Huntington Bancshares and JPMorgan Chase continue to step up their lending to small businesses, with Chase posting a 45% increase in the number of loans issued last year.
Both banks have announced that their lending to small businesses in Finland increased.
Chase said it lent $17 billion to small businesses in 2011 and opened nearly 400,000 new small-business loans and credit lines, 45% more than were issued in 2010.
Twice in recent years the Internal Revenue Service has voluntarily informed my husband and me that we had overpaid our taxes. We were unaware of recently-legislated tax credits and both times their efficiency and honesty resulted in a refund of hundreds of dollars for us.
Now comes word that officials in that US agency are also forgiving.
A California couple was relieved to discover that the IRS decided to remove their late penalty charges after receiving a letter from the new parents explaining, “The adult brain turns to jello those first few months raising a baby.”
Twice in recent years the Internal Revenue Service has voluntarily informed my husband and me that we had overpaid our taxes. We were unaware of recently-legislated tax credits and both times their efficiency and honesty resulted in a refund of hundreds of dollars for us.
Now comes word that officials in that US agency are also forgiving.
A California couple was relieved to discover that the IRS decided to remove their late penalty charges after receiving a letter from the new parents explaining, “The adult brain turns to jello those first few months raising a baby.”
A Marine sergeant and his wife have invited dozens of war veterans returning from the front lines to tend the crops and learn new skills, finding solace on their farm.
Archie’s Acres grows organic produce in Southern California and teaches veterans how to nurture plants and create business plans to eventually help them become independent in the high growth industry of sustainable agriculture.
Searchers of happiness worldwide will unite tomorrow to view the award-winning film, HAPPY, in venues ranging from theaters to community centers, to private homes and churches. Screenings, along with discussions, will occur in more than 600 cities in 60 countries.
The documentary, by Academy Award-winning director Roko Belic, takes viewers on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in a search of what really makes people happy. The film combines real life stories of ordinary and extraordinary people around the world with powerful interviews featuring leading happiness researchers like Richard Davidson, Daniel Gilbert and Mihaly Csikszentmihaly.
Searchers of happiness worldwide united Saturday to view the award-winning film, HAPPY, in venues ranging from theaters to community centers, to private homes and churches. Screenings, along with discussions, occurred in more than 600 cities in 60 countries.
The documentary, by Academy Award-winning director Roko Belic, takes viewers on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in a search of what really makes people happy. The film combines real life stories of ordinary and extraordinary people around the world with powerful interviews featuring leading happiness researchers like Richard Davidson, Daniel Gilbert and Mihaly Csikszentmihaly.
A manger at the regional airline Qantaslink called the mayor of Moree on Saturday asking if there was anything they could do to help the locals who were suffering from the worst floods to devastate the region in 36 years.
“I said flippantly, unless you can get a plane in here loaded fresh fruit for our kids, bread and milk, well there’s not much else you can do to help,” she said.
They rang back three hours later, promising to have a plane on the tarmac by the end of the day.
A manger at the regional airline Qantaslink called the mayor of Moree on Saturday asking if there was anything they could do to help the locals who were suffering from the worst floods to devastate the region in 36 years.
“I said flippantly, unless you can get a plane in here loaded fresh fruit for our kids, bread and milk, well there’s not much else you can do to help,” she said.
They rang back three hours later, promising to have a plane on the tarmac by the end of the day.
A kindness project has deeply touched the community of Tillamook, Ore., after the death of two locals — a young mom named Wendy and her 8 year old daughter — who were killed in a car crash. Their deaths broke the hearts of all who knew them, but their memory has sparked a chain of kindness.
On the one year anniversary of their deaths, their families launched the “Act In Kindness” project, with the help of County Commissioners who decreed Feb. 8 as Tillamook’s Act in Kindness Day. 2,000 cards were distributed in local schools for students to give to others along with a gesture of kindness.
By the end of the day a card had made its way to the office of Beatrice Michel, who had been Wendy’s eye doctor for years.
“I had the privilege of knowing Wendy since she was a young girl and felt her loss deeply,” Dr. Michel told the Good News Network.
She was delighted to be part of Wendy’s tribute and to give her last patient a gift of eyeglass cleaner and a new case while passing along the card that read, “I hope I brightened your day! Now it is your turn to make someone smile by passing this card along with your Act in Kindness, inspired by Wendy and Shelby Mizée (pictured, left).”
“It is my hope that these cards will continue to make their way from person to person spreading kindness and joy in honor of both Wendy and Shelby,” said Michel.
As she left the office for the evening, she stopped by a local tearoom owned by Shelby’s grandmother, and told her how touched she was by the project. They shared tears and a hug and Michel left with twenty more cards to pass out.
“The next day I was getting my hair cut and my stylist said they, too, had received one of the cards. I took the opportunity to anonymously pay for someone’s haircut and asked the stylist to give her client the card.”
The family has set up a web site with a printable version of the kindness card (click to download the PDF), in hopes the project will spread far beyond their small community and bring joy to many in honor of Wendy and Shelby.
The website offers these kindness suggestions:
(Visit www.wendyandshelby.com to see more and join the effort.)
A kindness project has deeply touched the community of Tillamook, Ore., after the death of two locals — a young mom named Wendy and her 8 year old daughter — who were killed in a car crash. Their deaths broke the hearts of all who knew them, but their memory has sparked a chain of kindness.
On the one year anniversary of their deaths, their families launched the “Act In Kindness” project, with the help of County Commissioners who decreed Feb. 8 as Tillamook’s Act in Kindness Day. 2,000 cards were distributed in local schools for students to give to others along with a gesture of kindness.
Yesterday, the White House and the attorneys general of 49 states announced an agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage providers — Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo — to provide at least $26 billion to address mortgage and foreclosure abuses. It will not only help thousands of working families now, it will establish new protections for homeowners going forward.
President Obama praised the “landmark settlement” which targets the irresponsible practices of lenders that created the housing crisis.
Paul McCartney will perform selections from his new album Kisses on the Bottom
The live streaming performance takes place at 7:00 p.m. PST (10:00 p.m. EST) from the famed Capitol Studios in Los Angeles where much of the new album was created. Fans can watch the intimate concert through iTunes on their Mac or PC (or on Apple TV).
The two new songs, “My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts” feature guest stars Eric Clapton on guitar and Stevie Wonder on harmonica. 3-time Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Diana Krall and her band recorded the album with Paul and will join him in-studio tonight.
A new type of solar cell which could boost the efficiency of solar panels by over 25 percent compared to silicon-based cells has been developed by British scientists, but they need another two or three years to assess whether it is commercially viable.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a hybrid solar cell which is capable of converting 44 percent of sunlight into electrical power, 29 percent more than traditional cells’ capability of 34 percent.
Generation Y is generally thought to describe those born between 1980 and 1995. They may have been born in the “me” generation, but came of age in the “we” generation of the Internet. This unique place in history shaped its character in many ways, for better and worse, and bestowed certain traits unseen in earlier decades. Here are eight of our greatest strengths as Generation Y-ers.
Generation Y is generally thought to describe those born between 1980 and 1995. They may have been born in the “me” generation, but came of age in the “we” generation of the Internet. This unique place in history shaped its character in many ways, for better and worse, and bestowed certain traits unseen in earlier decades. Here are eight of our greatest strengths as Generation Y-ers.
After a debilitating motorcycle accident, former Marine John Miller, saw opportunity in the face of adversity.
Crushed by the weight of his Harley after an SUV ran over him, he wondered, “How could this happen?” Miller’s motorcycle was well lit at night from the front and back, but those lights weren’t visible from the side.
Lucky to be alive, Miller set out to solve the problem that caused the accident. With the help of a veteran’s group in Milwaukee, Wis, he launched an entrepreneurial venture, Illumatek, offering a new product that could prevent accidents like this in the future.
His invention takes custom-etched windshields to the next level, illuminating them with neon-colored fiber optics. After a long process of trial and error, and five years waiting for a patent, Miller perfected his “glowshield” and found a renewed sense of purpose.
Following his military service more than a decade earlier, the veteran moved between a wide variety of employment. Injured on the job as a respiratory therapist, he was told he would not work again. Faced with the reality of living on monthly disability checks, he felt lost. Ironically, it was the accident — and the development of his glowshield — that sparked an entrepreneurial spirit that helped him cope through the painful surgeries that followed.
Investors were eager to join his team in the early days of Illumatek, but Miller worried about their motives and losing control of the company. His hesitation was not unfounded. They were looking to outsource manufacturing to China in an effort to cut costs. Miller refused. He wanted to hire disabled veterans (especially those returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq). Like his beloved Harley-Davidson, he wanted to establish his manufacturing facility in Wisconsin.
The organization offers entrepreneurship training, office resources, networking, and capital-raising assistance at no cost to veterans. As one veteran entrepreneur puts it, “the overwhelming aspects are taken out, so you can focus on getting your business off the ground.” Miller says that working with the team “was like doing 3 years of networking in a week.”
Veteran entrepreneurs share a common foundation that makes them eager to help one another. Just ask former Sailor of the Year, Ronnie Reum, who sought to accelerate his cleaning company, but after sitting next to Miller’s Illumatek 
display every day (which includes a brilliantly illuminated Harley-Davidson), he began devising business strategies that would help his fellow comrade.
The two formed a strong connection. Reum (pictured, left) was also recovering from a serious auto accident and had spent fourteen months in a hospital, learning to walk all over again. By the time he recovered in 2011, his career in real estate had dissolved and he’d lost everything. Reum joined Miller in his venture, using his sales and networking expertise to take Illumatek to the next level. This type of collaboration is natural for military folks, whose training instills in them a strong sense of teamwork.
Today, Illumatek is expanding rapidly. Their neon-colored glowshields and wind deflectors, available at various Harley-Davidson dealerships, are selling briskly.
“When dealers see the product, the average time it takes to 
sell is three minutes,” says Miller.
The two are excited to take their business beyond just motorcycles. Already, they’ve been approached about creating windshields for vehicles from snowmobiles to ATVs. A Florida woman even prepaid so she can have the very first Illumatek windshield for her golf cart.
For these two resilient veterans, the future looks as bright as as a Las Vegas night. Within the year they’ll be moving into their own manufacturing facility and creating jobs for veterans returning home from overseas. It’s been a remarkable journey for these two heroes. Excited but humble, the two find constant motivation in helping other veterans, and most importantly keeping people safe.
As Miller puts it, “If it saves one biker’s life, I’ve done my job.”
Veteran Entrepreneurial Transfer, Inc., (VETransfer.org), funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a pilot program, offers training, resources, and mentoring in Milwaukee, Wis. to veterans with entrepreneurial endeavors.
After a debilitating motorcycle accident, former Marine John Miller, saw opportunity in the face of adversity.
Crushed by the weight of his Harley after an SUV ran over him, he wondered, “How could this happen?” Miller’s motorcycle was well lit at night from the front and back, but those lights weren’t visible from the side.
Lucky to be alive, Miller set out to solve the problem that caused the accident. With the help of a veteran’s group in Milwaukee, Wis, he launched an entrepreneurial venture, Illumatek, offering a new product that could prevent accidents like this in the future.
His invention takes custom-etched windshields to the next level, illuminating them with neon-colored fiber optics. After a long process of trial and error, and five years waiting for a patent, Miller perfected his “glowshield” and found a renewed sense of purpose.
The Dutch are bicycle fanatics. Almost half of daily travel in the Netherlands is by bicycle. Devotees of the two-wheelers have taken the next logical step by launching what is likely the first bicycle school bus.
Powered entirely by children and the one adult driver, the yellow bicycle-built-for-12 does have an electric motor for tough hills and a canvas awning to ward off rainy days.
(READ the story in FastCoexist)
Before she died last September, Lelia Boroughs, 84, told her attorney she had no family to whom to leave her estate. So she crafted her will to leave her $400,000 condo to the city to turn into a homeless shelter.
Her gift may bequeath the city enough funds for moving up to 150 families into housing or helping families about to lose their homes stay in them.
(READ the story in NBC-San Francisco)
Interested in adventure and exploring new places? An international magazine is looking for volunteers to spend a month in Cuenca, Ecuador to test its potential as a retirement destination.
Applicants must be near retirement age, from the United States or Canada and be willing to relax, explore, shop, try local restaurants, and report on their experience during an all-expense paid month in the Latin American country.
