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“For decades, viewers have been inconvenienced by the wildly fluctuating volumes played during the commercials of their favorite television programs,” said Congressman Mike Thompson (D – St. Helena). “The CALM Act is a long overdue fix to this problem faced by millions of television watchers. I am proud to have been the first coauthor of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s legislation, which has now been signed into law.”
This new law will require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to limit the volume of audio on commercials transmitted by television broadcast stations, cable operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors.
The FCC must begin enforcing these new rules within one year.
“With the President signing the CALM Act into law, the top consumer complaint to the Federal Communications Commission for over a half century is now addressed,” said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D – Menlo Park). “Consumers will no longer need to dive for the ‘mute’ button during commercial breaks. This would not have been possible without Congressman Mike Thompson’s critical support. He was the first Member of Congress to become an original cosponsor of the legislation. This is a commonsense solution to a national nuisance and without Congressman Mike Thompson it simply would not have been possible.”
S. 2847, the CALM Act passed the United States Senate unanimously on Sept. 29, 2010 and passed the United States House of Representatives by a voice vote on Dec. 2, 2010.
The original House companion of the bill, H.R. 1084, was authored by Congresswoman Eshoo, and cosponsored by Congressman Thompson, on Feb. 13, 2009.
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“This report allows donors to make informed choices in their charitable giving,” Brown said. “Some commercial fundraisers are effective at generating millions for worthwhile charities but many others divert the majority of the donations to overhead.”
Among numerous other tables, the annual report contains an alphabetical list of charities that hired commercial fundraisers in 2009 – along with the total revenue raised in those campaigns and the dollar amount and percentage of total funds raised that went to the charity.
Commercial fundraisers, who are hired by charities to raise money on their behalf, typically charge a flat fee for their services or a percentage of the contributions they collect.
By law, commercial fundraisers must register with the Attorney General's Office prior to fundraising in California and must file annual financial disclosure reports detailing income and expenses for each fundraising campaign.
According to reports filed with Brown's office, commercial fundraisers collected $391.5 million in donations in 2009. This figure excludes thrift store operations and vehicle donation programs, which are accounted for in a supplemental report.
On average, $166.8 million – or 42.61 percent of the funds raised – went to the charities. The remainder was retained by the commercial fundraisers as payment of fees and expenses.
Brown's office also publishes the Guide to Charitable Giving for Donors that provides advice, guidelines and information to help donors make informed decisions about giving. The Guide suggests that donors:
1. Ask the solicitor how a donation will be distributed.
2. Ask what percentage of donations will be used to pay for fundraising expenses.
3. Ask if the solicitor works for a commercial fundraiser and is being paid to solicit.
4. Avoid cash donations.
5. Avoid giving credit card information to a telephone solicitor or in response to a telephone solicitation.
6. Learn about a charitable organization, its activities and its fundraising practices before giving. Donors can Brown's office maintains a searchable online database on registered charities at http://rct.doj.ca.gov/MyLicenseVerification/Search.aspx?facility=Y, and on registered commercial fundraisers at http://cfr.doj.ca.gov/. Donors can also check the Web sites of the Wise Giving Alliance at http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/ and the American Institute of Philanthropy at http://www.charitywatch.org .
The guide is available online at http://ag.ca.gov/charities/publications.php#cfrReports .
The Attorney General's annual report on commercial fundraisers, currently in its 18th year of publication, can be found at http://ag.ca.gov/publications/.
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None of the loans were made by Wells Fargo. All were originated by World Savings and Wachovia, banks Wells Fargo acquired.
“Customers were offered adjustable-rate loans with payments that mushroomed to amounts that ultimately thousands of borrowers could not afford,” Brown said. “Recognizing the harm caused by these loans, Wells Fargo accepted responsibility and entered into this settlement with my office.”
“The majority of Wachovia’s Pick-a-Payment customers reside in California,” said Mike Heid, co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. “We’re pleased that going forward the attorney general’s office will assist with outreach, so that we can continue to work with as many customers as possible on the options available to them to prevent foreclosures.”
The pick-a-pay, or pay option adjustable-rate, mortgage loans allowed borrowers to make payments at various levels.
The highest level fully covered the monthly interest and principal due. Another level covered interest only. At the minimum level, payment was insufficient to cover the monthly interest owed, and the unpaid interest was added to the loan balance.
Ultimately, the loans would reset, increasing the monthly payments dramatically.
Faced with unemployment, dramatic declines in home prices, and the sharp escalation of the monthly payments, thousands of borrowers were unable to meet their mortgage payments.
The settlement with Wells Fargo covers loans made by World Savings Bank, a subsidiary of Golden West Financial Corp., and Wachovia Bank. Wachovia purchased World Savings in 2006, and Wells Fargo then acquired Wachovia in 2008.
Under the settlement, Wells Fargo will offer affordable loan modifications to an estimated 14,900 California borrowers with pick-a-pay loans made by World Savings or Wachovia. Many of the modifications will include significant principal forgiveness.
The total value of the modifications mandated by the settlement is projected to be more than $2 billion.
Wells Fargo is also required to pay $32 million in restitution to more than 12,000 pick-a-pay borrowers in California who lost their homes through foreclosure, plus approximately $1.8 million in costs to the state. Payments to foreclosed homeowners are expected to average more than $2,650.
Wells Fargo has reached settlements over pick-a-pay loans with attorneys general of several other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas and Washington.
California borrowers eligible for loan modifications should get a notice from Wells Fargo within the next two months.
Borrowers who suffered foreclosures should be notified during the first six months of 2011.
For further information and updates, check the Attorney General's Web site at www.ag.ca.gov.
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The business was established in 1995 and has been serving all of Lake County reliably and professionally for over 15 years.
Polestar is the oldest and largest computer store in Lake County, providing exceptional customer service with competitive prices and dedicated to solving all your computer issues.
With trained and experienced technicians, Polestar will help evaluate your computer needs and find the right solution.
For the business and professional offices or an individual computer user, Polestar provides customers with a large selection of major manufacturer products and technical support, network systems and upgrades.
Polestar’s agreement with a national distributor allows the customer a selection from a wide range of major manufacturer’s PC systems, components, peripherals, software, printers, scanners and all other computer related supplies.
For those special items not in stock, Polestar will special order to accommodate their customers. Polestar provides many of their services to local city and county departments, schools and organizations.
Like most other quality Lake County businesses, Polestar is locally owned and operated.
Owners Armand, who has 35 years of computer experience, and Trena Pauly not only provide services six days a week but are involved in the community.
Armand Pauly taught computer classes at Mendocino College, is the president of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, member of Kelseyville Sunrise Rotary and member of the Clearlake Chamber of Commerce.
Trena Pauly is president of the Kelseyville Business Association, member of the Lake County Wine Alliance, member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority and involved in many community activities.
Polestar Computers is located downtown Kelseyville at 3930 Main St., telephone 707-279-1228, or go to www.polestarcomputer.com.
Polestar is there to help with all your computer needs and is committed to high performance standards, excellent service and customer satisfaction.