighty Pucks defense recorded the shutout. Adam Lang had 18 saves for the Sharks.
The Hawks broke open a scoreless Howe Division match with the Bulldogs by scoring four goals in the second period and continued to blister the net in a 7-1 victory at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Evan Hess led the scoring attack with three goals. Dylan Rodriguez scored twice and Manny Banuelos and Steven Landis each scored once. Jake Rennison picked up a pair of assists and Brad Giszewski had 12 saves. In other Howe Division action: TnT 2, Who Cares 1 Johnny Richardson scored in a shootout session, as TnT survived Who Cares.
Jonathan Pichedwatana scored off an assist from Alexander Gomez in the third period to break a tie and send the Monstars to a 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. It was the second consecutive goal scored by Pichedwatana, who tied the Bulldogs' David Wellander for scoring honors as each finished with two goals in the Norris Division match. Nikolas St. Onge and Justin Pichedwatana also scored for the Monstars, and Jake Grothjan finished with 30 saves.
Kathy Courtney of Laguna Niguel opined that El Toro is a "done deal" and that we should "move on." However, I have the feeling that had Measure W lost, she would be carping for even yet another vote. In fact, that's been happening over the past eight years. After four tries, El Toro opponents finally were able to simultaneously pass an initiative and have one court uphold it. Now they want to silence dissenting opinions. Maybe El Toro is indeed a "done deal."
Eron Ben-Yehuda HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The El Toro airport debate may be raging in South County, but its not flying here, as only two residents showed up Tuesday for a meeting at City Hall on what many consider to be the most pressing land use issue in Orange County. Locals should be concerned about the fate of the former Marine base, said Peggy Ducey, executive director of the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, which sponsored the meeting, because building an international airport will have a "ripple effect" throughout the county.
HUNTINGTON BEACH — Huntington Beach, as expected, took care of business Friday night. Now, the Oilers can turn their full attention to El Toro. Huntington set up an early-season showdown in the chase for first place in the Sea View League Friday by defeating visiting Woodbridge. The Oilers used a big second half to pull away from the Warriors to win for the fourth time in as many league starts, 62-48. The victory put Huntington at 17-3 overall and sends the Oilers onward to a Wednesday game against defending league champ El Toro.
The Sea View League boys? basketball race will be decided tonight. The Huntington Beach Oilers made certain that the title chase would go to the end of the regular season by scoring a thrilling, 67-65 overtime victory over visiting El Toro before a full house at Huntington. The win moved the Oilers to 7-2 in league and pulled them to within a game of league-leading El Toro, which suffered its first league loss in falling to 8-1. A win by the Chargers would have allowed them to repeat as league champion.
Huntington Beach coach Eric Lo said during preseason camp that the first three games of the season would tell him a lot about his 2011 football team. Games against El Toro, Corona del Mar and Foothill, two of whom were the Oilers' rivals when they belonged to the Sea View League two years ago, figured to test Huntington right out of the gate. Lo did learn something Friday at Cap Sheue Field: his team can win the close one. Huntington never trailed against El Toro but the Oilers had to withstand a barrage of passes - 55 of them - from Chargers quarterback Conner Manning, and a late comeback attempt, to post a 23-21 season-opening victory.
The 2012 high school football season gets underway this week for four local schools: Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Marina and Brethren Christian. Three of those schools - Fountain Valley, Marina, Brethren Christian - open their campaigns with home games. Huntington, Fountain Valley, Marina, and the rest of the Pac-5 Division teams move from the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division to the Southwest Division this year. Below is a brief capsule look at this week's openers. * Thursday Huntington Beach vs. El Toro, 7 p.m., Trabuco Hills High: A young Huntington Beach team starts its season in south Orange County against a seasoned El Toro squad that has several big-time players returning from a 2011 team that set several school records.
Huntington Beach Coach Eric Lo said during the preseason that the first three games of the season would tell him a lot about his 2011 football team. Games against El Toro, Corona del Mar and Foothill, two of whom were rivals when the Oilers belonged to the Sea View League, figured to test Huntington right out of the gate. Lo did learn something last Friday at Cap Sheue Field: his team can win the close one. Huntington never trailed against El Toro, but the Oilers had to withstand a barrage of passes - 55 of them from Chargers quarterback Conner Manning - and a late comeback attempt to post a 23-21 season-opening victory.
Four members of the Huntington Beach High boys’ basketball team recently were named to the 2008 All-Sea View League boys’ basketball team, Coach Fabian Luna announced. The all-league team was selected by the head coach at each of the league’s six schools. Seniors Nick Becker and Trevor Carroll, and junior Zach Kimber made the first team. Nick Neser, a junior, was a second-team selection. During the 2007-08 season, Becker, who became the school’s all-time leading scorer, averaged 20 points per game and was the league’s leading scorer.
Fountain Valley High's opening performance Monday at its own Hoop Challenge girls' basketball tournament was a balancing act, and the end result produced a 73-43 victory over visiting El Toro. Sophomore post Mikaila Pacis finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals, junior guards Michelle Wu and Ari Jacobsen each had 12 points and two steals, senior guard Amy Yoshinaga eight points and three steals, junior guard Ashley Masuda eight points, three assists and two steals, senior post Emily Krause seven points and five rebounds, and freshman guard Andie Kristinant was three of five from three-point range and scored nine points.
Senior forward Marisa Teng scored 16 points Tuesday for Fountain Valley, but the Barons were edged by host El Toro, 55-51, in nonleague girls' basketball action. Teng connected on five three-pointers for the Barons, who took a one-point lead (42-41) into the fourth quarter. Senior guard Jasmine Matar and junior forward Emily Krause both scored eight points for the Barons. In previous play, Fountain Valley went 2-2 at the Segerstrom Tournament and finished in ninth place. The Barons started the tournament with consecutive losses to Woodbridge (64-28)
The Edison High football program once again starts its summer season at the 2012 Nike Air Strike passing tournament at Dana Hills High. The Chargers are one of 12 teams in the single-day event Saturday. The teams will be split into four pools. Pool A: Chaminade, Dana Hills, Oaks Christian, Tesoro; Pool B: Alemany, Mater Dei, Mission Viejo, Upland; Pool C: Capistrano Valley, Long Beach Poly, Narbonne, San Clemente: Pool D: Edison, El Toro, Loyola, Santa Margarita. Edison opens pool play at 9 a.m. against El Toro, then has games against Santa Margarita (10:30 a.m.)
ANAHEIM - The Huntington Beach High girls' basketball team had nearly enough firepower in its arsenal to knock off another giant. Three days after taking down second-ranked El Toro, third-ranked Huntington Beach gave top-ranked Summit all it could handle in Friday's CIF Southern Section Division 1A championship game at Anaheim Arena. The SkyHawks scored the final five points of the game to pull out a 56-51 victory to give the school its first Southern Section title in girls' basketball.
HUNINGTON BEACH - At about the midway point of the third quarter of Tuesday's CIF Southern Section Division 1A boys' basketball game between Huntington Beach and El Toro, it appeared that Huntington was about to make a game-changing move on the visiting Chargers. Trailing throughout the second-round contest, the Oilers, who had been outmaneuvered and outgunned for much of the night, got to within nine points of the El Toro lead. It was then, though, that the lights were turned out for good by the Chargers.
Just four games in, and the Sunset League baseball race is full of suspense. Marina High Coach Paul Renfrow might be the least surprised. “This is my 27th year, and nobody’s ever won the league undefeated,” he said. The same will be true this year, although Edison (3-1 in league) does have a showdown at Newport Harbor (also 3-1) at 3 p.m. today. The winner will take outright possession of first place in league — but there’s still a long way to go. Edison 5, Fountain Valley 1: The Chargers rebounded from a loss to Esperanza on Friday, topping their rivals Tuesday at Edison.
"I think Derek thinks the turtles are real," Rholan Wong admitted. "We'll be driving down the street, and he'll see a manhole cover and want to go down (into the sewer) with the Turtles." Added Bob Clark, another parent of a 3-year-old Turtle fan: "Sean does the same thing."
"At 3," Lieberman said, "some kids are still struggling with (the separation of) fantasy and reality. These turtles are interacting with live people. How are kids supposed to understand the (difference between the) costumed and the real people? In the movie, they have adults going down into the manhole. How is a 3-year-old supposed to know this is a joke?"
Teigiser doesn't see a problem. "The Turtles are very tongue-in-cheek," she said. "They spoof the super heroes. They fight for truth, justice and a larger slice of pizza. There's a strong element of humor that appeals to kids. They pick up on it immediately."
To stem possible confusion and to quell aggression, perhaps a policy of moderation is best, suggested Irene Goldenberg, a UCLA family psychologist.
"Certainly, I think a child should not play with any single toy constantly," she said. "It's not creative. But as long as kids are playing with Turtles in an interactive way along with other kids, I don't think they are much different than the toy soldiers of a different age. Every toy seems to be offensive to some group. The Barbie doll, for instance, is offensive to some feminists."
Goldenberg's suggestion seems to be working at the Teddy Bear Preschool in Burbank, where children occasionally are allowed to play with Turtles. "We considered a Ninja Turtle ban," said Nan Orlandi, the school's director. "We did notice our kids' behavior getting more aggressive (after Turtles became popular). They were trying to kick and hit."
After much discussion with parents and children, Orlandi struck a compromise: "Children can only bring Ninja toys on 'share' days, two days a week. We tell them to keep the Ninja weapons at home. And we don't allow Ninja Turtle movies. Some parents said they don't want their kids to see them."
A policy of moderation is also in effect at the YWCA in Glendale, said Mallory Fessler, director of child care for the 100 summer camp children and 18 preschoolers there. Kids are not prohibited from wearing Turtle gear, but neither are they encouraged to take part in Turtle play. "We usually discourage them from playing Ninja Turtles," Fessler said. "There's no creativity."
Rationing Turtle play makes sense to Judy Hall, an Anaheim marriage and family therapist. "Parents have to take responsibility for providing balanced input," she said. "Kids need a variety of toys. Be alert for the impact of toys on behavior."
What's appealing about the Turtles, she said, is the element of rebellion, the fantasy and all the action. And toddlers tend to look up to the Turtles, some parents observe, simply because they are teen-agers.
On the plus side, some parents say there are educational benefits to Turtle play. Each Turtle wears a different color face mask, and some children learn colors from Turtle-watching, parents say.
Personal hygiene, often not a priority for toddlers, can improve, Rholan Wong found. "Derek never wanted to take a shower until he saw Raphael taking one," he said. "Now if we could only find a photo of a Turtle brushing his teeth."
Did Louganis Act Properly? : Diving: Some wonder whether he should have revealed he was HIV-positive during '88 Games.
In her first short-story collection, the author reckons with the Nevada of her youth and the memory of a long-lost father, a Manson family member.
Claire Vaye Watkins tried to live in Los Angeles, but she couldn't stay. Her father haunts the city too much, says the author of the debut short-story collection "Battleborn" — as do the actions of his former friends.
Paul Watkins was a member of the Manson family, a charmer who recruited girls into the group. The notorious murders took place when Watkins was away in the desert, and he later testified against Manson.
Watkins died of cancer when Claire was 6, leaving her the private legacy of an absent father and a public one connected to the Manson case. In "Battleborn's" first story, "Ghosts, Cowboys," she folds her real-life history into something surreal and clearly metaphorical while also, she says, "getting the Manson thing out of the way."
Now in her late 20s, Claire is an assistant professor of English at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. She describes her childhood as alternately poor and working class. The first university graduate in her family, she says, "I didn't understand that you had to pay for college. I thought you got a bill at the end, like when you go to a restaurant."
She went on to get an MFA in creative writing from Ohio State University. It was in the green hills of Ohio that Watkins began conjuring the arid West of her childhood for these stories. She had grown up with her parents in the tiny California town of Tecopa, in the Mojave; after her father died, her mother remarried, moving the family to Nevada. That state's unofficial nickname, which comes from its incorporation during the Civil War, gives "Battleborn" its title.
The stories are set in Nevada: in an apartment in Reno, the tourist town Virginia City, the Las Vegas strip, the Cherry Patch Ranch brothel in Pahrump. These are places often seen by people passing through, but Watkins tells the tales from the locals' points of view.
There are intimacies and secrets, betraying friends, fierce women, failed love affairs, a dangerous brother, a ghost, a beloved baby, an old man, alone. "Out here a person could get turned around and lose his own trail," she writes in the story "Man-O-War," "each stretch of nothing looking like the next, east looking like south looking like west, not knowing where he came on the lake bed, and not knowing how to get home."
As grounded as they are in real places, the stories are fictions, crafted with the skill of an artisan, working from the starting points of Mary Gaitskill and Aimee Bender. Watkins is uninterested in memoir, to the point of being averse to it.
"There seems to be this onus on the genre of memoir to explain," she says. "It's essentially an art form that says why are you who you are. I don't think we can do that in an honest way."
Take for example her father's 1979 memoir, "My Life with Charles Manson" — now a collector's item that sells for $90 and up. She points to the cover, which proclaims, 'It Can Be Explained; I Can Explain It.'"
That's simply too reductive for her. "In fact the whole mystifying, frightening thing about the Manson family is it really can't be explained," she says. "No one reason is good enough."
And yet that book provided an unexpected comfort to her. Claire was 19 when she read it, the same age her father was in 1969.
"I felt like it finally let me know something about him that I couldn't know any other way. That he was, like all of us, a deeply flawed person," she says. "Reading about an orgy at Dennis Wilson's house, it made him three-dimensional for me."
In the book, her father describes many sex scenes, including explicit details about his physical interactions with Manson himself. "On some level, I was like, ew, gross." But because he'd died when Claire was so young, she says she was grateful "to be let in a little bit on the specificity."
Shortly before she started graduate school, Watkins' mother committed suicide, and the sense of loss is palpable in some of her stories.
"I think I'd started to think of myself as inured to grief, that it was always a part of me," Watkins says. "My mom's death really made obvious how ridiculous that idea is. "
She is resolute in believing that a kind of openness and vulnerability is essential to being a writer. Here, Watkins' strong voice grows quiet. "That you would ever be prepared to lose someone. That you ever get better from it? I don't find that you really do."
Daniel Gibson turned the rookie game into a warmup for the 3-point shooting contest. Gibson made a record 11 3-pointers, many coming right in front of Cleveland teammate LeBron James, and scored 33 points to lead the NBA's sophomores stars to a 136-109 victory over the top rookies on Friday night of all-star weekend. Gibson will compete in the 3-point shootout today and will be hard to beat if he shoots the way he did against the defenseless rookies. He finished three points shy of the game record, set by Amare Stoudemire in 2004.
Orlando still feels like home to J.J. Redick . It sure felt that way Wednesday night as Redick's new team, the Los Angeles Clippers, faced Redick's first team, the Orlando Magic, at Amway Center. The crowd gave Redick a loud ovation when public-address announcer Paul Porter introduced him as a Clippers starter. "I feel very proud to have played in Orlando for as many years as I did and to have played on some of the teams that I did," Redick said. "I have just great memories of this place.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Finally, the speculation, the rumors, the innuendos had gotten to him. Embattled Magic Coach Doc Rivers criticized the franchise's treatment of him Monday, hours before what could be his final game as the club's coach. The Magic endured their 10th consecutive defeat with a 90-88 loss to the Utah Jazz. Another loss fed speculation that Rivers would not be aboard the team plane today, bound for Phoenix, where the Magic will play the Suns on Thursday. "If we're going to get into this, `If you win, you stay; if you lose, you go,' then they can do what they want," Rivers told the Sentinel after the Magic's shootaround before facing the Jazz on Monday night at the Delta Center.
Former Winter Park basketball center Adam Jones is only halfway through his college playing career, but he's already one season into what he wants for an occupation. Jones was taken in by the family of Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers five years ago, and he, too, has adopted coaching as his passion. "I love to play, but I actually love coaching even more," Jones said Wednesday after directing Orlando's Team M.o.a.M. in a 70-44 romp past an international team, Euro Elite Ballers, in its opening pool-play game of the AAU 11th Grade National Championship at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Behind the smiley face and chummy disposition, a man was stealing company secrets. He knew exactly what he wanted: Knowledge, insight and wisdom to help him become a successful NBA coach. So he enlisted some unsuspecting accomplices, 29 to be precise, and took meticulous notes along the way. The notebook grew thicker every day as Doc Rivers accumulated a hope chest of dreams that would be fulfilled when he became coach of the Orlando Magic on June 7, 1999. "You get that hour sitting in the back with the coach just talking basketball," Rivers says of his pregame preparation for his work as a studio analyst on Turner Network Television.
TAMPA -- It just wasn't worth the risk. Magic Coach Doc Rivers, with two key players already hurt back home, pulled his regulars off a slippery court Sunday and never let them return, just thankful to be going home as healthy as they arrived. The Magic never led, and he didn't mind one bit. The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Magic 105-97, but the outcome was inconsequential even by exhibition-game standards after both coaches questioned whether the game should even continue. "I almost broke my neck out there," said Magic center Patrick Ewing.
JACKSONVILLE -- It's over. The Orlando Magic went home Sunday, and they did not stop for X-rays on the way. For six days, the Magic enjoyed a training camp of good focus and intensity at the University of North Florida. No one was hurt. The players embraced defensive concepts. A combination of these things has Coach Doc Rivers believing that there is promise for this season. "Having a great training camp doesn't mean that you're going to have a great season, but this is absolutely the best training camp we've had since I've been here," Rivers said.
Orlando Magic Coach Doc Rivers didn't make a T-Mac guarantee, but he didn't believe he'd be at RDV Sportsplex on Wednesday morning, either, explaining away another first-round playoff failure. He thought he would still be leading his team to a deciding Game 5 Friday night against the Hornets in Charlotte. But reality -- and the Hornets -- kept Rivers tossing and turning after Tuesday night's 102-85 loss that ended the Magic's season. "I didn't sleep. You lay around, trying to figure out what happened and why . . . but I thought that team [Charlotte]
OAKLAND, Calif. -- No sequence better illustrated the positive results the Orlando Magic can enjoy on offense than during a possession late in the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. That possession culminated with a 3-pointer by Mike Miller, but those three points were made possible by a chain of events triggered by a double-team of Tracy McGrady. McGrady was double-teamed in the left corner. He began a sequence of four passes that put the ball in Miller's hands on the opposite side of the court.
This is like losing your wallet, or the key to your car, at the first roadside rest stop on a cross-country trip. Life will be miserable until it is found. The Orlando Magic have lost their collective shooting stroke, leaving them vulnerable to a disastrous start in this 15th anniversary season, exposing every other weakness they have. "I've never shot so poorly in my life," said Magic leading scorer Tracy McGrady. "It's embarrassing." The Magic (1-3) have lost three consecutive games, dropping quickly toward the bottom of the Atlantic Division, shooting at baskets like they are bumpkins shooting for stuffed animals at the county fair.
Don't do it, Doc. Don't be like Urban Meyer. Don't bail out on the Boston Celtics like Meyer bailed out on the Florida Gators. And right now, Doc, that sure is what it looks like from the outside looking in. Sadly, it appears Doc Rivers wants out of Boston now that the organization's "Big Three" have aged and splintered, and the championship window is slammed shut. Sort of like how Meyer wanted out of UF after Tim Tebow left and the Gators were relegated to the status of Nick Saban's favorite foot-wipe.
MIAMI - The hottest coaching commodity in the NBA isn't even on the market. Yet. The hottest coaching commodity has a job. The question is whether or not he wants to keep it. Doc Rivers broke his silence on the matter Wednesday night. "I'm leaning heavily toward coming back," the Celtics coach said after his season ended with a 97-87 loss to the Heat in Game 5 Wednesday night. "I made up my mind the last couple of weeks. I'm a Celtic. I'm competitive, as well. I love our guys.
Doc Rivers said one of the basketball conversations he cherishes most tipped off with a two-word question from a baggage handler at a Sacramento airport last month. "How's Austin," the man asked when he spotted the Boston Celtics coach arriving for a game. Very well, thank you. As the consensus No. 1 high school basketball player in the nation, very well. "I loved it," a proud father said on Wednesday. "We all want to be parents of our children. That's what I want to be. " Doc was a beaming father, not a former NBA all-star and widely recognized pro coach, Wednesday as he watched Austin receive the McDonald's All American Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award at a Chicago press conference.
BOSTON — Another man would be relishing and revelling in the demoralizing, destructive beating his team is administering to the franchise that once fired him. Another man might have the urge to brag and say, "I told you so." Another man — a lesser man — would vindictively and vociferously be getting the last laugh. Doc Rivers is too classy for such nonsense. In fact, the present coach of the Celtics and the former coach of the Magic can feel your pain, Orlando.
After defeating the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, Doc Rivers doesn't expect a letdown from his Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals this afternoon at Amway Arena. "Not for us," Rivers said moments ago during his pregame press conference. "Our goal was not to beat Cleveland this year. Our goal was to try to get to the [NBA] Finals, and we believed from Day One -- we stated it from Day One -- that the team that you have to beat to get to the Finals is Orlando."
ATLANTA -- Magic Coach Doc Rivers looked like a mad scientist Wednesday night, concocting strange-mix lineups that could have exploded at any moment. Get used to seeing it. That's what versatility brings. A 101-93 NBA exhibition victory against the Atlanta Hawks looked like a good time to experiment, so Rivers did. Point guard Darrell Armstrong was replaced by center John Amaechi late in the first half. Armstrong was replaced by power forward Pat Garrity early in the second half. The Magic played a five-forward lineup once, and they played an all-shooter lineup another time.
Grant Hill and Coach Doc Rivers are about to butt heads again, giving vastly different opinions Thursday on when the All-Star forward will be making his debut in a Magic uniform. Hill, who is coming back from surgery on his left ankle, scrimmaged for the first time in eight days Thursday and said he likely would be playing Saturday at the TD Waterhouse Centre when the Magic face his former team, the Detroit Pistons. Rivers said it is unlikely Hill will play in a game anytime soon. They were standing 10 feet apart, talking at almost the same time.
Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, tongue firmly in cheek, said he finally feels like he can go out in public in sports-crazy New England. The Patriots and Red Sox have won championships in recent years while the Celts have foundered until this season. They entered Sunday's game against the Magic with the NBA's best record at 20-3. "I can get out of my car and use the self-serve pump at the gas station now," said Rivers, the former Magic coach in his fourth season in Boston. "Before, I had to have it pumped for me because I was afraid of somebody shooting me."
Celtics Coach Doc Rivers left the team before Boston's game Sunday against the Raptors after his father died in Chicago. The Celtics said Rivers left Toronto on Sunday morning. Grady Alexander Rivers Sr. was 76. There was no immediate word on the cause of death and funeral arrangements have yet to be announced. Assistants Tom Thibodeau and Armond Hill handled the coaching duties in Rivers' absence. A 13-year NBA veteran, Rivers became the 16th coach in Celtics history on April 29, 2004, and won NBA Coach of the Year honors as Boston went 45-37 and won the Atlantic Division title in his debut season.
Banks are adjusting well to revised regulations designed to encourage development in low- and moderate-income communities, federal regulators said last week in Orlando.The Community Reinvestment Act was overhauled last year by Congress, and one result is a faster review process, said James Pilkington, community affairs officer for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Atlanta regional headquarters.''We are spending less time in the banks,'' Pilkington said. ''The bankers are happier about that.
An earlier version of this article misidentified letter writer Jon Lee. Democrats at the helm A contributor to the 30 word rant recently wrote: "Republicans don't know anything about running an economy. " Oh, and the Democrats do? The Community Reinvestment Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by Jimmy Carter in 1977. Last time I looked, Carter was a Democrat and as result of his policies, we had double digit inflation, interest rates and unemployment. It took Ronald Reagan two years to reverse enough of Carter's policies so that the economy could recover.
THE HOUSE Banking Committee voted Thursday to reinstate the law protecting poor neighborhoods from discrimination by banks. The vote reverses a decision by a subcommittee on financial institutions, which last month decided to exempt 80 percent of the nation's banks from the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. Consumer groups and organizations representing poor people had reacted with outrage to the subcommittee vote.
Barack Obama said recently that massive government spending is the only solution to the financial problem. Ridiculous. Government policies and spending caused this problem. Jimmy Carter started it with the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977. It compels banks to make loans to low-income borrowers. Bill Clinton and a Democrat Congress liberalized the act even further in the early '90s to vastly expand the amount of money that could be loaned. Clinton caused seriously deficient debt to be deceptively packaged into securities that gave them a legitimacy they didn't deserve.
The Senate on Thursday passed sweeping legislation that would lift Depression-era barriers and let banks, securities firms and insurance companies get more deeply into one another's businesses. The bill faces a likely presidential veto. The Clinton administration supports such legislation in principle. But in a showdown with the Senate Banking Committee, it has threatened a presidential veto of the bill unless there are changes. They include the removal of provisions that Democrats view as an attack on the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. An amendment to the legislation would make it a federal crime for people to misrepresent themselves to obtain someone's private financial data.
PROTEST. In what protesters say is likely to become a regular occurrence, four community groups have filed complaints with the Federal Reserve Board, seeking to block the proposed merger of The Citizens and Southern Corp. of Atlanta with Sovran Financial Corp. of Norfolk, Va. The groups allege the two banks do not properly serve low-income neighborhoods, which would be a violation of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. C&S has substantial operations in Central Florida.Three complaints were filed by Atlanta-based groups, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society Inc., the Georgia Housing Coalition and Interfaith Inc. The fourth was filed by Concerned Citizens For Justice, of Chattanooga, Tenn.
TRUCE? There are rumblings of a possible settlement between First Union Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., and a coalition of four Florida legal-service agencies, including the Rural Law Center of Apopka, which has challenged the bank's proposed purchase of Florida National Banks of Jacksonville.The challenge, filed with the Federal Reserve Board this summer, alleges that First Union discriminated against minorities and low-income individuals across Florida. An unrelated charge by the Charlotte Reinvestment Alliance, an activist group in Charlotte, was dropped last month after First Union agreed to provide as much as $9 million in financing to low-income housing projects in that city.
I read with great dismay about the attempt by U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Longwood, to eliminate the need for banks to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act.I am a former director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati. HOME filed the first lawsuit against ``redlining'' - Laufman vs. Oakley Building & Loan. That suit, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, was the first to hold that the banking practice of redlining was illegal. I aided in the gathering of the evidence, and I know that banks did not voluntarily comply with anti-redlining requirements before being required to do so.Once that suit was won, the Center for Community Change in Washington, D.C., began compiling evidence from areas throughout the country to provide backup for then-Sen.
Orlando's banking community is a key player in any housing solution.The good news is that bankers appear eager to help. They recently met with members of the Orange County Housing Finance Authority to discuss what needs to be done. The authority, which issues bonds to help build homes and apartments for low- and moderate-income families, has plenty of ideas.One solution? Banks can form a consortium. Each bank could contribute, say, $4 million a year to a pool for housing loans.The authority could then handle the paperwork to help non-profit groups and developers get loans.
If you're a first-time home buyer, a minority-group member or a tenant searching for affordable housing, you've probably never heard of Banyan Bank or the federal Community Reinvestment Act.But thanks to federal regulators' actions, banks and S&Ls are likely to be more receptive than ever before to your housing finance needs.Banyan Bank of Boca Raton became the first lending institution in the nation to have its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating by federal banking authorities revealed to the public.
Legal Services lawyers from Orange, Brevard and two other counties have accused Landmark Banking Corp. of Florida of discriminating against black neighborhoods and asked federal bank regulators to block its merger with a Georgia company.Charging that Landmark's lending practices violate a 1977 federal law, the complaint asks the Federal Reserve Board to deny its request to merge with Georgia's biggest bank holding company, Citizens and Southern Georgia Corp., unless Landmark changes its policies.
Florida lawmakers are expected to take time out from a special session on workers' compensation today to express their support for U.S. troops fighting the war in the Persian Gulf.They also are expected to pass a law authorizing cities, counties and the state to supplement the pay of employees who have been called to active duty in the armed forces.The purpose of the six-hour special session is to fix 1990 workers' compensation reforms that a court has declared unconstitutional, but just as the war has intruded in the lives of all Americans, so too will it intrude in legislative business.