This new offering is a resource developed in conjunction with the Military and Veterans Law Section. It highlights the military presence in Oregon, underscoring the need for legal resources to support our veterans and military and provides information about legal rights and benefits that may alter how you practice when your client or opponent is a veteran or military servicemember.
Highlights include:
- Who Is a Veteran?
- Military Branches
- Oregon’s Military Presence
- Criminal Law for Veterans
- Getting Military Records, and Witnesses: Privacy Act, FOIA, and Touhy Requests
- The US Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- State Veterans’ Benefits and Resources
- Employment and Re-Employment Rights
- Helping Servicemembers on Active Duty and Veterans as Civil Litigants, Consumers, and Taxpayers
- Family Law Issues
- PTSD and TBI: Issues in Administrative and Criminal Forums
- Veteran-Focused Service Organizations
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To order, email your name, phone number how many books you would like to cookbook@salemharvest.org.
One of Oregon's best nonprofits is Salem Harvest, now the largest gleaning & harvesting organization in Oregon. They still have a few copies left of their spiffy new cookbook, which presents 200 recipes in 110 pages of local favorites, with the recipes organized into sections by featured produce in seasonal order in which they ripen for harvest in the Mid-Valley, all from local farmers and cooks who know these foods best. Strawberries and Cherries - 10 pages Blueberries and Cane Berries - 14 pages Peaches and Plumb - 10 pages Cucumbers and Green Beans - 8 pages Grapes and Watermelon - 6 pages Onions, Peppers, and Garlic - 12 pages Tomatoes and Summer Squash - 18 pages Apples and Pears - 18 pages Winter Squash and Pumpkins - 8 pages The Salem Harvest Community Cookbook is like no other! Rather than being organized by type of dish, our cookbook is organized by what is ripe through the harvest season. So, rather than a chapter for bread, salad and dessert, there is a chapter for blueberries, pears, squash, and such through the season. We have gathered 200 recipes from amazing chefs, local growers, the Oregon extension service, community members, and dedicated volunteers. Just think, you could get a great gift for all your loved ones AND support your favorite non-profit at the same time! Each book is only $12. To order, email your name, phone number how many books you would like to cookbook@salemharvest.org. Or pick one up at Willamette Valley Kitchen Co., Capitol Coffee, the Canby Christmas Bazaar or other local holiday bazaars. UPDATED to add copy of Scam Advisory Photo: Very important story reminding us that contracting schemes to strip equity out of homes don't really change much over time -- the product (otherwise known as "the bait") changes, so instead of aluminum siding, now it's home solar systems. But the underlying deal is always the same -- the scammers target poorer and minority dominated neighborhoods and promise something too good to be true, and wind up selling you a system you can't afford that's secured by your house. Meaning you can lose your house and all your equity (the part of your house that you own rather than the bank owns). It's perfectly fine to weatherize your home, install insulated windows, and maybe even install solar panels or solar hot water systems (I have both, for example). But NEVER deal with a contractor who calls you up or shows up on your door uninvited. If you live in Oregon and think you might benefit from home energy improvements or weatherization, call the ENERGY TRUST OF OREGON (https://www.energytrust.org/) first. Have an ETO approved consultant assess your home and the opportunities to save energy or even generate some. I Tried to Make My Home Energy Efficient and It's Ruining My Life http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bill-of-rights-is-finally-ratified
John Gear Law Office and The Book Bin are sponsoring a celebration of the Bill of Rights on the 226th Anniversary of their ratification, with special emphasis on the 1st and 7th Amendments to the Constitution, the two most important pillars that support and allow all the other civil liberties and protections we enjoy in the United States. Engaging speakers, door prizes, free refreshments, and a great bookstore that will have a special section of relevant titles available for holiday giving or for your own library. 7 p.m. on Friday, 15 December 2017, at The Book Bin in Salem, Oregon, at 450 Court St. America is now just like any Third-World Banana Republic -- complete with impunity for big companies, who can do anything they want to you More from Public Justice's Paul Bland about the shameful Congressional vote to let criminal corporations bar ripped-off consumers from joining together to hold them accountable: If you are not sure you understand just how badly Congress has sold you out and ensured that you and your family will be unable to do anything about ripoffs by big companies, here is a menu of stories.
In “Wet Kiss” for Wall Street, Congress Overturns Rules Allowing People to Sue Banks for Misconduct Democracy Now: October 26, 2017 An Open Call for Trump to Veto Anti-Consumer Bill Common Dreams: October 26, 2017 Frank and Raskin: Why Is Congress Hurting Consumers? Duke Today: October 26, 2017 Count on a Political Backlash to the Banks’ Victory in the Senate The New York Times: October 25, 2017 Republicans Just Caved to the Big Banks and Exposed Trump’s Sham Populism The New Yorker: October 25, 2017 Congress Lets Consumers Down Bloomberg: October 25, 2017 Why Consumers Should Care About the Dismantling of Class-Action Lawsuits Market Watch: October 25, 2017 Republicans Scramble to Help Banks, Undercut Rule for Consumers MSNBC: October 25, 2017 What Is the CFPB Arbitration Rule? The Senate Repealed the One Provision That Let You Hold Companies Accountable Bustle: October 25, 2017 Populist Hero Mike Pence Casts Tie-Breaking Vote to Protect Banks from Lawsuits Vanity Fair: October 25, 2017 Congress Just Killed a Rule That Would Have Made It Easier for Consumers to Sue Banks — Here’s Why People Are So Upset Business Insider: October 25, 2017 Battle Over Fine Print: Why GOP Is Risking Consumer Ire to Support Banks The Christian Science Monitor: October 25, 2017 The US Senate Is Preventing Companies Like Equifax Being Held Accountable for Major Screw-Ups Quartz: October 25, 2017 It’s Good to Be a Bank in the Trump Era Slate: October 25, 2017 As the saying goes, "No matter how cynical you get, you just can't keep up" Paul Bland of Public Justice writes: Senate Grants Immunity to Financial Industry Rip-Offs, Scams and Abuses Just like you should always have a shopping list and stick to the list when you go to the grocery store, you should never go to an auto dealer's lot without a list of the minimum features you need in a car, and you should stick to that list -- in other words, you should REFUSE TO ADD anything that wasn't on your list before you talked to the salesman. If they want to sell you a car that already has more accessories or features than you were looking for, that's one thing -- but NEVER let an auto dealer talk you into buying add-ons and "protection plans" and accessories -- most are wildly overpriced nonsense, and the extra financing burden can cause you to lose the car you bought! NCLC Report Finds Discretionary Pricing and Racial Disparities in Auto Add-on Products Sold by Car Dealers
CarMax sells cars under recall without repairing the problem, report warns
Forced arbitration seems to be significantly more lucrative for Wells Fargo than other financial institutions. As one might suspect based on the CFPB data, Wells Fargo was awarded more money in arbitration than it was ordered to pay consumers between 2009 and the first half of 2017, despite creating 3.5 million fraudulent accounts during that same period. The average consumer that arbitrated with Wells Fargo was ordered to pay the bank nearly $11,000.10 Great letter from the Economic Policy Institute to the Senate Banking Committee, which is considering whether to override the proposed ban on forced arbitration clauses in consumer finance contracts that prohibit consumers from bringing class action suits against institutions that practice wholesale fraud and deception, such as Wells Fargo.
Click here to read it all. A master mechanic told me that any inspection should now include putting a probe inside the door. Apparently that will show water damage. (Illinois Consumer Attorney Dan Daneen)
And consumer attorney extraordinaire Joanne Faulkner of New Haven, CT, reports: "Consumer Reports has suggested tips for identifying cars that may have spent time underwater. A buyer or mechanic should look for these telltale signs:
Where can you find unbiased, objective advice about ways to minimize the damage and risk from Equifax's outrageous computer security negligence and its lengthy cover-up afterwards? Equifax's gross misconduct means that nearly every adult with a credit history is at risk of identity theft. In this free article, the National Consumer Law Center offers key advice for consumers, with specific steps that can be taken to minimize the risks-freezes, thaws, fraud alerts, credit monitoring, and more. Key Steps to Minimize Risk After Equifax Data Breach Remember the rules to teach your clients, family, friends:
HUD has released the following statement: OPINION: Florida seniors at risk in nursing homes Another insidious trick the Florida Legislature has allowed nursing-home owners to unleash against elderly and vulnerable citizens is the mandatory arbitration clause. When a loved one is admitted into a nursing home, families are usually frightened and confused. They are handed a stack of papers upon admission. Most of the papers they sign discuss bed-hold policies, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and other innocuous administrative issues. What most residents and their families don’t realize is that almost every nursing home in Florida now makes residents sign away their constitutional rights to a jury trial in favor of mandatory arbitration. Many times the terms of the arbitration are secret and designed to protect the facility that wrote the agreement. Florida law allows this. Brian Lee was Florida’s long-term-care ombudsman for more than a decade. He had a reputation for protecting residents and making sure their families could gather transparent nursing-home financial and ownership information. When the nursing-home industry did not like what Lee was doing, Gov. Rick Scott fired him in 2011 and replaced him with a long string of short-timers the nursing-home industry liked. The fox is now guarding the henhouse. Unfathomable, indeed. Every year, make a point to review your estate plans and especially your beneficiary designations on all your financial accounts.
These days, most of us in "the 99%" who have any estate at all have most or all of it invested or saved with a financial institution. All those institutions have a process where you can designate a list of beneficiaries who will receive the funds immediately upon your death -- meaning that the funds bypass probate and are rapidly accessible to the beneficiaries you name. I suggest that you set a specific date each year that is meaningful for you -- maybe New Years, or your birthday, or your anniversary, or your retirement date, or some other very memorable day that rolls around every year and that will always remind you to spend an hour or two reviewing your estate plans and these beneficiary lists. And note that you need to actually confirm what the financial institutions have -- it's not enough to just look at your list of who you think they have. With the internet, confirming your beneficiary designations is usually just a matter of logging onto the company website and calling up your beneficiary list. Do this for each bank or investment institution where you have funds. Next, make sure your will or trust or durable power of attorney are still compatible with your wishes, and go over your advanced medical directive in case your wishes have changed there. This annual estate planning review is one of the best ways to ensure that the estate you leave behind actually winds up getting where you want it to go with a minimum of fuss and expense. After every major disaster involving flooding, the states not affected get a delayed reaction flood -- a huge second flood of ruined cars that have been superficially cleaned up and quickly moved out of the flood zone (where people are on the alert about it) and are being sent through the dealer auction network and pawned off on the low end, predatory car dealers who buy them so cheap that they can still make a big killing while offering them at very enticing prices. Just one problem -- buying these cars is like buying an incurable venereal disease -- you will regret it forever. For the next five years, every American in non-flood affected states needs to assume that any used car is a flooded car until you satisfy yourself that it's not by tracing its ownership history and having it inspected properly BEFORE you buy it. Here's a good guide to how not to buy trouble when you next buy a used car: How-to-avoid-being-scammed-by-a-flood-damaged-car September 6, 2017 In Blog When Gary Childress of Raleigh, North Carolina learned in July 2008 that he was being deployed to Iraq as part of his Army National Guard service, one of the things he did before reporting for duty was to contact Bank of America, where he and his wife Anne had a credit card account. He wanted to let the bank know that he was on active-duty status because under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act or SCRA, a law passed by Congress in 2003 to reduce burdens on military families, all interest rates on debts that servicemembers owed before going on active status must be reduced to 6%. This interest rate protection was significant to the Childresses, who owed over $5000 on their Bank of America credit card with an interest rate of around 27% when Gary left for Iraq. |
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