A mom, a disabled son and a home that blazed amid Baltimore's riots

California governor pitches amnesty on traffic debt for poor

On L.A.'s Skid Row, a judge leads pack on run to recovery

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BALTIMORE — Black soot covers the two-story house like a dark shadow. The roof has collapsed, and a bright red sign proclaims the home has been condemned.

Until a few weeks ago, when the riots roiled Baltimore, this house at Hilton Street and Piedmont Avenue was home for Laporsha Lawson and her severely disabled son, Khai'Lee Sampson.

The liquor store adjacent to Lawson's home started burning about 1 a.m. on April 28. Lawson awoke, raced up the stairs to grab Khai'Lee and rushed him to her parents' home about a block away, moments before flames engulfed the house.

"They took everything from my child," said Lawson, 28.

The wheelchair customized for Khai'Lee's small body, the back brace that helps him sit upright, the machine that pumps oxygen into his lungs when he stops breathing at night — all were destroyed. So were the supplies for his feeding tube, his clothes, even his new swing.

As Lawson cradled the 7-year-old on her parents' sofa recently, she said she felt betrayed by her neighborhood.

While she understands the rioters' anger at the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who suffered a spinal injury in police custody, she can't understand why people would destroy their own community.

"Everybody wants justice for Freddie Gray," said Lawson. "But what about justice for Khai'Lee?"

Original post found heremsn.com/en-us/news/us/a-mom-a-disabled-son-and-a-home-that-blazed-amid-baltimores-riots/ar-BBjZTu7?ocid=HPCDHP

The Home Refinance Plan Banks Don't Want You Knowing

When homeowners visit HARP Refi Quotes™ official website, they may be surprised at the shockingly low interest rates still available today and to learn of the home refinance plan banks don't want you to know.

Despite being available since 2009, one of the least well known and simplest strategies behind reducing your mortgage payment is this government program called the Home Affordable Refinance Plan (HARP). Millions of homeowners today could qualify and stand to benefit tremendously before this once in a lifetime program expires. Savvy homeowners who have already taken advantage of this program could have easily reduced their payments by as much as $4,905 each year. 1

With only a few more months remaining, there isn't much time left for homeowners to benefit from the program while it's available. The good news though is that once you’re in, you’re in. If lowering your payments, paying off your mortgage faster, and even taking some cash out would help you, it's vital that you act now.

Mortgage rates have decreased this month, but rates may not stay low if the government changes its economic policy. Act now while rates are still near historic lows and avoid a potential rate hike.

A true stimulus package for the middle-class

Did you know that the Home Affordable Refinance Program is designed to help middle-class Americans? If your mortgage is less than $625,000, your chances of qualifying are high. The Government wants banks to cut your rates, which puts more money in your pocket, ultimately boosting the economy.

But the banks are not happy about this. Here’s why:

1. You have the option to shop lenders other than your current mortgage holder
2. Your home’s Loan-to-value (LTV) may be 80% to 125%

Banks will make more money if they keep middle-class Americans at the higher mortgage rate that they negotiated years ago, so they are putting pressure on the Government to reverse this program. "People can really take advantage of this," Obama recently said in Washington, DC, urging homeowners to refinance sooner rather than later.1

How much could you be saving?

Here's an example of how much you could be saving by reducing your rate to 3.25% from 6.25% (based on the rate that many homeowners received from lenders years ago)

What a 3% difference really means

200k loan @ 6.25%	200k loan @ 3.25%	Savings
$1231 per month	$870 per month
$443,316 total cost	$313,348 total cost

How do I get these low rates?

With hundreds of mortgage lenders and brokers available, it can take consumers hours to simply contact each one separately and request a quote. The good news is that there are services that could help you save time and money by comparing multiple lenders at once. Services such as HARP Refi Quotes has one of the biggest lender network in the nation and what’s better is that they work with HARP lenders to provide consumers with a comprehensive set of mortgage options.

There’s no obligation to homeowners, and HARP Refi Quotes offers easy and fast comparisons. It takes about five minutes, and the service is 100% free. You have nothing to lose, except for your money problems!

PS. Do you know anyone that needs to raise money for a new home, bills, project or any situation? Click Here

Original post found here

http://smartconsumerreport.com/refinance/mortgage.php?engsec=5

Girl, 4, left home in search of a slushie at 3 a.m.

A raincoat-clad Philadelphia 4-year-old girl in search of a slushie slipped out the back door of her home at 3 a.m. on Friday, city authorities said, and began wandering the neighborhood in a heavy rain, on a quest for the frozen treat.
Luckily, a friendly city bus driver picked her up. A few minutes later, police delivered her into the arms of her grateful mother.
The bus driver, 52-year-old Harlan Jenifer, had just stopped his SEPTA bus in the city's Tacony neighborhood to let out a passenger. That's when a man standing in the rain told him to wait.
The girl was standing alone in a purple raincoat. "I'm like, 'Oh, God, what's going on here?' It was shocking, more or less," Jenifer told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "She was drenching wet. She was trembling."
The girl clambered onto the bus and told passengers, "All I want is a slushie."
Surveillance video showed her roaming the bus and swinging her tiny legs in a seat. Passengers chatted with her while Jenifer called the police, who took her to St. Christopher's Hospital, where they reunited her with her mother.
Jenifer, a father of three, said afterwards, "I was scared for her, but it was funny. She was in good hands."
The girl's father, Timothy Ridgeway, told the Associated Press, "Thank God for the bus driver stopping."
Police said no charges would be filed against the family — they were unaware that she'd even left. Police said the girl, who hours earlier had been put to bed, got up and tried the front door. It was locked, so she slipped out the back door.
The girl, whose name was not released, "was in good spirits," Jenifer said. "It was like she knew where she was going."
Actually, she did: a 24-hour 7-Eleven store, which sells Slurpees, was just three blocks away.

 PS. Luckily no child endangerment charges were filed. How much would your attorney have charged for that defense?

PSS. On Call Legal and Identity Theft Protection for less than $20 a month

Original Post Found Here
usatoday.com/story/news/2015/03/30/philadelphia-slushie-preschooler/70674262/