Hurricane Sandy Disaster Assistance

Survivors of Hurricane Sandy have two weeks to register for possible disaster assistance and to return applications for low-interest disaster loans to the U.S. Small Business Administration.  The deadline for both is *March 29*.

FEMA urges everyone who sustained losses from Hurricane Sandy to register, including those who have insurance. Insurance may not cover all losses.

The 13 designated counties are: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.  Click here for additional information.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Services

Mortgage Assistance

President Barack Obama announced that the Federal Government, along with state attorneys general, has reached an agreement with major banks to assist homeowners to prevent foreclosures. Visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Developmentand search “Mortgage Servicing Settlement” for details of this program. New York State received $136 million in this settlement.

Visit NationalMortgageSettlement for the links to the settlement documents, settlement parties and information for those who are eligible.

Making Home Affordable (MHA), is an initiative that helps struggling homeowners get mortgage relief through a variety of programs that aid in mortgage modifications, interest rate reductions, refinancing, deferred payment or transitioning out of your home while avoiding foreclosure.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers various programs for homeowners who are having difficulties with their mortgages. Visit HUD for information on how to avoid foreclosure and information on reverse mortgages. Select from the Topic Areas “Avoiding Foreclosure” to find programs addressing the concerns of “underwater mortgages,” assistance for unemployed homeowners” and the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Choose “Information for Senior Citizens” for information on reverse mortgages. The reverse mortgage program or “home equity conversion mortgage” (HECM) is an FHA reverse mortgage program insured by the federal government and available through an FHA approved lender. Visit the site for eligibility requirements.

The Federal Trade Commission also has information on precautions about reverse mortgages.

- posted by Ed, Reference Services

College Graduate Job Hunting – It’s Not Easy

We all know that college graduates are having a tough time finding jobs, but is that cause to slacken off from the job search?  No, says Eileen Zimmerman, author of the Career Couch column of The New York Times, in her June 4 article entitled “Between College and That First Job“.  Professionals suggest unemployed college grads should hone their skills and develop new ones, do virtual networking via social media like LinkedIn and Twitter and take any job with the view of “what can I learn?”  Read her sage advice.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Services

Government Information on Osama Bin Laden

We’re all interested in the recent events surrounding Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.  The U.S. Government has made much information available to the general public.  Listed below are several websites with pertinent information:

President Obama announced late Sunday that a special unit of the Navy Seals had captured Osama Bin Laden. Read the transcript of the President’s speech.

President Obama reported that Osama Bin Laden had been captured and killed by a U.S. strike team, the Navy Seals, from the Naval Special Warfare Command. Visit the Naval Special Warfare Command and find out about the Navy Seals.

How did this happen? How did they find him? Which agencies were involved in the search?

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its divisions were involved in the search. Visit the CIA to learn about the various divisions that assisted in finding and capturing Osama Bin Laden.

Another agency that supported this effort was the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). NGA applied a range of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) capabilities that allowed the United States to carry out this operation. Their GEOINT was critical to helping the intelligence community pinpoint Osama Bin Laden’s compound. Visit the agency’s website.

The National Security Agency (NSA) collects, processes, and disseminates intelligence information from foreign signals for intelligence and counterintelligence purposes and to support military operations. This Agency also assisted in capturing Osama Bin Laden. Visit the NSA website to understand its mission.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Services

Free Credit Reports

Did you know that by law you are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months?  The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies-Equifax, Experian and TransUnion-provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

To order your credit report, you can visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:  Annual Credit Report Request Service, P. O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

www.annualcreditreport.com is the only government authorized website from which to order your credit reports, so beware of imposters.

I order my credit reports from all 3 companies annually.  It’s definitely worth it.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Services

What Did Our Country’s Founding Fathers Read?

Did you know that on April 2, 1790 Aaron Burr borrowed Volume 8 of the Complete Works of Voltaire from The New York Society Library, and that he returned it on April 7 at which time he borrowed Volume 7?  You would if you accessed the New York Society Library’s first ‘charging ledger’ which they recently put online.

The New York Society Library is the city’s oldest surviving library (established 1754).  The charging ledger records borrowing activity during the period July 1789 through April 1792.

If you are interested in the reading habits of over five hundred Society Library members, many of whom were prominent New Yorkers (George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, DeWitt Clinton) visit the website and peruse its contents.

The website also contains a short biography of the borrower, a fascimile of his signature and related links.  It’s definitely worth a visit.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Services

DCI Banks Returns for Another Suspenseful Mystery

In Bad Boy (an Inspector Banks Novel) by Peter Robinson, a gun stolen by a jealous girlfriend unravels a mystery involving kidnapping and murder.  Erin, jealous of her boyfriend Jaff’s flirting with her roommate Tracy, steals his gun.  Erin’s mother, finding it her room, goes to the police station to consult with her former neighbor, DCI Banks, who hopefully will make the situation disappear.  Unfortunately for everyone, he’s on vacation.

Instead of diffusing the situation, the police exacerbate it.  Erin’s father dies as a result of a taser shot.  Tracy, who also happens to be Banks’ daughter, is kidnapped by Jaff, who later shoots Annie Cabbot, Banks’ partner and ex-girlfriend.  All of this makes for an exciting, action packed mystery.

You needn’t have read all of the Inspector Banks novels to enjoy Bad Boy.  Robinson has a descriptive, suspenseful way of telling a story.  However, once you read a book in the series, you’ll probably want to start at the beginning and read them all.  There’s a reason Peter Robinson’s books have been named Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and Notable Book by the New York Times.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Services

A New Mystery Writer

If Ed McBain, the Edgar Award winning mystery writer, suggested you convert your short story into a novel, I’m sure you’d take his advice.  I’m glad Bruce DeSilva did just that.  The result is Rogue Island, a mystery set in Providence, Rhode Island.  Liam Mulligan is a newspaper reporter and his childhood neighborhood is going up in smoke…literally.  Someone is burning down the houses, killing people in the process.

Mulligan knows every crook in Providence, from the Mayor on down to the mob, the bookies and their lawyers.  He knows the inept fire investigators who he’s labeled Dumb and Dumber.  He knows the fire chief, the first female fire chief in the city’s history.  He knows everyone.  Yet, he’s stumped.  Because he can’t pinpoint the arsonist.  But he will.  No doubt about it.

On the back cover of the book, Harlan Coben describes Mulligan as a ‘droll hero’ and Michael Connelly states DeSilva writes “…with genuine authority, a dose of cynical humor, and a squinting eye on the world…”  DeSilva has created memorable characters, a cynical protagonist and a fiery plot.

If you’re looking for a mystery author who writes with intelligence and wit, a book with action, then Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva is your book.  Both the author and I are sad that Ed McBain didn’t live to read it.

- posted by Ed, Reference Services