plus 3, Starbird's custom cars go back to the future - Tulsa World

Starbird's custom cars go back to the future - Tulsa World
Toyota finds no problem with electronics: reports - YAHOO!
Today I'll answer questions from readers on paid family leave, the ... - San Francisco Chronicle
Daytona 500 report - MySanAntonio

Starbird's custom cars go back to the future - Tulsa World

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 12:23 AM PST

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BERNICE — In a converted dirt-floor chicken house, 21-year-old Darryl Starbird's first body shop was just big enough to squeeze two cars under a tin roof.

Six years after Starbird opened that tiny Wichita shop in 1954, he unveiled a piece of automotive history in 1960. Starbird called it "The Predicta."

Shaped from the wreckage of a '56 Thunderbird, the Predicta was the world's first bubble-topped car, meaning it looked like it could George-Jetson through space or Captain-Nemo under the ocean when it wasn't easing down Route 66.

Complete with sharp tail fins and a black-and-white TV, the Predicta had everything a futurist could want, including the ability to steer from either side of the car. Free of a steering wheel, the Predicta offered a steering lever positioned between its two Frisian wool seats. To steer right, the driver pushed the stick forward; to steer left, the driver pulled the lever backward. Wild stuff for 1960.

The Predicta's other-worldy sex appeal has landed it in more magazines than just about any other car in history, according to a now 76-year-old Starbird. And Starbird figures it must be worth $1 million.

Some 50 years after the Predicta's birth, its creator admired the car one morning in his National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum located near Bernice and the shores of Grand Lake. Starbird lives with his wife, Donna, in a house on the same acreage as the museum.

Starbird's museum is closed for the season, so there was a quiet about the place while the legend strolled through his 40,000-square-foot facility, which houses a replica of his original tin-roofed body shop and more than 50 of his custom-built exotic vehicles. The museum pieces range from the Predicta's bubble-topped offspring, to a '72 Pantera, which Starbird customized in the mid-70s and sold for a huge sum. A few years ago, Starbird's wife found the Pantera and gave it to her husband as a 50th-anniversary gift.

Of course, there are missing pieces to Starbird's museum, like the Forcasta, which was Starbird's second bubble-topped vehicle. The car began as a 1960 Corvair but ended up as a means for Starbird to improve on the Predicta. For instance, it's a rear-engine car that, unlike the Predicta, has an aviation-based system to blow water off the windshield. And, as Starbird said, "You could actually drive this car down the road." Starbird's tried to convince the Forcasta's original owner to sell it back to him, but the owner refuses.

"Right now," Starbird said, "he's sure it's going to be worth a million bucks. He's just going to sit on it until it is — or until I die anyway."

There are nights when Starbird finds himself walking alone through his museum. With each footstep, he takes in all the chrome-plated beauty and lets it spark new ideas. After all, as Starbird likes to say, his favorite car is the next one he builds.

Lately, he's been working on a '57 Cadillac. However, he's not taking its body into the future. Rather, Starbird's approaching it as if he didn't get his start in a converted dirt-floor chicken house in Kansas, but as a Detroit car designer.

Starbird designed cars for the future. Now it's time for him to redesign the past.

Matt Gleason 581-8473
matt.gleason@tulsaworld.com

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Toyota finds no problem with electronics: reports - YAHOO!

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 12:59 AM PST

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Chris buzzed up: Bombs, booby-traps slow US advance in Afghan town (AP)

1 minute ago 2010-02-14T01:17:02-08:00

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Today I'll answer questions from readers on paid family leave, the ... - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 12:09 AM PST

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Q: Stacey H. writes, "I read with interest your (Feb. 9) column, "How joblessness affects your income taxes." I was doing my taxes and noticed that the first $2,400 of unemployment compensation isn't taxable.

I'm curious about California's Paid Family Leave program. It's not unemployment (in fact, you have to have a job in order to collect it), but it is paid by the Employment Development Department and reported in Box 1 on the 1099-G form, just as unemployment compensation is. The EDD Web site says it may be taxable, and the IRS Web site doesn't seem to have any information at all about it. Can you help?"

A: The Internal Revenue Service treats paid family leave benefits like unemployment benefits, so they are taxable on your federal return. But last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act exempted the first $2,400 in unemployment benefits received in 2009 from federal taxes. The same exemption applies to paid family leave benefits received from a government-sponsored program.

"Up to $2,400 of unemployment compensation, including California Paid Family Leave also reported in Box 1 of Form 1099-G, received in 2009 may be excluded from tax," says IRS spokesman Jesse Weller.

The exemption is per person and applies to benefits received in 2009 only, unless Congress extends it. When doing your 2009 federal taxes, subtract $2,400 from the amount in Box 1 of Form 1099-G to figure how much of your unemployment (or paid family leave) compensation is taxable and must be reported on your federal tax return. Do not enter less than zero, the IRS says.

California does not tax unemployment benefits or paid family leave. If you received more than $2,400 of either and reported the excess on your federal return, you'll have to make an adjustment on your state income tax return. "Make a subtraction adjustment on the Unemployment compensation line, in Column B, of Schedule CA," says Denise Azimi of the Franchise Tax Board.

Q: Robert B. writes, "California's general obligation bonds have experienced lower ratings over the last few years. At the present time, what rating does California have, and what other states have a comparable rating? Could you refer me to a government site from which I could obtain this information?"

A: The California Treasurer posts the state's bond ratings on its home page at www.treasurer.ca.gov. The state is rated BBB by Fitch, Baa1 by Moody's Investors Service and A- by Standard & Poor's. That is lower than any other state. The next-lowest is Illinois, which is rated A by Fitch and A+ by S&P. Even Michigan and Louisiana have higher ratings than California and Illinois.

To see California's credit rating history and how it compares today to other states, go to www.treasurer.ca.gov/ratings/index.asp. Some states do not have general obligation bond ratings, although they may have ratings on other types of debt.

Q: Donna D. writes, "I read your (Jan. 28) column on GeoVera earthquake insurance with great interest. My California Earthquake Authority premium is also going up - by 55 percent (from $1,536 to $2,387) with its renewal in February.

"My insurance company raised the value on which the premium is based by $43,000 (from $477,000 to $520,000). I have done some sleuthing and think I have found the reason for the increase. It appears that homeowners insurance considers a home to be one story if there is only one living level. Thus, a home with a basement, whether in the ground or above ground, is considered to be one story.

"CEA, however, considers a home to be one story if it truly has only one story, including the basement. The rates are significantly more for buildings with more than one story. Apparently, many insurance companies did not understand this distinction and simply used the classification from the homeowner's policy when determining the rate for the earthquake policy (and thus undercharged for earthquake coverage on many homes).

"CEA cracked down on this problem during the last year. Thus, my home, with its above-ground basement, went from one story to 'more than one story,' with the accompanying 55 percent premium increase. Is this correct?"

A: Sort of. Starting July 1, 2006, the state insurance department allowed CEA to charge a higher rate for homes that are more than one story. At that time, about 40 percent of the homes it insured were more than one story. It estimated that the average rate for a home of more than one story would rise 26 percent. The rate is just one factor that determines premiums.

CEA considers a basement or garage to be a story if you can stand up in it and the floor is something other than earth. It doesn't matter if this story is finished or unfinished or above or below ground. CEA instructed the insurance companies that sell its policies to review them and make this adjustment if needed. Some insurance companies are still doing that.

Q: Nicole K. writes, "We've paid for earthquake insurance on our home in Alameda since we bought it in 1991. I've paid in thousands and thousands (to the California Earthquake Authority) but there is no 'balance sheet' or statement that says this homeowner has a balance of X based on payments made for 19 years and is therefore entitled to X percentage of payment in case of a quake (post owner deductible).

"How do they know how much we've paid in and what we are 'due' when one is never issued a statement? Can the CEA issue me such documentation? If there's an earthquake tomorrow, it only seems fair that a person who has paid into the system for 19 years gets more than a person who has paid for one month."

A: There is no pot of money at the CEA with Nicole's name on it. Earthquake insurance, like home and auto insurance, does not build up a cash value for an individual customer like some types of life insurance do. Your premiums go into a big fund that will pay for earthquake damage sustained by CEA customers, no matter where they are or how much they have paid in premiums.

If you are current with your premium payments and there is an earthquake tomorrow, you will be paid for covered damages, after your deductible, up to your policy limit, regardless of whether you have been paying for one year or 20.

If one or more giant quakes wiped out all of CEA's resources, the authority could pay claims on a pro-rata basis (such as everyone gets 75 percent of their claim) or on an installment basis (such as everyone gets paid out over 10 months). The pro-rata payments would not be based on how much anyone paid into the system, says Tim Richison, the CEA's chief financial officer.

State insurance code 10089.35 says the CEA board - whose voting members include the governor, treasurer and insurance commissioner - would "draw up and present to the commissioner a plan to pay policyholder claims on a pro rata basis or in installment payments." The insurance commissioner would have to approve this plan.

The CEA says the chance of it being unable to pay 100 percent of claims is remote because it has more than $9 billion in claims-paying capacity, including its own capital, reinsurance and a special assessment that would be levied on insurance companies. In today's dollars, based on its book of business, that would be enough to cover a 1906 San Francisco earthquake and a 1994 Northridge quake, it says.

The CEA is separate from the state's general fund. As much as it would like to, the state cannot tap CEA funds to close its budget deficit, nor can the CEA tap taxpayer funds to pay claims.

Net Worth runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail Kathleen Pender at kpender@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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Daytona 500 report - MySanAntonio

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 12:59 AM PST

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At a glance

What: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season opener

When: Noon today

Where: Daytona Beach, Fla.

TV: Fox (coverage starts at 11 a.m.)

Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2 1/2 miles)

Race distance: 500 miles, 200 laps

Next race: Auto Club 500, Feb. 21, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.

Online: nascar.com

Last year: Matt Kenseth won the rain-shortened race to give team owner Jack Roush his first Daytona 500 victory. The race was called after 152 of 200 laps.

Last week: Kevin Harvick won the Budweiser Shootout for the second straight year, passing Greg Biffle with two laps left in the race that ended under a caution flag.

Fast facts

• Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned the top two starting positions in qualifying on Saturday. At 51, Martin became the oldest Daytona 500 pole winner.

• Martin Truex has replaced Michael Waltrip — running a partial schedule this year — in Michael Waltrip Racing's NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored Toyota.

• Jimmie Johnson won his record fourth straight series championship last year for Hendrick. The 2006 Daytona 500 winner has consecutive seven-victory seasons and 47 wins overall.

• In December, he became the first driver to be selected Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

• Tony Stewart won the CokeZero 400 in July at Daytona. He also won Saturday's Nationwide race.

• Earnhardt Jr. was a career-worst 25th in points last year.

Starting grid

(Car number in parentheses, qualifying speed in mph)

1. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 191.188

2. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 190.913

3. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 190.359

4. (9) Kasey Kahne, Ford, 189.056

5. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 188.996

6. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 189.374

7. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 190.054