Mama Carol

I think ours was lower for the same period this year compared to last year, too. Surprising since we're both home almost all the time and I now have a laptop that runs for about 15 hours a day.

Got you beat. Mine was $71.00 but that was May 7 to June 7, so no heat and little if any a/c. Hate to see the next bill. We are total electric. We have an outside light that stays on from dusk to dawn; nightlights in all three bathrooms, the bedroom, the downstairs hall and the upstairs hall; my laptop stays on from the time I get up until I go to bed; I cook at least two meals a day; wash and dry three to four loads of clothes a week; have a plasma TV; our printers stay on 24/7 and one of us is home almost all the time. Oh yeah, we run ceiling fans even with the A/C.

Our last bill wasn't bad at all. Of course, little or no A/C use during that time and no heat use. I hate to see the next one because summer rates will be in effect and we have used the A/C a LOT. Are you with Greystone or Ga Power? Ga Power got a rate increase recently. My rental has budget bill and it increased $17 a month.

In the summer of 1973, I went on a date to the Marbro drive in and "saw" "The Godfather". I say I "saw" it because I ended up not being able to see much out the front window because my best friend and her boyfriend were in the front while my date and I were in the backseat. And no, I could have seen the movie had it not been for them in the front seat. Another time my date and I went to the drive in and I have no clue what movie was playing. He fell asleep on me and I couldn't move to see the movie without waking him. He had been up for close to 24 hours so I felt it was best to le

I think the last first run movie I saw at a drive in was one of the Star Wars movies but not the original one. I think it was "The Empire Strikes Back". Saw "Mary Poppins" at the Belmont Theatre. Saw "First Blood" at Cobb Center. Worked at Cobb Cinema during "The Exorcist". My husband and I were wondering if the one in Piedmont, AL was still open. May have to check out the 411.

Unfortunately, many of those homes will never again be worth what was paid for them.

I, for one, believe if the "offender" married the "victim", the charges should be dropped and restitution made to the "offender". I knew someone who was branded a sex offender, too, for the same reason. They married when she turned 18 but the sex offender status has stayed with him. Not saying he was a wonderful guy because he wasn't but that a bum rap.

We had someone come through our neighborhood a couple of years ago claiming that it was a county ordinance to have the reflective painted numbers on your curb. Of the 36 houses on the street, only one paid to have it done. We're quite convinced that when anyone on our street calls 911, THEY call Papa John's to see where they need to go. On the original topic, I'm convinced that the people you need to worry about are not the ones who are registered. It is the ones who aren't registered and in many cases, family.

We're not in New Hope but we have had problems with AT&T cell phones for a couple of weeks. Our phones will show missed calls when we have not been away from them. We will get voice mails when we didn't hear them ring. We're usually lucky to get 3 bars anytime at home but lately we haven't been able to get even one at home. Didn't know they had a heavily damaged phone but that makes me feel better. I thought we had just paid a lot of money for my husband's Google phone and it wouldn't work now. Of course, that wouldn't have explained why mine doesn't work any better. Oddly

You do have to wonder if she paid attention during US Geography. Gee, even I who was surrounded by cute boys and whose teacher taught us more about wine and birth control pills then US Geography, paid enough attention in class to know that Arizona borders Mexico. And that New Mexico is one of the United States. I'm all for people standing up for what they believe, but come on, at least be knowledgable enough to know what you're talking about. Yeah, let's say she was nervous.

Milwaukee. We just heard Neal Boortz talk about this on the radio. Un-freaking-believable!

Thank you Mark!! Wonderful explanation.

A good friend of mine claims wedding cake works very well, too.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20100623/NEWS01/100623008/Oil-spill-OIl-tar-balls-on-Pensacola-Beach breaks my heart.

Cash basis taxpayer is one who recognizes income when received and expenses when paid. If you don't have the income received, you can't have lost it. I would hope that BP would recognize that cancelled reservations for condos, resorts, etc would be income lost. And please GD, let us know if BP reimburses you for everything you submitted. You don't need to tell us how much (don't even WANT to know that) but would like to know if they paid 100%.

Our assessment increased over 60% from 2000 to 2006. I don't mind a decrease of $12,000, which is about a 10% drop. That still means the TAX ASSESSMENT for my house is more than 50% higher than it was 10 years ago. Should we stay here another 10 years, which we don't plan to do, I expect it will more than make up that 10% or so decrease from last year. The bottom line is I am not worried about my tax assessment/value. I am more concerned about what a buyer will pay for my house since that is the true fair market value. My fear is that Cobb County will increase the millage rates to more t

I ALWAYS fly by the seat of my pants! My motto used to be "blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape".

BW, I heard last week that oil had been seen in the Santa Rosa Sound near the Quietwater Boardwalk area of Pensacola Beach. Never heard if that was true or not. Another report of oil being seen in Milton, NORTH of the Sound, turned out to be false. You just never know. There is a link to a website that has daily updates. This is the Florida EPD site and there is a link on it to closures. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/health.htm I am curious about whether or not BP is going to use the cash basis taxpayer model for these businesses that claim a loss of income. I

I hate to hear what she said. I was hoping that she would gladly refund your deposit. Whether or not she gets reimbursed by BP depends on a whole boatload of what-ifs. The agencies we have dealt with in the past have a clause in there that you get a refund, minus something like $100, if they can rent the property for that same time period. The rental companies we have dealt with in Navarre Beach since way back in the 1980s has said that IF the beaches are officially closed, you will get a full refund. Did she say anything like that? It would be similar to the mandatory evacuation refu

To the person who is afraid this tax assessment will have an effect on what you get when you sell to the state for the right of way. Pretty much, the state is going to tell you what they will pay. They have people on the payroll, or hire outside consultants, who determine what they will pay for what property. Doesn't really matter what the tax assessors office says your property is worth. You can request, and pay for, appraisals but they are free to use them or not. My experience was with Cobb County, but they were more than fair with me. They actually ended up paying me a good deal more

Tax assessed value has very little, if ANY, effect on what banks will lend. Banks require an appraisal which uses comps. Comps are properties similar to yours that HAVE SOLD. There is a very complicated formula for determining the appraised value. I don't think appraisers even use the tax records except to verify legal descriptions. Tax values are not appraised values. There is not much one can do to raise the appraised value of their property, short of making improvements to the property. That will increase the tax assessment, too. And why in the world would anyone want to appeal

That will make a difference in the escrow amount for property tax. Not a lot of difference, but some.

What is assessment value? The assessment value of your home is the dollar amount on which your local government levies property taxes. What is market value? The market value of a home is the dollar amount for which the home would most likely sell in the current real estate market. Often these two amounts are nothing alike! You would only owe more on your house than it's worth if you can only SELL it for less than you owe. Most likely, your lender wouldn't allow that.

What he said!! And yes, the county would be more than HAPPY to reassess your property at a higher value. They would laugh all the way to the bank! Even if you plan on selling your house, the assessed value has no real correlation to the value at sale. However, the reverse can be true. If it assesses at an amount higher but you can't get a seller if you're actively seeking to sell for less, that is a good basis to appeal the higher assessment. We appealed on that basis...and won. We took the contract for less than the assessment and the letter from the potential buyer saying he cou

We got our assessment a couple of weeks ago. It dropped about $12,000. At this rate, it will soon be worth what we paid for it in 1978. I fully expect the millage rates to be increased because the counties sure can't afford to collect less taxes. Our rental was not due to be reassessed for this year. If it drops as much accordingly, we will almost need to expect the county to pay us instead of the other way around. The assessment on our rental is so low as it is. Thank you Cobb County!! Not all properties are reassessed every year. Ours in Cobb have been on 3-year cycles.