Unpaid Credit Cards Bedevil Americans

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at an alarming rate, sending delinquencies and defaults surging by double-digit percentages in the last year and prompting warnings of worse to come.

GO HERE for the rest of this story.

Church Street Awards

The other night there was an award ceremony for the people who helped out in the clean up of the Church Street Neighborhood. I was personally invited and I even went to far as to advertised the occasion on my Blog.

The event came and went and I did not attend. Some of the other Blogs out there were ragging on me because I did not attend and I'd like to formally respond now. I went there to help out and document the clean up. I did NOT go there to be recognized and or with the hope that I would receive an award.

I heard the Mayor called out my name and quite frankly I'm sorry she had to do so. I know that had to be difficult on her to do so, you know, with a lawsuit and all. However, I thought about it and I came to the conclusion that my original intentions of being there were unconditional and I quickly decided it was more important people participated and I really do not believe, (other than Louise Smith) anyone wanted any recognition for such.

Besides, I got enough of my own attention bringing it up on this Blog. So Mayor, thanks but no thanks, respectfully. I was also bothered that the Mayor refused to stick around and help out during the clean up, then she showed up to give out awards as if she was a part of the grunt work. I just can't work like that but I ask that you keep me on your list for ANY other clean up elsewhere in the City and I would be happy to participate.

Besides, my Wife dedicated 18 years of her life to the animals at the Salisbury Zoo and I certainly wouldn't want to have MORE awards than she has for helping out a couple of times after she spent 18 years not being recognized and ultimately fired. That is, if you get my drift?

The City Of Salisbury Fire Department Asks For Donations In Hebron District

"Hey Joe,

I got a SFD donation request envelope the other day and it ended up in the circular file. I am NOT in Salisburys EMS response area, I am in Hebrons. They can't even get the areas straight. I'm glad I'm in Hebrons area, they come down the street as a group and leave the envelopes. They will even talk to you if you're home and they're nice to the kids. I have nothing against SFD, but come on! Why in the world would you try to solicit donations from a house you're not jurisdictionally able to respond to? These folks that don't know better will donate, think that they are covered for EMS and then when Hebron responds (which they certainly will) you are slapped with a fee because you haven't joined (I still don't get this whole pay in advance EMS thing, but I'm a city girl). Just wanted to give you that tidbit of info. Merry Christmas to you and yours."

The Other Condos

Does anyone know what is going on with the luxury condo's across the ditch in the ghetto?


Well, according to the ADVERTISING across the River, they have sold the same 50% of their complex before closing, just like the one that now has ONE Unit closed and SOLD?

I said it in the past Ladies & Gentlemen and I'll repeat it over and over again. This Administration will do everything they can to take back the West Side of Salisbury, at any expense. That is where the QUIET growth is going to happen, hence the Police Station and new Fire Station. It makes sense. It's the least expensive land in the City and they're going to drive the Black Community out of the West Side and out of the City Limits. Shanie's even moving, like it or not!

Merry Christmas

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Another SFD Donation Envelope Ends Up In The Trash!

"Joe,

Just received letter from SFD asking for donations. Tore it up.When the 2 chiefs and the Mayor give up control on the donations and return control back to the volunteers then I will donate again. HARDHEAD"

I told you guys, get someone in there to teach about bigotry and discrimination or this will continue until you completely fail. Looks like Barrie is going to have to turn the checkbook back to the Volunteers too! I can't believe they did that to you guys!!!!!!

Check On Your Neighbors

Ladies & Gentlemen,

This is a unique time of year in which I strongly recommend you check on your neighbors, especially the elderly.

The other night a Delmar woman passed away in her home and no one noticed for at least a week. I was there and trust me, it wasn't a pretty sight OR SMELL!

This particular woman doesn't have much Family, one in California and one in Florida, that's it. So no one was really checking up on her and a neighbor finally noticed they hadn't seen her up and about and called the Police.

Now look, it's Sunday, a fairly big day for Blogging and Billy Duvall is nowhere to be found. Can one of you call his sorry ass and see if Old Frenchie is OK? I need my Duva Fix/Laugh in the morning and I keep looking HERE and THERE for him and I just can't find him.

Someone just recently saw the guy in Giant, so I know so far he's alive. Nevertheless, drop him a call and make sure the guy is still with us.

UPDATE: He's Alive!

River Place Condo Sales Are Up! LOL

That's right Ladies & Gentlemen, there has been a sale. ONE SALE for ONE UNIT. Oh, and it gets even better too. While the current owner of this property is in the middle of a divorce with his Wife, she allegedly demanded that she get one of the units in the divorce settlement deal and he's gone ahead and assigned one of the units to her.

So the very first sale is complete but no money transferred hands, just title. LOL Looks like the River Front Condos are a complete FLOP and one woman has the entire place to herself. If the ex husband is smart he sold her on the fact that the Condo was worth $400,000.00 to $500,000.00. There's a SUCKER born every day!

Old Mall Owners Counter Sue Hovmanian

Things are taking an interesting twist with the Old Mall. It looks like Hovmanian might have some trouble on their hands in this deal.

It turns out the contract was revised three times and signed each time by Hovmanian, all the way up to ONE DAY before Hovmanian filed their lawsuit. UNBELIEVABLE! The third time they signed was in May of 2007!

The Old Mall Owners have filed a Counter Claim for $557,000.00 and for what it's worth Ladies & Gentlemen, that's just ridiculous. The ONLY people that are going to make out here are the lawyers and the Old Mall Owners are being represented by an Attorney.

As there are always three sides to every story, in this round I give it to the Old Mall Owners as Hovmanian is dealing with a multitude of lawsuits from property owners because Hovmanian has been backing out of so many deals it isn't funny. To only ask for a half a mil, something just doesn't sound right to me? The Old Mall Owners are allegedly losing millions upon millions of dollars with their key developer backing out. I just smell something fishy here, that's all.

Sheriffs Deputy Injured In School Fight

Deputy Mike Bowers was injured trying to break up a fight at one of the local High Schools last week. Two young men were going at it hard and heavy when Mike stepped in to break things up and these guys just weren't quitting.

Turns out Mike got clobbered right in the eye and believe it or not was hit so hard it broke a facial bone. While handcuffing one of the suspects, the other one was kicking him in the back still trying to fight.

Both young men were arrested and Deputy Mike Bowers will be off for a brief period.

*****SFD Offers New Optional Turn Out Gear*****

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Available in da boys sisez 2, let R run in dat dare familie and make em proud. This here praduct re-du-ces wind flapping but relieves that perfect look while hanging off dat dare far truck.

As Scene On Pac14 TV

How Many People Went Away For The Holiday Weekend?

NOBODY, according to Site Meter. Last Saturday was the biggest Saturday I've had on this Blog and I've already passed those numbers! Wait a minute, that kind of contradicts the record day thing, doesn't it? LOL

Well anyway, you'd think people would be out shopping and or traveling but I can't believe it myself, these numbers do not lie. That being said, thanks for stopping by. Maybe people who are traveling can't resist getting on a computer somewhere just to see what's up, I don't know?

Tomorrow will bring some pretty interesting news no other source will be delivering. Well, not tomorrow anyway. They may copy or decide what I do deliver tomorrow will be worthy of investigating down the road but at least we're opening the minds of these other sources and they're at least telling our stories eventually.

By the way, what ever happened to the Mayor, See & Gordy telling the Fire Department they weren't allowed to access SBYNEWS.COM? They eliminated The Watch Desk! They eliminated Ebay! Do you think they may have changed their minds and they're encouraging Fire Fighters to get on here while they're on the clock and post comments? Lord knows I probably reject/delete 1/3 of them and or send off quite a few to the States Attorney's Office. Great Leadership, eh?

Someone From The Humane Society Speaks Out?

The fee schedule for fines dished out to pet owners that have their dogs running at large is as follows.

First time $100
Second time $500
Third time $1000

There is no provision for doubling it in a school zone. Mr. Harris alleges that this was threatened:

Our daughter told me that Sandy initially told her that there would not be a fine but that after I called and spoke to Lugo, she was told the fine would be $250.00. Lugo told our daughter that I had no business calling there starting trouble. Lugo also told our daughter that because the dog ran onto school property, the fine could be doubled. My daughter asked "doubled"? Lugo stated, "yea, didn't you see the signs on the road that say Fines Doubled in School Zone?"

See http://sbynews.blogspot.com/2007/12/humane-society-needs-new-director.html

There appears to be a bit of inconsistency in Mr. Harris' allegations compared to the law as far as fines are concerned. The dog got away the first time yet there is no mention of a fine. The dog got away the second time and the fine was only $100. On the third offense the claim is the fine was going to be $250 but doubled to $500 because it was "in a school zone." Sounds to me as if the evil Ms Lugo was quite forgiving with the fines.

Can't afford the fines? Tough. They apply to all of us regardless of the season or our financial security.


There also appears to be a complete lack of effort to get both sides of the story on Joe's part. IMHO now would be well into the "it's too late to seek it" period.

Much of Mr. Harris' complaint is little more than hearsay as it is entirely or a least almost entirely based upon what his daughter relayed to him. And now he entertains us with yet another tale of woe that is entirely hearsay.

There are two sides to every story. Mr. Harris' is full of so many holes it looks like swiss cheese.

As far as Ms. Lugo's language is concerned I'm sure this board is loaded with puritans. What no one seems to be getting is that she was giving a sampling of what the people say to her over the phone, not just saying those things for the sake of saying them. Try to fit the intent and purpose behind her comment into your opinion. If she'd been testifying in court she'd have been allowed to state exactly the kind of language without any abbreviation whatsoever.

As far as the shelter being staffed by killjoys I think some of you have a vivid imagination. Any shelter is a finite space. They can only house so many animals. This particular shelter always seems to be at or near capacity. So decisions that are unpleasant have to be made. If an animal is a stray it has to be held for a period of time. If it is given up by its owner there is no required holding period. There is no need for a holding period as no one is looking for it. If the shelter is full it's bye bye kitty for those give ups.

So for those who's tale of woe involves giving up something and then wanting it to live give me a break. If it meant so much to you why'd you give it up in the first place?

Joe, in posting this crap along with unsubstantiated hearsay, anonymous tales and letting some of the inuendo you've let get through on sexuality you've done the humane society and the county a great disservice.

kudos

Turkish Planes Bomb Kurds In Iraq Again

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Saturday in the third confirmed cross-border offensive by Turkish forces in less than a week, a statement posted on the military's Web site said.

GO HERE for the entire story.

Illegal Accusations

Last night I had a conversation with a Local Police Officer who informed me that they have been getting reports, (calls) complaining that Joe Albero has been driving irratically, cutting people off and driving in the wrong lane.

While the Officer was filling me in on the BS, all I could think of was, who would do such a thing? The Officer continued to explain to me that as soon as they would start challenging these people, their stories weren't consistent enough to take it any further and they'd hang up. Some went so far as a report, yet again there wasn't enough proof there to charge me with anything.

No tag numbers, just that they knew it was Joe Albero. A few months ago someone also made the claim within the Delmar Fire Department that Joe Albero cut off a Fire Truck, yet I was never in that part of Delmar that day and even Wayne Barrall told them that it wasn't me. They claimed I was in my red pickup truck with a motorcycle in the bed of the truck, that's who cut off the Fire Truck.

I sold my Harley years ago and I do not have a motorcycle any longer, Wayne knew that and was kind enough to tell a few people that. Now he takes it back and supports I was in fact the one who cut off the Fire Truck, but that's cool.

It was also well known when this was going around that the person was ticketed and there was no way to find out if it was me because Delaware doesn't have the same Case Search Files as Maryland does. Well, you're wrong. GO HERE to see for yourself that Delaware does in fact have such files and there's no such ticket under my name, nor in Maryland, so this proves they're LIARS.

What also made it even funnier is that I checked into the accident that day and it happened in Maryland. Well into Maryland too. They were miles from the Delaware line. I strongly suggest that unless you want a lawsuit against you and or criminal charges placed against you for false charges, the crap better stop NOW!

The Local Police Forces are familiar with what's going on and if it happens again they're going to charge those making such false accusations. Grow up people, both the State of Maryland and Delaware aren't going to take this crap any longer and if you waste their time they're going to go after YOU.

Tickle Me Elmo

There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms. Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 AM.

The next day at 8:45 AM there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're real ly beginning to pile up. At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's.

She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles. The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena .. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday..."

"Your job is to give Elmo two TEST TICKLES."

The Daily Times Fails To Deliver AGAIN!

That's It, I've Had It! Today marks the very last day I'll take the long walk in the cold down my driveway to get my Newspaper and nothing is in the box. I hope others follow because this is ridiculous. Their attitude is, oh well, we lost some, we'll get others, no big deal.

The Daily Times isn't worth a sh!t and quite frankly, I've had enough of this crap. When you pay for a service and they can't deliver, screw them. I will cancel my subscription today.

Too True To Be Funny!

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR/MY tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it. While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans.Interesting number, what does it mean?

A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.

B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.
Washington , D.C . HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

City Public Works to Hold Public Meeting Concerning Traffic Flow Changes

This meeting has been Cancelled and will be Rescheduled. The new date will be announced.

The City of Salisbury Department of Public Works will be holding a public meeting on December 27, 2007 in room 301 of the Government Office Building, 125 N. Division Street, Salisbury, MD, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss geometric modifications and traffic flow changes

Cancelled

Mayor Orders Fire Dept. To Re-Administer Exams

BALTIMORE -- A fire department exam at the center of allegations of cheating will be re-administered in March.

City Inspector General Hilton Green said results from the June 2 exam were compromised and the testing facility wasn't secure.

The test will be given on March 15 for some of those who took the June exam. Anyone the Inspector General identified as acting inappropriately during the exam is not eligible to retake it, officials said.

The city inspector general's report released in November found that as many as six firefighters compromised the exam by either having prior knowledge of the questions, having studied with someone who did or having copied answers from someone who had prior knowledge of the test questions.

Mayor Sheila Dixon said Friday that Human Resources Director Gladys Gaskins is responsible for safeguarding the March exam.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/14908582/detail.html?treets=bal&tid=2652480377813&tml=bal_8pm&tmi=bal_8pm_1_07000212212007&ts=H