The CLog

News / Biz Banks: You're not off the hook for fees

Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 2:04 PM

You didn't think our banking giants were just being sweet, did you? They're not. They are, as always, looking out for their bottom line, for their shareholders, while finding "creative" ways to pull money out of their customer's pockets.

My best advice to you: CYA.

Banks are backing off harsh overdraft fees and policies. That's the good news. The bad news is, they'll probably look to make up that lost profit elsewhere.

It's a worrisome prospect for the vast majority of customers who never overdraw their funds and have grown accustomed to perks such as free checking accounts.

"Banks are going to have to get creative," said Bob Meara, a senior analyst with Celent, a Boston-based consulting firm for the banking industry.

That might mean the return of monthly fees or minimum balances for checking accounts, or the bundling of accounts with other services for a fee. Customers could also be steered toward lower-cost services such as online banking, Meara said. Use of debit cards, which bring banks revenue from fees paid by merchants, may be encouraged. And networks of bank branches across the country could shrink, too.

Such changes could help offset the steep losses banks face as they overhaul their overdraft programs, which have come under intensifying scrutiny in the past year. Lawmakers are expected to soon start imposing new restrictions on overdraft fees, and the industry response has been swift. Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all announced this week that they are easing up on the fees.

Read the rest of the article at Charlotte.com.

Overdrawn!

Tags: News, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, bank of america, Biz, BofA, Overdraft fees, Overdrawn, banking fees, JPMorgan Chase, creative accounting

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News Census, and senseless, lynching in Kentucky

Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 12:22 PM

This is what hateful, lie-filled rhetoric will get you: A census worker found hanged with the word "FED" scrawled across his body.

His body was found over a week and a half ago in the Daniel Boone National Forest. He was a single father, an Eagle Scout, a cancer survivor and, we're sure, much more. Notably, it appears he was just trying to do his job as a part-time census employee. Now, he's dead.

The FBI is keeping this case as close to their chest as possible.

The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery, and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press the word 'fed" was scrawled on the dead man's chest.

The body of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and occasional teacher, was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky. The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Lucindia Scurry-Johnson, assistant director of the Census Bureau's southern office in Charlotte, N.C., said law enforcement officers have told the agency the matter is "an apparent homicide" but nothing else.

Census employees were told Sparkman's truck was found nearby, and a computer he was using for work was found inside it, she said. He worked part-time for the Census, usually conducting interviews once or twice a month.

Sparkman has worked for the Census since 2003, spanning five counties in the surrounding area. Much of his recent work had been in Clay County, officials said.

Door-to-door operations have been suspended in Clay County pending a resolution of the investigation, Scurry-Johnson said.

Locke called him "a shining example of the hardworking men and women employed by the Census Bureau."

More about Mr. Sparkman, the crime that ended his life and a little insight into the investigation:

Michelle Bachmann, one of the most ill-informed Congresswomen in Washington, spreading lies on Faux News:

Tags: News, Kentucky, Glenn Beck, Fox News, Census, Michelle Bachmann, Lynching, Hanging, Bill Sparkman, Eagle Scout, single father

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News / Biz Duke Energy's makin' deals in Asia

Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 12:21 PM

And, they're for everyone's benefit (believe it or not).

Let's just hope the information sharing leads to breakthroughs that will truly change the way we harness energy, use energy and dispose of the waste that process creates.

And, the spin off news: These technologies will create much-needed jobs for our area.

Duke Energy Corp. said Wednesday that it has struck its second deal in just over a month with a large Chinese power company to develop sources of low-carbon energy.

Duke and ENN Group say ideas for potential development between the two include commercial solar projects, coal-based clean energy, biofuels, natural gas, smart grid, energy efficiency and carbon-capturing algae.

Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Thursday

Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 9:36 AM

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Sept. 24, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

• Robot Johnson at Actor's Theatre of Charlotte

• Cell Phone Blues at Booth Playhouse

• Festival in the Park at Freedom Park

• Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Double Door Inn

• Author Celia Rivenbark at Joseph-Beth Booksellers

Tags: Arts, Today's Top Five, News

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Film / Film News / News Opening Friday

Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 11:45 PM

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone

Bright Star - Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone - Animated

Fame - Debbie Allen, Kelsey Grammer

Lorna's Silence

Lorna's Silence - Arta Dobroshi, Jeremie Renier

Pandorum - Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster

Surrogates - Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames

A Woman in Berlin - Nina Hoss, Rolf Kanies

Tags: Film, Local Openings, Film News, News

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Boomer with Attitude / News Death panels follow Palin to Hong Kong

Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 2:38 PM

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin gave a speech on ... mmpphh . . . excuse me. Sarah Palin gave a speech yesterday in Hong Kong on ... mmphh, hahahahahahaha ... foreign policy. Sorry, but can you believe this stuff? Sarah Palin, Caribou Barbie, the hick who didn’t even know Africa was a continent and, according to John McCain’s aides, couldn’t name the three nations of North America, was paid beaucoup money to speak to an international trade organization in Hong Kong. What’s even more priceless is that she didn’t even stick to matters of foreign policy or foreign trade. Instead, she blamed the economic downturn on — what else? — too much government interference in business (I know. Hey, I’m just reporting this), and even brought up her current favorite subject, death panels.

Yep, now that even strong opponents of health care reform have admitted that no one is proposing anything even resembling death panels, Palin is still aligning herself with the true crazies in the ongoing national debate. And of course, there’s not even a hint that she realizes that when health insurance companies won’t pay for, say, cancer treatments, they are, in effect, a genuine “death panel.” But that’s our Sarah -- what a national treasure, huh?

Hey, commies, take your death panels and get outta here

Hey, commies, take your death panels and get outta here

Tags: Sarah Palin, Boomer with Attitude, Hong Kongm health care reform, internation trade organization, foreign policy, government interference, News

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News Farmer John, you dirty boy

Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 12:45 PM

It makes little sense to me why people and industries who depend on the earth to make their living don't, in turn, take care of her.

Even if they're not interested in protecting our lakes and streams, the rest of us can do something about it. Tonight, the Catawba River Keeper is beginning a course called "Cove Watcher Training." The eight classes -- which are FREE -- will be held at the Mooresville Public Library. Orientation begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. Find out more information here.

The number one cause of pollution in the nation's lakes, streams and rivers is not big factories or power plants. It is agriculture runoff.

The federal government does little to stop it, but does have rules for larger farms. Many of these farms, however, never file paperwork and can "self certify" that they won't cause pollution, thereby freeing themselves from federal regulation.

The New York Times reported on all of this and more in a series of stories about water pollution reports. The problem, one of the stories in the series pointed out, is especially prevalent in states such as Wisconsin, where big dairy farms use and emit lots of water:

"Agricultural runoff is the single largest source of water pollution in the nation's rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. An estimated 19.5 million Americans fall ill each year from waterborne parasites, viruses or bacteria, including those stemming from human and animal waste, according to a study published last year in the scientific journal Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

Read the rest of this "Al's Morning Meeting" post at Poynter Online.

The New York Times has a couple of interesting interactive tools you might enjoy poking around on.

Clean Water Act Violations. On the third tab you'll see that North Carolina isn't afraid to punish violators — they're just afraid to get tough with them. The average fine is only $1,387.

Find polluters near you. Use this tool to look up polluters by zip code. One thing that I found interesting, or disturbing -- depending on how you look at it, is that many of the companies that are listed as having zero compliance issues either haven't been inspected in a long time or it's unknown when they were last inspected.

Ducks Unlimited's take on the Clean Water Act:

Tags: News, pollution, New York Times, clean water act, Catawba River Keeper, Cove Watcher, Farmers, Ducks Unlimited, polluters, violations

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Boomer with Attitude / News Symphony says, 'Drink up!'

Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 12:24 PM

The folks at the Charlotte Symphony say their experiment in May, in which they handed out free German beers before a concert of German music, was such a success, they’re gonna be sure their patrons are good and toasted before this weekend’s shows, too.

That’s not exactly how they put it, but as the Observer reports, the CSO’s program of Russian classical music this weekend will be supplemented by free Eastern European wine, along with other cultural treats such as Ukrainian dancers and pastries. CSO PR director Meg Whalen told the Observer that the free beer before the concert in May “built up the energy and excitement of the whole occasion," and that symphony musicians said they could tell the audience was well on the way to Drunkville, um, rather, “more alive.”

More power to them, and here's hoping more cultural amenities will be offered before future programs so concertgoers can get an idea of life in the countries represented in the program. I foresee a concert of French classical music before which everyone will enjoy Alsatian Riesling, baguette slices topped with Camembert, and free meds from a socialist doctor. And we're hoping for a special program of modern Chinese classical music, complemented by a nice selection of dim sum, bottles of Tsing Tao, and a Chinese businessman walking around, loaning everyone money. The possibilities are endless. Bottoms up, CSO.