It’s not the iPhone 5 that many expected, but Apple did unveil today what it trumpeted as its “most amazing” phone yet – the iPhone 4S. Follow this link: No iPhone 5, But Apple Does Debut the iPhone 4S
Beverly Hills News
Local News
Occupy LA: Protesters Say They’ll Camp at City Hall Until December
October 4, 2011
Just how long will the one hundred or so people camped out on the streets in front of Los Angeles City Hall stick around? The Occupy LA protesters say they’ll stay until December, reports ABC7 . more › Read the original post: Occupy LA: Protesters Say They’ll Camp at City Hall Until December
Female Hannibal Lecter Bit Security Guard’s Breast in Prison
October 4, 2011
Nelson also bit a security guard’s breast and had several run-ins during her current prison sentence. Orange County Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Randolph J. Pawloski, the veteran prosecutor who sent her to prison, says she has behaved since 2006 after denied early release. more › Read the original post: Female Hannibal Lecter Bit Security Guard’s Breast in Prison
Tuesday Tidbit: Ellen Degeneres
October 4, 2011
Late last week Your Mama discussed the 26-acre equestrian extravaganza in Thousand Oaks, CA that chat show host Ellen Degeneres and her actress wife Portia de Rossi have on the market with an asking price of $16,500,000. Celebrity real estate gossips and watchers know the horsey spread in Thousand Oaks isn’t the only posh property in the Los Angeles area the Missus Degeneres and de Rossi own but want to unload from their property portfolio. Rumors started to slip and slide down the celebrity real estate gossip grapevine in early 2011 that the couple desired to divest themselves of the deluxe Beverly Hills, CA compound they’ve spent many tens of millions of dollars amassing and customizing. In the fall of 2007 the property mad pair coughed up an almost unbelievable $29,000,000 for the main portion of the compound, which they bought from residuals rich Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick . A few months later the compound loving ladies shelled out an additional $8,500,000 for the property next door that they razed and replaced with a serene, watery garden with long views down the rugged, mansion-dotted canyons and over the twinkling lights of Lala Land. The following June the real estate flip-floppers spent $5,000,000 for an adjacent fixer upper and just a month later they shelled out another $5,500,000 for a hillside house with oblique views into the backyard of the main house. Altogether, according to our ever-present bejeweled abacus, the Missus Degeneres and de Rossi dumped an astonishing forty-eight million clams for the various properties that comprise the compound, not counting renovation and customization costs. In late May (2011), the swankety -swank Degenere – de Rossi compound finally hit the open market with an undisclosed price that several sources swear was $60,000,000 for the entire multi-parcel, multi-residence compound. A few weeks ago, amid rumors that Formula One Racing heiress Tamara Ecclestone rejected the compound as not grand enough for her grandiose real estate tastes, the property disappeared from the listing agent’s website. Lo and behold, yesterday the couple’s compound popped back up on the market with an official asking price of $49,000,000. New listing information shows the compound contains a total of 9 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms spread throughout a sprawling single-story a main house, a detached guest house tucked into the hillside at the front of the house and and guest/staff apartment, fitness facility and underground parking garage tucked discretely underneath the swimming pool with its adjacent pavilion. The compound includes an additional and separate 3 bedroom house for staff, security, extended family, or whatever. Listing information goes on to reveal there are more than half a dozen fireplaces on the property, lavishly landscaped grounds that include a meandering pond and grassy back yard with infinity-edged swimming pool and spa, and state-of-the-art security systems. Certainly the Missus D. and de R. sit high on a mountain of money that would make the knees of ordinary rich people turn to jelly with envy and Your Mama needs a god damn nerve pill to smooth out the bitter agita caused by the financial flabbergast that overwhelms us when we consider the the monetary resources it takes just to pay the taxes and upkeep costs for their high-maintenance Beverly Hills compound as well as their Thousand Oaks horse farm. It not known where Miz Degeneres and Miz de Rossi would like to reside next but Your Mama has heard–but can not confirm–from someone in a position to know such matters that the couple would like to simplify their real estate lives with the acquisition of an in-town estate/ ranchette where they can both live and house their horses. We shall see, puppies, we shall see. listing photos: Westside Estate Agency See the article here: Tuesday Tidbit: Ellen Degeneres
Kenny Wormald at the "Footloose" premiere
October 4, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/v/kXa99P3dZho?version=3&f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata Kenny Wormald talks to LA Times reporter Amy Kaufman at the premiere of “Footloose.” Visit link: Kenny Wormald at the “Footloose” premiere
How Much $ Do We Need To Survive In CA?
October 4, 2011
Story courtesy of California Watch By Joanna Lin A family of four in California would need an average of more than $63,000 a year â nearly triple the federal poverty level â to cover its basic needs, according to an analysis of the state’s cost of living to be released today. The 2011 Self-Sufficiency Standard, released by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development , a national research organization, shows that in every county in California, the federal poverty level falls short of meeting basic needs: housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and other essential household expenses. Taking all these costs into consideration, the standard calculates the minimum annual income required for 156 family compositions in each county. The pre-tax income needed to make ends meet for a family of two working, married adults; a preschooler; and a primary school-aged child ranged from $53,775 in Tulare County to $86,629 in Marin County. For a family of four, the 2011 federal poverty level , which is based on the cost of food alone and does not take into account regional cost-of-living differences in the contiguous United States, is $22,350. “The federal poverty guidelines miss this whole population of individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Jenny Chung Mejia, an attorney and program manager for the center. “Essentially, what happens is they earn too much to qualify but yet don’t have enough to make ends meet; they fall in this sort of policy-benefits gap.” Many people and entities, including policymakers, public agencies, philanthropic organizations, advocates and service providers, use the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a benchmarking tool to gauge the needs of their communities. In affluent counties, needs often go unrecognized, Chung Mejia said. “The public has this perception that if you live in Marin County, for example, you’re not going to be poor,” she said. While figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show 9.1 percent of the population in Marin County lives below the poverty level, the county’s median household income â $83,867 â is lower than its Self-Sufficiency Standard. Even in counties where median income exceeds the Self-Sufficiency Standard, advocates say the cost of basic needs can be striking. In Santa Clara County, for example, the median household income, $85,002, is just slightly higher than the Self-Sufficiency Standard for a family of two adults, a preschooler and a school-aged child. According to the standard, the cost of food for such a family â $852 a month, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s low-cost food plan â eats up more than 12 percent of household income. More than 91,500 students in the county are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school. But to qualify for the programs, a student’s household income must be at or less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level â or $41,347.50 for a family of four. “There’s this huge gap,” said Dana Bunnett, director of Kids in Common, a program of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte that advocates for children in Santa Clara County. “We really have needs for families that go beyond those federal guidelines.” Although the Self-Sufficiency Standard accounts for more basic costs than the federal poverty level does, it misses others that many Californians would consider essential â including cell phone and Internet service. “That just makes it all the more crazy,” Chung Mejia said. “We’re just putting forth a very, very modest budget.” Joanna Lin is an investigative reporter for California Watch, a project of the non-profit Center for Investigative reporting. Find more California Watch stories here. See the article here: How Much $ Do We Need To Survive In CA?
Kobe Bryant Closer to Inking a Deal With Italy
October 4, 2011
After it briefly looked like Kobe Bryant was going to be too expensive for Italy’s Vitrus Bologna team to afford, the Lakers superstar may be getting close to inking a deal during the NBA lockout, reports CBS News . Virtus Bologna owner Claudio Sabatini originally offered Bryant $6.7 million for the season. Bryant came back asking for $15 million, to which Sabatini reportedly found “shocking.” more › Read the original: Kobe Bryant Closer to Inking a Deal With Italy
LA County Sued Over Bag Tax
October 4, 2011
The County of Los Angeles is being sued over a plastic bag ban and a paper bag tax, which furious L.A. taxpayers say is unconstitutional and illegal. Fed-up California consumers are joining Hilex Poly Co., LLC in filing legal action against L.A. County in response to the paper bag tax that county government officials are forcing retailers to impose on shoppers. The plaintiffs want the court to declare the so-called “charge” invalid.
Man with Half a Heart Beats the Odds
October 4, 2011
David Koning, the team manager of the the Laguna High School Varsity Volleyball Team, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Essentially, half of his heart is missing, but nothing stops David from working the sidelines of the sports he loves. Read the original: Man with Half a Heart Beats the Odds
Jackson Death Timeline in Question
October 4, 2011
One of the big questions that remains unanswered is when exactly did Michael Jackson die? Hal Eisner talked with our team of legal experts to find out how important that might be. See more here: Jackson Death Timeline in Question
