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Kansas City News Today Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in Kansas City. |
KANSAS CITY NEWS TODAY - Sunday, March 2, 2008 Consumer Fraud Ranks High With Missourians ST. LOUIS, (kansascityfrontpage.com), March 2, 2008 - The observance of the 10th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) from March 2 - 8 is a reminder to Missourians that plenty of free resources are available to them to become or remain financially savvy, according to Attorney General Jay Nixon. The Attorney General's Office is the primary consumer protection agency for Missourians, and returned more than $18 million to consumers in 2007 through legal action and informal mediation. Nixon said his office was one of a broad group of federal, state, and local government agencies and national consumer advocacy organizations that use NCPW to highlight consumer education efforts in the fight against fraud in communities across the nation. The theme of this year's NCPW is "Financial Literacy - A Sound Investment." The event's organizers encourage people from coast to coast to fortify their financial know-how, because financially savvy consumers are more likely to make smarter decisions about managing their money, using credit wisely, and building a solid financial foundation. "Over the last several years, we've made a wide range of consumer education tools available on our Web site, ago.mo.gov, including our consumer blog, several quizzes, online complaint forms, and more than 30 of our publications," Nixon said. "Our Web site had more than 1 million hits last month, so Missourians have shown they're eager to find out how to protect themselves from consumer fraud." LULAC Literacy Program for Hispanic Children Receives $1 Million Grant ST. LOUIS, (kansascityfrontpage.com), March 2, 2008 - The League of Latin American Citizens' Young Readers program has received a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation to expand the program, which is aimed at improving literacy and academic achievement among Hispanic children in grades 1-3. Through the grant, LULAC's National Educational Service Centers, which operate the Young Readers program, will expand the number of schools participating in the program in six cities: Dallas; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Miami; Philadelphia; and Washington. "For almost two decades, the Young Readers program has helped instill a love of reading in children, allowing them to secure a basic building block needed to achieve academic success," said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales. "We are proud to partner with the Verizon Foundation on this valuable program." LNESC Executive Director Richard Roybal said, "The Young Readers program is designed to help children improve their reading skills by utilizing a curriculum that focuses on reading aloud and uses a variety of reading materials including children's books, magazines and other academic and cultural media." In addition, under the $1 million grant, the Young Readers program will begin utilizing Thinkfinity.org. Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation's free comprehensive program and online portal to more than 55,000 educational resources, including grade- specific, K-12 lesson plans, and other student interactive activities provided in partnership with 11 of the nation's leading educational organizations. It also includes the Thinkfinity Literacy Network, which offers teachers, parents and community groups free online courses, best practices and program assessment tools to help improve literacy development for children and adults. "Thinkfinity.org will give the Young Readers program access to thousands of engaging educational resources to capture the imagination of their students," said Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston. "The addition of Thinkfinity.org resources to the Young Readers' already impressive curriculum will give children the tools they need to improve student achievement." Relief for Residential Construction Market Won't Occur Until Mid-2009 ST. LOUIS, (kansascityfrontpage.com), March 2, 2008 - Already grim conditions facing the residential construction market are expected to worsen in 2008 according to a recent PCA Economic Research report. High home inventories will cause housing starts to decline 25 percent in 2008 from already depressed 2007 levels. By the end of 2008, PCA expects a 9.5 to 10 month supply of homes to be in "inventory" for sale. According to Edward J. Sullivan, PCA chief economist, the large number of foreclosures caused by the sub-prime crisis is a main contributor to the large inventory that will depress start activity. "Typically builders accelerate start activity when the inventory supply reaches five months," Sullivan said. "A significant improvement in sales and inventory conditions is not expected until the second half of 2009." Because 85 percent of total home inventory is comprised of existing homes, increasing sales is key to the residential sector's recovery. Although prices will decline by eight percent in 2008, tight lending standards, weak economic conditions, and slower household formation will doom 2008 home sales. "Even though buyers can get better priced homes in 2008, they must now have good credit scores and as much as a 20 percent down payment to qualify for loans. With job and income gains expected to slow during the next four quarters, most potential home buyers will back away from such a major purchase until the economy is more stable," Sullivan said. The recent strong monetary and fiscal stimulus actions will start to have a positive impact in the second half of 2008 and first half of 2009, with job creation accelerating in mid- to late-2009. "These conditions could result in a significant acceleration of sales activity, allowing the healing process for the housing market to truly begin."   The Kansas City Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Kansas City area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 2007 - 2008 Moore Design Group. |
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