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It is difficult to find happiness within oneself but it is impossible to find it anywhere else. — Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher

City of Solon Election-John Scott-City of Solon Mayor

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This is a photograph of an election campaign document from John Scott, a City of Solon councilman and a write in candidate for City of Solon Mayor in the City of Solon Election to be held on November 3, 2009.

Ranking of top school districts in Northeast Ohio

Northeast Ohio School District (Performance Index Score)-Fall 2009
  1. Solon Schools (109.5)
  2. Hudson Schools (108.6)
  3. Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools (107.5)
  4. Aurora Schools (107.3)
  5. Beachwood Schools (107.2)
  6. Chagrin Falls Schools (107)
  7. Jackson Schools (106.7)
  8. Avon Lake Schools (106.6)
  9. Lake Local Schools (106.4)
  10. Westlake Schools (106.3)

A retired school teacher from one of the Northeast Ohio public school districts said, “Send your children to private schools, if you can afford it”.   → continue reading Ranking of top public school districts in Northeast Ohio

City of Solon Zoning Code Amendment-Workmanline manner

City of Solon is working on amending its zoning code to include a workmanlike manner provision.  According to Robert Frankland, City of Solon Planning Director, the current edition of the Ohio Building Code does not require that construction projects be built at a minimum level of quality and appearance.   While Ohio Building Code does require that the structures be sound, it does not require them to be built in a workmanlike manner.

As an example Robert Frankland displayed a picture of a → continue reading City of Solon Zoning Code Amendment-Workmanline manner

City of Solon Election-Kingman El Jamah-Solon School Board

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City of Solon Election-Bob Paulson-City of Solon Mayor

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These are photographs of  election campaign documents from Robert Paulson,  former City of Solon mayor and a candidate for City of Solon Mayor in the City of Solon Election to be held on November 3, 2009.

City of Solon Election-Susan Drucker-City of Solon Mayor

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These are photographs of election campaign documents from Susan Drucker, current Vice Mayor of City of Solon and a candidate for City of Solon Mayor in the City of Solon Election to be held on November 3, 2009.

Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form

Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form
The Ohio Property Disclosure FormThe Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form is a statement of the condition of the property and of information concerning the property actually known by the owner.

Click the image to see a larger version of a part of Page 1 of the Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form (11/6/08).   Read the text underlined in red related to the water supply.  The form does not explain which standards will be used to interpret the term fully corrected or the rationale behind the 5 year stipulation.

According to Dennis Ginty of Ohio Department of Commerce, the Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form was adopted in 1993.  As the statute does not specifically provide for the five-year period, the establishment of that five-year period was a policy decision.  At that time it was determined to be a reasonable period of time for the disclosure of those specific items.   → continue reading Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form

City of Solon Election-Solar Shopping Center Revitalization

Wisconsin Dells-Wisconsin Dells Beaches

Vermont's Mortgage Law-Fiduciary Responsibility

Gary Fields writes about Vermont’s mortgage laws, in an article dated August 18, 2009 titled,  Vermont Mortgage Laws Shut the Door on Bust — and Boom

In laws passed between 1996 and 1998, and in what officials believe is the first state law of its kind, Vermont declared that mortgage brokers’ fiduciary responsibility was to borrowers, not lenders.  This left Vermont brokers partly on the hook for loans gone sour.

Vermont bankers also typically serviced their own loans, state officials say.  In other states, lenders often sold the loans they originated to investors, giving them little stake in their success or failure.

The concept of fiduciary responsibility does not make common sense.  Why would a mortgage broker have fiduciary responsibility towards the borrower, if source of the money is the lender?  The only party that can represent the borrower’s best interests is the borrower, irrespective of what the laws may state.

Economy and finance, as instruments, can be used badly when those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends.  Instruments that are good in themselves can thereby be transformed into harmful ones. But it is man’s darkened reason that produces these consequences, not the instrument per se.  Therefore it is not the instrument that must be called to account, but individuals, their moral conscience and their personal and social responsibility- Encyclical letter caritas in veritate of the supreme pontiff Benedict XVI.

Bonita Bay Group and Bonita Bay Residents-An Issue

Bonita Bay

Bonita Bay

I purchased a Toyota Sienna from a property developer who also owned one of the most beautiful homes that I have ever seen.  A few months after the purchase, this Toyota Sienna started displaying the Check Engine light and it was diagnosed with the P0420 Code disease.  A Bonita Bay sticker is still attached to the windshield of the Toyota Sienna.

Bonita Bay Group is a real estate developer of master planned communities in Southwest Florida.  It is headquartered in Bonita Springs.  Bonita Bay Group’s developments include The High-Rises at Bonita Bay in Bonita Springs, Mediterra and TwinEagles in Naples, Sandoval in Cape Coral and Verandah along the Orange River in Fort Myers.

An issue between Bonita Bay Group and Bonita Bay Residents

William Bulkeley writes in an article titled dated September 24, 2009, Teed-Off Residents Drive Developer to Brink of Ruin..

Today, like many other Sunbelt developers, Bonita Bay is being squeezed by debt and plunging sales. But its biggest problem is a dispute over the deposits homeowners plunked down for memberships in the golf clubs, a marina and other clubs. Many members want to quit the clubs and get their money back for reasons ranging from cheaper golf elsewhere to the desire for ready cash. Their membership agreements say the deposits — up to $185,000 per member — are refundable on demand, a relatively unusual stipulation homeowners say was a big part of the appeal of joining. Yet Bonita Bay says the agreements also stipulate that the rules “may be amended from time to time,” thus allowing it to cancel the refund policy at its discretion — and that at any rate, it can’t pay the money. Angry residents have filed at least 15 lawsuits against Bonita Bay seeking the return of their deposits and accusing the company of civil fraud. They say the right to amend the rules doesn’t apply to the refund policy. Bonita Bay has already closed the golf club at Twin Eagles, its latest development, where most of the lots are unsold and weeds are sprouting from the bunkers.  In addition to threatening a bankruptcy filing if it has to refund deposits at the other clubs, the developer says it might have to shut down the clubs entirely unless residents come up with millions of dollars to buy them — a prospect that has homeowners doubly steamed.

This case should be of importance to many citizens because several agreement documents state that an agreement can be amended at any time.

Wordpress Themes-Top 3 Wordpress Themes

Atahualpa Wordpress Theme by Byes For All

Atahualpa  is likely the  best and the most robust free Wordpress theme available.  It has many easily customizable options .  It has  both the page  and the category menu bars unlike Cutline Wordpress theme by Chris Pearson.  With so many options available, there may be little need for technical support for many users of this Wordpress theme.  It support sub menus for both the page and caterogy menu bars, out of the box.

Amazing Grace Wordpress Theme by  Vladimir Prelovac

Amazing Grace or Blue Grace is probably the most elegant of these three Wordpress theme.  Like Atahualpa Wordpress theme, it has both the page and the category menu.  According to Vladimir Prelovac, social bookmarking is available out of the box for this Wordpress theme.  Most users will need technical support to customize this Wordpress theme.

Cutline Wordpress Theme by Chris Pearson

Cutline Wordpress Theme has the best typography of all the above Wordpress themes.  It has page menu but not the category menu.  Like the Amazing Grace Wordpress theme, most users will need technical support to customize this theme.

To be continued.

Mustard Seed Market's Water Treatment Process

Mustard Seed Market and Cafe's Water Treatment Process

Mustard Seed Market and Cafe's Water Treatment Process (Click to enlarge image)

Related Post: Mustard Seed Market and Cafe and Is Bottled Water Better Than Tap Water?

City of Solon-Bainbridge Road Project

Bainbridge Road Cross Sections from Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Office

The Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Office held a public meeting on September 22, 2009 at Grantwood Golf Course, for the upcoming Bainbridge Road Project in the City of Solon.  This meeting was held in an open house format.  A feature of open house format public meetings is that it provides a lower probability of unhappy citizens yelling at one or a few public employees.

Jamal Husani, Chief Transportation and Traffic Engineer, Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Office was available to answer questions.  Mr. Jamal Husani emphasized an agreement for this project was signed in 1993 and it was difficult to make changes in the designs at the last moment.  He added that it was City of Solon that desired the two way temporary road during construction to provide 24/7 access to emergency services and Solon’s City Council supported it by vote.

The primary stakeholders of this project are those residents who live along Bainbridge Road.  The secondary stakeholders are those residents who live adjacent to Bainbridge Road but not along Bainbridge Road.  Some stakeholders find the proposed two way temporary road through their front yard less safe and the destruction of the trees objectionable and a setback for their home values.  Other stakeholders in this 14 million dollar project find comfort in the fact that the two way temporary road provides the desired access to public emergency services.

Unfortunately, many trees will be destroyed as a result of this improvement and this will erode the curb appeal of some homes along Bainbridge Road.  I met a Bainbridge Road resident who was concerned that a 40+ year old tree was likely to be adversely impacted because of Bainbridge Road improvements.  This residents informed they had watched the sapling grow to a magnificient tree over several decades.

Mr. Husani felt that the Bainbridge Road Project has a good cost to benefit ratio and will not turn out to be as bad as some City of Solon residents think.  He said the project will be completed in two phases and in two years.

Atahualpa Wordpress Theme

How to delete header images
Atahualpa Wordpress Theme Header Items

Atahualpa Wordpress Theme Header Items

  1. Click on Appearance in the Wordpress  dashboard.
  2. Click on Atahualpa Theme Options
  3. Click on Style & edit HEADER AREA under the Header Area option
  4. Now the first option is Configure Header Area and its default settings are %pages %logo %bar1 %image %bar2 (as shown in the figure above).
  5. Delete %image and click on Save Settings button.  You may also delete the %bar2 if you find it unnecessary.
  • %image – The rotating (or static) header image with the (optional) opacity overlay left & right and an (optional) overlayed blog title & blog tagline
  • %bar2 – A second horizontal bar, that can be styled differently.

Related Post: Free Wordpress Theme-Cutline Wordpress Theme by Chris Pearson-A Review