President greases the wheels for refinancing mortgages. Newhall Ranch development would impact Santa Clara River. Thousands flocked to free medical and dental clinic. What's on the DarkMarket?
President greases the wheels for refinancing mortgages
In another attempt to lift the sagging economy and dragging housing market, today President Obama announced a new initiative to help more homeowners get a crack at lower interest rates.
Millions of Americans are stuck with mortgages bigger than the value of their homes. The President's new plan will let those with federally guaranteed mortgages refinance no matter how low their home equity has fallen. Obama made the pitch in Las Vegas – ground zero of the foreclosure crisis.
Just last month, one of every 118 houses there received a foreclosure filing. Other hard-hit regions include the Golden State, Arizona and Florida. It's said the new process for refinancing will be streamlined. Appraisals and extensive underwriting requirements will be eliminated for most borrowers. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will also waive some fees tied to refinancing in the past.
One catch, however, is that homeowners will only be eligible if they are current on their payments. An official with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie, estimates between 800,000 and one million borrowers will benefit from the new rules.
WEIGH IN:
If so, will their extra cash help stimulate the economy? How will it effect the housing market? What about Americans who still have equity in their homes – but whose credit scores have taken a hit? Should they be given a shot at lower rates? How long could it take to reap the benefits of this refinancing rethink?
Guest:
Richard Green, Director of USC Lusk Center for Real Estate
Proposed Newhall Ranch development sparks controversy
Covering twelve thousand acres along the Santa Clara River, it’s one of the largest single residential developments ever undertaken in California. Over the next 25 to 30 years, the Newhall Land company proposes to turn the undeveloped land just west of Magic Mountain into a community of up to 70 thousand residents, with schools, retail and commercial space as well as the attendant homes, apartments and condos.
The project, known as Newhall Ranch, has already passed several administrative hurdles in its fifteen years of planning and litigation, including approval by the Fish and Game department and most recently, tentative go-ahead by L.A.’s County Board of Supervisors. Ground is expected to break within a few years on Landmark Village, the first of four separate communities that will comprise Newhall Ranch.
But the project is encountering strong resistance from environmentalists, Native American groups and neighbors in nearby communities. They say the area won’t sustain that many new homes, that the impact on water quality is untenable, that traffic on I-5 will be unbearable. Most importantly, they say, the project will have a devastating effect on the ecology of the Santa Clara River – Southern California’s last major “wild river.”
The developers say the environmental impact will be minimal. And along with quaint, small-town living, front-porch homes and corner stores, they promise to deliver over sixty thousand new jobs and an avalanche of tax revenue. Detractors call it a planning disaster, urban sprawl at its worst.
WEIGH IN:
In the midst of what is arguably the worst housing climate since the Great Depression, do we need to build more homes? If you live in the area, will you welcome new neighbors along with the promise of new jobs? Should we be annexing our undeveloped acreage at the expense of whatever wild terrain still exists in our backyard?
Guests:
Lynne Plambeck, president of Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE)
Marlee Lauffer, vice president of Corporate Communications for Newhall Land
Demand at free clinic highlights need for care - will new health law help?
The Los Angeles Sports Arena was taken over last Thursday through Sunday for a free health fair that drew thousands of low-income patients in need of care.
The four-day event was organized by the nonprofit CareNow LA, taking the place of Remote Area Medical, a Tennessee-based group that helped operate the previous free clinics at the Sports Arena. Volunteer doctors, dentists and other healthcare practitioners treated more than 5,000 people for high blood pressure, tooth decay, diabetes and other medical needs.
For those who got in, the clinic was a relief. But there are many more uninsured, underinsured or just plain broke Californians still in need of assistance. Some qualify for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for the poor. But that doesn’t cover dental work, one of the most sought after treatments. Clearly, the need for affordable healthcare is outpacing resources and reform.
So, how does President Obama’s healthcare law fit into this picture? The major provisions are supposed to take effect in 2014, but some parts have already been rolled out. What, if anything, will the new law do to help folks like those who lined up for hours last week to get free care? Does the new law provide for any vision or dental care? What parts of the law have already been implemented?
WEIGH IN:
Do people know about these changes? Are they taking advantage of them? Where does Medi-Cal fit into all this? And what will happen if Republicans succeed in dismantling or repealing the law?
Guest:
Shana Alex Lavarreda, director of Health Insurance Studies at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
John Graham, director of Health Care Studies at the Pacific Research Institute
DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, cybercops and you
The world of online crime is vast, dark and ever-increasing. In his new book, author Misha Glenny outlines three levels of digital threat – cybercrime, cyberwarfare and cyberindustrial espionage.
Cybercrime is the least threatening, writes Glenny, and it consists of identity theft and fraudulent credit card usage. And cyberwarfare is ranked as the most dangerous of cyber attacks. Where did this digitally-based aggression originate? Apparently in Russia, according to Glenny. One of the first Russian scam groups – Shadowscrew – lasted from 2002 to 2004. In two years, a number of men from that group turned into multimillionaires by phishing or withdrawing money on stolen pin numbers.
This kind of digital scamming rapidly spread to Britain and the United States. In his book, Glenny interviews major players in this illicit digital frontier – the criminals, the geeks, the police, secret service agents, undercover FBI agents and the victims. He strings in politics, economics and history into the mix.
Glenny’s quest to start writing his book began with examining DarkMarket – a criminal website that was infiltrated by an undercover FBI agent. He uses the rise and fall of DarkMarket as a springboard to tell the larger story of online crime in the past two decades.
WEIGH IN:
Who are these hackers? How are they able to penetrate complex security systems? Who is most at risk of getting hacked? What are the hidden costs of electronic fraud?
Guest:
Misha Glenny, author of “McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld," “The Balkans," “The Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia," and “The Rebirth of History: Eastern Europe in the Age of Democracy."
There will be a Q&A and book signing with Misha Glenny tonight, Monday, Oct. 24 at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica.