Joel Branstrom and his family will be headed to the Final Four basketball tournament after all. And in style.

Rather than a cause for celebration, “no one believes that Congress in its ultimate wisdom, with all the deficits looming, with a recession and two wars … would ever allow the estate tax to lapse. But that’s what happened,” said tax attorney Martin Press.

“It’s created great uncertainty,” he told USA Today. The confusion comes, in part, from a wide agreement that Congress will either reinstate the tax that brought in revenues of $26.5 billion in 2008 or shift the tax to a capital gains levy on property that is inherited and then sold. “A lot of middle-income Americans could end up being affected by a tax they never expected,” Marguerite Mount, managing director of the Mercadien Group told the newspaper.

When members of the U.S. Senate finally headed home last week, they also left the future of 50 individual and business tax breaks in limbo. All expired at the end of 2009. To read more

Kids Build Better Bridges

Shakespeare wrote that all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.

Well according to a Kansas City Star article a group of 20 young people ages 14-33 most of whom have developmental disabilities – “…might bristle at the word merely.”

The Johnson County-based non-profit B.E.S.T. Network — the acronym is for Beyond the Star Theater yesterday performed a special holiday revue at the Bishop Miege High School Theatre. The singing, dancing and sign-language show included favorite musical numbers the group has worked on all year long as well as holiday songs.

Founder and director Marlene Wagnon said the one thing all B.E.S.T. members have in common is their love of performing.

“We’re about reverse inclusion,” Wagnon said. “We want our kids to express themselves and express their abilities. We invite typical kids to participate with those with special needs, and we work to break down barriers and form real friendships.”

B.E.S.T. was the brainchild of Wagnon, whose daughter Audrey has Down syndrome. Audrey wanted to act, sing and dance, but Wagnon couldn’t find any outlets for young would-be performers with disabilities. So in 2002, Wagnon started B.E.S.T., offering classes out of her Overland Park, Kansas home. 

A junior at Bishop Miege High School, Allie Bishop first connected with B.E.S.T. after participating in a production of the Jellybean Conspiracy, a two-act play about similarities and differences. Allie also had a friend with developmental disabilities whom she liked spending time with. Allie performs with B.E.S.T. and volunteers to help the group. 

“I love all the people who do it, with and without disabilities,” Allie said. “They’ve changed my life completely. I know I want to spend my life working the special needs people… They make me happy.” “Becoming their personal best and letting them communicate their ideas and feelings is so important,” Wagnon said. “They bring joy and no fear.”

For more information about the show or the organization, call 913-663-9936 or go to www.thebestnetwork.org.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The $8,000 first time Homebuyers Tax Credit creates a new $6,500 tax credit for homeowners buying a new home by July 1, 2010. The homebuyer tax credit expansion measure includes these provisions:

• Extends
• Homebuyers with contracts as of April 30, 2010 qualify for the credit so long as they close the transaction within 60 days.
• The full credit is available to homebuyers with incomes of up to $125,000 for a single return or $225,000 for a joint return.
• Not available for homes costing over $800,000.
• Homebuyers who already own a home are only eligible if the home they are leaving has been used as a principal residence for five consecutive years in the last eight.
• Provides authority to the IRS to provide greater oversight while processing the return and requires that the taxpayer claiming the credit be 18 or older.

 Victory – Victory – Victory!  As the expiration looms for the end of the original homebuyer tax credit (Nov 30th), Congress has agreed to extend and expand the real estate homebuyer tax credit.  NAR (The National Association of Realtors), has published a comparison chart you may find very helpful to understand and explain this new version of the real estate tax credit. Read the Tax Credit Comparison document on line or Download the Real Estate Tax Credit Comparison by Clicking HERE and save to your computer now. President Obama may sign as early as today!  Please call or comment with questions.

The complete title of the book is Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today’s Students and was written in 2007.  All the percentages are undoubtedly higher today.

Still think Facebook and Twitter and all those other ‘darn social whatever you call them things’ are just a waste of time?  The X and Y generations (born 1965 – 1985) combined make up a demographic (over 100 million) larger than the baby boomer generation (born 1946 – 1964 – approx 75 million) . 

Beginning as early as this Friday and continuing until November 30^th the killing of deer in Shawnee Mission park will commence. I had heard that the shooters/killers were to use bow and arrow but according to a Kansas City Star article, the shooters will use ’sound’ suppressed rifles. Does that mean Cupid and Vixen will not hear when Dancer and Prancer are shot?

I don’t know about you but I really enjoyed setting out for the park a little before dusk and enjoying the the docile creatures getting ready to bed down for the night. Back to reality…apparently …all shots will be taken at short range and the deer will be baited to a secluded area of the park where all shots fired will be directed toward the interior of the park.According to the Star article, the park district wants the deer population (try not to think to think Cupid and Dasher here) to be reduced to 50 deer per square mile. Wildlife experts estimate there are currently about 200 deer per square mile in the park. The park is 3.5 square miles. Yikes do the math, that is 525 deer, right? 525 times say an average of 50 pounds per Donner, I mean reindeer, I mean deer is 26,250 pounds or over 13 tons of meat.

What is done with all the meat? Can’t we at least feed the meat to the needy or have a huge barbeque or a free venison give away? I’ve had venison before and I do not remember it as remarkable but it is supposed to be lean (or is that Bison) and I think it tastes like chicken (or is that rattlesnake).  

Owners of nearby real estate received letters from the park district this week and were assured that the work by the reindeer killers/shooters would be done safely. I am not a dog owner but if you live nearby you’d be well advised to keep your dogs inside beginning this Friday and thru November 30^th.