An Insider’s Guide to Living the Good Life in Naples

The Internal Revenue Service said it will try to make it easier for homeowners in financial straits to refinance or sell their homes.

The plan announced by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman would speed up a process where financially distressed homeowners may request that a federal tax lien be made secondary to liens by the lending institution that is refinancing or restructuring a loan.

Taxpayers will also be able to ask the IRS to discharge, or remove, its claim to a property in certain circumstances where the property is being sold for less than the amount of the mortgage lien.

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It’s time to put up the Christmas tree, but you’re ready for a break from candy canes. What are the hottest new options for holiday trees this year? A quick foray around the most inspiring showrooms and stores of Southwest Florida brought inspiration by the sleigh-full.

Festively floral

“People automatically think garlands and a star on top,” says Norris Furniture & Interiors design consultant Cindy Hollon. “But you can incorporate so many different elements.”

Hollon cites floral design as a key component that’s useful in creating a new look for a tree. “Incorporate floral stems in sparkly red, green or silver for a signature impact,” she says. “Ornamental balls add another texture but are more of a minor component,” she says, comparing traditional hanging ornaments to stems easily found at floral and craft shops.

Old Time Pottery bears out what Ms. Hollon says, with bins and bins of stems, front and center in the tree section. Holiday-minded shoppers can choose from golden pomegranate stems; sparkly red or gold eucalyptus branches and Boston ferns; spray coral in a glittery brown or shimmery green; even festive roses and hydrangea. Any of these eye-catching stems can be easily inserted among a tree’s branches and to any degree of density; mix and match as it suits you. Priced from as little as $1.49 a stem, these floral touches are not a major investment, are non-breakable, easy to store, and completely transform a tree visually. Traditionalists can add stems with red poinsettia blossoms or wintry white branches with berries, blending a new look with a classic look.

LIBBY MCMILLAN / FLORIDA WEEKLY 
 
Go organic

Using florals is part of a larger 2008 trend that’s coming from furnishings, interior design and even clothing: organic shapes from nature are huge. The trick when decorating a tree organically is deciding whether to go all-natural (pine cones and cinnamon sticks, for example), or to rely on the cornucopia of amazing re-creations on the market today.

We found a boggling variety of components from nature, peacock features being perhaps the most tantalizing. Shoppers will find bird nests, branches and twigs, butterflies, bird feathers and even small antlers with which to adorn their trees. In a happy twist on Charlie Brown’s scraggly Christmas tree, less can now be more: some trees are built of twigs only, an alternative foundation for organic creativity.

Pheasant feathers are very popular this year,” says Ms. Hollon, of goods used as what she calls ‘tuckings’ . . . those items tucked in and among the branches. By going to nature for inspiration, one can incorporate elements meaningful in regard to time and place. Someone with meaningful ties to Sanibel and Captiva Islands, for example, might choose to highlight a tree with bleached starfish and sand dollars. (Add crystals or rhinestones to a starfish and it becomes a collectible holiday ornament). Dried chiles will harken back to a favorite New Mexico vacation spot.

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There has been a major rise in the number of American homes having green roofs put onto their homes.

Green roofs are vegetated layers that sit on top of the conventional roof surfaces of a building. Intensive green roofs are composed of relatively deep substrates and can support a wide range of plant types, from trees and shrubs as well as perennials, grasses and annuals.

As a result they are generally heavy and require specific support from the building. Intensive green roofs have in the past been rather traditional in their design, simply reproducing what tends to be found on the ground, with lawns, flower beds and water features.

The roofs can help to lower energy heating and cooling costs and provide sound insulation, as well as being environmentally friendly.

The survey found that there has been a rise of 30 per cent in the number of green roofs across North America in the past year, and a new pilot program in New York State is providing tax incentives to encourage people to install such roofs on private residences.

One hot topic on everyone’s mind these days is identity theft. Identity thieves attack working individuals, the elderly, retired, children, teens, and businesses. Here are few tips you can use to protect the things that mean the most to you.

·     Protect your Social Security Number - Do not carry your social security card. Only give out the number when absolutely necessary. Do not give out the number without inquiring about the way it will be used, and the security methods in place for protecting your identity. The same useful information applies to your spouse or children’s personal social security numbers, and your business’ federal tax id number or TIN.

·     Destroy Personal Papers and Documents - At the very least, tear up your personal documents (bank statements, receipts, bills, credit offers, insurance papers, and the like). We suggest you purchase a shredder for your home or office if you do not already have one. Thieves will stop at nothing these days. Although not too much of an issue here in Naples, Florida, dumpster diving is a popular sport for unsavory types on the hunt for a misplaced identity. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

·     Beware Free-standing ATM Machines - Many free-standing machines are not affiliated with any particular bank and can be obtained by anyone (even someone with a criminal record). They are set up inside casinos, arenas, theme parks, convenience stores, and shopping centers for unwitting visitors to retrieve quick cash. The machine then stores the bank and credit account numbers of all cards inserted, to be retrieved for later use. As a victim of identity theft, monies were transferred directly from my bank account and charged through my credit card account, because I inadvertently used a tagged ATM machine. If at all possible always try to use the same branch where you bank, or at least a bank ATM not regulated by a third party. Most banks offer a well lighted area for ATM use at night, and use video surveillance or even a security officer or company.

·     Monitor your Credit Report Regularly - Obtain and thoroughly review your credit report (now available for free at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228) at least per year. If you spot anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, alert your card company or the creditor immediately. You may also want to subscribe to a credit protection service, which alerts you right away when any change takes place with your credit report.

If you do find yourself the unfortunate victim of a personal or business identity theft, notify the credit bureaus and your creditor right away. Contact your local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission. For a complete list of who to notify in case of identity theft, click here.

Did you know? Swapping 16 incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) saves emissions equivalent to taking a car off the road for a year.

Everywhere you turn these days you hear about global warming, energy conservation and “going green”. It may seem overwhelming, but helping to save the planet is as easy as writing a letter, riding a bike or changing a light bulb. For an A-to-Z list of ideas, click here.

We all want to do our part to help the environment. Authors Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen have made it simple in “The Green Book.” With tips from celebrities like Cameron Diaz and Will Ferrell, and TODAY’s own Tiki Barber. Here they offer some more simple tips for going green:

Home
The big picture
There are about 1.6 billion homes in the world, about 100 million in the United States alone. Yours is where you spend most of your time. It’s where you use the most energy and water and create the most waste. You create 4.5 pounds of trash every day. Over the course of your life, that will total 600 times your average adult weight… in garbage. Broken down, your torso would be paper. One leg would be yard trimmings, the other food scraps. One arm would be plastic with a rubber hand. The other would be metal with a wood hand. Your head would be glass, and your neck would be all the other stuff. In the end, we will each leave a 90,000-pound legacy of trash for our grandchildren.

But waste isn’t our biggest impact on the planet: Americans use at least twice as much water and energy per person as anyone else in the world. Those are big problems considering there’s a scarcity of both to go around. By 2025, the world must increase its water supply by 22 percent in order to meet its needs. Meanwhile, 40 percent of the drinking water supplied to homes is flushed down the toilet. As far as energy goes, it’s used mostly for heating and cooling.

The microwave
Keep your microwave clean and you’ll be able to maximize its energy. This means less electricity used, less money spent, and less time cooking. Microwaves are between 3.5 and 4.8 times more energy efficient than traditional electric ovens. If it costs ten cents to cook one item in a microwave, it would cost forty-eight cents to cook the same item in a standard oven. If everyone in North America cooked exclusively with a microwave for a year, we’d save as much energy as the entire continent of Africa consumes during that same time.

The refrigerator
Keep your head out of the refrigerator and the door closed! The refrigerator is the single biggest energy-consuming kitchen appliance, and opening the refrigerator door accounts for between $30 and $60 of a typical family’s electricity bill each year. The amount of energy saved in a year by more efficient refrigerator usage could be enough to light every house in the United States for more than four and a half months straight.

At the movies
Share your popcorn when you’re at the movies instead of buying multiple cartons or bags. You’ll save money and packaging. Americans today consume seventeen billion quarts of popcorn each year (54 quarts per person), 30 percent of which are eaten at movie theaters,
sporting events, entertainment arenas, amusement parks, and other recreational centers. If half the people shared their popcorn, we could save the paper packaging for more than 2.5 billion quart-size servings.

From Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen, authors of “The Green Book.” To learn more about “The Green Book,” you can visit their website at: readthegreenbook.com

From MSNBC June 19,2007