Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem was shocked to learn that her jewelry store is being sued for more than $80,000.
Panhandle State Bank says the lawsuit is over a $75,000 loan made back in 2005. Bloem says she was in the process of renegotiating the loan, and never had any indication the bank was going to sue. She says her jewelry store is not in financial trouble, even though the bank says she failed to pay off the loan.
“I would go to China at age 19 and start my company there. It’s a much better environment.”-Michael Dell
That’s what founder and CEO of Dell computers reportedly told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose, after being asked about doing things over.
Like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell is a college drop out, who went on to build a successful computer company. Dell is the number two computer company in the U.S., Apple is third.
It’s not a good sign when the founder of the number two computer maker in the U.S. says the new generation of entrepreneurs should move to China.
After several months of what looked like a downward trend in home foreclosures, October had a 7% increase from the month before.
The reason for what looked like a downward trend was because the big banks and mortgage companies had been holding back, mainly due to red tape and just too many cases to go after: “The October foreclosure numbers continue to show strong signs that foreclosure activity is coming out of the rain delay we’ve been in for the past year as lenders corrected foreclosure paperwork and processing problems.”-James Saccacio, RealtyTrac
Nevada is still the number one state for foreclosures, although Las Vegas dropped to 5th place for cities. Stockton, California, is now the number city in the U.S. for foreclosures.
Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan are the top five losing states, making up 53% of the country’s home foreclosures.
The next five most losing states are Georgia, Illinois, Idaho, Oregon and Colorado.
In the name of efficiency, and international competition, J.R. Simplot is building a new potato processing plant. It will use only 250 employees. The problem is that the new highly efficient Simplot potato factory will replace three existing plants (in Nampa, Caldwell & Aberdeen), resulting in 800 Idahoans losing their jobs. That’s a net loss of 550 jobs.
East Idaho doesn’t have a big population so the job loses will hit hard: “It’s going to have a negative impact on Nampa and Caldwell and the whole country. We’re encouraged that they will remain in Caldwell, but certainly concerned about the overall impact of job loss.”-Steve Fultz, Caldwell Economic Development Council
J.R. Simplot officials say it’s necessary to build such an efficient factory, because global competition in the food market is getting tougher. In fact potato prices for this years potato season have fallen to the point that Idaho farmers will be lucky to break even.
At least Simplot employees have been given a decent heads up; it’ll be at least two years before the new super efficient potato processing plant will be completed.
J.R. Simplot has been streamlining operations in Idaho since the 1990s. Simplot’s corporate headquarters used to be in Chubbuck, Idaho. But they closed it down and moved to Boise right after I moved to Chubbuck.
Their Chubbuck HQ was replaced with the TJ Maxx/IHOP strip mall.
Former location of J.R. Simplot Corporate HQ, Chubbuck, Idaho
The metal awnings/canopies covering the Simplot HQ entryway can now be seen in front of the Pocatello City Hall.
Ex Simplot Chubbuck HQ canopies adding charecter to the otherwise drab Pocatello City Hall
“We believe that 25% of the people who go through our jail systems can afford to pay for their jail stay. If we just grab 25% of those, that would save the county or the city $6.7 million.”-Jeff Stone, County Supervisor
Riverside County, in California, has decided to charge prisoners $142.42 per day. The county says it’s an effort to “save” money, but it looks more like a way for the county to make a profit. When they say they could save $6.7 million, that’s actually how much money they’d take in from prisoners.
The problem is that once they start making big money from charging prisoners, the county government will get addicted to that form of revenue and start making up reasons to put people in prison. Don’t laugh, it’s happened before, and is going on right now with Corporate America operated for profit prisons.
The ACLU is concerned: “Programs like this certainly do raise very serious Constitutional questions. We’re seeing it increasingly in jurisdictions around the country.”-Will Matthews, American Civil Liberties Union
Attorney’s for the county said there is nothing illegal about charging prisoners for their stay. But they warned officials that not all prisoners can afford to pay for their keep: “In order to be reimbursed, the court must determine that the defendant has the ability to pay all or a portion of these costs. Many defendants who are incarcerated lack the financial means, after the payments of fines and penalties, to reimburse these costs.”-Pamela Walls, county attorney
The number of people in Japan, who need help with basic needs keeps going up month after month. The Japanese Welfare Ministry reports that in July welfare recipients hit a record 2.05 million.
A big jump is in ‘working age households’ (people who’re less than 65 years of age). That category receiving welfare is now four times higher than 10 years ago.
The Welfare Ministry says since 1995 more people are needing welfare help. However, current increases in welfare recipients are due directly to the 2007/08 credit crisis. Japanese officials say for the past three years welfare rolls have been increasing by an average of 10,000 people per month!
On November 2 the U.S. Senate presented a plan to “save” the USPS.
That plan would pay back U.S.$7 billion of the funds Congress stole, I mean, that Congress forced the USPS to overpay in retirement funds. However, the $7 billion is to be used to buy out employees (a nice way of laying people off, as many as 100,000 employees will lose their jobs in the buy out). It would also require a two year study before ending Saturday deliveries. The draconian retirement fund payment schedule would be ended as well (it’s the main reason the USPS is in financial trouble).
Then on November 7, the U.S. Postmaster General announced that he will officially present plans to “save” the USPS on November 21!
His plan will include laying off thousands of workers, closing offices and sorting facilities, and ending Saturday deliveries. He’ll make his official announcement at the November 21, National Press Club Speakers luncheon in Washington DC.
Local Idaho postal workers told me what ever plan is official announced that it’s basically a sham, what’s going down with the USPS is a “done deal”.
“For them to be a threat to us and to anyone in the region, I think it’s blown out of proportion.”-Ron Paul, U.S. Congressman from Texas
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is scheduled to come out on November 8 with a new report on Iran. Some sources say it will accuse Iran of making nuclear weapons.
One week ago, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee asked to intensify sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ron Paul says that proves we are at war with Iran: “When you put on strong sanctions, those are acts of war.”
If you take some college courses on warfare you’ll discover that economic sanctions really are part of the war making arsenal (that’s why the Japanese say they were justified in attacking the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor in 1941).
The Center for College Affordability and Productivity recently released the latest rankings of U.S. colleges and universities.
They include the 2011 rankings by Forbes/CCAP, using the Carnegie Classification (by geographic region). Idaho State University ranked 111, out of 112!
Portland State, in Oregon, came in dead last. Who’s number one in the West? Stanford, in California.
By the way, Boise State didn’t do much better, coming in at 109 out of 112!
The Idaho Division of Financial Management reported that October tax revenues were $1.6 million short of what was needed.
State officials were hoping for $210.6 million. So far for the fiscal year 2012, overall tax revenues are $10.8 million below what’s hoped for! Amazingly officials still think they’ll finish the 2012 fiscal year with a surplus!?
The biggest drop was seen in sales tax revenues, to the tune of $4.1 million! So far Idaho sales tax revenues are short by $14 million! Sales taxes are a good way to gauge how well your economy is doing, and it doesn’t look too good.