| Archives for: December 2007
It's also not clear whether state lawmakers will be ready to do anything about property taxes in 2008, because they approved a package of tax cuts last year that was heavy on property tax relief. About half of the $425 million in cuts approved last year were aimed at creating property tax relief over the next two years. Property owners will receive property tax credits equal to 8 cents for every $100 of property value. The owner of a $140,000 home, for example, will save $112. In a pre-session survey of Nebraska's 49 lawmakers by The Associated Press, 17 senators offered their own ideas about ways to lower property taxes. Fourteen said the state should send more state aid to local government, and two senators said the state shouldn't do anything because property taxes are a local issue.
Community group splits over condo proposal
Bill Lagna doesn't feel he's leading a coup.
As the first president of a community group created in the wake of a divisive plan to build condominiums at a weathered marina in Bowleys Quarters, Lagna says the goal is to unify residents on the eastern Baltimore County peninsula.
"The intent of the group is to try to come up with acceptable developments that will fit in with the general theme of the existing neighborhood," says Lagna, president of the new Bowleys Quarters Community Association. "We would like community input and to listen to the entire community - for and against any issue."
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Why the Giants Shouldn't Be in the Super Bowl and Ways They Can Win It
Not forever, as it turns outnot if they can win the Super Bowl. As late as December 16, the home fans booed them in a 22-10 loss to the Washington Redskins at the Meadowlands. Coughlin's crew doesn't perform well in the hometown spotlight; these Giants are the first Super Bowl team in NFL history with a losing record at home. Throughout his 12-year pro coaching career, Tom Coughlin has given a perfect imitation of someone who is both in charge and out of control, with the result that the Giantsone of the most talented teams in the leaguehave also been the most erratic, forever changing the way of their errors without changing the error of their ways. Things got so bad last year that The Washington Post's Mark Maske wrote, when Coughlin accused the media of being a distraction: "What the media was distracting Coughlin's players from .
Readers' Platform: perilous times
The Fed's emergency rate cut didn't exactly set SFGate readers' minds at ease, not with stock markets worldwide continuing to struggle and foreclosures in the Bay Area reaching record highs. Some advised against panic, extolling what they insist is the underlying strength of the U.S. economy. Others said the chickens of economic mismanagement have finally come home to roost. Meanwhile, there were numerous recommendations that we squirrel away our nuts for a long winter. Here, edited for length, is a sample of comments posted on SFGate Tuesday. To read more, go to www.sfgate.com/ZCFG, www.sfgate.com/ZCFH, www.sfgate.com/ZCFI, and www.sfgate.com/ZCFJ. (Rate cut). Good move. But a bit too late? - Michael Keenan, 59, San Francisco Stock markets go up and they go down.
New philosophies may help USC
That's a huge drawback for a team making 71.6 percent of its shots, which is in the top quarter of the NCAA. The makeup of the Gamecocks' roster isn't conducive to getting to the line. Downey (5-foot-9) and Fredrick (6-foot) rely on jump shots, and the inside players are hardly an offensive threat. The 6-7 Archie is playing better but still is banging against bigger players. Still, Odom believes his players can do more to draw fouls. "We can't play the game avoiding contact," Odom said. "We've got to force contact and make the referees blow the whistle, and hopefully they'll blow it in our favor some." But Downey isn't sure what more he can do, saying he won't go out of his way to throw his body at defenders. He also thinks it's going to be hard for a 5-9 player to convince officials he was fouled.
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