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Approximately 52,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended along the country’s southern border since October 2013, said DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Another 39,000 adults with children were apprehended. The influx of unaccompanied children has further inflamed the debate in Washington over immigratio... |
The Administration announced several new programs in Central American nations to address the issue, ranging from youth outreach to facilities that reintegrate returned migrants. The White House also called for an increase in government resources at the border, as it looks to improve its ability to detain adults who tra... |
White House spokesman Josh Earnest did not offer any details on how the Administration plans to pay for the surge. |
The government’s repatriation policy of illegal immigrants was fundamental, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Parliament yesterday. |
Concluding a two-day discussion on illegal immigration, Dr Gonzi remarked that on Monday, Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat had mentioned that 12,000 immigrants had entered Malta over the past 10 years, and that 5,200 were still here. Such figures proved that work was being done to control and repatriate. |
The widow of Simshar victim Noel Carabott will be out on the streets in four months after a court upheld a request to evict her by her late husband’s father and aunt. |
This is the latest blow for the woman who just eight months ago lost her 33-year-old husband in the fishing boat tragedy that left three men and an 11-year-old boy dead. |
“If only he were still alive to see what they are doing to me,” Stephania Carabott said yesterday in desperation after being told she has to vacate the house she shared with her husband for 10 years. |
Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici is to be nominated by the Nationalist Party’s parliamentary group to become the next President of Malta. |
The nomination is expected to be formally made on April 4 when President Vincent Tabone’s five-year term expires. Dr Mifsud Bonnici, 61, will be the fifth president since Malta became a republic in 1974. He has been an MP since 1966 and education minister since 1987. |
Informed sources said yesterday no agreement had been reached between the government and the Opposition on a person to succeed Dr Tabone. |
The Labour Party said it agreed with a proposal made by the government about a person to be appointed to the post. But since the government wanted the term to last for five years and the Opposition wanted it for three, it would oppose the nomination. |
The MLP said it would be better for the Maltese people if the next President were to be nominated for a three-year term. In that way, a new administration could at a reasonable time after the general election be able to nominate persons for national institutions that would correspond to the change in the political clim... |
The preservation of the rustic environment of the sister island is the main aim of the development plan for Gozo made public yesterday at the Gozo Civic Council, Victoria. |
“We should not be so greedy as to attract too many tourists. Too many hotels in Gozo spoil the natural characteristics,” remarked Mr T. Sieczkowski, the United Nations Physical Planning Adviser to the Maltese government. Mr Sieczkowski was present at the press conference chaired by Dr C. Caruana, Minister of Public Bui... |
The long-awaited plan earmarks developments for the coming 12 years and proposes no hotel development at Ramla and San Blas, two bays on the north-eastern side of Gozo, bordered by the agricultural zone from Żebbuġ to Qala. |
A small fireworks factory at L-Għadira tal-Way, Naxxar, blew up with a shattering explosion last night, plunging the village in total darkness and scattering masonry and soil over a wide area. No one was injured. |
Assessment value changes: Which neighbourhoods jumped up and down, and what does that tell us? |
There they are — those numbers in bold on the top of the property assessment report from the City of Edmonton, casting judgment on many a family's most valuable asset. |
There they are — those numbers in bold on the top of the property assessment report from the City of Edmonton, casting judgment on many a family’s most valuable asset. |
Edmonton property owners may wonder what the city’s assessed value of their home or their neighbourhood means for the market value of their condo, duplex or house, particularly with the average assessment values sinking for three consecutive years. |
Could it affect the sale price of their house? |
How do city bean-counters calculate these things, anyway? |
These questions may be particularly top of mind given that Edmonton is a buyers’ market in 2019. |
The city’s property assessment information posted online includes an analysis of how values of detached, single-family homes and condominiums have changed by neighbourhood during the last year. |
Rod Risling, the city’s branch manager of assessment and taxation, said in an interview last week that these trends can fluctuate up and down substantially, and that longer-term patterns are more meaningful than year-to-year comparisons. |
However, the city only publishes year-to-year comparisons, not five-year or 10-year trends. Owners can see assessments over time for just their property when they log on to myproperty.edmonton.ca. |
Topping the list of largest neighbourhood jumps in house assessment value this year are Lansdowne, Belgravia, Windsor Park and Skyrattler in southwest Edmonton, along with the mostly rural Riverview in west Edmonton. |
Realtor Brad Bosker notes the ups and downs do match market trends in the city. He was unsurprised to see values rise in Malmo Plains and Empire Park, as people priced out of McKernan, Belgravia and other areas near the University of Alberta look further south. Likewise, higher prices in the desirable Glenora neighbour... |
Houses in Kinglet Gardens, Rundle Heights, Boyle Street, Cromdale, Lauderdale, the Uplands, Virginia Park and Kensington saw the largest average decreases in assessment value compared to last year. |
Overall, Edmonton condominiums saw a more marked decrease in assessment, dropping 4.5 per cent from last year. However, nine neighbourhoods had condo assessments that either stayed flat or rose slightly — Albany, Glenora, Graydon Hill, Jamieson Place, Lago Lindo, Ogilvie Ridge, Paisley, Rundle Heights and Webber Greens... |
The neighbourhoods posting the largest drop in condo assessment values were Ottewell, which had a 24.4 per cent decline, Fraser, with a 24.3 per cent drop, and Aspen Gardens, where condo assessments plunged 17.8 per cent. Assessments of condos in Patricia Heights, Wild Rose, Rideau Park, Balwin, Ozerna, Matt Berry and ... |
It’s a trend Darcy Torhjelm, past president of the Realtors’ Association of Edmonton, would expect to see with a lack of investor confidence in the area and a stalled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. Condo prices are typically more volatile than single-family home prices are, he said. |
Following the rapid growth and demand for housing in 2008, Edmonton’s condo market has been overbuilt, he said. There’s a lot of choice right now, and people who might previously have bought a condo might be able to afford a townhouse instead, he said. |
For property owners whose assessment values dropped and are thinking of selling, realtors say stay calm because assessments don’t have much influence on house prices. |
More important is what a similar house down the street sold for, or whether there have been recent renovations to a kitchen or bathroom, Bosker said. |
He also said real estate is “intensely local,” and many micro markets don’t necessarily follow citywide trends. Generally, property closer to the centre of the city is retaining its value better than homes on the outskirts, he said. |
Property assessments, which the city calculates to decide how much property tax owners should pay, are determined by “mass appraisal,” and determined by algorithms and formulas that group properties with similar attributes. Provincial legislation guides many of the city’s practices, Risling said. |
There’s no way city employees could inspect about 400,000 properties each year, he said — last year, inspectors looked at about 13,000 of them, many of which were new houses. The city assumes owners are performing routine upgrades on houses, such as window and roof replacements. |
The most influential factors on assessed value include home size, property size, location, the home’s age and condition, Risling said. City workers also track sale prices, building permits for renovations and real estate listings, and factor in information submitted by property owners, he said. |
The city’s guide to residential land assessment lists dozens of other minor, moderate and major factors plugged into the formula, including proximity to the river valley, a golf course, lake, or sound attenuation wall, which all increase value. Pushing assessments down are the close presence of a bus stop, community ma... |
Proximity to a busy road, rail line, an irregular lot shape or “averse topography” that makes construction difficult also play a role. |
However, newer federal rules about borrowing could have a more profound effect on Edmonton property values than nearby overhead power lines or an irregular lot shape. |
As of October 2016, anyone applying for a mortgage in Canada with a down payment of less than 20 per cent has to pass a “stress test” to check if they can afford mortgage payments at higher interest rates. Lenders had to calculate whether the borrower would qualify for the mortgage at a rate two per cent higher than wh... |
Effective in January 2018, the government expanded the stress test requirement to all borrowers, regardless of their down payment. |
The moves came from the government’s concern with Canadians’ rising debt levels, to assure lenders that buyers would be able to make mortgage payments, should interest rates rise, said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. market analyst James Cuddy on Thursday. |
Those rules may have made sense in markets like Toronto and Vancouver, where house prices were skyrocketing, but Edmonton is less volatile, realtor Bosker said. |
It’s pushed up the average age of his clients, Bosker said, pointing to a drop in the number of 25-year-olds at the beginning of their careers looking for houses. When they qualified for a $360,000 mortgage, they had a lot more options than if they qualify now for $260,000. |
Grandma is an easy target. She’s probably trusting, alone and lonely. In this case, Grandma is a senior or elderly person. She also may have the beginnings of dementia. This makes her vulnerable to exploitation. She welcomes people who visit her, and she wants to please them. Is that situation safe for her financially? |
Some family members truly want to help and may come to visit Grandma. During their visit, they might write out checks to pay Grandma’s bills. Grandma trusts her family members, so when she’s presented with a check on her account and is told to sign it, she does so willingly. That’s great if it’s an ethical family membe... |
Family members can be immediate family, extended family, family that lives close by geographically or long distance. All it takes is spending some time with Grandma physically or on the phone. If a family member tells Grandma they need money, she’ll want to help. Of course, there are also family members who write thems... |
Seniors can become very dependent on their caregivers, especially when they don’t have other people visit them on a regular basis. Stories from unethical caregivers about their own financial woes (not having the money to pay for college education for their kids or not having a retirement plan) can pull at the heartstri... |
Sometimes Grandpa dies or moves into an assisted care facility, and Grandma is left alone. Sometimes a neighbor shows up at the door to help Grandma, or Grandma meets someone new at the grocery store or in the parking lot of the bank. As soon as the “friend” finds out that Grandma is alone and vulnerable, money starts ... |
If Grandma is living in an assisted living or long-term care facility, she may keep cash in her room “just in case she needs it.” She also may have her checkbook or debit card with the password on it in her possession. All of these items are easily accessible by other residents who walk into Grandma’s room. Sometimes i... |
Unfortunately, we hear too often of the phone calls Grandma receives — supposedly from a grandchild who says they are out of town or the country and need to be bailed out of jail. Grandma is asked to wire money immediately. If she does wire the money, there’s usually more phone calls asking for even more money for fine... |
The other common scam targeting Grandma is a caller who claims to be from the IRS. Grandma is told she owes the IRS for income taxes, penalties and interest not paid for prior years. The caller threatens to levy her bank accounts or home if the taxes aren’t paid immediately by wire. |
Criminals attempt to steal Grandma’s identity to open new credit card accounts, apply for loans in her name, drain her bank accounts and illegally obtain multiple driver’s licenses and birth certificates. |
Another thing criminals will do is knock on Grandma’s door and tell her they are a contractor who noticed the roof is missing tiles and the next rain is going to cause major damage. Or, maybe it’s a wire exposed outside that shouldn’t be there. This wire will cause a major electrical fire if not fixed immediately. |
In both of these incidents, the criminal wants an immediate down payment of a large sum before they will do the work to fix the problem. Once they receive the money, they disappear and never come back to do the work. |
While this article talks about cash disappearing from Grandma’s account, other articles from her house also can disappear such as jewelry, collectibles, family memories and legal documents. These items can be taken by any of people mentioned above. |
If you see Grandma in any of these situations, tread softly. While you might see it as a case of elder financial abuse, she might see it differently. She may be dependent on the relationship and afraid to lose the person that has been “taking care” of her. Grandma could consider your actions “making trouble” instead of... |
Consider visiting with a professional such as a private fiduciary, CPA or an attorney to discuss possible solutions to the problem. In severe cases, especially where there might be potential physical abuse along with financial abuse, call the police or Adult Protective Services. |
The best way to protect Grandma is to keep connected with her and see her or call her on a regular basis. That way you can pick up the “clues” that something wrong is going on. |
Jan. 10, 2019, 6:30 p.m. |
Simplehuman, a brand that prides itself on creating tools for efficient living, announced two new mirrors at CES; Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi and Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi Assist with Googe Assistant. |
LAS VEGAS—For the past several years, smart speakers and voice-activated assistants have dominated the smart home conversation at CES. This year is no exception, however, those assistants are no longer confined to speakers. Everyday household items, from toilets to mirrors, are getting the Alexa or Google Assistant tre... |
This trend has been primarily limited to high-ticket items, but there are a few interesting and affordable examples that will hit the market in the coming months. Simplehuman, for example, a brand that prides itself on creating tools for efficient living, announced two new mirrors at CES; Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi and Sensor... |
Like their predecessors, the new Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Assist use a built-in proximity sensor to turn on a proprietary illumination system called tru-lux. Put simply, tru-lux simulates natural sunlight with extraordinary color accuracy, allowing you to see variations in makeup that may otherwise go unnoticed. |
The Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi and Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi Assist also have lighting options that transform them into a makeshift lamps, like nightlight and candlelight modes. A new feature called night shift that claims to promote better sleep. |
Of course, excellent illumination is only part of the story. There's also a custom Danish-designed 2.5-inch acoustic driver built into the base of each mirror for sound that can easily fill a room. And the built-in proximity sensor works in conjunction with the speaker to adjust the volume depending on how close you ar... |
Both mirrors allow you to play your favorite playlists and podcasts directly from your smartphone via Bluetooth and AirPlay 2, while the Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi Assist allows supports the Google Assistant. |
The simplehuman app works with both mirrors and lets you tweak just about every feature, from sound to sensor sensitivity. |
If you're sold on simplehuman's latest smart mirrors, they both arrive in the spring. The simplehuman Sensor Hi-Fi will sell for $350. If you want to add Google Assistant to the mix, plan to spend $400. |
A solid majority of New York state residents are in favor of raising the minimum wage over the next several years to $15 an hour, according to a new poll released on Friday. |
According to the survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, 62 percent of New York voters, across every gender, age and regional group, supported raising the minimum wage. |
Republican voters surveyed were the sole exception, with 65 percent opposing the idea, while 85 percent of Democrats said they would support such an initiative. |
Among voters overall, the poll found 35 percent were opposed while 3 percent did not know. |
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, proposed on Sept. 10 that the minimum wage be increased over the next six years to $15 an hour. In New York City, the proposal calls for that wage to reach its target by the end of 2018. |
This would mirror a state order signed last week that applies only to the fast-food industry. However, an increase for all industries will require lawmakers' approval. |
A Cuomo proposal for a more modest minimum-wage increase was opposed by the Republican-led state Senate earlier this year. |
The current hourly minimum wage in New York State is $8.75 and will increase to $9 on Dec. 31. |
The poll found 8 percent did not want any increase at all, while 41 percent wanted the increase to be less than $15 an hour. A further 37 percent thought it should be raised to $15 an hour while 11 percent thought it should go even higher. |
Quinnipiac conducted the telephone poll from Sept. 10 through 15th, calling 1,366 New York State voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. |
Last week The Daily Telegraph went where no one else had dared to go and revealed the worst-kept secret in national politics: that the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party was expecting a baby with his former media adviser, Vikki Campion. |
Vikki Campion with Barnaby Joyce in June 2016 and ... a pregnant Campion in Canberra yesterday. |
Now if that isn't news, I don't know what is. |
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE: With these kind of stories, is this any of our business? |
LAURA JAYES: Do you now believe that the private lives of politicians are no longer off limits? |
GEORGIE GARDNER: Is it in the public's interest to be across a politician's personal affairs? |
WALEED ALY: ... while it's certainly juicy as a piece of gossip, is it any of our business? |
ALAN JONES: None of our business. It doesn't matter whether he's the deputy janitor or the deputy prime minister. It's got nothing to do with us. |
ITA BUTTROSE: It's really Barnaby Joyce's affair, clearly. And it's, and it's his business, it's really none of our business. |
PETER HARTCHER: If you think it's good that there is zero privacy for our political leaders, if you think we should start papping everybody, if you think we should start reporting prurient gossip as leading national news, then let's upend all our conventions and start doing that. |
Crikey's Bernard Keane was of similar mind, describing the Tele's story as "shameful non-journalism" that "debases public life". |
BARNABY JOYCE: I'll say that private matters remain private and I'm gonna keep my private life private. |
Also, not surprisingly, many of Mr Joyce's political colleagues on all sides of parliament, who would prefer the media not to report on their personal affairs, were in vigorous agreement. |
But we believe this was and is a legitimate story. |
Barnaby Joyce is not a backbencher, nor insignificant MP. He is the Deputy PM and leader of The Nationals. He's also campaigned on family values, the sanctity of marriage and the dangers of promiscuity. |
... imagine prime minister Malcolm Turnbull having an affair with a staff member and he and his wife Lucy splitting up. And imagine if the now former staffer was pregnant with Turnbull's baby. |
Would a single journalist in the Canberra press gallery argue that this was a private issue not worth reporting? |
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