There was an old
Paul
Simon song, "One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor." Maybe it is like that
in the current housing slump. One person's loss is another's gain.
Have you taken a
look at the foreclosure sales that
occur on your courthouse steps or clerk's office?
The Mortgage Bankers Association says a
whopping 3.4 percent of homes in Ohio were in foreclosure in the final quarter of 2006. Indiana, Michigan and Mississippi are not far behind. Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Iowa, Pennsylvania and South Carolina round out the top 10 states with houses
in foreclosure.
USA
Today printed a
story recently outlining the opportunities and risks in foreclosure home
investments. As the story points out, buyers often purchase foreclosure homes
without ever being able to inspect the property. And there can be troubles if
the occupant does not want to move.
Still, as the
story points out, buyers can save megabucks in foreclosure sales.
The government
sometimes offers foreclosure sales. This
is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's site, which includes farms in foreclosure.
Here is the Department of Housing and Urban Development's site, which includes
listings by state.
There are
others:
Beyonce's Bilingual Breakthrough
I am thinking that this is a big thing for pop-culture
writers. Beyonce, hot off of "Dreamgirls," is releasing a new CD/DVD deluxe
edition Tuesday -- but there is an interesting aside.
On the DVD, she cut six Spanish-lyric tracks, and she does
not speak Spanish. Music critics have praised her Spanish-language skills. Click here to
listen to some clips. Overall, however, Rolling
Stone only gives the music a 3 out of 5.
Then there is this marketing
story. She also has an anthology video album only available at Wal-Mart. The
recording world is in such change these days.
Pregnant? No Need to Apply
The
(Baltimore) Sun reports that discrimination against pregnant
women is among the fastest-growing kinds of job discrimination complaints:
A record 4,901 pregnancy discrimination complaints were filed
nationwide with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state and
local fair employment practices agencies in fiscal year 2006. That is a 23
percent increase since 1997, making it one of the fastest-growing workplace
bias complaints, according to federal officials. (Though up nationally, the
EEOC said Maryland complaints totaled 87 last year -- down from 105
in 2005, the only figures the agency made available.)
The number of complaints, however, may not reflect the true scope
of the problem, said EEOC spokesman David Grinberg. That's because officials
believe many women, especially those on a professional track, see filing a
complaint and litigation as a "career killer," he said.
The nationwide increase in complaints reflects both cultural
shifts and old-fashioned notions that still exist in the workplace, consultants
say. The number of women working has grown in the past several decades, with
their labor force participation reaching almost 60 percent in 2005, according
to U.S. Department of Labor.
Bird Count Sets Record
You can now
check the findings of the Great Backyard Bird Count that attracted a record
number of observers this year.
The count has been broken down so you can see what observers
found in every community around the country.
Al's Morning Multimedia: New Weather-Radar Display
The
Weather Channel has set a new standard for online radar displays. All Web sites that want to be in the weather game will have to match this one or be
left in the dust -- it is that much better.
The Weather Channel data allows you to zoom in, where other maps are just static. What's best -- you do not lose the radar loop as you pan from side to
side. The display is coupling radar data with Microsoft's Virtual Earth.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
