| Veterans lobby for nursing home
East Bay and Central Valley veterans had one last chance Friday to make in-person pleas to keep a Veterans Affairs nursing home in Livermore or to move it east. "A lot of us like it here," said Tracy resident George Briggs, 83, a veteran of three wars. "You modernize this place a little and this would be ideal. It's a different atmosphere here." Briggs was one of a couple hundred veterans and others to attend the meeting at Livermore's nursing home care unit, the last of four such sessions with the advisory panel dealing with the Tri-Valley campus. The meetings are designed to get public opinion on what to do with the 115-acre site just south of Livermore. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson is set to decide in late spring or summer from among four options on the table for a VA nursing home in the area: -Make slight upgrades to the existing Livermore facility.
Hotlinks
Overnight leader Ernie Els (71) struggled to recover from a three-bogey outward half of 37. The three-times champion eventually finished second, despite holing out from a greenside bunker for a birdie at the 14th. World number one Tiger Woods (69), who had won nine times in his previous 12 starts, was a further stroke back on 271 alongside Swede Niclas Fasth (68). "I fought hard all week and to beat Ernie by one is awesome," the 30-year-old Stenson told Sky Sports after rolling in an uphill eight-foot birdie putt at the par-five 18th. "Living here in Dubai and having all the local fans, my friends and family watching me this week, it feels special to win this one." World number 14 Stenson, who hits the ball prodigious distances off the tee, secured victory with a four-under back nine of 33 which included a run of three birdies in four holes from the 11th.
Retirement savings should begin with 1st paycheck
As soon as you start working, goes the mantra of financial experts, with their spreadsheets showing the miracle of compounding. Save even small amounts over a very long time horizon and you are likely to have more than the people who started socking away big percentages of their incomes in their 30s and 40s.
Sounds easy enough, but a newly minted college graduate frequently has education and credit card debt, not to mention a rather paltry starting salary and a need to set up a new household and wardrobe for working life. How to balance it all?
Instead of aggressively paying down student loans, pay the minimum and sign up for your 401(k) plan at work, said Carrie Schwab Pomerantz, chief strategist for consumer education at Charles Schwab & Co.
Then cut out one excess in your daily spending--did anyone say latte?--and open a Roth individual retirement account, she said.
Impulse keeps us living in present
If you're a pigeon in Leonard Green's lab, pecking at a green light gets you a tasty food pellet immediately. Pecking a red light means waiting - and oh, how eight seconds can try a pigeon's patience. But then the chute opens and you're rewarded handsomely - 30 pellets! .
|
