Windsor developers swapping housing for apartments

With the slump in the housing market,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. developers for two large pieces of property in Windsor are re-tooling their projects to build rental apartments instead of homes to sell.

A proposal for 17 acres immediately north of Walmart could provide up to 325 apartments, replacing a plan for 83 single-family homes and 120 senior apartments.

“The land has never been a good single-family dwelling parcel,” Rick McClish, one of the owners of the property said Tuesday. It’s better suited to high-density development because of its location next to a shopping center and bus lines,Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore. he said.

Windsor, according to McClish, “is sadly lacking in apartments. We’re saying we’d love to help the town build 275 to 325 affordable one- two- three-bedroom apartments.”

Dubbed “Hembree Village,” the project will be the subject of a conceptual review tonight at a joint meeting of the Town Council and Planning Commission. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.

An official application and potential approval likely would not come until next year.

“We’re now seeing a lot of apartment projects that people are bringing forward,” said Pauletta Cangson, a Windsor associate planner. “This is what the economy appears to be driving and what funding institutions are saying they would fund.”

The other project on tonight’s agenda is Windsor Mill, 360 to 400 apartment units proposed southeast of the future train station downtown.Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles.

Developers had a previous agreement with the town that would have allowed 201 units of mixed housing on the site, including detached, single-family and attached multi-family dwellings.

“Over the past four years, the catastrophic economic decline and meteoric rise in single-family residential foreclosures has drastically changed the residential marketplace and altered the buying trends for state and local residents,” Windsor Mill consultants wrote in their project description.

“Projections for the California housing market are that residential buying patterns will significantly change for the long term and that rental housing stock and walkable, city-centric options that are close to services and alternate transportation systems are going to be in strong demand,” they stated.

Windsor Mill developers are asking the Town Council to give them a “priority development designation” that allows them a higher density in the station area and would expedite their plans for the $80 million development.

Hembree Village and the Windsor Mill aren’t the only projects signalling a new direction in Windsor, which was once defined by its single-family home subdivisions. Plans for a $80-to-$100 million Bell Village with an Oliver’s supermarket and 387 rental apartments are also in the pipeline.

That project, opposite the Town Green on the old Windsorland mobile home park site,Offers Art Reproductions Fine Art oilpaintings Reproduction, requires final planning commission and design review approvals.

The proponents of Hembree Village also said homes on separate lots are being bypassed in favor of “more affordable housing options,” namely apartment living.

“It’s affordable to a population that wants to rent, doesn’t have the down payment to enter a home, or lost credit and can’t re-enter the housing market,” he said Tuesday.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore.

Back to Berlin

White Christmas is just too good a musical to be limited to holiday-time productions.  Especially when you have Larry Blank's ultra-snazzy swing orchestrations vibrantly delivering a gold-plated assortment of Irving Berlin classics and Randy Skinner's dancers heating up the floor with some sensational tapping.

Based on the classic 1954 film, the stage version of White Christmas, originally directed by Walter Bobbie, has been making seasonal regional appearances since 2004, with stints on Broadway in '08 and '09.  The new mounting at Paper Mill, directed by Bobbie's associate director, Marc Bruni, appears to be a slightly scaled down version of the Broadway production, retaining Skinner's choreography and the festive mid-50s designs by Anna Louizos (sets), Carrie Robbins (costumes) and Ken Billington (lights).

The book by David Ives and Paul Blake streamlines the plot and adds some extra Berlin gems ("Happy Holidays," "Let Yourself Go," "I Love A Piano," "How Deep Is The Ocean?") while keeping most of the film's score, including "Sisters," "Count Your Blessings," "Blue Skies," "Let Me Sing And I'm Happy" and "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me."

Repeating their roles from the Broadway '09 cast, James Clow and Tony Yazbeck play Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, a pair of World War II vets who become big time Broadway song and dance stars, back in the days when being a Broadway star meant you were famous throughout the country. On the evening before they're to leave for Florida to begin rehearsing their next production, the boys catch Judy and Betty Haynes (Meredith Patterson, encoring her performance from Broadway '08, and Jill Paice), performing "Sisters" at a nightclub and, with both professional and romantic possibilities brewing, follow them to their next gig; a holiday engagement at a Vermont inn. But an unexpected heat wave has forced the financially struggling place to forego its entertainment plans after every reservation cancels, until it turns out the owner is Bob and Phil's beloved General Henry Waverly (Edward James Hyland) from their army days, so they offer to move their Broadway show to the general's barn. In the meantime a few wrenches and misunderstandings get in the way of true love, but that's all straightened out by the time the chorus is dancing through the eventual snowfall.

The four leads all deliver top-shelf musical comedy performances, with Clow's sweetly mellow baritone matched by Paice's earthier tones, including her knockout torching of "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me."  Yazbeck's street-wise charisma and Patterson's showgirl sass set off major sparks when romancing to "The Best Things Happen When Your Dancing" and rat-a-tatting atop a very baby grand in "I Love A Piano."

A major factor in getting to the heart of White Christmas is that you have to believe the old general is the kind of man who would inspire the boys to gladly do anything for him, and Hyland plays the role with a heartwarming combination of protective tough love, sincere patriotism and a healthy dose of human decency.  Young Andie Mechanic has realistic kid charm as his supportive granddaughter, but the "ringer" in the company is Lorna Luft as the wise-cracking hotel manager.  Ives and Blake re-imagined the role played in the film by Mary Wickes as a vehicle for a beloved old pro musical comedy performer, and Luft brings down the house strutting and belting a super-charged rendition of "Let Me Sing And I'm Happy."  After her number, the character says that talent like hers can't be learned, "You're born with it."  The opening night audience, no doubt in recognition of Luft's lineage, responded to the line with enthusiastic agreement.

So Where Are Those Post-Durbin Price Reductions for Consumers?

The debit card has become one of the most convenient forms of payment, delivering widespread benefits for consumers and merchants alike. Debit cards are now universally accepted; no longer must we carry large amounts of cash to shop; check-out lines move more quickly and purchases are processed electronically with pinpoint accuracy.

Banks earn debit card revenues from transaction processing fees paid by merchants. Most consumers pay scant attention to this bank/merchant relationship, because it has had no effect on their debit card usage…until now. So, what happened?

The merchant community decided that the processing fees were too high and lobbied Congress to pass legislation to set pricing. In return, merchants promised to pass on their savings to consumers in the form of lower prices for their products. (More on that promise later…).

The merchants were successful in persuading Congress to legislate pricing for debit transactions. As predicted, debit card revenues are declining rapidly. Since the infrastructure costs for product support have remained intact, banks have been forced to re-evaluate their consumer offerings and pricing structures. When faced with similar burdensome regulations, any prudent business would do likewise.

As a consequence, debit card reward programs have been revised or eliminated, and new fees are being implemented for debit card usage. Free checking was a viable product when debit card revenues partially subsidized the cost of offering the free account. Now, as those revenues evaporate and operational costs remain constant, free checking may no longer make economic sense for financial institutions.

Interestingly, the merchant community's promise of lower prices has conveniently been forgotten. Recall that retailers told Congress that if these "swipe fees" were reduced, they would pass the savings along to consumers. Yet, there's no evidence that the merchant community is following through on its promise. Furthermore, there's no indication that lawmakers will hold them accountable to their original commitment.

What is abundantly clear is that consumers are furious with their financial institutions and merchants are at their financial institutions and merchants are enjoying significant reductions in processing costs. While banks are losing billions in revenue, merchants are quietly pocketing a financial windfall. Adding to the misinformation, the president and some members of Congress have recently made pompous and emotional comments about the new fees; unfortunately, these statements have rarely, if ever, been fact based.

Much has been written about the banking industry's mistakes during the financial crisis. The banks have acknowledged that major internal changes are necessary and substantial resources have been dedicated to address the deficiencies. There's still a lot of work to do, but the industry is making steady progress.

The outcry about new fees is a separate and distinct issue from the banking industry's errors uncovered during the recession. Meddling with the free market economy through government price setting is an abuse of power that has established a dangerous precedent. In this instance, government interference in private sector commerce has significantly devalued one of the most popular and effective consumer financial products ever created.

Five Ways to Hang on to Debit Card Rewards

Travel discounts. The perks of using your debit card had seemed endless. Now, your card's ability to earn points for your everyday spending is shrinking fast.

As institutions around the country notify account holders that using their debit cards will no longer deliver any kind of payoff, account holders are struggling to cope with a new era of less rewarding money management.

If your debit card rewards program already has fallen victim to recent industry changes in rules governing banking, consider these five

Big banks may be slamming the door on their debit card rewards programs, but your check card can still pay you back at many community banks and credit unions.

Jane Lundquist, executive vice president at Rockland Trust in Rockland, Mass., describes Rockland Trust's debit rewards program as a win-win situation for the bank and its customers. Account holders who receive paperless statements can earn up to $300 in cash back each year, and the checking account comes with no minimum balance requirements or monthly fees.

A credit union also may provide the solution for your rewards searching.

David Small, spokesman for the National Credit Union Administration in Washington, D.C., says some credit unions operate debit card rewards programs at a loss because of the demand from their members.

Because credit unions are not-for-profit institutions, consumers may find that these outlets will continue to offer debit rewards because they're not as limited by their bottom line, Small says.

Financial institutions recognize your frustration with rising bank fees and shrinking rewards, and they still need your business. As the banking industry settles in to the new norm under recently enacted laws, you may want to hold out for a few months as banks determine how to attract your business.

In some cases, attracting your business may mean passing the buck -- literally.

"We are seeing a shift toward merchant-funded programs," says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate's senior financial analyst.

Many of these programs give account holders cash back or points for spending with certain retailers. Outside of new programs, be sure to keep your eyes open for promotional incentives.

Lundquist says the bank sees the ability to continue offering a debit card rewards program as a window of opportunity to attract new customers. In fact, the bank recently launched a marketing initiative offering double cash rewards for debit transactions through the end of 2011.

Many banks are altering their debit card rewards programs to implement monthly or annual fees in order to earn points. While a few bucks may not sound like much to keep racking up your prized rewards points, fees typically add up more quickly than points or cash back.

"The fees on a debit rewards program can be a very high hurdle to clear," McBride says.

Consider McBride's example of a consumer paying a $5 monthly debit card fee with a rewards payout of 0.5%. In this case, the first $1,000 of spending each month would go toward offsetting the $5 fee.

If an account holder is spending a large amount each month on a debit card, using a credit card instead may make more sense. The higher rewards ratio will prove to be more rewarding. There also may be more incentive to enroll in a credit card rewards program and to pay off any existing credit card debt, McBride says.

While rewards options and account incentives are appealing, it's crucial for consumers to look at their banking needs from multiple angles.

For consumers who are considering switching banks in pursuit of another debit rewards program, McBride recommends weighing additional factors such as free checking, ATM convenience and the range of products and services that each bank offers.

As fees continue to pile up at some of the nation's biggest banks, finding an account without any additional hurdles or costs may prove to be especially rewarding for your personal finances.

Sore throat? No doctor? Run out to the store

As the health reform law takes effect, 30 million uninsured people will gain coverage, creating unprecedented demand for services from an already overburdened system. Indeed, a new report from Medicare estimates that health care expenditures will increase more than $2 trillion by 2020, consuming 20 percent of the U.S. economy.

To meet that demand, we must ramp up the supply of medical services. Retail health clinics and pharmacies are one of the best ways to do this. Treatments delivered in this setting can provide quality care at low cost and benefit patients, physicians, employers, taxpayers and the government.

In 2009, more than 1,000 retail clinics were operating in the U.S. According to clinic tracker Merchant Medicine, the number could almost triple by 2015. These clinics provide treatment for many common ailments, like sore throats and earaches. They also provide preventive care, including vaccinations and cholesterol screenings.

These clinics aren't designed to replace primary care physicians; they're designed to complement them. They offer a unique combination of low prices, convenience and accessibility. That set-up is extremely attractive, particularly for Americans who don't have a regular doctor.

It's no wonder that use has nearly doubled over the past three years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. A 2009 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners found that 96 percent of retail-clinic users were satisfied or very satisfied with their care.

The popularity of these clinics shouldn't be surprising. Prices are low and publicly advertised. Nearly all accept insurance, and patients can visit at their convenience. But not everyone is a fan. This summer, the American Medical Association came out against retail clinics, saying it would lobby insurers not to provide incentives for patients to visit retail outlets.

The AMA claims that it is solely concerned with quality and continuity of care. But research shows that care provided by retail clinics is consistently comparable, and in some cases superior, to that provided by conventional medical clinics.

In 2009, independent researchers at the Rand Corp. compared cost, quality, and accessibility at retail clinics, urgent-care centers and emergency rooms. On a quality scale, with 100 percent being perfect, the clinics finished first with 63.6 percent. Urgent-care centers and physicians' offices followed closely. Overburdened ERs finished last, at 55.1 percent.

Furthermore, a 2010 Rand study of three common illnesses found that the average visit to a retail clinic cost $110, compared with $156 for urgent-care centers, $166 at a physician's office and $570 at an ER. At the retail clinics of Target, my employer - which has two in Palm Beach County - minor illness exams run as low as $59, while a wellness visit is $25 to $64.

Across clinics, young adults in general good health account for a third of users. This makes sense; evidence suggests that about 30 percent of clinic patients don't have a source of primary care, and about 25 percent of patients who show up at clinics would have gone to an ER if not for the retail clinic.

Retail Decisions launches fraud alert service

As the most significant modern advance in fraud detection and prevention in recent years, ReD Fraud Alert has been proven to drastically reduce merchant chargebacks by 43% as well as the risk of consumers falling victim to fraud.

This pioneering enhancement to ReD's leading e-commerce fraud prevention service, ReD Shield, increases the accuracy of identifying fraudulent transactions. Using information normally exclusive to the issuer, ReD creates a channel to enable its merchants to use a customer's full account profile to decide whether to accept or reject a transaction for items with a high ticket price.

Erika Gallo, Director, Global Risk Management for ReD, commented; "ReD Fraud Alert is a significant development enabling merchants and issuers to share information about suspicious fraudulent activity. The new service ensures that crucial transactional information can be disseminated quickly and effectively, protecting issuers and their customers, as well as merchants who have suffered liability for chargebacks, the loss of goods and association fines."

In recent trials, ReD has teamed with a large customer and global card Issuer to automate an effective way to reduce chargebacks by leveraging existing data and resources. The trial delivered a 43% reduction (by percentage of value comparing January 2011 to April 2011) in chargebacks. The step-change reduction in chargebacks from 2.14% to 0.16% over this period meant that throughput of transactions on high suspicious transactions increased dramatically for one leading card issuer.

The new service works by ReD sending a daily automated file containing details of high risk purchases to the issuer, if any suspicious activity appears on the customer's account the issuer calls the cardholder to verify the transaction. Information is then automatically sent back to ReD to authenticate the purchase. Risk models receive transactional confirmed fraud input within two days of authorization,n, faster than that of chargeback data which averages over thirty-eight days, increasing fraud detection rates faster through adopting models.

Unlike the Address Verification Service (AVS) check that a merchant is typically limited to when verifying a transaction with the issuer, the merchant can now utilize the issuer's more comprehensive verification process, which improves the accuracy of detecting fraud. ReD Shield Fraud Alert compliments the existing ReD Shield service which increases its clients' revenue while minimizing losses from fraud thanks to sophisticated technology and a multi-dimensional approach to fraud detection and protection.

Merchant Processing Company Welcomes High Risk Accounts

Florida-based merchant processing company, Commersense, is welcoming high risk accounts to its client base.

"We are taking the steps to ensure that all merchants operating within the laws of this country are able to process credit cards and electronic transactions. Unfortunately, with the state of the economy, many merchant providers are taking a very conservative approach to underwriting high risk merchant account. Some merchants are being considered high risk, despite the fact that they have done nothing wrong," states Christopher Kille, President of Commersense.

As many providers back away from higher risk accounts, Commersense is welcoming them to their network of financial institutions across the United States.  Founded in 2006, Commersense is a full service business solutions provider offering merchant processing services, credit card equipment sales and leasing, merchant cash advances, payroll and employee benefits and more.

Commersense assists high risk accounts in finding the best rates for processing payment transactions and offers efficient solutions for credit and debit transactions, online transactions, check processing, payroll services and mobile-based transactions.

Kille added, "An account can be deemed as high risk simply because of the industry it is in. It's rewarding to know that we can help people live out their dreams of owning and operating a business, regardless of what industry they are doing business in.  We have programs in place that protect our financial institutions and allow these merchants to conduct normal business without being limited by unnecessary restrictions and limitations."

Commersense serves a number of small businesses within the United States, and is capable of serving international clients. The company specializes in providing services that protect the client against account closure. Accounts placed within the past few months have included clients within the following industries: debt collection, travel and timeshare resale, online pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and credit repair. Commersense provides custom priced solutions based on the clients' merchant needs.