Daily Archives: December 19, 2011

HOA Forcing Family to Remove Playhouse of Disabled Son

December 19, 2011   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.courier-journal.com

A Homeowners’ Association in Lexington, Ky. is requiring a playhouse built for a boy with cerebral palsy be removed from the family’s backyard.

3-year-old Cooper Veloudis has a playhouse in his backyard that was built upon the instruction of his therapist.  The playhouse cost $5,000 to build and is a vital part of Veloudis’ physical development.  It was designed specifically to help him become more active, which is a central part of treatment for cerebral palsy.

The Andover Forrest Homeowner’s Association has announced that it will stick to it’s rules, and that no matter what the circumstance, the structure is strictly prohibited.

The Veloudis family is currently paying $50 for every day the playhouse remains in their yard.

Public backlash has spurred towards the HOA since the story was broadcast.  The Veloudis’ are in talks with the HOA to keep the playhouse, and lawmaker Richard Henderson, a representative of the Mount Sterling area, has said that he hopes to come up with a bill that would ban similar HOA action.

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Corzine Continues to Dispute He Knew About MF Global Loan

December 19, 2011   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.latimes.com

Former MF Global head Jon Corzine is continuing to dispute allegations that he knew about customer money that was transferred to a European affiliate.

On Dec. 13, Corzine made his first public appearance since CME Group Inc. executive Terrence Duffy said that he probably knew about the $175-million transfer.  If Duffy’s allegations are true it means that Corzine misled Congress about when he knew that client money was missing.

Around $1.2 billion of client money disappeared when MF Global filed for bankruptcy.  Currently, lawmakers and law enforcement officials are investigating.

It is standard law that brokers like MF Global are required to keep customer money away from company money.

Corzine has insisted in his two last hearings in front of Congress that he had only learned about the shortfall in customer accounts on Oct. 30, which was the day before the company filed for bankruptcy.

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Microsoft Co-Founder Plans to Build Airplanes with Rockets

December 19, 2011   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.inhabitat.com

Paul G. Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, has announced that he plans to build the biggest airplane ever to launch rockets.

Allen wants to build a plan that would take off in the conventional way and then, at 30,000 feet, launch a rocket to orbit.  The rocket would carry satellites, supplies, and hopefully at some point, people.  The first launching is planned for 2016.

The airplane will be build through Allen’s new company, Stratolaunch Systems.  The plane will be larger and heavier than the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes’ record-setting flying plane that flew just once in 1947.  The wings of the plane will stretch to 385 feet and will take off from a runway, then fly to normal cruising altitudes, and drop off a rocket.  This would eliminate the costly launching pads.

Allen said that his new effort should “keep America at the forefront of space exploration.”

 

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Financial-Exchange Executive Tells Senate that Corzine Knew of $175 Million Loan

December 19, 2011   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.images.businessweek.com

Terrence Duffy, a financial-exchange executive, told a Senate panel that Jon Corzine probably knew that MF Global used clients’ money to lend to European company.

Duffy, who is the CME Group Inc. Executive, said that he had received information from an MF Global employee that Corzine knew about the $175 million transfers from customer accounts.

Corzine has testified that he did not know of the situation until Oct. 30, which was the day before MF filed for bankruptcy.  Over $1.2 billion of customer money went unaccounted for when the company collapsed.

Duffy told the Senate that he told the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of what he knows.  The two offices are currently investigation the company’s failure.

Firms like MF Global are required to keep client money separate from company funds and are not supposed to transfer money from customers’ accounts.  Doing so, could violate security laws and can also amount to a crime in some cases.

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Fourth Grader Dies After Choking During Lunch at School

December 19, 2011   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.nydailynews.com

A fourth grader in New York City choked on a meatball during lunch and later died.

Jonathan Jewth, the 9-year-old boy, fell to the ground during lunch on Dec. 5, while school cafeteria workers stood by.  He was unconscious when help arrived.

Andrea Perez, a parent sat the school, saw the boy choking, but cafeteria workers did nothing.  They supposedly yelled at him at one point to put his fingers down his throat.

Perez, who cannot speak English, did not know how to resuscitate the boy.  She called 911 and began to scream for help.  Another parent also tried to help the boy.

Jewth was taken to Jacobi Medical Center.  He died on Dec. 12 after suffering brain damage.

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Lindsay Lohan Nude Photo Shoot Increasing Sales for Playboy

December 19, 2011   Meagan Cahuasqui   No comments

In 2007, the former Disney star Lindsay Lohan was arrested for driving under the influence.  Soon after, a flurry of court visits and minor jail time ensued for misdemeanors.  The troubled young star found more problems earlier this year when she was accused of being involved in a shoplifting incident in Los Angeles.

In a report from Fox News, Lohan tested positive for alcohol use about a month after her release from the Betty Ford Center where she attended her rehabilitation sessions.  It is also suspected that she was drinking while in rehab.  However, in spite of these setbacks, Lohan’s probation officer still believed the actress was making progress in her treatment.

After all the trouble, things seem to be looking up for Lohan.  The star actress of Mean Girls recently posed nude for the cover of Playboy Magazine.  According to the founder of the men’s magazine, Hugh Hefner, her photos have helped the publication “break sales records” like no other issue has done before.

The twenty-five year old actress was paid nearly $1 million for the nude shoot that resembles one taken by the late Marilyn Monroe back in 1953.  Of course, Monroe only received fifty dollars for her shoot, taken in 1959, and bought by Hefner for the cover of his magazine after she became famous.

Lohan caught a lucky break with this issue of Playboy.  The sales have given the actress an opportunity to make money again after the past couple of years of jail time, court visits, rehab, and probation restrictions.  Her luck also continues as she is slated to play the wife of John Gotti, Jr. in a biopic film of the notorious mob family.

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Two Month Extension On Pay-Roll Tax Cut Opposed By House

December 19, 2011   Meagan Cahuasqui   No comments

John Boehner, a speaker in the House of Representatives, opposes the proposed two month extension on the pay-roll tax cut coming into consideration before the end of the year.  Instead, he proposes a year extension should be created, an idea that was mulled over earlier this month at a different conference.

Boehner appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and made the prediction that ‘the House wouldn’t take up the two-month deal’ that an overwhelming amount of the Senate had voted on in a highly unusual session that took place on a Saturday.  He states that he and several of his peers in the House feel that two months is not enough time to get the country’s economy in order.

Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, responded with a provocative statement that challenged Boehner to bring the Senate approved bill up for a vote.  He claims that the House’s refusal to pass the bipartisan bill of a two month extension will mean the Republicans’ hand in implementing a $1,000 tax increase for middle-class citizens in the coming year.

A lack of Congressional response to the bill will also cause a two percent increase on the pay-roll tax withheld for funding Social Security in 2012.

The problem with favoring a year extension is how to fund the costs of that year.  The partisan split comes in with the suggestions of how to cover these costs, with Democrats supporting a change in taxing millionaires while Republicans call for a cut on spending.

The strong desire for a year-long extension stems from the President himself.  White House National Economic Council director Gene Sperling says the best way to get this full year extension is to back the two-month extension first.

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Training for Mental Health First Aid in Dane County

December 19, 2011   Jocelyn Apodaca   No comments

A new program for “mental health first aid” at Journey Mental Health Medical Center in Madison, Wisconsin is changing how the community looks at mental health.

Trainings are held twice a month starting in April and will train up to 250 people a year. The 12-hour course was designed in Australia to help those in need of seeking mental health help.

CUNA Mutual Foundation presented the Journey Center with $5,000 to help them get started.

With the course, Dan Muxfeld, Journey’s director of development and community relations, hopes to encourage the community and graduates to act fast in attempt to ease the stigma of mental health in the area and prevent potential problem from escalating.

“Early intervention or diagnosis can be beneficial long term in someone with a severe or persistent mental illness,” he said

In June, a plan by United Way of Dane County  was launched to provide better access for mental health services in the area.

Sixth-graders and families were screened for trauma. Over 100 people are on t

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