payday loans

That's what House Bill 267 wants to do. On the surface this seems like a great idea, but it's not as simple as it seems.

A payday loan works like this: You show up at one of the 50 branch offices in New Hampshire, show them your most recent pay stub and they will loan you a percentage of that paycheck, usually due back in full within 14 days. Currently there is no limit on what you can be charged for an annual percentage rate. (The annual percentage rate is all processing fees, application fees and interest charged on an annual basis.)

HB 267 would limit that rate to 36 percent APR per year; HB 620 would limit the fee to $15 per $100 borrowed. The average loan amount in New Hampshire is about $300, so under HB 620 the borrower would have to pay back $345. Under HB 267 the borrower would pay back $304.14. Needless to say, the payday loan companies say they couldn't survive on an average of $4.14 per loan.

Now some facts:

According to the New Hampshire Department of Banking, there were 149,836 payday loans totaling $55,979,409 in 2006, with an average loan amount of $374. There were zero complaints about payday lenders. That's 149,836 loans with no complaints. Now, the proponents of HB 267 say the borrowers were too embarrassed to either contact the banking department to express their outrage at this lending practice and this might, in fact, be the case. But in the same breath the proponents state that when they do away with payday lending these same people will borrow from friends, family members or churches. If they are too embarrassed to write the banking department, you can't believe that they now would go to friends to borrow this money! Sorry, this just doesn't make sense.

Proponents don't care for the high return on investment that many of these companies report in their annual filings. They forget to mention that both St Mary's Bank and Service Credit Union's "business plans" - which the bill's proponents cite as a favorable alternative - were to lose money in order to grow their base. It is a marketing strategy they hope will help grow their companies. Smart move - they can help the local community and add customers at the same time. But both stated that they would only be able to extend between $1 million and $2 million, and then they would have to re-evaluate their "business plans" in a year or two. If they did need to charge a fee of $15 on a $250 loan with an annual interest rate of 18 percent, the APR would be above the 36 percent cap. But, wait, did I forget to mention that all banks and credit unions were exempt from this bill? They can charge whatever they want. This bill only targets payday and title lenders.

Lindley Dupree spent most of this year planning a series of financial literacy classes for Flathead residents who have gotten into money troubles. So it confirmed for her that a need for the class existed when she learned some of her most vulnerable clients – many of whom were homeless not long ago – were being aggressively marketed by payday lenders for high interest, short-term loans two weeks before Christmas.

On Dec. 12, plastic bags filled with fliers advertising Advance America Cash Advance were hung on the doors of Courtyard Apartments, on Airport Road in Kalispell. Sixteen apartments there are transitional homes for people working out of homelessness. The other sixteen are permanent low-income housing. The yellow plastic bags contained balloons, pens, matches and coupons to a local pizza restaurant – along with a brochure encouraging the reader to visit Advance America for a loan of $100 or more. Advance America currently charges 521.4 percent annual percentage rate (APR), which works out to a $120 total payment after two weeks for a $100 loan

And Cuyahoga Falls, per person, has more payday lenders than in Summit County or Cuyahoga County does. Late last year, that town adopted a law that restricts cash-advance stores to one for every 10,000 people and requires them to be at least 1,000 feet apart. The town is the first in Ohio to limit the businesses based on population.

A town should get some say over which businesses set up shop within in its borders. But patchwork zoning laws won't effectively rein in payday lenders.

Statewide legislation would be a better way, and that's in the works.

Lobbyists for payday lenders call interest-rate caps an assault on the free market. Yet reasonable limits - just like the ones on other kinds of loans - are in order.

And short-term loan alternatives exist. About 40 Ohio credit unions allow customers to pay a nominal fee and take two-week loans at a rate of 18 percent. It's a cunning marketing strategy. They build a client base that grows more solvent and which then seeks more lucrative home and car loans.

State legislators plan to hold hearings this month on proposals that would curb predatory lending. The best of three bills is the brainchild of Rep. William G. Batchelder, a Medina Republican. It would cap payday-loan interest rates at a 36 percent annual rate and includes other sound features.

If the General Assembly makes reasonable rules for how payday lenders operate - and that must include a ceiling on interest rates - chances are they'll stop popping up like dandelions in the spring, without towns having to resort to zoning changes.

State Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, is gambling that his comparison of the payday lending industry to video poker will be a winning theme in the coming session of the South Carolina Legislature.

Mr. Hawkins now represents the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the industry, a position that a spokesman for Advance America says puts “the people of South Carolina in an awkward position.”

That little bit of marketing language aside, hinting at a conflict while none has been established, we hope Mr. Hawkins’ fellow lawmakers will have the wisdom to consider putting the brakes on an industry that drives desperate people even deeper in debt.

Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, introduced a bill in the last session to outlaw payday lending. In light of the industry’s demise in neighboring states Georgia and North Carolina, it was an idea we supported, or at the very least, to put more controls on the industry’s operations in our state.

Mr. Hawkins believed the attempt to close down payday lenders completely would be vetoed by Gov. Mark Sanford, he said. That led to his support of a compromise of regulation. (He has since decided that outlawing the industry is the best choice and will support legislation to that end.) Although a Sanford spokesman said the governor “gives every bill that comes to his desk fair consideration,” we don’t think a proposal to outlaw payday lending would have survived Mr. Sanford’s pen. In a 2006 Associated Press report on the governor’s meeting with the Silver-Haired Legislature, Mr. Sanford was quoted to say he would not even support changes in the industry, after a discussion in the statehouse on regulating the interest rates the lenders are allowed to charge. In his response to an AARP questionnaire on the subject of payday lenders, Mr. Sanford continued his theme of personal responsibility and consumer choice, although he noted the use of payday lenders was “a poor choice.”

cruises

Tourism representatives from Niagara County again were traveling to Ireland to promote the Erie Canal, communities on the historic waterway and the region.

Scheduled to make their third annual trip to the Jan. 24-27 Holiday World Travel Show in Dublin were Michael and Sharon Murphy, owners of Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises.

Also planning to attend was Elizabeth Davis, sales and marketing manager for Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. in Niagara Falls.

The Murphys also are representing Canal New York Marketing & Business Alliance Inc., an organization that promotes communities and events along what Murphy calls "The Canal the Irish Built."

Some lines are brilliant at coming up with memorable names. Others, well …

"I find it inexplicably weird that cruise lines can't be more creative," says industry watcher Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of Cruisecritic.com.

The fast-growing cruise industry has launched dozens of ships in recent years, and dozens more are on order. That makes a catchy name all the more crucial to stand out from the crowd. But as the number of ships grows, finding a winner seems to be getting tougher.

As Spencer Brown points out, the latest crop of names is uninspiring at best. And some lines even are resorting to copying names already in use by others.

Royal Caribbean, for instance, recently launched Liberty of the Seas, just two years after rival Carnival launched its own ship named Liberty. Of course, maybe it was payback for Carnival's use of the name Legend on a new ship in 2002, seven years after the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas.

In fact, Carnival is becoming somewhat of a serial copier. This summer, the line will launch the Carnival Splendor, echoing Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas. Carnival's next ships also will ring familiar: Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic feature words already in use by Norwegian and Disney.

"Boy, does it get confusing," says Spencer Brown, ticking off other names used by multiple lines, such as Dawn, Jewel, Mariner, Navigator, Freedom, Crown and Pride.

A few years ago, a little film called Bonneville premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. A year went by, and then the film popped up at a few more festivals. Finally, SenArt Films grabbed the feature, and it's finally making its way to the big screen this year. You'd think that it must be some sort of super-indie to create pretty much zero buzz and not find any takers for well over a year after its premiere, but it's actually a film that has quite of few big-name actresses in it -- Joan Allen, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, and Christine Baranski. (On the male side of things, there's also Tom Wopat, yes that Wopat, and Tom Skerritt.)

Now that it will hit screens this February, The Hollywood Reporter has posted about the film's unique marketing campaign. You'd think with a road trip movie named Bonneville, they might have some sort of car promotion, or maybe even a big party in Bonneville, PA. Not in the least. Instead, they are teaming up with Princess Cruises and hosting sneak previews on a number of the line's ships. It will be shown on oceanic trips to destinations like Australia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.

dating

A woman who lured a man she worked for and briefly dated out of his apartment, where he was shot and killed by her jealous and abusive boyfriend and then burned in his car, was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison.

Ny Nourn, 27, was convicted Dec. 5 -- in her second trial -- of second- degree murder in the Dec. 23, 1998, murder of 38-year-old David Allen Stevens, her boss at a Miramar dating service.

Nourn, who was 18 and a high school student at the time of the killing, was acquitted of arson of property.

The defendant was previously found guilty of first-degree murder and lying in wait, but those convictions were overturned on appeal.

Judge Charles Rogers dismissed the lying in wait allegation before the retrial and threw out the first-degree murder charge after the prosecution's case in case-in-chief.

Nourn's former lover, Ronald Barker, was convicted in a separate trial of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Before today's sentencing, defense attorney Douglas C. Brown unsuccessfully sought to convince the judge to grant Nourn a new trial or reduce her murder conviction to voluntary manslaughter.

Brown argued that the jury should have been given an instruction considering that Nourn was under duress, but the judge said the duress instruction didn't apply to murder.

I’ll always remember “Cloverfield” as the first thing that made me vomit since that teriyaki in San Diego.

Producer J.J. Abrams is the master chef behind my black-and-white cookie, and he didn’t get me through tension or scares — though there were plenty of those. It was the dang hand-held camera. The bane of modern filmmaking!

STARRING Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan WRITTEN BY Drew Goddard DIRECTED BY Matt Reeves RATED PG-13

2.75 stars (out of 4)

“Cloverfield” wants to be “The Blair Witch Project,” from the appetite-whetting teaser that debuted before “Transformers” to the intriguingly vague title to the documentary-style filmmaking and the super hush-hush marketing campaign. But it wants to be “Blair Witch” with special effects. The loud, brash, explosion-heavy end of the world as documented by low-budget camcorder.

Good concept, but one of the things that made “Blair Witch” special was it relied on our imagination. “Cloverfield” shows us the giant monster that attacks New York — at first only in quick flashes, then a full close-up. (Even monsters are camera-ready nowadays.) This may be a concession to people who think anything less than a full monster body shot is a cheap tease, but no effect — except maybe the dinosaurs in the first “Jurassic Park” — is ever as good as you imagine it could be, so save the money next time and leave us with the quick flashes.

This film works best when the tension builds in the dark, as in the tunnel sequence, before we see the monsters in full form. I say monsters plural because the main creature — like a more nimble Godzilla — has things that fall from it. Spider-like beasties akin to those things in “The Mist.”

Eljay’s River Market Coffeehouse, at 412B Delaware St., offers such specialties as “Kansas City Crazy Lady” — fudge nut mocha made with Ghiradelli chocolate — along with chocolate egg creams, Italian cream sodas, limeades, lemonades, smoothies, chai lattes and espresso. Breakfast and lunch items include sandwiches, pastries and quiches. Side dishes will be added soon.

The space has exposed brick and a giant bank vault, perhaps dating to the 1930s. The vault will hold Eljay’s private label ports and wines.

“I like the idea of a community space where people can generate ideas, share ideas, and I was too young to retire,” said Joy Koesten, co-owner of the coffee shop with her daughter, Leah Koesten. “It’s a blend of old and young — wonderful old businesses next to new buildings, people who have lived here all their lives and new people.”

Leah is the “El” in the name and Joy is the “Jay.” Both women have lofts in the area, and both wanted more control over their careers and considered entrepreneurship the key.

The north side of the former Cup and Saucer space, or 412A Delaware, is being renovated for Bella, a central Italian-influenced, upscale restaurant. Owners Leah Clayman and Brenda Carlson, along with two silent partners, plan a “slow food” menu. “Slow food” refers to food grown locally, without hurting the environment or animals and having workers who are justly compensated.

Bella’s menu will change seasonally. Breakfast could include omelets, pancakes, orange-spiced French toast and granola; lunch may be roasted beet salad, Rueben sandwiches, seared scallops, risotto, and olive oil poached halibut; and for dinner perhaps short ribs and steaks.

vocations

The Bonn, Germany- headquartered company said that it is now concentrating more on the recruitment of junior staff and experienced experts as part of its longer-term Human Resources, or HR, development.

Deutsche Telekom said that the 4,000 employees will be recruited in the areas of information technology, high-tech product development, business management, sales and service.

The company said that around 3,800 traineeships will be offered at 39 locations in Germany this year. The training offers are mainly focusing on service, sales and technology and the major demand is for dialog marketing assistants, IT systems electronics technicians, IT technicians, IT systems sales assistants, and retail sales assistants, Deutsche Telekom added.

The company is offering over 250 of the training opportunities in its dual bachelor degree program for high-school graduates, giving importance to economics, telecommunications, information and business administration.

Deutsche Telekom said that the intake of new staff would once again make it the largest training company in Germany, with a trainee ratio of around 8%.

Commenting on the new recruitments, Thomas Sattelberger, Member of the Board of Management, Human Resources, said, “This recruitment and training policy will serve to raise the profile and enhance the reputation of Deutsche Telekom as an attractive talent and training company, making it a more appealing employer.”

TIRUCHI: In an effort to involve more convicts lodged in the Central Prison here in income generating activities, the jail authorities have sent proposals to the State Government seeking permission to start new micro-level economic trades in the prison.

Prisoners have taken up a variety of income generating activities already. Permission has been sought to start new trades such as bakery, sericulture, candle and pickle making and toilet soap manufacture. The objective is to engage the convicts in productive vocations, to enable them earn even while they are in prison and help them in their long-term rehabilitation.

A non-governmental organisation has come forward to lend assistance in training the inmates in the new ventures and help in procuring raw materials and marketing the finished products.

About 10 acres of the vast extent of unused land available within the prison campus had already been used productively to raise mulberry plants for the proposed sericulture unit, prison officials said. At present 200 convicts, of the total 1,000 convicts, are involved in various kinds of income generation activities within the prison such as blanket making, washing soap manufacture, file pad making, book-binding and tailoring.

A senior prison official said that around 1,500 blankets made by the prisoners were being dispatched every month to various government hospitals across the State and to homes for beggars. Around 25,000 file pads manufactured by them were being sent to various departments every month. Through the newly revived tailoring unit, uniforms were supplied to the inmates of the Borstal School at Pudukottai. Washing soap manufactured here was being sent to all central prisons, district and sub jails across the State, he said.