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"content": "\u003cp>California stepped out in front of the nation once again as the state Legislature voted overwhelmingly on Monday to give new rights to homeowners facing foreclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation is largely based on a settlement that California Attorney General Harris helped negotiate with large lenders accused of defrauding homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we all should feel very good,” said Attorney General Kamala Harris at a press conference following the vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_69366\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 248px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/foreclosure20120511.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/foreclosure20120511.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"foreclosure20120511\" width=\"248\" height=\"140\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69366\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boarded up home in Richmond, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the two bills into law, large lenders will be required to provide a single point of contact for homeowners who want to discuss loan modifications. They will not be able to foreclose while considering homeowners’ requests for alternatives to foreclosure. And homeowners will have stronger grounds for suing lenders to stop foreclosures or seek monetary damages if the lender violates state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Assembly passed the legislation by a vote 53 to 25, and the Senate quickly followed with a 25-13 approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opponents in both houses cast the legislation as an invitation to frivolous lawsuits. They said it would lower home values by creating uncertainty in the real estate market. “This will be a field day for trial attorneys,” said Doug LaMalfa, R-Butte.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, a sponsor of the legislation, argued that the bill had been narrowed so that lenders could avoid being sued if they follow the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier in the day, \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201207020900\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a> hosted a conversation with advocates and opponents of the legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201207020850/a\">California Report\u003c/a> interviewed Paul Leonard, director of the Oakland Office of the Center for Responsible Lending\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s some background from the Associated Press:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The protections would benefit all California homeowners, not just those whose mortgages are with the five banks that signed the national settlement in February. And many of the restrictions would become permanent, while those in the nationwide agreement will end after five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jose Vega drove 70 miles to Sacramento with his two young children to lobby lawmakers to pass the legislation after he spent three years battling to keep his home in the San Francisco-area city of Pittsburg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November 2009, he said he found a trustee sale notice posted on his door 16 days after he was placed in a loan modification program. He was put into another modification program in the spring of 2010, only to have the bank again begin foreclosure proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vega, 52, eventually kept his home after filing for bankruptcy and getting help from the office of Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Now he and his family owe $466,000 _ including the bank’s legal fees _ on a home he said is worth about $200,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not asking for a handout. All I’m saying is, you created this mess, let’s work something out,” said Vega a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. “Hopefully, California will lead the way so other states will follow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney General Kamala Harris said the compromise legislation negotiated with lawmakers “is going to bring transparency and fairness to California homeowners in a way they’ve never had before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She helped negotiate the February settlement that requires Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc. to pay $18 billion in penalties to California homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Key portions of her original proposal to write the settlement into state law were stalled by opposition from some of her fellow Democrats in the Legislature, until the right to sue banks and other measures were significantly narrowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This legislation can be the catalyst not only for a recovery of California’s real estate market, but a catalyst across the nation as borrowers everywhere will demand the same protections given to California borrowers, the same protections given to our families,” said Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, a member of the conference committee that negotiated the bill. “And those protections boil down to this: They ought to be treated fairly, they ought to be treated consistently.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lenders’ organizations joined by the California Chamber of Commerce said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday that the final legislation is an improvement, though they still fear it will “encourage frivolous litigation” by borrowers who cannot realistically afford to stay in their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lending industry cited a study it commissioned by Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles-based research firm. It echoes industry arguments that letting homeowners sue their lenders, even in limited circumstances, will delay foreclosures and increase lenders’ costs, potentially harming the shaky housing recovery and making it more difficult and costly to obtain mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation can’t address what lenders say is the underlying problem: too many borrowers can’t afford their payments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we extend this, what we’re doing is making a bad situation worse,” Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, said in arguing against the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the bill say it still takes important steps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The point is … not to launch an avalanche of lawsuits. What it’s really about is having some meaningful accountability to ensure that servicers follow the rules,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California office of the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previous efforts have repeatedly failed to clear the Legislature. Leonard said the national mortgage settlement and Harris’ involvement are likely to make the difference this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, who co-chaired the conference committee that negotiated the bill, said Brown’s administration worked with Democrats on the legislation and has given every indication he would sign it into law. However, Brown declined to comment as he left the office of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, moments before the vote.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"title": "California Legislature Approves Homeowners Protections | KQED",
"description": "California stepped out in front of the nation once again as the state Legislature voted overwhelmingly on Monday to give new rights to homeowners facing foreclosure. The legislation is largely based on a settlement that California Attorney General Harris helped negotiate with large lenders accused of defrauding homeowners. “I think we all should feel very",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California stepped out in front of the nation once again as the state Legislature voted overwhelmingly on Monday to give new rights to homeowners facing foreclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation is largely based on a settlement that California Attorney General Harris helped negotiate with large lenders accused of defrauding homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we all should feel very good,” said Attorney General Kamala Harris at a press conference following the vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_69366\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 248px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/foreclosure20120511.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/foreclosure20120511.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"foreclosure20120511\" width=\"248\" height=\"140\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69366\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boarded up home in Richmond, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the two bills into law, large lenders will be required to provide a single point of contact for homeowners who want to discuss loan modifications. They will not be able to foreclose while considering homeowners’ requests for alternatives to foreclosure. And homeowners will have stronger grounds for suing lenders to stop foreclosures or seek monetary damages if the lender violates state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Assembly passed the legislation by a vote 53 to 25, and the Senate quickly followed with a 25-13 approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opponents in both houses cast the legislation as an invitation to frivolous lawsuits. They said it would lower home values by creating uncertainty in the real estate market. “This will be a field day for trial attorneys,” said Doug LaMalfa, R-Butte.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, a sponsor of the legislation, argued that the bill had been narrowed so that lenders could avoid being sued if they follow the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier in the day, \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201207020900\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a> hosted a conversation with advocates and opponents of the legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201207020850/a\">California Report\u003c/a> interviewed Paul Leonard, director of the Oakland Office of the Center for Responsible Lending\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s some background from the Associated Press:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The protections would benefit all California homeowners, not just those whose mortgages are with the five banks that signed the national settlement in February. And many of the restrictions would become permanent, while those in the nationwide agreement will end after five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jose Vega drove 70 miles to Sacramento with his two young children to lobby lawmakers to pass the legislation after he spent three years battling to keep his home in the San Francisco-area city of Pittsburg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November 2009, he said he found a trustee sale notice posted on his door 16 days after he was placed in a loan modification program. He was put into another modification program in the spring of 2010, only to have the bank again begin foreclosure proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vega, 52, eventually kept his home after filing for bankruptcy and getting help from the office of Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Now he and his family owe $466,000 _ including the bank’s legal fees _ on a home he said is worth about $200,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not asking for a handout. All I’m saying is, you created this mess, let’s work something out,” said Vega a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. “Hopefully, California will lead the way so other states will follow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney General Kamala Harris said the compromise legislation negotiated with lawmakers “is going to bring transparency and fairness to California homeowners in a way they’ve never had before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She helped negotiate the February settlement that requires Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc. to pay $18 billion in penalties to California homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Key portions of her original proposal to write the settlement into state law were stalled by opposition from some of her fellow Democrats in the Legislature, until the right to sue banks and other measures were significantly narrowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This legislation can be the catalyst not only for a recovery of California’s real estate market, but a catalyst across the nation as borrowers everywhere will demand the same protections given to California borrowers, the same protections given to our families,” said Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, a member of the conference committee that negotiated the bill. “And those protections boil down to this: They ought to be treated fairly, they ought to be treated consistently.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lenders’ organizations joined by the California Chamber of Commerce said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday that the final legislation is an improvement, though they still fear it will “encourage frivolous litigation” by borrowers who cannot realistically afford to stay in their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lending industry cited a study it commissioned by Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles-based research firm. It echoes industry arguments that letting homeowners sue their lenders, even in limited circumstances, will delay foreclosures and increase lenders’ costs, potentially harming the shaky housing recovery and making it more difficult and costly to obtain mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation can’t address what lenders say is the underlying problem: too many borrowers can’t afford their payments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we extend this, what we’re doing is making a bad situation worse,” Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, said in arguing against the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the bill say it still takes important steps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The point is … not to launch an avalanche of lawsuits. What it’s really about is having some meaningful accountability to ensure that servicers follow the rules,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California office of the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previous efforts have repeatedly failed to clear the Legislature. Leonard said the national mortgage settlement and Harris’ involvement are likely to make the difference this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, who co-chaired the conference committee that negotiated the bill, said Brown’s administration worked with Democrats on the legislation and has given every indication he would sign it into law. However, Brown declined to comment as he left the office of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, moments before the vote.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A.M. Splash: Bay Area Transit Prices Increase; Silicon Valley Gets Patent Office; Oakland Zoo Poised to Expand",
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"content": "\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=8721724\">California homeowner protection plan goes to vote\u003c/a> (KGO)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>California homeowners facing foreclosure could soon have some added protection if state lawmakers approve a so-called Homeowners Bill of Rights. A vote was expected Monday. The protections would extend further than the $25 billion national mortgage settlement that was reached earlier this year with the nation’s top five banks, which include Bank of America, Wellsfargo, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup and Allied Financial.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20980958/despite-opposition-oakland-zoo-approved-expan\"> Despite opposition, Oakland Zoo approved to expand\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>After years of quarrels with neighbors, red tape and legal struggles, the Oakland Zoo is set to get bigger and better, zoo officials say, with the addition of California native animals and even an aerial gondola. A judge in Alameda County Superior Court last week ruled against environmental groups seeking to stop the zoo’s plans to expand about 54 acres into undeveloped Knowland Park to build a veterinary hospital, gondola, new animal exhibit, camping area and an educational-interpretive center. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20985139/san-jose-among-three-places-get-us-patent-office\">San Jose to get major, federal prize: A new U.S. Patent Office in the heart of Silicon Valley\u003c/a> (SJ Mercury News)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Delivering Silicon Valley a long-coveted prize, the U.S. Department of Commerce has selected San Jose to a get new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Commerce Department will make the long-awaited announcement Monday, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose. “Fabulous!” said Kim Walesh, the economic development director of San Jose, which dangled a 20,000-square-foot floor in City Hall among other enticements for picking the city. More than 600 cities applied to host the first-ever expansion of the patent office. The pool was narrowed to fewer than 50 in the spring.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20973015/oakland-approves-amended-budget\">Oakland approves amended budget\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune) \u003c/li>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The City Council approved an amended budget Thursday night that includes money for two additional police academies to beef up Oakland’s undermanned force. The amended $403 million operating budget, which also restored senior center hours, eliminated an upcoming furlough day and preserved several programs, passed 5-3 with Councilwomen Libby Schaaf, Pat Kernighan and Nancy Nadel voting against it.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_20989704/bay-area-transit-prices-increase-nearly-all-services\">Bay Area transit prices increase for nearly all service\u003c/a> (SJ Mercury News)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Weekday commuters will be paying slightly higher fares for most public transit options beginning Monday morning. Several increases took effect Sunday, including for BART, MUNI and CalTrain.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20976635/occupiers-file-claim-over-ymca-mass-arrests\">Occupiers file claim over YMCA mass arrests\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Eighteen Occupy Oakland demonstrators filed a civil claim against the city Friday, charging that they were unlawfully arrested outside the YMCA during a major January protest. The claim is the first step in filing a class-action lawsuit against the city on behalf of the 400 demonstrators, and several journalists, arrested outside the YMCA on Jan. 28 — the day Occupiers tried unsuccessfully to take over the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center and later vandalized City Hall.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/07/burning-man-organizers-plan-keep-attendance-well-under-cap?utm_source=feedburner+Twitter%2FSfexaminer-Local&utm_medium=twitterSF+Examiner+Local+Twitter+Feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Twitter%2FSfexaminer-Local+%28SF+Examiner+Local+Twitter+Feed%29twitter&utm_content=twitter\">Burning Man organizers plan to keep attendance well under cap\u003c/a> (SF Examiner)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>After a new permit was issued allowing Burning Man to grow to as many as 60,900 people this year — 2011’s limit was 50,000 — event organizers announced last week that only a small number of extra tickets will be released.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/01/4603982/china-court-apple-to-pay-60m-to.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#mi_rss=Latest%20News#storylink=cpy\">China court: Apple pays $60M to settle iPad case\u003c/a> (Sacramento Bee)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\n\u003cli>\n\u003c/ul>\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "A.M. Splash: Bay Area Transit Prices Increase; Silicon Valley Gets Patent Office; Oakland Zoo Poised to Expand | KQED",
"description": "California homeowner protection plan goes to vote (KGO) California homeowners facing foreclosure could soon have some added protection if state lawmakers approve a so-called Homeowners Bill of Rights. A vote was expected Monday. The protections would extend further than the $25 billion national mortgage settlement that was reached earlier this year with the nation's top five banks, which include Bank of America, Wellsfargo, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup and Allied Financial. Despite opposition, Oakland Zoo approved to expand (Oakland Tribune) After years of quarrels with neighbors, red tape and legal struggles, the Oakland Zoo is set to get bigger and better,",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=8721724\">California homeowner protection plan goes to vote\u003c/a> (KGO)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>California homeowners facing foreclosure could soon have some added protection if state lawmakers approve a so-called Homeowners Bill of Rights. A vote was expected Monday. The protections would extend further than the $25 billion national mortgage settlement that was reached earlier this year with the nation’s top five banks, which include Bank of America, Wellsfargo, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup and Allied Financial.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20980958/despite-opposition-oakland-zoo-approved-expan\"> Despite opposition, Oakland Zoo approved to expand\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>After years of quarrels with neighbors, red tape and legal struggles, the Oakland Zoo is set to get bigger and better, zoo officials say, with the addition of California native animals and even an aerial gondola. A judge in Alameda County Superior Court last week ruled against environmental groups seeking to stop the zoo’s plans to expand about 54 acres into undeveloped Knowland Park to build a veterinary hospital, gondola, new animal exhibit, camping area and an educational-interpretive center. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20985139/san-jose-among-three-places-get-us-patent-office\">San Jose to get major, federal prize: A new U.S. Patent Office in the heart of Silicon Valley\u003c/a> (SJ Mercury News)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Delivering Silicon Valley a long-coveted prize, the U.S. Department of Commerce has selected San Jose to a get new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Commerce Department will make the long-awaited announcement Monday, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose. “Fabulous!” said Kim Walesh, the economic development director of San Jose, which dangled a 20,000-square-foot floor in City Hall among other enticements for picking the city. More than 600 cities applied to host the first-ever expansion of the patent office. The pool was narrowed to fewer than 50 in the spring.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20973015/oakland-approves-amended-budget\">Oakland approves amended budget\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune) \u003c/li>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The City Council approved an amended budget Thursday night that includes money for two additional police academies to beef up Oakland’s undermanned force. The amended $403 million operating budget, which also restored senior center hours, eliminated an upcoming furlough day and preserved several programs, passed 5-3 with Councilwomen Libby Schaaf, Pat Kernighan and Nancy Nadel voting against it.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_20989704/bay-area-transit-prices-increase-nearly-all-services\">Bay Area transit prices increase for nearly all service\u003c/a> (SJ Mercury News)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Weekday commuters will be paying slightly higher fares for most public transit options beginning Monday morning. Several increases took effect Sunday, including for BART, MUNI and CalTrain.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20976635/occupiers-file-claim-over-ymca-mass-arrests\">Occupiers file claim over YMCA mass arrests\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Eighteen Occupy Oakland demonstrators filed a civil claim against the city Friday, charging that they were unlawfully arrested outside the YMCA during a major January protest. The claim is the first step in filing a class-action lawsuit against the city on behalf of the 400 demonstrators, and several journalists, arrested outside the YMCA on Jan. 28 — the day Occupiers tried unsuccessfully to take over the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center and later vandalized City Hall.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/07/burning-man-organizers-plan-keep-attendance-well-under-cap?utm_source=feedburner+Twitter%2FSfexaminer-Local&utm_medium=twitterSF+Examiner+Local+Twitter+Feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Twitter%2FSfexaminer-Local+%28SF+Examiner+Local+Twitter+Feed%29twitter&utm_content=twitter\">Burning Man organizers plan to keep attendance well under cap\u003c/a> (SF Examiner)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>After a new permit was issued allowing Burning Man to grow to as many as 60,900 people this year — 2011’s limit was 50,000 — event organizers announced last week that only a small number of extra tickets will be released.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/01/4603982/china-court-apple-to-pay-60m-to.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#mi_rss=Latest%20News#storylink=cpy\">China court: Apple pays $60M to settle iPad case\u003c/a> (Sacramento Bee)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\n\u003cli>\n\u003c/ul>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>by Aaron Glantz, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/housing/story/slow-housing/\">The Bay Citizen\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although rents are soaring and demand for rental units is growing, developers are not building many new apartments, condominiums or homes in the Bay Area, according to a new report.The region added 6,382 housing units between April 2010 and July 2011, an increase of just 0.2 percent, newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/BayCitizenLogo1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/BayCitizenLogo1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"BayCitizenLogo\" width=\"218\" height=\"74\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-68423\">\u003c/a>Counties that are home to such cities as Fargo, N.D., Cicero, Ind., and Rock Hill, S.C., all added more housing units than Santa Clara County, the home of Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result, analysts said, is that in San Francisco, the Peninsula and the South Bay rents are rising as new workers at social media companies like Facebook and Twitter power a second Internet boom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The boom in high-quality, technology-related jobs is driving higher rents in the apartment and multifamily business,” said Stephen Duffy, managing director for Moss Adams Capital, a real estate investment firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_68418\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/san-francisco-apartments3.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/san-francisco-apartments3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"san francisco apartments\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-68418\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This neighborhood east of 2nd Street and north of King Street in San Francisco has 46 vacation homes, but only 7 available rental units (Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“These people, mostly 18 to 34 years old, prefer to rent rather than buy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vacancy rate in some areas is getting close to zero,” said Paul Zeger, president and CEO of Pacific Marketing Associates, which handles housing sales for major Bay Area developers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In most of the Bay Area’s more desirable neighborhoods, rents now average more than $3,000 a month, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"rpuCopySelection\">\n\u003cp>Still, Zeger said, “we still have a hesitancy on the part of construction lenders” to fund new apartment projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hesitancy is a result of the huge oversupply of housing, mostly single-family units, that was built before the bust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According the real estate website ForeclosureRadar.com, banks owned 10,609 foreclosed homes in the Bay Area at the end of May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have huge inventories of foreclosures, which mean you can buy an existing home,” said Steve Levy, director of Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, a Palo Alto research firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But most of those foreclosed homes aren’t in San Francisco or the Peninsula. More than 5,000 are in the East Bay, while about 1,200 are in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"description": "by Aaron Glantz, The Bay Citizen Although rents are soaring and demand for rental units is growing, developers are not building many new apartments, condominiums or homes in the Bay Area, according to a new report.The region added 6,382 housing units between April 2010 and July 2011, an increase of just 0.2 percent, newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show. Counties that are home to such cities as Fargo, N.D., Cicero, Ind., and Rock Hill, S.C., all added more housing units than Santa Clara County, the home of Silicon Valley. The result, analysts said, is that in San",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>by Aaron Glantz, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/housing/story/slow-housing/\">The Bay Citizen\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although rents are soaring and demand for rental units is growing, developers are not building many new apartments, condominiums or homes in the Bay Area, according to a new report.The region added 6,382 housing units between April 2010 and July 2011, an increase of just 0.2 percent, newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/BayCitizenLogo1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/BayCitizenLogo1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"BayCitizenLogo\" width=\"218\" height=\"74\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-68423\">\u003c/a>Counties that are home to such cities as Fargo, N.D., Cicero, Ind., and Rock Hill, S.C., all added more housing units than Santa Clara County, the home of Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result, analysts said, is that in San Francisco, the Peninsula and the South Bay rents are rising as new workers at social media companies like Facebook and Twitter power a second Internet boom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The boom in high-quality, technology-related jobs is driving higher rents in the apartment and multifamily business,” said Stephen Duffy, managing director for Moss Adams Capital, a real estate investment firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_68418\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/san-francisco-apartments3.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/san-francisco-apartments3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"san francisco apartments\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-68418\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This neighborhood east of 2nd Street and north of King Street in San Francisco has 46 vacation homes, but only 7 available rental units (Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“These people, mostly 18 to 34 years old, prefer to rent rather than buy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vacancy rate in some areas is getting close to zero,” said Paul Zeger, president and CEO of Pacific Marketing Associates, which handles housing sales for major Bay Area developers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In most of the Bay Area’s more desirable neighborhoods, rents now average more than $3,000 a month, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"rpuCopySelection\">\n\u003cp>Still, Zeger said, “we still have a hesitancy on the part of construction lenders” to fund new apartment projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hesitancy is a result of the huge oversupply of housing, mostly single-family units, that was built before the bust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According the real estate website ForeclosureRadar.com, banks owned 10,609 foreclosed homes in the Bay Area at the end of May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have huge inventories of foreclosures, which mean you can buy an existing home,” said Steve Levy, director of Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, a Palo Alto research firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But most of those foreclosed homes aren’t in San Francisco or the Peninsula. More than 5,000 are in the East Bay, while about 1,200 are in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Little Money Spent, Few Helped in State Program for Struggling Homeowners ",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>by Aaron Glantz, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/housing/story/state-program-struggling-homeowners-has/\">\u003cstrong>The Bay Citizen\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/BayCitizenLogo1.png\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/BayCitizenLogo1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"BayCitizenLogo\" width=\"218\" height=\"74\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-66899\">\u003c/a>On June 15, Wells Fargo is set to auction off Gayline Hudson’s home in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. Hudson, who bought the two-bedroom house for $370,000 in 2005, lost her job as an adult education teacher when the Oakland Unified School District laid her off last June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 44-year-old now owes more than $19,000 on her mortgage, an amount she says is impossible to make up. Hudson, who has secured part-time work as a teacher, said she makes about $1,600 a month, the same as her combined monthly mortgage payment, including property tax and insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_66882\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 235px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/Foreclosure_06_web.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/Foreclosure_06_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Foreclosure_06_web\" width=\"235\" height=\"230\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66882\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gayline Hudson of Oakland is ineligible for a principal reduction under the Keep Your Home California program because her lender, Wells Fargo, does not participate. She owes more than $19,000 on her mortgage, an amount she says is impossible to make up. (Michael Short/The Bay Citizen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m fully aware that I lost my job and I need to find other gainful employment, but at the same time, people need help,” she said. “And everywhere I go, the door is closed in my face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hudson is the type of borrower that a $2 billion government program called \u003ca href=\"http://keepyourhomecalifornia.org/\">Keep Your Home California \u003c/a>was intended to help. But more than two years after President Barack Obama announced the delivery of the first $700 million installment for the initiative, the California Housing Finance Agency, which administers the program, has spent just 5 percent of the money – $93 million, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/documents/keep-your-home-california-may-2012-us/\">according to the agency’s most recent filings with the U.S. Treasury Department\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fewer than 8,000 borrowers have received help out of 101,337 Californians the agency estimated would receive assistance in an agreement with the federal government 18 months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep Your Home California is designed to subsidize mortgage payments for unemployed borrowers and reduce debt for people whose homes significantly declined in value during the housing crisis. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the program’s success relies on the good will of the banking industry, and most are balking at rewriting mortgage agreements. At the same time, the program has eaten up an unusually large portion of its fund to create and promote the largely unsuccessful program. Of the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers, only one, Bank of America, is participating in the principal reduction program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The banks got the money that they needed, but homeowners haven't got what was promised,” said Christy Romero, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which funds the program. “Ultimately, TARP was not supposed to be a bank bailout; it was supposed to help homeowners.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the agency’s most recent monthly filing with the federal Treasury Department, more than a quarter of the federal funds spent so far have gone to administration, including marketing; outside, legal and professional services; and salaries and travel for program staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the private sector, overhead costs on mortgage origination typically average about 1 percent of the cost of the mortgage, said Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s embarrassing,” Rosen said of the mortgage program. “It seems like a lot of bureaucracy where they are not getting anything done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Diane Richardson, legislative director of California Housing Finance Agency, agreed that the program has been slow to take hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richardson said a major hurdle has been getting banks involved. To date, most large banks – including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Ally Financial – have refused to participate in the $779 million principal reduction program. Under the original plan, the housing agency would provide up to $50,000 to write down a borrower’s debt if the bank matched it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which had helped just 221 borrowers as of April 30, according to agency’s Treasury Department report, was modified May 7 when the agency announced it was removing a requirement that banks match the taxpayers’ contribution to a mortgage write-down. The maximum taxpayer contribution also was increased to $100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought, honestly, when we said, ‘We’ll match you,’ that there would be takers. I thought they’d be jumping up and down, but the interest wasn’t there,” Richardson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move spurred the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to announce May 7 that it would instruct the government-supported mortgage companies to participate in the program. The two firms own more than 60 percent of California mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials said they hoped the change would jump-start the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It will make a huge difference because there are a great number of people who have loans that are owned by Fannie and Freddie who are distressed and struggling,” Richardson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes a much greater number of people potentially eligible,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the move has not yet resulted in a similar response from banks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Tom Goyda, spokesman for Wells Fargo, said it was too early to tell if his company would join the program. Susan Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman for Ally Financial, said in an e-mail only that the firm would “offer programs to our customers that follow our investor guidelines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Association, said he understood why many banks were reluctant to sign on. Even if they do not bear the cost of the principal reduction themselves, mortgage lenders stand to lose the “prospective income” of interest payments on that debt – an amount that often exceeds the amount of the debt itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fewer homeowners to get help\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the taxpayers bearing the full cost of each mortgage write-down, the California Housing Finance Agency cut by two-thirds the number of troubled homeowners it can afford to help – from more than 25,000 to less than 9,000, according to its most recent filings with the Treasury Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Romero, the special inspector general, said the California Housing Finance Agency’s reduction in the number of homeowners it intends to help represents a failure of its overseer, the Treasury Department, to provide proper oversight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state goals are moving targets,” said Romero, who functions as the Treasury Department’s in-house watchdog. “If you have no goal post, then there's no accountability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the inspector general issued a report showing the program largely had failed to help homeowners across the country. Although the Treasury Department had earmarked $7.6 billion for 18 states and the District of Columbia, only $217 million had been spent nationally as of this year, and only 30,640 homeowners had received assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the report, the Treasury Department allocated money without “producing measurable goals” for states on how many homeowners would be helped. The states have until the end of 2017 to spend the money. And the report criticized the Treasury Department for approving state programs, including California's, before large banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had agreed to participate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tim Massad, an assistant secretary of the Treasury, said the report “misses the mark by not acknowledging the hard work of participating states and the innovative ways they are preventing foreclosures in their local communities.” He said the program is crafted “in ways that suit local conditions and have already kept tens of thousands of families in their homes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waiting for aid\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the start of the program, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/documents/keep-your-home-california-may-2012-us/\">California agency’s Treasury Department filings\u003c/a> show, just 27 percent of applications for Keep Your Home California programs have been approved, while 35 percent have been denied. The remaining third have either withdrawn their application or still were waiting for an answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s crazy,” said Hudson, the unemployed Oakland teacher, who is ineligible for a principal reduction under the Keep Your Home program because her lender, Wells Fargo, does not participate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My house has lost most of its value, so it’s not like they’re going to make any money on the foreclosure,” she said. “Why won’t they let me live here – especially if the government would pay for it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, homeowners across the state face the loss of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve done everything that I asked them to do, faxed them and called them, and I keep getting denied,” said Raymond Rivera of Chula Vista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rivera, who was laid off from his job as a substance abuse counselor in 2009, still owes $369,000 on a three-bedroom condo he bought in 2006 with a loan from the California Housing Finance Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last June, Rivera declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and in January, the agency declared him “conditionally eligible” for a principal reduction under Keep Your Home California, in part because his home has lost half its value and is now worth just $181,000, according to real estate website Zillow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five months later, however, the housing agency still has not given final approval for his principal reduction. Instead, the agency is pushing for a short sale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This makes no sense to me,” Rivera said. “If I don’t make enough to cover the loan, then why aren’t they using their funds to get me the government assistance that’s available?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by The Bay Citizen, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Learn more at www.baycitizen.org\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>by Aaron Glantz, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/housing/story/state-program-struggling-homeowners-has/\">\u003cstrong>The Bay Citizen\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/BayCitizenLogo1.png\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/BayCitizenLogo1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"BayCitizenLogo\" width=\"218\" height=\"74\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-66899\">\u003c/a>On June 15, Wells Fargo is set to auction off Gayline Hudson’s home in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. Hudson, who bought the two-bedroom house for $370,000 in 2005, lost her job as an adult education teacher when the Oakland Unified School District laid her off last June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 44-year-old now owes more than $19,000 on her mortgage, an amount she says is impossible to make up. Hudson, who has secured part-time work as a teacher, said she makes about $1,600 a month, the same as her combined monthly mortgage payment, including property tax and insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_66882\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 235px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/Foreclosure_06_web.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/Foreclosure_06_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Foreclosure_06_web\" width=\"235\" height=\"230\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66882\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gayline Hudson of Oakland is ineligible for a principal reduction under the Keep Your Home California program because her lender, Wells Fargo, does not participate. She owes more than $19,000 on her mortgage, an amount she says is impossible to make up. (Michael Short/The Bay Citizen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m fully aware that I lost my job and I need to find other gainful employment, but at the same time, people need help,” she said. “And everywhere I go, the door is closed in my face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hudson is the type of borrower that a $2 billion government program called \u003ca href=\"http://keepyourhomecalifornia.org/\">Keep Your Home California \u003c/a>was intended to help. But more than two years after President Barack Obama announced the delivery of the first $700 million installment for the initiative, the California Housing Finance Agency, which administers the program, has spent just 5 percent of the money – $93 million, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/documents/keep-your-home-california-may-2012-us/\">according to the agency’s most recent filings with the U.S. Treasury Department\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fewer than 8,000 borrowers have received help out of 101,337 Californians the agency estimated would receive assistance in an agreement with the federal government 18 months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep Your Home California is designed to subsidize mortgage payments for unemployed borrowers and reduce debt for people whose homes significantly declined in value during the housing crisis. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the program’s success relies on the good will of the banking industry, and most are balking at rewriting mortgage agreements. At the same time, the program has eaten up an unusually large portion of its fund to create and promote the largely unsuccessful program. Of the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers, only one, Bank of America, is participating in the principal reduction program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The banks got the money that they needed, but homeowners haven't got what was promised,” said Christy Romero, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which funds the program. “Ultimately, TARP was not supposed to be a bank bailout; it was supposed to help homeowners.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the agency’s most recent monthly filing with the federal Treasury Department, more than a quarter of the federal funds spent so far have gone to administration, including marketing; outside, legal and professional services; and salaries and travel for program staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the private sector, overhead costs on mortgage origination typically average about 1 percent of the cost of the mortgage, said Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s embarrassing,” Rosen said of the mortgage program. “It seems like a lot of bureaucracy where they are not getting anything done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Diane Richardson, legislative director of California Housing Finance Agency, agreed that the program has been slow to take hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richardson said a major hurdle has been getting banks involved. To date, most large banks – including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Ally Financial – have refused to participate in the $779 million principal reduction program. Under the original plan, the housing agency would provide up to $50,000 to write down a borrower’s debt if the bank matched it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which had helped just 221 borrowers as of April 30, according to agency’s Treasury Department report, was modified May 7 when the agency announced it was removing a requirement that banks match the taxpayers’ contribution to a mortgage write-down. The maximum taxpayer contribution also was increased to $100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought, honestly, when we said, ‘We’ll match you,’ that there would be takers. I thought they’d be jumping up and down, but the interest wasn’t there,” Richardson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move spurred the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to announce May 7 that it would instruct the government-supported mortgage companies to participate in the program. The two firms own more than 60 percent of California mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials said they hoped the change would jump-start the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It will make a huge difference because there are a great number of people who have loans that are owned by Fannie and Freddie who are distressed and struggling,” Richardson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes a much greater number of people potentially eligible,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the move has not yet resulted in a similar response from banks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Tom Goyda, spokesman for Wells Fargo, said it was too early to tell if his company would join the program. Susan Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman for Ally Financial, said in an e-mail only that the firm would “offer programs to our customers that follow our investor guidelines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Association, said he understood why many banks were reluctant to sign on. Even if they do not bear the cost of the principal reduction themselves, mortgage lenders stand to lose the “prospective income” of interest payments on that debt – an amount that often exceeds the amount of the debt itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fewer homeowners to get help\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the taxpayers bearing the full cost of each mortgage write-down, the California Housing Finance Agency cut by two-thirds the number of troubled homeowners it can afford to help – from more than 25,000 to less than 9,000, according to its most recent filings with the Treasury Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Romero, the special inspector general, said the California Housing Finance Agency’s reduction in the number of homeowners it intends to help represents a failure of its overseer, the Treasury Department, to provide proper oversight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state goals are moving targets,” said Romero, who functions as the Treasury Department’s in-house watchdog. “If you have no goal post, then there's no accountability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the inspector general issued a report showing the program largely had failed to help homeowners across the country. Although the Treasury Department had earmarked $7.6 billion for 18 states and the District of Columbia, only $217 million had been spent nationally as of this year, and only 30,640 homeowners had received assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the report, the Treasury Department allocated money without “producing measurable goals” for states on how many homeowners would be helped. The states have until the end of 2017 to spend the money. And the report criticized the Treasury Department for approving state programs, including California's, before large banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had agreed to participate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tim Massad, an assistant secretary of the Treasury, said the report “misses the mark by not acknowledging the hard work of participating states and the innovative ways they are preventing foreclosures in their local communities.” He said the program is crafted “in ways that suit local conditions and have already kept tens of thousands of families in their homes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waiting for aid\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the start of the program, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/documents/keep-your-home-california-may-2012-us/\">California agency’s Treasury Department filings\u003c/a> show, just 27 percent of applications for Keep Your Home California programs have been approved, while 35 percent have been denied. The remaining third have either withdrawn their application or still were waiting for an answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s crazy,” said Hudson, the unemployed Oakland teacher, who is ineligible for a principal reduction under the Keep Your Home program because her lender, Wells Fargo, does not participate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My house has lost most of its value, so it’s not like they’re going to make any money on the foreclosure,” she said. “Why won’t they let me live here – especially if the government would pay for it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, homeowners across the state face the loss of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve done everything that I asked them to do, faxed them and called them, and I keep getting denied,” said Raymond Rivera of Chula Vista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rivera, who was laid off from his job as a substance abuse counselor in 2009, still owes $369,000 on a three-bedroom condo he bought in 2006 with a loan from the California Housing Finance Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last June, Rivera declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and in January, the agency declared him “conditionally eligible” for a principal reduction under Keep Your Home California, in part because his home has lost half its value and is now worth just $181,000, according to real estate website Zillow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five months later, however, the housing agency still has not given final approval for his principal reduction. Instead, the agency is pushing for a short sale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This makes no sense to me,” Rivera said. “If I don’t make enough to cover the loan, then why aren’t they using their funds to get me the government assistance that’s available?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by The Bay Citizen, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Learn more at www.baycitizen.org\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Texas Firm Sues Calif. Homeowners With Foreclosed 2nd Mortgages ",
"title": "Texas Firm Sues Calif. Homeowners With Foreclosed 2nd Mortgages ",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>by Rick Jurgens, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/money-and-politics/texas-firm-targets-calif-homeowners-foreclosed-2nd-mortgages-16244\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding new uncertainty in the state’s ongoing mortgage crisis, a Texas company is aggressively pursuing hundreds of Californians to collect second-mortgage debt – on homes they’ve already lost through foreclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_66365\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/foreclosure.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-66365\" title=\"foreclosure\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/foreclosure-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">mortgage note against the house Trejo lost through foreclosure in 2008. Trejo won but HPF has appealed. (Michael Short/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many of these former homeowners believed their mortgage debt had been erased after their houses were taken by banks and lending companies. But the Texas company, \u003ca href=\"http://www.heritagepacificfinancial.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Heritage Pacific Financial\u003c/a>, has aggressively pursued collections and filed lawsuits claiming those debts still linger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Ahmed Abdelfattah of San Jose, debt collectors started calling in 2009, saying he owed Heritage Pacific $135,000. He said he’d never heard of the company before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a nightmare,” Abdelfattah said. “It’s cost me money and time, and they ruined my credit until now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oscar Trejo said his first encounter came a few days before he expected to exit bankruptcy and get a fresh financial start. That was in November 2010, he said. Heritage Pacific sent Trejo, who also lives in San Jose, a letter saying it had asked a bankruptcy judge not to discharge, or erase, its $88,800 claim against him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trejo invested in properties in Merced and later lost them all in foreclosures. But he hadn’t done business with Heritage Pacific. “I had never seen the company’s name,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific was started by identical twin brothers, Chris and Ben Ganter, who once starred in a reality TV show, “PayDirt,” about investing in the Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company’s lawsuits often accuse defendants of misstating their incomes on loan applications. While many borrowers did overstate their incomes on applications, consumer attorneys say Heritage Pacific is targeting people who filled out their forms honestly or whose mortgage brokers pumped up their applications without their knowledge. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics of Heritage Pacific say the company’s central tactic is forcing settlements from people who can’t afford a drawn-out legal fight and who don’t know the details of California law. The company has sued people with second-mortgage debts of less than $150,000, despite a state law prohibiting lawsuits alleging fraud on mortgages below that amount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific’s collection methods now face legal challenges, including a class-action lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court that contends that the company is carrying out an “\u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359079-class-action-complaint.html\" target=\"_blank\">insidious and illegal debt collection scheme\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The company’s lawsuits often accuse defendants of misstating their incomes on loan applications...Heritage Pacific’s collection methods now face legal challenges, including a class-action lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court that contends that the company is carrying out an “insidious and illegal debt collection scheme.”\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The company doesn’t make mortgage loans, but instead attempts to collect payments on loans originated by others. Heritage Pacific launched its effort in late 2008 when it began buying – at a steep discount – second-mortgage loans that borrowers had stopped paying. Many of the loans were secured by houses that already had been sold in foreclosure by first-mortgage lenders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By demanding payments from more than 1,000 individuals in California, the lawsuit contends, Heritage Pacific has violated “the rights of those who have already suffered the emotional and financial distress that results from the loss of their foreclosed home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific is nothing more than “people in Texas acting as vultures,” said Will Kennedy, a lawyer in the class-action suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an answer to the lawsuit, Heritage Pacific says it’s not suing “innocent home-owners who, through no fault of their own, lost their homes.” Instead, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359081-heritage-pacific-nov-7-2011-filing-in-santa.html\" target=\"_blank\">the company says it targets defendants\u003c/a> who “made material misrepresentations to secure large loans upon which they soon stopped paying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraud claims “are the only ones we’re interested in pursuing,” Chris Ganter, the company’s chief executive and main owner, said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some former homeowners now threatened with legal action by Heritage Pacific dispute these claims. They told California Watch that the income they claimed on their mortgage applications was valid, and they stopped paying because they lost their jobs, their income plummeted and banks foreclosed on their houses. Others said they signed applications that had been prepared by brokers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Amassing second-mortgage notes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific had no trouble finding plenty of so-called non-performing second mortgages for sale. During the recent real estate boom, an estimated 25 percent of house buyers took on a second mortgage rather than make a down payment, according to a 2007 Federal Reserve study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A giant foreclosure wave swept hundreds of thousands of Californians from their homes. They often left behind second-mortgage loans that looked uncollectible and worthless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While lenders can sell foreclosed properties and keep the proceeds, in California they can’t pursue borrowers if the sale falls short of the amount owed. Foreclosure also takes away most of the legal tools for creditors to seek payments on second mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than shy away from seemingly worthless second-mortgage notes, Heritage Pacific spent millions of dollars to assemble an inventory of at least 40,000 second-mortgage notes, according interviews with company executives and deposition testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraud accusations against former homeowners became Heritage Pacific’s tactic for restoring value to its second-mortgage notes. California law gives a lender that can prove that a borrower fraudulently obtained a loan for more than $150,000 the right to sue. A creditor also may allege fraud to prevent a debt from being erased in bankruptcy. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abdelfattah, a 52-year-old naturalized American who was born in Egypt, said it wasn’t fraud, but a steep drop in his income as a sales manager at a local Honda dealership, that caused him to fall behind on his monthly house payments of $5,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, the holder of his first mortgage foreclosed on the three-bedroom, 1,170-square-foot Santa Clara house that he had purchased in 2005 for $675,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But to his chagrin, Abdelfattah found that foreclosure didn’t end his house-related financial woes. As the summer of 2009 faded, he started getting collection calls from two or three individuals representing Heritage Pacific. They wanted him to pay a portion of the $135,000 balance they said he still owed on the second-mortgage loan he had used in his house purchase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The callers were “really annoying,” Abdelfattah said. One was “really aggressive, cursing on the phone.” They accused him of never having lived in the house. They sent him a letter asking him to verify his income, and another titled, “Demand for Payment of Outstanding Debt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2010, Heritage Pacific named Abdelfattah in a lawsuit that claimed that he had used fraud to obtain a second mortgage. But on March 19, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge threw out the company’s claim against Abdelfattah because the alleged fraud had involved a loan for less than $150,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abdelfattah, who wants to buy a house, was only somewhat relieved: “They are not able to sue me, but (Heritage Pacific’s claim) still affects my credit.” Abdelfattah’s countersuit alleging violations of debt-collection law by Heritage Pacific is scheduled for a jury trial in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific declined to comment on the details of Abdelfattah’s or other individual cases, but said, “Any court rulings against Heritage Pacific Financial will be appealed to the California Court of Appeals as soon as it is possible to do so.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific can ignore the prohibition on pursuing fraud claims related to loans for less than $150,000 because it still can get default judgments and out-of-court settlements from some defendants, said Kennedy, the attorney in the civil action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a practical matter, he added, “the law only applies to people who are in a position to defend themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Focusing on fraud claims\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific’s website portrays the company as a friend to its collection targets. It says the company wants to help foreclosed homeowners “begin again and regain financial independence without the baggage of old liens or bad credit history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home page also features a link to a proclamation of the company’s intent to seek “justice against those who have perpetrated, conspired, and participated in the mortgage fraud (that) plagues our nation and our nation’s economy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ganter said Heritage Pacific is pursuing appraisers and loan officers with its fraud claims. But while two lawsuits in Santa Clara County name appraisers as defendants, in dozens of Heritage Pacific second-mortgage lawsuits reviewed by California Watch, the defendants were homebuyers whom Heritage Pacific accused of overstating their incomes on loan applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even Kennedy, the lawyer pursuing the class-action lawsuit against Heritage Pacific, acknowledged that the company is probably “able to find inflated incomes without too much problem, on a lot of them (but) not all of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s only part of the story, Kennedy stressed: “The banks knew exactly what was going on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kennedy isn’t alone in identifying lenders and their agents as key drivers in mortgage market abuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Subprime loans were “often aggressively sold to consumers by profit-seeking lenders rather than sought out by consumers,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359080-gao-on-subprime.html\" target=\"_blank\">according to a report\u003c/a> by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359082-hud-on-foreclosure-causes-09.html\" target=\"_blank\">report on the root causes\u003c/a> of the foreclosure crisis found that “most fraud is driven by mortgage brokers in their efforts to earn profits by originating loans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, aggressive lending helped inflate a housing bubble that more than tripled average house prices in the decade that ended in 2006. From 2000 through 2007, lenders originated nearly 3.3 million subprime mortgages in the state, according to the GAO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then the bubble burst, sending average house prices in the state down 46 percent since 2006. By March 2009, more than half of the 1.4 million subprime mortgages in California were delinquent, defaulted or foreclosed, according to GAO. By March 2012, about 835,000 homes in the state had been lost in foreclosure, according to DataQuick, which compiles real estate data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Falling house prices and souring loans ravaged homeowners, lenders, and the housing and mortgage market in California and nationally. Among those hit by the slump was Ganter, a homebuilder who built 200 town homes in Texas suburbs and planned to build another 60.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2010, Ganter briefly sought bankruptcy protection for his Paydirt Real Estate Investment Trust, which listed a $6,300 rental deposit as its only asset and $572,000 in unpaid bills. Ganter said the bankruptcy did not involve Heritage Pacific and was later dropped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as his real estate enterprise foundered, Ganter used money from investors to begin assembling a portfolio of second-mortgage loans. In depositions, a company executive put the total face value of the company’s claims in a range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion. To cash in on those assets, Heritage Pacific began pursuing collections from hundreds of foreclosed homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lydia Pina was one. In 2009, Heritage Pacific’s collectors began pushing her to pay up on a second mortgage she took out in 2007, when she bought a house in Gilroy for $675,000. \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359083-lydia-pina-sworn-declaration.html\" target=\"_blank\">She lost the house\u003c/a> in foreclosure 14 months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The collectors were willing to deal, according to Pina’s sworn declaration. If she would pay $29,000, they would settle their $139,000 claim. If not, they would garnishee her wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2010, a process server came to Pina’s workplace. When the receptionist called Pina, she said she was late for a meeting and asked that he come back later. Instead, he left a summons with the receptionist. And that’s how Pina learned that she was being sued for $139,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That lawsuit remains pending in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Through her attorney, Pina declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Debt collection methods\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ganter said he couldn’t comment on pending litigation, but said Heritage Pacific generally uses a “nice-guy strategy” to pursue collections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In practice, the company’s collection methods don’t differ much from those used by debt buyers and collectors who search out and demand payments from borrowers on charged-off credit card accounts, student loans or medical bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific first sends a form letter to a borrower, then follows up with at least 20 collection letters or telephone calls, according to depositions by a company executive and an attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a presentation to investors, the company said it typically offers to settle with borrowers who repay 20 percent of their outstanding balance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific’s first big foray into California came in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, where in a three-month period beginning in December 2009, Heritage Pacific filed three lawsuits seeking $46 million in actual and punitive damages from 158 defendants who took out 143 loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That push yielded mixed results. One judge signed 21 default judgments ordering no-show defendants to pay $1.8 million. But a lawyer who showed up to represent one of the defendants persuaded another judge to shut down the company’s multi-party lawsuits. The defendants had “nothing in common … other than that they each applied for and received a loan that Heritage now owns,” the judge wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Heritage Pacific opened another front in California state courts. California Watch reviewed online records in 10 of the state’s 17 largest counties and found 365 lawsuits in which Heritage Pacific was a party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A counterclaim filed in one of those lawsuits became a class action that seeks to keep Heritage Pacific from filing new fraud claims. The class action claims that the company goes to court “based upon a high statistical probability that the foreclosed homeowner lacks the resources to defend the lawsuit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When defendants fail to show up, courts can issue default judgments that affirm the validity of debts and allow creditors to seize debtors’ paychecks or property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a deposition, a Heritage Pacific lawyer estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the defendants in its lawsuits default, and the company has obtained about 200 default judgments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ganter said default judgments aren’t very valuable. Heritage Pacific found itself paying $20,000 to $30,000 for “a piece of paper that says somebody owes you money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cases in bankruptcy courts\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific also has filed more than 220 cases in federal bankruptcy courts in California, including the claim against Trejo. Heritage Pacific contended that he had overstated his monthly income, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359078-bkr-judge-ruling-on-trejo.html\" target=\"_blank\">a judge ruled\u003c/a> that while Trejo didn’t make $9,500 a month as he stated, the lender had “ignored obvious problems” with Trejo’s loan application and couldn’t block the discharge of his $88,800 debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific has appealed that ruling to a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, arguing that the lender’s reliance on Trejo’s undocumented assertions reflected “the custom and habit of the mortgage industry at the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, regulators in Arkansas have cracked down on Heritage Pacific’s fundraising. The Arkansas Securities Department found that in September 2010, four Arkansas investors paid $50,000 each to buy bundles of second mortgages from Heritage Pacific, and the buyers signed separate deals to pay Heritage Pacific to collect and distribute payments from their mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2011, the securities department \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359077-arkansas-cease-and-desist-order.html\" target=\"_blank\">issued a cease-and-desist order\u003c/a> directing Heritage Pacific to stop selling unregistered securities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ganter said that Heritage Pacific had not agreed to a settlement and that the case was “not finished up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Campbell McLaurin\u003cem>, \u003c/em>an attorney for the Arkansas Securities Department\u003cem>,\u003c/em> said he believed that his state was “not unique as far as (Heritage Pacific) seeking investors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a deposition, a Heritage Pacific executive said the company had spent $20 million to $25 million buying second-mortgage notes, and the source of its funds was a “guarded secret, for sure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A contract disclosed in a lawsuit shows that in one instance, Heritage Pacific raised $500,000 from a company incorporated in Alaska but controlled by Guy C. Alexander III, an Orange County homebuilder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t comment on our individual partners,” Ganter said. Alexander did not respond to phone messages left at his office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer lawyers hope that rulings in Trejo’s case and two other bankruptcy appeals, as well as the class-action lawsuit, will put a stop to Heritage Pacific’s collection campaign in California. The company hopes the outcome in those cases will leave it with the tools to make its second-mortgage loans profitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, as hundreds of lawsuits work their way through state and federal courts in California, it seems unlikely that the battles between foreclosed California homeowners and Heritage Pacific over millions of dollars of soured mortgage loans will end anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rick Jurgens is an investigative journalist for \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "by Rick Jurgens, California Watch Adding new uncertainty in the state’s ongoing mortgage crisis, a Texas company is aggressively pursuing hundreds of Californians to collect second-mortgage debt – on homes they’ve already lost through foreclosure. Many of these former homeowners believed their mortgage debt had been erased after their houses were taken by banks and",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>by Rick Jurgens, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/money-and-politics/texas-firm-targets-calif-homeowners-foreclosed-2nd-mortgages-16244\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding new uncertainty in the state’s ongoing mortgage crisis, a Texas company is aggressively pursuing hundreds of Californians to collect second-mortgage debt – on homes they’ve already lost through foreclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_66365\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/foreclosure.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-66365\" title=\"foreclosure\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/foreclosure-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">mortgage note against the house Trejo lost through foreclosure in 2008. Trejo won but HPF has appealed. (Michael Short/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many of these former homeowners believed their mortgage debt had been erased after their houses were taken by banks and lending companies. But the Texas company, \u003ca href=\"http://www.heritagepacificfinancial.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Heritage Pacific Financial\u003c/a>, has aggressively pursued collections and filed lawsuits claiming those debts still linger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Ahmed Abdelfattah of San Jose, debt collectors started calling in 2009, saying he owed Heritage Pacific $135,000. He said he’d never heard of the company before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a nightmare,” Abdelfattah said. “It’s cost me money and time, and they ruined my credit until now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oscar Trejo said his first encounter came a few days before he expected to exit bankruptcy and get a fresh financial start. That was in November 2010, he said. Heritage Pacific sent Trejo, who also lives in San Jose, a letter saying it had asked a bankruptcy judge not to discharge, or erase, its $88,800 claim against him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trejo invested in properties in Merced and later lost them all in foreclosures. But he hadn’t done business with Heritage Pacific. “I had never seen the company’s name,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific was started by identical twin brothers, Chris and Ben Ganter, who once starred in a reality TV show, “PayDirt,” about investing in the Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company’s lawsuits often accuse defendants of misstating their incomes on loan applications. While many borrowers did overstate their incomes on applications, consumer attorneys say Heritage Pacific is targeting people who filled out their forms honestly or whose mortgage brokers pumped up their applications without their knowledge. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics of Heritage Pacific say the company’s central tactic is forcing settlements from people who can’t afford a drawn-out legal fight and who don’t know the details of California law. The company has sued people with second-mortgage debts of less than $150,000, despite a state law prohibiting lawsuits alleging fraud on mortgages below that amount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific’s collection methods now face legal challenges, including a class-action lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court that contends that the company is carrying out an “\u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359079-class-action-complaint.html\" target=\"_blank\">insidious and illegal debt collection scheme\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The company’s lawsuits often accuse defendants of misstating their incomes on loan applications...Heritage Pacific’s collection methods now face legal challenges, including a class-action lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court that contends that the company is carrying out an “insidious and illegal debt collection scheme.”\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The company doesn’t make mortgage loans, but instead attempts to collect payments on loans originated by others. Heritage Pacific launched its effort in late 2008 when it began buying – at a steep discount – second-mortgage loans that borrowers had stopped paying. Many of the loans were secured by houses that already had been sold in foreclosure by first-mortgage lenders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By demanding payments from more than 1,000 individuals in California, the lawsuit contends, Heritage Pacific has violated “the rights of those who have already suffered the emotional and financial distress that results from the loss of their foreclosed home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific is nothing more than “people in Texas acting as vultures,” said Will Kennedy, a lawyer in the class-action suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an answer to the lawsuit, Heritage Pacific says it’s not suing “innocent home-owners who, through no fault of their own, lost their homes.” Instead, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359081-heritage-pacific-nov-7-2011-filing-in-santa.html\" target=\"_blank\">the company says it targets defendants\u003c/a> who “made material misrepresentations to secure large loans upon which they soon stopped paying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraud claims “are the only ones we’re interested in pursuing,” Chris Ganter, the company’s chief executive and main owner, said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some former homeowners now threatened with legal action by Heritage Pacific dispute these claims. They told California Watch that the income they claimed on their mortgage applications was valid, and they stopped paying because they lost their jobs, their income plummeted and banks foreclosed on their houses. Others said they signed applications that had been prepared by brokers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Amassing second-mortgage notes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific had no trouble finding plenty of so-called non-performing second mortgages for sale. During the recent real estate boom, an estimated 25 percent of house buyers took on a second mortgage rather than make a down payment, according to a 2007 Federal Reserve study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A giant foreclosure wave swept hundreds of thousands of Californians from their homes. They often left behind second-mortgage loans that looked uncollectible and worthless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While lenders can sell foreclosed properties and keep the proceeds, in California they can’t pursue borrowers if the sale falls short of the amount owed. Foreclosure also takes away most of the legal tools for creditors to seek payments on second mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than shy away from seemingly worthless second-mortgage notes, Heritage Pacific spent millions of dollars to assemble an inventory of at least 40,000 second-mortgage notes, according interviews with company executives and deposition testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraud accusations against former homeowners became Heritage Pacific’s tactic for restoring value to its second-mortgage notes. California law gives a lender that can prove that a borrower fraudulently obtained a loan for more than $150,000 the right to sue. A creditor also may allege fraud to prevent a debt from being erased in bankruptcy. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abdelfattah, a 52-year-old naturalized American who was born in Egypt, said it wasn’t fraud, but a steep drop in his income as a sales manager at a local Honda dealership, that caused him to fall behind on his monthly house payments of $5,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, the holder of his first mortgage foreclosed on the three-bedroom, 1,170-square-foot Santa Clara house that he had purchased in 2005 for $675,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But to his chagrin, Abdelfattah found that foreclosure didn’t end his house-related financial woes. As the summer of 2009 faded, he started getting collection calls from two or three individuals representing Heritage Pacific. They wanted him to pay a portion of the $135,000 balance they said he still owed on the second-mortgage loan he had used in his house purchase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The callers were “really annoying,” Abdelfattah said. One was “really aggressive, cursing on the phone.” They accused him of never having lived in the house. They sent him a letter asking him to verify his income, and another titled, “Demand for Payment of Outstanding Debt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2010, Heritage Pacific named Abdelfattah in a lawsuit that claimed that he had used fraud to obtain a second mortgage. But on March 19, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge threw out the company’s claim against Abdelfattah because the alleged fraud had involved a loan for less than $150,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abdelfattah, who wants to buy a house, was only somewhat relieved: “They are not able to sue me, but (Heritage Pacific’s claim) still affects my credit.” Abdelfattah’s countersuit alleging violations of debt-collection law by Heritage Pacific is scheduled for a jury trial in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific declined to comment on the details of Abdelfattah’s or other individual cases, but said, “Any court rulings against Heritage Pacific Financial will be appealed to the California Court of Appeals as soon as it is possible to do so.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific can ignore the prohibition on pursuing fraud claims related to loans for less than $150,000 because it still can get default judgments and out-of-court settlements from some defendants, said Kennedy, the attorney in the civil action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a practical matter, he added, “the law only applies to people who are in a position to defend themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Focusing on fraud claims\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific’s website portrays the company as a friend to its collection targets. It says the company wants to help foreclosed homeowners “begin again and regain financial independence without the baggage of old liens or bad credit history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home page also features a link to a proclamation of the company’s intent to seek “justice against those who have perpetrated, conspired, and participated in the mortgage fraud (that) plagues our nation and our nation’s economy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ganter said Heritage Pacific is pursuing appraisers and loan officers with its fraud claims. But while two lawsuits in Santa Clara County name appraisers as defendants, in dozens of Heritage Pacific second-mortgage lawsuits reviewed by California Watch, the defendants were homebuyers whom Heritage Pacific accused of overstating their incomes on loan applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even Kennedy, the lawyer pursuing the class-action lawsuit against Heritage Pacific, acknowledged that the company is probably “able to find inflated incomes without too much problem, on a lot of them (but) not all of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s only part of the story, Kennedy stressed: “The banks knew exactly what was going on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kennedy isn’t alone in identifying lenders and their agents as key drivers in mortgage market abuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Subprime loans were “often aggressively sold to consumers by profit-seeking lenders rather than sought out by consumers,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359080-gao-on-subprime.html\" target=\"_blank\">according to a report\u003c/a> by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359082-hud-on-foreclosure-causes-09.html\" target=\"_blank\">report on the root causes\u003c/a> of the foreclosure crisis found that “most fraud is driven by mortgage brokers in their efforts to earn profits by originating loans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, aggressive lending helped inflate a housing bubble that more than tripled average house prices in the decade that ended in 2006. From 2000 through 2007, lenders originated nearly 3.3 million subprime mortgages in the state, according to the GAO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then the bubble burst, sending average house prices in the state down 46 percent since 2006. By March 2009, more than half of the 1.4 million subprime mortgages in California were delinquent, defaulted or foreclosed, according to GAO. By March 2012, about 835,000 homes in the state had been lost in foreclosure, according to DataQuick, which compiles real estate data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Falling house prices and souring loans ravaged homeowners, lenders, and the housing and mortgage market in California and nationally. Among those hit by the slump was Ganter, a homebuilder who built 200 town homes in Texas suburbs and planned to build another 60.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2010, Ganter briefly sought bankruptcy protection for his Paydirt Real Estate Investment Trust, which listed a $6,300 rental deposit as its only asset and $572,000 in unpaid bills. Ganter said the bankruptcy did not involve Heritage Pacific and was later dropped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as his real estate enterprise foundered, Ganter used money from investors to begin assembling a portfolio of second-mortgage loans. In depositions, a company executive put the total face value of the company’s claims in a range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion. To cash in on those assets, Heritage Pacific began pursuing collections from hundreds of foreclosed homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lydia Pina was one. In 2009, Heritage Pacific’s collectors began pushing her to pay up on a second mortgage she took out in 2007, when she bought a house in Gilroy for $675,000. \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359083-lydia-pina-sworn-declaration.html\" target=\"_blank\">She lost the house\u003c/a> in foreclosure 14 months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The collectors were willing to deal, according to Pina’s sworn declaration. If she would pay $29,000, they would settle their $139,000 claim. If not, they would garnishee her wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2010, a process server came to Pina’s workplace. When the receptionist called Pina, she said she was late for a meeting and asked that he come back later. Instead, he left a summons with the receptionist. And that’s how Pina learned that she was being sued for $139,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That lawsuit remains pending in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Through her attorney, Pina declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Debt collection methods\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ganter said he couldn’t comment on pending litigation, but said Heritage Pacific generally uses a “nice-guy strategy” to pursue collections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In practice, the company’s collection methods don’t differ much from those used by debt buyers and collectors who search out and demand payments from borrowers on charged-off credit card accounts, student loans or medical bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific first sends a form letter to a borrower, then follows up with at least 20 collection letters or telephone calls, according to depositions by a company executive and an attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a presentation to investors, the company said it typically offers to settle with borrowers who repay 20 percent of their outstanding balance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific’s first big foray into California came in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, where in a three-month period beginning in December 2009, Heritage Pacific filed three lawsuits seeking $46 million in actual and punitive damages from 158 defendants who took out 143 loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That push yielded mixed results. One judge signed 21 default judgments ordering no-show defendants to pay $1.8 million. But a lawyer who showed up to represent one of the defendants persuaded another judge to shut down the company’s multi-party lawsuits. The defendants had “nothing in common … other than that they each applied for and received a loan that Heritage now owns,” the judge wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Heritage Pacific opened another front in California state courts. California Watch reviewed online records in 10 of the state’s 17 largest counties and found 365 lawsuits in which Heritage Pacific was a party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A counterclaim filed in one of those lawsuits became a class action that seeks to keep Heritage Pacific from filing new fraud claims. The class action claims that the company goes to court “based upon a high statistical probability that the foreclosed homeowner lacks the resources to defend the lawsuit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When defendants fail to show up, courts can issue default judgments that affirm the validity of debts and allow creditors to seize debtors’ paychecks or property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a deposition, a Heritage Pacific lawyer estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the defendants in its lawsuits default, and the company has obtained about 200 default judgments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ganter said default judgments aren’t very valuable. Heritage Pacific found itself paying $20,000 to $30,000 for “a piece of paper that says somebody owes you money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cases in bankruptcy courts\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific also has filed more than 220 cases in federal bankruptcy courts in California, including the claim against Trejo. Heritage Pacific contended that he had overstated his monthly income, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359078-bkr-judge-ruling-on-trejo.html\" target=\"_blank\">a judge ruled\u003c/a> that while Trejo didn’t make $9,500 a month as he stated, the lender had “ignored obvious problems” with Trejo’s loan application and couldn’t block the discharge of his $88,800 debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heritage Pacific has appealed that ruling to a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, arguing that the lender’s reliance on Trejo’s undocumented assertions reflected “the custom and habit of the mortgage industry at the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, regulators in Arkansas have cracked down on Heritage Pacific’s fundraising. The Arkansas Securities Department found that in September 2010, four Arkansas investors paid $50,000 each to buy bundles of second mortgages from Heritage Pacific, and the buyers signed separate deals to pay Heritage Pacific to collect and distribute payments from their mortgages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2011, the securities department \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/359077-arkansas-cease-and-desist-order.html\" target=\"_blank\">issued a cease-and-desist order\u003c/a> directing Heritage Pacific to stop selling unregistered securities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ganter said that Heritage Pacific had not agreed to a settlement and that the case was “not finished up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Campbell McLaurin\u003cem>, \u003c/em>an attorney for the Arkansas Securities Department\u003cem>,\u003c/em> said he believed that his state was “not unique as far as (Heritage Pacific) seeking investors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a deposition, a Heritage Pacific executive said the company had spent $20 million to $25 million buying second-mortgage notes, and the source of its funds was a “guarded secret, for sure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A contract disclosed in a lawsuit shows that in one instance, Heritage Pacific raised $500,000 from a company incorporated in Alaska but controlled by Guy C. Alexander III, an Orange County homebuilder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t comment on our individual partners,” Ganter said. Alexander did not respond to phone messages left at his office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer lawyers hope that rulings in Trejo’s case and two other bankruptcy appeals, as well as the class-action lawsuit, will put a stop to Heritage Pacific’s collection campaign in California. The company hopes the outcome in those cases will leave it with the tools to make its second-mortgage loans profitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, as hundreds of lawsuits work their way through state and federal courts in California, it seems unlikely that the battles between foreclosed California homeowners and Heritage Pacific over millions of dollars of soured mortgage loans will end anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rick Jurgens is an investigative journalist for \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "analysis-how-did-the-democrats-manage-not-to-pass-the-california-homeowners-bill-of-rights",
"title": "How Did the Democrats Manage Not to Pass Foreclosure Reform?; Watch Thursday's Legislative Hearing",
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"content": "\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=348\">\u003cstrong>Watch yesterday’s hearing on the bills, Pt 1\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=350\">\u003cstrong>Pt 2\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>On Feb 29, with much fanfare, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, along with Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, \u003ca href=\"http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2641\">unveiled a “California Homeowner Bill of Rights,”\u003c/a> a package of six bills designed to ease the pain of homeowners caught in the state’s foreclosure crisis. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The six bills would require more rigorous documentation on the part of banks when foreclosing on properties; prohibit foreclosure when the homeowner has filed for a loan modification; impose a fee on lenders every time they file a notice of default; and in general do a lot of other stuff that no self-respecting financial leviathan would ever swallow without an army of lobbyists going to code red. \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The bills, so far, have run into the most familiar of legislative hurdles: powerful lobbyists.\u003cbr>\n–John Myers, Political Editor, News10 Sacramento\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Still, a casual observer may have thought that with the backing of a rising Democratic star like Kamala Harris, plus the leadership of a Democratic caucus enjoying a large majority, taking on the banks — nobody’s favorite industry, these days — would be a slam dunk. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turned out, more of an airball. Last month, as Harris was scheduled to testify before the California Assembly’s Senate Banking and Finance Committee, two of the bills were pulled by committee chairman Mike Eng of Monterey Park — a Democrat. Since then, in hopes of rescuing the plan, the leadership shuffled the package to a joint conference committee, which held hearings this afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesterday, to find out just what the hell happened, I turned to John Myers, \u003ca href=\"http://www.news10.net/capitol/\">Political Editor at News10 in Sacramento\u003c/a> and our former colleague here at KQED. Here’s his take: \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: So here you had a Democratic Attorney General, a big Democratic majority in both houses, and an issue that would seem to be can’t-miss with the public — holding the banks more accountable during the foreclosure process. So what happened?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS, NEWS 10 POLITICAL EDITOR\u003c/strong>: The bills, so far, have run into the most familiar of legislative hurdles: powerful lobbyists. The banking industry is a brawny fighter in Sacramento’s inside political game, and it’s pushed back in a big way on these bills — bills pushed not only by Harris, but also by Assembly Speaker John Perez and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: What was the big impediment to passing the bills? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong>: The major sticking point seems to be the banking industry’s assertion that the mortgage crisis was a one-time thing and thus permanent new rules (some which would codify the national settlement Harris helped negotiate) are an overreaction. A number of moderate, business-friendly Democrats in both houses seemed sympathetic to the banking industry’s position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Any indications by Harris on a willingness to compromise? And how bad does it look for her that she announced the thing with such fanfare and then couldn’t get it done? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong>: Today’s hearing will be the first test since last month’s abrupt switch by Democratic leaders to a plan B strategy. I think the last few weeks have been eye-opening for Harris, whose experience is the courtroom and the settlement table…not the Capitol. I saw her before last month’s hearing, camped out in the hallway with staff trying to count votes. The roadblock seemed to surprise her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong> What’s the outlook now? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong>:The bills were rescued by Perez and Steinberg by placing them in a joint conference committee. That way, there’s only one step (one committee) before floor votes, versus multiple committee votes where they could be picked off, one by one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: And how bad would this look for Democrats that they can’t get this passed? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong> There’s still a lot of time left before the Legislature adjourns in August, so never say never. The real question is whether the package of bills — bans on robosigning, forcing more transparency during foreclosure, etc — will be amended as a concession to the financial industry, and whether amended bills are better than no bills.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Below is an \u003ca href=\"http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/what-legalized-bribery-looks-like\">ad by the Courage Campaign\u003c/a> that attempts to put pressure on Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, a Sylmar Democrat, to vote for the bills. Fuentes told the Sacramento Bee, for an \u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/07/4470589/mortgage-legislation-splits-california.html\">article about how the issue has split Democrats\u003c/a>, that he was “disappointed that they misconstrued and outright lied” in the video. The Bee writes…\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Rick Jacobs, founder and chairman of the Courage Campaign, said his organization took down the video, but posted it again after Fuentes didn’t say whether he’ll vote for the regulatory changes.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://player.vimeo.com/video/41474387\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here’s what the California Bankers Association has to say about the whole thing: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The CBA wishes to reconfirm its willingness to participate in the debate regarding four legislative measures promoted by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, dealing with dual-tracking (AB 1602/SB 1470), single point of contact and “robo-signing” (AB 2425/SB 1471). We are, however, concerned with the avoidance of the typical legislative process that would involve policy and fiscal committee hearings, as well as floor debates throughout the legislative year, which ends in August.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite public declaration of the desire to produce a legislative product within a ‘few weeks’, we encourage the committee to give full and complete consideration to the importance of these issues and deliberate methodically. These issues and the people of California deserve thoughtful discourse given the consequences if done incorrectly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We strongly believe that in promoting these measures in advance of national servicing standards the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) intends to release this summer with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2013, California risks setting itself apart from the rest of the nation to the detriment of future borrowers. We intend to be an active participant in the conference committee process, but we strongly feel that the most problematic areas of the legislation, outlined below, must be addressed and resolved before the committee refers any bill to a full vote of the Legislature. We believe the elements of a reasonable solution include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Non-approval notice provided to borrower detailing reason for non-approval of loan modification or foreclosure avoidance post-notice of default, but prior to the notice of sale (NOS). Consideration of a loan modification is contingent upon the receipt of a complete loan modification application from the borrower prior to the NOS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Language that there is no right to a loan modification and no corresponding California legal requirement to offer a modification or have a modification program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Eligibility qualifiers. The current measures fail to narrowly target at-risk borrowers. Legislation should apply only to residential 1-4 properties that are owner occupied and serve as the primary residence of the borrower. No investors, speculators or strategic defaulters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Consistent point of contact, who serves as the primary contact, provided at the request of a borrower who is potentially eligible for loss mitigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Language that acknowledges and allows for CFPB federal servicing standards (to be promulgated this summer), enforcement orders or settlements to override state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-No private right of action. Legal devices should not be used to unduly delay the inevitable when other foreclosure avoidance options have been exhausted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Provide a right to cure upon notice without court intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Exemption for mortgage servicers who signed, or subsequently sign, the national mortgage settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Sunset date to coincide with the end of the national mortgage settlement (3½ years from the date entered into.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California’s banking industry will continue to seek and advocate for reasonable solutions that provide meaningful consumer protections that avoid long-term damage to the marketplace, cause industry to exit residential lending and increase the cost of credit. We look forward to the upcoming debate and discussion.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\n",
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"title": "How Did the Democrats Manage Not to Pass Foreclosure Reform?; Watch Thursday's Legislative Hearing | KQED",
"description": "Watch yesterday's hearing on the bills, Pt 1 and Pt 2 On Feb 29, with much fanfare, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, along with Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, unveiled a "California Homeowner Bill of Rights," a package of six bills designed to ease the pain of homeowners caught in the state's foreclosure crisis. The six bills would require more rigorous documentation on the part of banks when foreclosing on properties; prohibit foreclosure when the homeowner has filed for a loan modification; impose a fee on lenders every time they file a notice",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=348\">\u003cstrong>Watch yesterday’s hearing on the bills, Pt 1\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=350\">\u003cstrong>Pt 2\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>On Feb 29, with much fanfare, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, along with Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, \u003ca href=\"http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2641\">unveiled a “California Homeowner Bill of Rights,”\u003c/a> a package of six bills designed to ease the pain of homeowners caught in the state’s foreclosure crisis. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The six bills would require more rigorous documentation on the part of banks when foreclosing on properties; prohibit foreclosure when the homeowner has filed for a loan modification; impose a fee on lenders every time they file a notice of default; and in general do a lot of other stuff that no self-respecting financial leviathan would ever swallow without an army of lobbyists going to code red. \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The bills, so far, have run into the most familiar of legislative hurdles: powerful lobbyists.\u003cbr>\n–John Myers, Political Editor, News10 Sacramento\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Still, a casual observer may have thought that with the backing of a rising Democratic star like Kamala Harris, plus the leadership of a Democratic caucus enjoying a large majority, taking on the banks — nobody’s favorite industry, these days — would be a slam dunk. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turned out, more of an airball. Last month, as Harris was scheduled to testify before the California Assembly’s Senate Banking and Finance Committee, two of the bills were pulled by committee chairman Mike Eng of Monterey Park — a Democrat. Since then, in hopes of rescuing the plan, the leadership shuffled the package to a joint conference committee, which held hearings this afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesterday, to find out just what the hell happened, I turned to John Myers, \u003ca href=\"http://www.news10.net/capitol/\">Political Editor at News10 in Sacramento\u003c/a> and our former colleague here at KQED. Here’s his take: \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: So here you had a Democratic Attorney General, a big Democratic majority in both houses, and an issue that would seem to be can’t-miss with the public — holding the banks more accountable during the foreclosure process. So what happened?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS, NEWS 10 POLITICAL EDITOR\u003c/strong>: The bills, so far, have run into the most familiar of legislative hurdles: powerful lobbyists. The banking industry is a brawny fighter in Sacramento’s inside political game, and it’s pushed back in a big way on these bills — bills pushed not only by Harris, but also by Assembly Speaker John Perez and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: What was the big impediment to passing the bills? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong>: The major sticking point seems to be the banking industry’s assertion that the mortgage crisis was a one-time thing and thus permanent new rules (some which would codify the national settlement Harris helped negotiate) are an overreaction. A number of moderate, business-friendly Democrats in both houses seemed sympathetic to the banking industry’s position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Any indications by Harris on a willingness to compromise? And how bad does it look for her that she announced the thing with such fanfare and then couldn’t get it done? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong>: Today’s hearing will be the first test since last month’s abrupt switch by Democratic leaders to a plan B strategy. I think the last few weeks have been eye-opening for Harris, whose experience is the courtroom and the settlement table…not the Capitol. I saw her before last month’s hearing, camped out in the hallway with staff trying to count votes. The roadblock seemed to surprise her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong> What’s the outlook now? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong>:The bills were rescued by Perez and Steinberg by placing them in a joint conference committee. That way, there’s only one step (one committee) before floor votes, versus multiple committee votes where they could be picked off, one by one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: And how bad would this look for Democrats that they can’t get this passed? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JOHN MYERS\u003c/strong> There’s still a lot of time left before the Legislature adjourns in August, so never say never. The real question is whether the package of bills — bans on robosigning, forcing more transparency during foreclosure, etc — will be amended as a concession to the financial industry, and whether amended bills are better than no bills.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Below is an \u003ca href=\"http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/what-legalized-bribery-looks-like\">ad by the Courage Campaign\u003c/a> that attempts to put pressure on Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, a Sylmar Democrat, to vote for the bills. Fuentes told the Sacramento Bee, for an \u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/07/4470589/mortgage-legislation-splits-california.html\">article about how the issue has split Democrats\u003c/a>, that he was “disappointed that they misconstrued and outright lied” in the video. The Bee writes…\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Rick Jacobs, founder and chairman of the Courage Campaign, said his organization took down the video, but posted it again after Fuentes didn’t say whether he’ll vote for the regulatory changes.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://player.vimeo.com/video/41474387\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here’s what the California Bankers Association has to say about the whole thing: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The CBA wishes to reconfirm its willingness to participate in the debate regarding four legislative measures promoted by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, dealing with dual-tracking (AB 1602/SB 1470), single point of contact and “robo-signing” (AB 2425/SB 1471). We are, however, concerned with the avoidance of the typical legislative process that would involve policy and fiscal committee hearings, as well as floor debates throughout the legislative year, which ends in August.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite public declaration of the desire to produce a legislative product within a ‘few weeks’, we encourage the committee to give full and complete consideration to the importance of these issues and deliberate methodically. These issues and the people of California deserve thoughtful discourse given the consequences if done incorrectly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We strongly believe that in promoting these measures in advance of national servicing standards the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) intends to release this summer with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2013, California risks setting itself apart from the rest of the nation to the detriment of future borrowers. We intend to be an active participant in the conference committee process, but we strongly feel that the most problematic areas of the legislation, outlined below, must be addressed and resolved before the committee refers any bill to a full vote of the Legislature. We believe the elements of a reasonable solution include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Non-approval notice provided to borrower detailing reason for non-approval of loan modification or foreclosure avoidance post-notice of default, but prior to the notice of sale (NOS). Consideration of a loan modification is contingent upon the receipt of a complete loan modification application from the borrower prior to the NOS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Language that there is no right to a loan modification and no corresponding California legal requirement to offer a modification or have a modification program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Eligibility qualifiers. The current measures fail to narrowly target at-risk borrowers. Legislation should apply only to residential 1-4 properties that are owner occupied and serve as the primary residence of the borrower. No investors, speculators or strategic defaulters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Consistent point of contact, who serves as the primary contact, provided at the request of a borrower who is potentially eligible for loss mitigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Language that acknowledges and allows for CFPB federal servicing standards (to be promulgated this summer), enforcement orders or settlements to override state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-No private right of action. Legal devices should not be used to unduly delay the inevitable when other foreclosure avoidance options have been exhausted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Provide a right to cure upon notice without court intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Exemption for mortgage servicers who signed, or subsequently sign, the national mortgage settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-Sunset date to coincide with the end of the national mortgage settlement (3½ years from the date entered into.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California’s banking industry will continue to seek and advocate for reasonable solutions that provide meaningful consumer protections that avoid long-term damage to the marketplace, cause industry to exit residential lending and increase the cost of credit. We look forward to the upcoming debate and discussion.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-announces-last-minute-tax-code-reinterpretation",
"title": "California Tax Ruling Comes Too Late For Most Filers",
"publishDate": 1334697966,
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"headTitle": "California Tax Ruling Comes Too Late For Most Filers | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_62553\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 212px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/califtaxes20121202.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-62553\" title=\"califtaxes20121202\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/califtaxes20121202-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"158\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey Serin/Flickr \u003ccite>(Casey Serin/Flickr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sometimes it pays to procrastinate. In a surprise gift to taxpayers, the State of California office that collects taxes announced Friday that most kinds of property tax are fully deductible on 2011 income tax returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change could cost the state $200 million, board spokesman Daniel Tahara said. Individual property owners could gain a few hundred dollars each in new deductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last-minute announcement reverses a campaign that the California Franchise Tax Board launched in November 2011. In press releases and on its website, the tax board told taxpayers that they could only deduct from their income taxes those property taxes that are based on the assessed value of their real estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to these “ad-valorem” taxes, most property owners also pay flat-rate taxes – taxes that are the same for all property owners regardless of whether the property is a tiny shack or a gigantic mansion. These types of property tax are not deductible from income taxes, the tax board said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One example is “vector control,” assessments to pay for government efforts to control pests such as mosquitoes. Another is “Mello-Roos” assessments (special taxes for improvements to roads, libraries and emergency services).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the board has changed its mind. “What you have heard since November, go back and forget it,” said Tahara. The board has removed from its website all instructions about not deducting for flat rate taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why the change? The state bases most of its income taxes on the federal income tax rules, and it interpreted one of these rules as stipulating that the flat-rate taxes could not be deducted. But after starting its campaign, “in response to some conflicting information provided by the IRS,” the board says in a press release, it asked the federal agency for clarification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the IRS responded in February, the state tax board says it didn’t receive it and found out about the different interpretation in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After analyzing IRS’ interpretation, the Franchise Tax Board finally announced the change on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tahara acknowledged that by Tuesday morning, as the word was filtering out, 11.6 million out of 15.5 million California taxpayers had already filed their returns. “We’re having a discussion about how we deal with this,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any taxpayer who paid taxes without taking the deduction is free to file an amended return. But that takes time and anyone who hires a professional tax preparer would probably have to pay that person to file the amendment, Tahara acknowledged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board has no estimate of how many people may be affected. The board’s accountants estimated the total value of the flat-rate deductions at $200 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the story is more complicated than that. The IRS is not saying that all flat-rate taxes are deductible, Tahara said. Here’s the relevant passage from its \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/12-0018.pdf\">letter to California\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Assessments on real property owners, based other than on the assessed value of the property, may be deductible if they are levied for the general public welfare by a proper taxing authority at a like rate on owners of all properties in the taxing authority’s jurisdiction, and if the assessments are not for local benefits (unless for maintenance or interest charges).\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Got that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Didn’t think so. “It’s still very confusing,” said Tahara. The state is waiting for further clarification from the IRS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what should taxpayers do in the meantime? “Talk to your tax preparer,” Tahara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Sometimes it pays to procrastinate. In a surprise gift to taxpayers, the State of California office that collects taxes announced Friday that most kinds of property tax are fully deductible on 2011 income tax returns. The change could cost the state $200 million, board spokesman Daniel Tahara said. Individual property owners could gain a few",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_62553\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 212px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/califtaxes20121202.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-62553\" title=\"califtaxes20121202\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/califtaxes20121202-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"158\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey Serin/Flickr \u003ccite>(Casey Serin/Flickr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sometimes it pays to procrastinate. In a surprise gift to taxpayers, the State of California office that collects taxes announced Friday that most kinds of property tax are fully deductible on 2011 income tax returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change could cost the state $200 million, board spokesman Daniel Tahara said. Individual property owners could gain a few hundred dollars each in new deductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last-minute announcement reverses a campaign that the California Franchise Tax Board launched in November 2011. In press releases and on its website, the tax board told taxpayers that they could only deduct from their income taxes those property taxes that are based on the assessed value of their real estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to these “ad-valorem” taxes, most property owners also pay flat-rate taxes – taxes that are the same for all property owners regardless of whether the property is a tiny shack or a gigantic mansion. These types of property tax are not deductible from income taxes, the tax board said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One example is “vector control,” assessments to pay for government efforts to control pests such as mosquitoes. Another is “Mello-Roos” assessments (special taxes for improvements to roads, libraries and emergency services).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the board has changed its mind. “What you have heard since November, go back and forget it,” said Tahara. The board has removed from its website all instructions about not deducting for flat rate taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why the change? The state bases most of its income taxes on the federal income tax rules, and it interpreted one of these rules as stipulating that the flat-rate taxes could not be deducted. But after starting its campaign, “in response to some conflicting information provided by the IRS,” the board says in a press release, it asked the federal agency for clarification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the IRS responded in February, the state tax board says it didn’t receive it and found out about the different interpretation in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After analyzing IRS’ interpretation, the Franchise Tax Board finally announced the change on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tahara acknowledged that by Tuesday morning, as the word was filtering out, 11.6 million out of 15.5 million California taxpayers had already filed their returns. “We’re having a discussion about how we deal with this,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any taxpayer who paid taxes without taking the deduction is free to file an amended return. But that takes time and anyone who hires a professional tax preparer would probably have to pay that person to file the amendment, Tahara acknowledged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board has no estimate of how many people may be affected. The board’s accountants estimated the total value of the flat-rate deductions at $200 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the story is more complicated than that. The IRS is not saying that all flat-rate taxes are deductible, Tahara said. Here’s the relevant passage from its \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/12-0018.pdf\">letter to California\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Assessments on real property owners, based other than on the assessed value of the property, may be deductible if they are levied for the general public welfare by a proper taxing authority at a like rate on owners of all properties in the taxing authority’s jurisdiction, and if the assessments are not for local benefits (unless for maintenance or interest charges).\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Got that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Didn’t think so. “It’s still very confusing,” said Tahara. The state is waiting for further clarification from the IRS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what should taxpayers do in the meantime? “Talk to your tax preparer,” Tahara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Beyond the Bay: Stockton's Rocky Road",
"title": "Beyond the Bay: Stockton's Rocky Road",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-59709\" title=\"Smile\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"105\" height=\"105\">\u003c/a>Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with an AM post from somewhere else in California. We're in this Golden State together. Right?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since Vallejo \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/03/BADM1NFGLH.DTL\">settled its bankruptcy situation\u003c/a>, Stockton has become the new poster child for the California city careening into \u003ca href=\"http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/27/municipals-stockton-mediator-idUSL2E8QRBD520120327\">insolvency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the one hand, Stockton has so much going for it. Cover your eyes, urban planners: the Central Valley city is close enough (80 miles east) to count as a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area. It's got colorful history dating back to the Gold Rush era, a natural inland seaport, and lots of hot weather ... for those who like hot weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did I mention it's a suburb? \u003c!--more-->You could say that blessing is at the heart of Stockton's current crisis. During the housing boom, the real estate market soared, as people who work close to the coast fled East in search of lawns and a reasonably priced third bedroom. City leaders signed off on generous public employee union contracts and took on big debt to fund a big redevelopment project on the waterfront.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the housing market crashed. As NPR's \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2012/03/11/87314/an_example_to_avoid_city_of_stockton_on_the_brink?source=npr&category=economy\">Richard Gonzales\u003c/a> put it on Weekend Edition Sunday recently, \"Those homes that sold for more than $400,000 are now going for less than $150,000.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn't help that so many people drive elsewhere to work, but at least they have jobs. In February, the unemployment rate for San Joaquin County clocked in at 16.6 percent. Although, it's worth noting that employment is seasonal in this Central Valley city because agriculture is one of its economic pillars (\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYMXdy01OI&feature=youtu.be\">asparagus\u003c/a>, anyone?).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naturally, the media piles on. \u003ca href=\"http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2110115,00.html#ixzz1qbxv4kZt\">TIME\u003c/a> writes \"Stockton has been down on its luck for as long as memory serves,\" as it warns, \"If a deal is not reached in the coming weeks — and prospects are bleak — Stockton will become the largest municipality in U.S. history to go bust.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577297801570813854.html?KEYWORDS=california\">Wall Street Journal\u003c/a> makes a point of picking out Stockton for its national survey of municipal murder rates, even though Stockton is hardly the only California city to lay off police officers lately, or struggle with gang violence. Also, if we're going to talk about a bounce back in murders from 2009 to 2011, let's include \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/a/kqednews/RN201106081730/a\">San Jose\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/02/27/map-a-month-of-oakland-violence/\">Oakland\u003c/a> in the conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can't blame the media entirely for Stockton's PR problem, but the temptation is strong for some, especially after Forbes hoisted the city atop its annual list of \"Most Miserable Cities\" in 2011. As we noted on the California Report, Stockton locals were \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201104220850/b\">up in arms\u003c/a>. Thankfully, the mantle moved on to \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/02/02/americas-most-miserable-cities/\">Miami\u003c/a> this year. Still, the sting lingers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Who is gonna step up for Stockton?\" asks Ian Hill, the KQED Newsroom's \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=49504\">Web Maven\u003c/a> - and its lone Stocktonian. He's lived there for the better part of six years, along with his wife. They have no plans to move any time soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We love our neighborhood, we love our house, and we love our friends,\" he says - and then after a beat, \"not necessarily in that order.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with an AM post from somewhere else in California. We're in this Golden State together. Right? Ever since Vallejo settled its bankruptcy situation, Stockton has become the new poster child for the California city careening into insolvency. On the one hand, Stockton has so much going for",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-59709\" title=\"Smile\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"105\" height=\"105\">\u003c/a>Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with an AM post from somewhere else in California. We're in this Golden State together. Right?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since Vallejo \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/03/BADM1NFGLH.DTL\">settled its bankruptcy situation\u003c/a>, Stockton has become the new poster child for the California city careening into \u003ca href=\"http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/27/municipals-stockton-mediator-idUSL2E8QRBD520120327\">insolvency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the one hand, Stockton has so much going for it. Cover your eyes, urban planners: the Central Valley city is close enough (80 miles east) to count as a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area. It's got colorful history dating back to the Gold Rush era, a natural inland seaport, and lots of hot weather ... for those who like hot weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did I mention it's a suburb? \u003c!--more-->You could say that blessing is at the heart of Stockton's current crisis. During the housing boom, the real estate market soared, as people who work close to the coast fled East in search of lawns and a reasonably priced third bedroom. City leaders signed off on generous public employee union contracts and took on big debt to fund a big redevelopment project on the waterfront.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the housing market crashed. As NPR's \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2012/03/11/87314/an_example_to_avoid_city_of_stockton_on_the_brink?source=npr&category=economy\">Richard Gonzales\u003c/a> put it on Weekend Edition Sunday recently, \"Those homes that sold for more than $400,000 are now going for less than $150,000.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn't help that so many people drive elsewhere to work, but at least they have jobs. In February, the unemployment rate for San Joaquin County clocked in at 16.6 percent. Although, it's worth noting that employment is seasonal in this Central Valley city because agriculture is one of its economic pillars (\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYMXdy01OI&feature=youtu.be\">asparagus\u003c/a>, anyone?).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naturally, the media piles on. \u003ca href=\"http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2110115,00.html#ixzz1qbxv4kZt\">TIME\u003c/a> writes \"Stockton has been down on its luck for as long as memory serves,\" as it warns, \"If a deal is not reached in the coming weeks — and prospects are bleak — Stockton will become the largest municipality in U.S. history to go bust.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577297801570813854.html?KEYWORDS=california\">Wall Street Journal\u003c/a> makes a point of picking out Stockton for its national survey of municipal murder rates, even though Stockton is hardly the only California city to lay off police officers lately, or struggle with gang violence. Also, if we're going to talk about a bounce back in murders from 2009 to 2011, let's include \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/a/kqednews/RN201106081730/a\">San Jose\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/02/27/map-a-month-of-oakland-violence/\">Oakland\u003c/a> in the conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can't blame the media entirely for Stockton's PR problem, but the temptation is strong for some, especially after Forbes hoisted the city atop its annual list of \"Most Miserable Cities\" in 2011. As we noted on the California Report, Stockton locals were \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201104220850/b\">up in arms\u003c/a>. Thankfully, the mantle moved on to \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/02/02/americas-most-miserable-cities/\">Miami\u003c/a> this year. Still, the sting lingers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Who is gonna step up for Stockton?\" asks Ian Hill, the KQED Newsroom's \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=49504\">Web Maven\u003c/a> - and its lone Stocktonian. He's lived there for the better part of six years, along with his wife. They have no plans to move any time soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We love our neighborhood, we love our house, and we love our friends,\" he says - and then after a beat, \"not necessarily in that order.\"\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Beyond the Bay: Sierra Club Sues to Stop City by the Salton Sea",
"title": "Beyond the Bay: Sierra Club Sues to Stop City by the Salton Sea",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright\" title=\"Smile\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\">\u003c/a>Rachael Myrow here, host of The California Report, with an a.m. post from beyond the Bay Area Bubble...\u003cbr>\n\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's one of the more pungent parts of California. On the back side of the state's largest state park, \u003ca href=\"http://parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638\">Anza-Borrego\u003c/a>, there's a giant sink hole full of tilapia known as the Salton Sea. Despite its salinity and pollution (\u003ca href=\"http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/salton/EnvirnEconValueSaltonSea.html\">a combination of agricultural runoff and epic flooding\u003c/a>), the sea also provides a habitat for many migratory birds passing through California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the 1950s, the Salton Sea was a desert playground for Metro LA, and real estate developers imagined something on the order of Palm Springs SE. But like the Sea itself, those dreams have waxed and waned over the years. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you haven't seen \"Plagues & Pleasures,\" \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atgg7t4XbPk\">narrated by John Waters\u003c/a>, put that on your list of Docs to Watch. pronto. This is a place that inspires filmmakers and scientists and people prone to fixing things that appear to be broken. (We had a story on the scientific side of the sea on the \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R608100850\">California Report\u003c/a> a few years back.) \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we hear from \u003ca href=\"http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/03/19/44793.htm\">Courthouse News Service\u003c/a> that environmentalists are suing to stop a ginormous development proposed for the crusty northeastern shoreline of the Salton Sea. Specifically, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are suing the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the developer, Black Emerald Properties, in Superior Court, over a 4,918-acre project that would include up to 16,655 dwelling units and 5 million square feet of commercial space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\"As county planners acknowledged, the project and its 40,000 or more residents would form an entirely new town, which would be constructed between the failing Salton Sea on the east and the sensitive wilderness lands of Anza Borrego State Park and the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument on the west,\" the complaint states... \"This massive influx of people, and the resulting traffic, will lead to an increase in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in a region that already had some of the nation's highest air pollution levels. It will also catalyze more growth and cause significant new impacts on nearby parks, biological resources and cultural resources.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The plaintiffs claim \"Travertine Point,\" and the county's approval of it in February, and its 3,000-page environmental impact report (excluding appendices), violated both the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Code of Regulations. But they also find the economics of the proposal \"baffling.\" Aruna Prabhala, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told Courthouse News \"they basically want to build a new town in the middle of nowhere.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developers naturally disagree, arguing the eastern side of the Coachella Valley is already popular with tourists and set to become more so once the economy turns around (maybe in the next 30 or so years.) Whatever your thoughts about the Salton Sea, it's saline hold on the human imagination is undeniable.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"slug": "beyond-the-bay-area-bubble-sierra-club-sues-to-stop-city-by-the-salton-sea",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright\" title=\"Smile\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/Smile-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\">\u003c/a>Rachael Myrow here, host of The California Report, with an a.m. post from beyond the Bay Area Bubble...\u003cbr>\n\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's one of the more pungent parts of California. On the back side of the state's largest state park, \u003ca href=\"http://parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638\">Anza-Borrego\u003c/a>, there's a giant sink hole full of tilapia known as the Salton Sea. Despite its salinity and pollution (\u003ca href=\"http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/salton/EnvirnEconValueSaltonSea.html\">a combination of agricultural runoff and epic flooding\u003c/a>), the sea also provides a habitat for many migratory birds passing through California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the 1950s, the Salton Sea was a desert playground for Metro LA, and real estate developers imagined something on the order of Palm Springs SE. But like the Sea itself, those dreams have waxed and waned over the years. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you haven't seen \"Plagues & Pleasures,\" \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atgg7t4XbPk\">narrated by John Waters\u003c/a>, put that on your list of Docs to Watch. pronto. This is a place that inspires filmmakers and scientists and people prone to fixing things that appear to be broken. (We had a story on the scientific side of the sea on the \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R608100850\">California Report\u003c/a> a few years back.) \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we hear from \u003ca href=\"http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/03/19/44793.htm\">Courthouse News Service\u003c/a> that environmentalists are suing to stop a ginormous development proposed for the crusty northeastern shoreline of the Salton Sea. Specifically, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are suing the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the developer, Black Emerald Properties, in Superior Court, over a 4,918-acre project that would include up to 16,655 dwelling units and 5 million square feet of commercial space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\"As county planners acknowledged, the project and its 40,000 or more residents would form an entirely new town, which would be constructed between the failing Salton Sea on the east and the sensitive wilderness lands of Anza Borrego State Park and the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument on the west,\" the complaint states... \"This massive influx of people, and the resulting traffic, will lead to an increase in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in a region that already had some of the nation's highest air pollution levels. It will also catalyze more growth and cause significant new impacts on nearby parks, biological resources and cultural resources.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The plaintiffs claim \"Travertine Point,\" and the county's approval of it in February, and its 3,000-page environmental impact report (excluding appendices), violated both the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Code of Regulations. But they also find the economics of the proposal \"baffling.\" Aruna Prabhala, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told Courthouse News \"they basically want to build a new town in the middle of nowhere.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developers naturally disagree, arguing the eastern side of the Coachella Valley is already popular with tourists and set to become more so once the economy turns around (maybe in the next 30 or so years.) Whatever your thoughts about the Salton Sea, it's saline hold on the human imagination is undeniable.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>After more than a year of negotiations, the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/02/09/kamala-harris-mortgage-settlement/\">settlement\u003c/a> between state attorneys general and the biggest banks that service mortgages has been filed in federal court. The $26 billion deal, which was announced with much fanfare last month, requires five banks to reduce by $10 billion the principal that borrowers owe on underwater homes -- properties worth less than what's owed on the mortgage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59227\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 225px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/wellsfargoOccupySFoct2011lancour.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/wellsfargoOccupySFoct2011lancour-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"wellsfargoOccupySFoct2011lancour\" width=\"225\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59227\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Occupy San Francisco demonstration, Oct 2011 (Paul Lancour/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s the largest settlement involving a single industry since the 1990s multistate suit against tobacco companies, and the Justice Department has advertised it as “the largest federal-state civil settlement ever obtained.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year California Attorney General Kamala Harris temporarily pulled out of negotiations. In February, she said the original \"offer on the table was simply inadequate and insufficient.” Touting the final settlement, she said “we were very determined to make sure that California, the hardest hit in the country, would receive its fair share.” The state has seven of the nation’s 10 hardest-hit cities. The final deal should deliver $18 billion to the state’s homeowners over three years. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, some critics say, the big deal is really not so big, relative to the problem it attempts to address.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Certainly this isn't going to have a huge impact on that aggregate level,” says Ted Gayer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “I don't know that it was meant to.\" Relying on different government and industry sources, Gayer estimates that of 11.1 million underwater borrowers, only a half-million are eligible. (See \u003ca href=\"http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2012/0301_mortgage_agreement_gayer.aspx\">this chart for Gayer's analyis of what type of borrowers will qualify for help under the settlement\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes the settlement as a sort of bookkeeping exercise for the banks. “They've known all along that these [loans] aren't worth their face value. And so now they're acknowledging it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five banks are part of the settlement – Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. According to Jed Kolko, a senior economist at the online real estate company Tulia, those banks have much to gain from coming to terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Banks always want certainty, and this settlement gives them certainty.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The robo-signing scandal –- in which mortgage industry employees didn’t read documents they signed and used forged signatures on them –- prompted the government action. This deal closes the door on certain lawsuits associated with that scandal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the negotiations, banks had to halt many foreclosures; Kolko forecasts they will now spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As previously announced, loans held by government-controlled Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac -- about half of all existing loans underwater -- will not qualify for principal writedowns.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After more than a year of negotiations, the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/02/09/kamala-harris-mortgage-settlement/\">settlement\u003c/a> between state attorneys general and the biggest banks that service mortgages has been filed in federal court. The $26 billion deal, which was announced with much fanfare last month, requires five banks to reduce by $10 billion the principal that borrowers owe on underwater homes -- properties worth less than what's owed on the mortgage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59227\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 225px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/wellsfargoOccupySFoct2011lancour.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/wellsfargoOccupySFoct2011lancour-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"wellsfargoOccupySFoct2011lancour\" width=\"225\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59227\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Occupy San Francisco demonstration, Oct 2011 (Paul Lancour/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s the largest settlement involving a single industry since the 1990s multistate suit against tobacco companies, and the Justice Department has advertised it as “the largest federal-state civil settlement ever obtained.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year California Attorney General Kamala Harris temporarily pulled out of negotiations. In February, she said the original \"offer on the table was simply inadequate and insufficient.” Touting the final settlement, she said “we were very determined to make sure that California, the hardest hit in the country, would receive its fair share.” The state has seven of the nation’s 10 hardest-hit cities. The final deal should deliver $18 billion to the state’s homeowners over three years. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, some critics say, the big deal is really not so big, relative to the problem it attempts to address.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Certainly this isn't going to have a huge impact on that aggregate level,” says Ted Gayer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “I don't know that it was meant to.\" Relying on different government and industry sources, Gayer estimates that of 11.1 million underwater borrowers, only a half-million are eligible. (See \u003ca href=\"http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2012/0301_mortgage_agreement_gayer.aspx\">this chart for Gayer's analyis of what type of borrowers will qualify for help under the settlement\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes the settlement as a sort of bookkeeping exercise for the banks. “They've known all along that these [loans] aren't worth their face value. And so now they're acknowledging it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five banks are part of the settlement – Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. According to Jed Kolko, a senior economist at the online real estate company Tulia, those banks have much to gain from coming to terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Banks always want certainty, and this settlement gives them certainty.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The robo-signing scandal –- in which mortgage industry employees didn’t read documents they signed and used forged signatures on them –- prompted the government action. This deal closes the door on certain lawsuits associated with that scandal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the negotiations, banks had to halt many foreclosures; Kolko forecasts they will now spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As previously announced, loans held by government-controlled Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac -- about half of all existing loans underwater -- will not qualify for principal writedowns.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Breakfast Blend: Brown Pushes for Older Retirement Age for Public Employees",
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"content": "\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cp>Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with a handful of links to cool and/or important stories outside the Bay Area local readers should check out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/02/28/31438/testimony-heard-gov-browns-proposal-raise-retireme/\">Brown wants to raise California public retirement age to 67, but ...\u003c/a> (89.3 KPCC)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca title=\"Brown steps up efforts to squelch competing tax hike proposals\" href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jerry-brown-20120301,0,7390569.story\" target=\"_top\">Brown steps up efforts to squelch competing tax hike proposals\u003c/a> (Los Angeles Times)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca title=\"L.A. council OKs watered-down bank rules\" href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0301-responsible-banks-20120301,0,7968901.story\" target=\"_top\">L.A. council OKs watered-down bank rules\u003c/a> (Los Angeles Times)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/fashion/gaultier-under-new-management-and-focus-of-an-exhibition-has-a-new-lease-on-life.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y\" href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/fashion/gaultier-under-new-management-and-focus-of-an-exhibition-has-a-new-lease-on-life.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y\">Gaultier, Revived, Is Ready for Another Look\u003c/a> (New York Times)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://online.wsj.com/video/touring-the-futuristic-rd-lab-behind-apples-siri/CB7982CE-826D-480B-9A25-8A13AA84F85B.html?KEYWORDS=California\">Video: Touring the Futuristic R&D Lab Behind Apple's Siri\u003c/a> (Wall Street Journal)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cp>Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with a handful of links to cool and/or important stories outside the Bay Area local readers should check out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/02/28/31438/testimony-heard-gov-browns-proposal-raise-retireme/\">Brown wants to raise California public retirement age to 67, but ...\u003c/a> (89.3 KPCC)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca title=\"Brown steps up efforts to squelch competing tax hike proposals\" href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jerry-brown-20120301,0,7390569.story\" target=\"_top\">Brown steps up efforts to squelch competing tax hike proposals\u003c/a> (Los Angeles Times)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca title=\"L.A. council OKs watered-down bank rules\" href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0301-responsible-banks-20120301,0,7968901.story\" target=\"_top\">L.A. council OKs watered-down bank rules\u003c/a> (Los Angeles Times)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/fashion/gaultier-under-new-management-and-focus-of-an-exhibition-has-a-new-lease-on-life.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y\" href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/fashion/gaultier-under-new-management-and-focus-of-an-exhibition-has-a-new-lease-on-life.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y\">Gaultier, Revived, Is Ready for Another Look\u003c/a> (New York Times)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://online.wsj.com/video/touring-the-futuristic-rd-lab-behind-apples-siri/CB7982CE-826D-480B-9A25-8A13AA84F85B.html?KEYWORDS=California\">Video: Touring the Futuristic R&D Lab Behind Apple's Siri\u003c/a> (Wall Street Journal)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "FAQ For California Homeowners On Mortgage Relief Deal",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_55942\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 203px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/ForeclosureSMKevork-Djansez.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-55942\" title=\"ForeclosureSMKevork-Djansez\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/ForeclosureSMKevork-Djansez.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"135\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California has joined the national settlement that will provide mortgage relief to struggling homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Report from \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/09/146626771/settlement-reached-with-banks-on-relief-for-some-homeowners\">NPR’s Two-Way blog\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>According to (NPR reporter) Yuki Noguchi, California was the last state to sign on to the deal. Now, she tells our Newscast Desk, “in exchange for a kind of immunity from many types of mortgage-related lawsuits, the banks will have to pay about $5 billion in cash” and write down, refinance or reduce the principal on more than $20 billion worth of home loans. “Some estimates say as many as 1 million homeowners who owe more than their home is worth, could be eligible for some sort of payment reduction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Yuki has also previously explained, the bulk of the money:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Would go toward writing down principal payments for homeowners who were not foreclosed upon, but who are struggling now. … The way it would work is that the banks would have targets they have to meet, in terms of what kinds of loans they would have to modify. But the banks would still have a lot of discretion in who gets what.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And there’s another $5 billion in cash, part of which would go to the states to help fund homeowner assistance programs. Some of the rest would go to homeowners who may have been wrongfully foreclosed upon. For them, it’s up to $2,000 each, which is not much if you lost your home.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 3:50 p.m.\u003c/strong> Attorney General Kamala Harris today \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-harris-settlement-20120209,0,4448535.story\">called the settlement\u003c/a> a “tremendous victory.” (Occupy L.A. was \u003ca href=\"http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/occupy-la-protesters-arrested-kamala-harris.html\">not similarly impressed\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking to KQED’s Cy Musiker, George Goehl of the National People’s Action, a collection of community housing groups, also criticized the agreement saying $25 billion for homeowners would be a “paltry down payment,” considering that roughly 11 million homes are underwater by a combined $750 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs\">\u003cstrong>FAQ on the settlement\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> from the Attorney General’s site. Some important points:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What banks must own your mortgage for you to qualify for help?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial. From the FAQ: “Several of these banks are also known by other trade names, including Countrywide (a trade name for Bank of America); Washington Mutual and EMC Mortgage (Chase); CitiMortgage (Citibank); Wachovia (Wells Fargo); and GMAC (Ally Financial).\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What conditions must you meet to qualify for help?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>To qualify for a refinance under the settlement, your loan must be serviced and owned by one of the settling banks. You must also be current on your mortgage and have no delinquencies within the past 12 months. You must also be underwater and your interest rate must be at least 5.25 percent. Unfortunately, the following types of loans are excluded from the refinance program: FHA Loans, VA Loans, and loans on manufactured homes. In addition, if you have been in bankruptcy in the last 24 months or have been in foreclosure in the last 24 months, you are ineligible.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What types of help are available if you qualify?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The settlement provides two main types of loan modifications for qualifying homeowners: principal write-downs and refinancing in order to make your monthly mortgage payment more affordable. In the case of a principal write-down, the bank reduces the unpaid principal balance of your loan so that your monthly payments are reduced to an affordable level. In the case of a refinance, the length of the loan may change and/or the interest rate will be reduced so that your monthly payments are reduced to an affordable level. If a principal write-down or refinancing arrangement will not be enough to make your mortgage affordable, there are other options available under the settlement, including help with short sales and relocation assistance. You should contact your servicer with questions about which relief you are eligible for and what options best fit your goals.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What if you already lost your home?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>If your loan was owned or serviced by any of the settling banks, and your home was foreclosed upon between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011, you may be eligible to receive a cash payment as part of the settlement.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs\">More questions answered here\u003c/a>…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, here is a timeline of when aid will become available from the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/\">National Mortgage Settlement site\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Over the next 30 to 60 days, settlement negotiators will be selecting an administrator to handle the logistics of the settlement and monitor compliance.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Over the next six to nine months, the settlement administrator, attorneys general and the mortgage servicers will work to identify homeowners eligible for the immediate cash payments, principal reductions and refinancing. Those eligible will receive letters.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>This settlement will be executed over the next three years.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_55942\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 203px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/ForeclosureSMKevork-Djansez.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-55942\" title=\"ForeclosureSMKevork-Djansez\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/ForeclosureSMKevork-Djansez.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"135\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California has joined the national settlement that will provide mortgage relief to struggling homeowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Report from \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/09/146626771/settlement-reached-with-banks-on-relief-for-some-homeowners\">NPR’s Two-Way blog\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>According to (NPR reporter) Yuki Noguchi, California was the last state to sign on to the deal. Now, she tells our Newscast Desk, “in exchange for a kind of immunity from many types of mortgage-related lawsuits, the banks will have to pay about $5 billion in cash” and write down, refinance or reduce the principal on more than $20 billion worth of home loans. “Some estimates say as many as 1 million homeowners who owe more than their home is worth, could be eligible for some sort of payment reduction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Yuki has also previously explained, the bulk of the money:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Would go toward writing down principal payments for homeowners who were not foreclosed upon, but who are struggling now. … The way it would work is that the banks would have targets they have to meet, in terms of what kinds of loans they would have to modify. But the banks would still have a lot of discretion in who gets what.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And there’s another $5 billion in cash, part of which would go to the states to help fund homeowner assistance programs. Some of the rest would go to homeowners who may have been wrongfully foreclosed upon. For them, it’s up to $2,000 each, which is not much if you lost your home.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 3:50 p.m.\u003c/strong> Attorney General Kamala Harris today \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-harris-settlement-20120209,0,4448535.story\">called the settlement\u003c/a> a “tremendous victory.” (Occupy L.A. was \u003ca href=\"http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/occupy-la-protesters-arrested-kamala-harris.html\">not similarly impressed\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking to KQED’s Cy Musiker, George Goehl of the National People’s Action, a collection of community housing groups, also criticized the agreement saying $25 billion for homeowners would be a “paltry down payment,” considering that roughly 11 million homes are underwater by a combined $750 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs\">\u003cstrong>FAQ on the settlement\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> from the Attorney General’s site. Some important points:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What banks must own your mortgage for you to qualify for help?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial. From the FAQ: “Several of these banks are also known by other trade names, including Countrywide (a trade name for Bank of America); Washington Mutual and EMC Mortgage (Chase); CitiMortgage (Citibank); Wachovia (Wells Fargo); and GMAC (Ally Financial).\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What conditions must you meet to qualify for help?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>To qualify for a refinance under the settlement, your loan must be serviced and owned by one of the settling banks. You must also be current on your mortgage and have no delinquencies within the past 12 months. You must also be underwater and your interest rate must be at least 5.25 percent. Unfortunately, the following types of loans are excluded from the refinance program: FHA Loans, VA Loans, and loans on manufactured homes. In addition, if you have been in bankruptcy in the last 24 months or have been in foreclosure in the last 24 months, you are ineligible.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What types of help are available if you qualify?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The settlement provides two main types of loan modifications for qualifying homeowners: principal write-downs and refinancing in order to make your monthly mortgage payment more affordable. In the case of a principal write-down, the bank reduces the unpaid principal balance of your loan so that your monthly payments are reduced to an affordable level. In the case of a refinance, the length of the loan may change and/or the interest rate will be reduced so that your monthly payments are reduced to an affordable level. If a principal write-down or refinancing arrangement will not be enough to make your mortgage affordable, there are other options available under the settlement, including help with short sales and relocation assistance. You should contact your servicer with questions about which relief you are eligible for and what options best fit your goals.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What if you already lost your home?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>If your loan was owned or serviced by any of the settling banks, and your home was foreclosed upon between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011, you may be eligible to receive a cash payment as part of the settlement.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs\">More questions answered here\u003c/a>…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, here is a timeline of when aid will become available from the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/\">National Mortgage Settlement site\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Over the next 30 to 60 days, settlement negotiators will be selecting an administrator to handle the logistics of the settlement and monitor compliance.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Over the next six to nine months, the settlement administrator, attorneys general and the mortgage servicers will work to identify homeowners eligible for the immediate cash payments, principal reductions and refinancing. Those eligible will receive letters.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>This settlement will be executed over the next three years.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"here-and-now": {
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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