Jay & Jewell Kaiser

White House may extend homebuyer tax credit (AP) – Sep 16, 2009 WASHINGTON — The White House is considering extending an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Spokesman Robert Gibbs says the administration's economic team is evaluating the tax credit's impact on new home sales and will make a recommendation to the president. The federal tax credit covers up to 10 percent of the home price, or up to $8,000, for first-time buyers. Home sales must be complete by the end of November. The tax break is credited with helping the number of U.S. home sales rise slowly. Builders and real estate agents say that trend could be reversed if the credit isn't extended.

John Roach
for National Geographic News

Updated September 22, 2009

In the Northern Hemisphere fall officially begins at 5:19 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 22, 2009-the autumnal equinox, or fall equinox. But don't be fooled by the notion that on the autumnal equinox the length of day is exactly equal to the length of night.

The true days of day-night equality always fall after the autumnal equinox and before the vernal, or spring, equinox, according to Geoff Chester, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

The difference is a matter of geometry, atmosphere, and language.

Equinox Illusions

Day and night would each be exactly 12 hours long on a spring or fall equinox only if the sun were a single point of light and Earth had no atmosphere.

But the sun, as seen from Earth, is nearly as large as a little fingertip held at arm's length-a size known to astronomers as half a degree wide.

Sunrise is defined as the moment the top edge of the sun appears to peek over the horizon. Sunset is when the very last bit of the sun appears to dip below the horizon.

The vernal and autumnal equinoxes, meanwhile, occur when the center of the sun's disk crosses what's known as the celestial equator, an imaginary line that projects outward from Earth's Equator, Chester noted.

What's more, Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight when it's close to the horizon, making the sun appear to rise a few minutes earlier than it actually does.

"Those factors all combine to make the day of the equinox not the day when we have 12 hours [each] of light and darkness," Chester said.

Equinox Special Nonetheless

The length of day and night may not be equal on the equinox, but that doesn't make the first day of fall or spring any less special.

The spring and autumn equinoxes, for starters, are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west, according to Alan MacRobert, a senior editor with Sky & Telescope magazine.

The equinoxes are also the only days of the year when a person standing on the Equator can see the sun passing directly overhead.

On the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox day, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness.

On the same day, a person at the South Pole would also see the sun skim the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight.

Maybe Equal, But Unseen

Most people will never see the full 12 hours of sunup and sundown on the autumnal equinox, noted Judith Young, a professor of astronomy at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

That's because most people have hills or trees blocking their views of a flat horizon. Thus, they see the sun rise later and set earlier than it does for a horizon without obstruction, she said.

What's more, for people who don't live on the Equator, the sun still rises and sets at an angle to the horizon, noted Young, who built a Stonehenge-like solar calendar and observatory on the University of Massachusetts campus.

Even though the sun rises due east and sets due west on the equinox, "you'll only see an east sun rising and west sun setting with an obstruction-free horizon," Young said.

The equinoxes aren't even midway between the solstices, which are the days of greatest and least light of the year, she added.

"That comes about because the Earth's orbit is not a true circle. We have a slightly elliptical orbit," she said.

The elongated orbit means that Earth goes faster around the sun in January, when it is closest to the star, than it does when it is farthest away from the sun in July.

"We arrive at the September equinox a day late, because we were going a little bit slower in July, and we arrive at the March equinox a day earlier," Young said.

Equinox Oddity

Another equinox oddity: A rule of the calendar keeps spring almost always arriving on March 20 or 21-but sometimes on the 19th-Sky & Telescope's MacRobert said.

In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII established the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world now observes, to account for an equinox inconvenience.

If the pope hadn't established the new calendar, every 128 years the spring equinox would have come a full calendar day earlier, eventually putting Easter in chilly midwinter.

"It begins with the fact that there is not an exact number of days in a year," MacRobert said.

Before the pope's intervention, the Romans and much of the European world marked time on the Julian calendar.

Instituted by Julius Caesar, the old calendar counted exactly 365.25 days a year, averaged over a four-year cycle. Every four years a leap day helped keep things on track.

It turns out, however, that there are 365.24219 days in an astronomical "tropical" year-defined as the time it takes the sun, as seen from Earth, to make one complete circuit of the sky.

Using the Julian calendar, the spring and fall equinoxes and the seasons were arriving 11 minutes earlier each year. By 1500 the spring equinox had fallen back to March 11.

To fix the problem, the pope decreed that most century years (such as 1700, 1800, and 1900) would not be leap years. But century years divisible by 400, like 2000, would be leap years.

Under the Gregorian calendar, the year is 365.2425 days long, "close enough to the true fraction that the seasons don't drift," MacRobert said.

With an average duration of 365.2425 days, Gregorian years are now only 27 seconds longer than the length of the tropical year-an error which will allow the gain of one day over a period of about 3,200 years.

Nowadays, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory's Chester, equinoxes migrate through a period that occurs about six hours later from calendar year to calendar year, due to the leap year cycle.

The system resets every leap year, slipping a little bit backward until a non-leap century year nudges the equinoxes forward in time once again.

For the video and full article here is the link http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090922-autumnal-equinox-2009-fall-equinox.html

IRS Says 1.4 Million Taxpayers Have Used Tax Credit The IRS has released IR-2009-083 reporting that about 1.4 million taxpayers have filed (or amended) their 2008 income tax returns claiming the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. This is roughly consistent with NAR's projections that about 1.8 million taxpayers will claim the credit. NAR also estimates that at least 355,000 of eligible sales would not have occurred without the credit. The IRS release also reminds taxpayers of the importance of getting to closing before the December 1 expiration of the credit and publicizes a YouTube video it has prepared to help taxpayers understand the basics of the credit. NAR continues its full court press to extend the credit into 2010. This intense campaign will have major grassroots components to secure an extension of the credit as soon as possible to avert a slowdown in the market.

Charlie's Angels A Rescue Group for Abused and Abandoned Animals

Needs YOUR Help!

Please go to the Cutest Dog Competition site at http://www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=08C91FF88447651C43B224AF9FFC1E6E every day until the end of October and vote for "Little Bitsy". She is one of Evelyn Bridge's rescues and if Little Bitsy wins during the contest she wants to give it to Evelyn's Fund! They are picking winners weekly so vote for her every day. The votes go back to 0 on Sunday and the week begins again.

Let's see if we can win $500 (or more! ) to help other dogs just like Little Bitsy have happy endings too!

Again, here is the link below - click on and register and vote every day!

Little Bitsy thanks you!

Little Bitsy was adopted by Sylvia and Barney Evans.

http://www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=08C91FF88447651C43B224AF9FFC1E6E

Don't forget to vote.

Discover Transylvania County!

Transylvania County is a growing community, popular with people of all ages. We can boast an unrivaled quality of life and thriving entrepreneurial businesses. Visit and you'll see why Rand McNally, the Wall Street Journal and National Geographic Traveler consistently name Transylvania County and Brevard as as one of America's top ten places to live, work and play!

Proud Points
Transylvania County is the home of the Cradle of Forestry, the site of the first forestry school in America, founded in the early 1900s.

More than 50% of Transylvania County is covered by our three parklands: Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Forest and Gorges State Park.

Our ideal location makes us the Gateway to Outdoor Recreation in the Southeast.

Transylvania County, nicknamed the Land of Waterfalls, is home to over 260 waterfalls.

Transylvania County has the highest rainfall of any county east of the Rocky Mountains.

Transylvania County has the best water quality in the State of North Carolina.

A portion of Pisgah National Forest is considered a rainforest due to its high annual precipitation levels.

Fast Facts

Location:
25 minute drive from the Asheville Airport
30 miles southwest of Asheville, NC
20 miles southwest of Hendersonville, NC
60 miles north of Greenville, SC

Geography & Climate:
County land area: 379 sq. miles
National Forest land area: 136 sq. miles
Lowest elevation: 1,265 ft.
Highest elevation: 6,045 ft.
Downtown Brevard elevation: 2,200 ft.
Average annual temperature: 54.9 F
Average January temperature: 37.9 F
Average June temperature: 71.9 F
Average annual rainfall: 80.0"
Average annual snowfall: 6.2"

Population: (2005)
Transylvania County: 29,880
City of Brevard: 6,829
Town of Rosman: 571
Property Taxes
State: No state property tax.
Transylvania County: $.540 per $100 of value
City of Brevard: $.495 per $100 of value
Town of Rosman: $.460 per $100 of value
7% Sales Tax
4% Occupancy Tax

Education
Transylvania County ranked number one school system in NC in 1995-6 and 1996-7
Transylvania County consistently ranks in the top ten public school systems of NC
Brevard High School 1st and only standard high school recognized as a School of Excellence in 2003-4
Brevard College is an internationally recognized 4-year liberal arts school.
Blue Ridge Community College provides 2-year technical and associate degrees.
Both Blue Ridge and Brevard Colleges offer continuing education classes.

Medical
Transylvania Community Hospital is a full service hospital open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Over 100 active and consulting physicians serve Transylvania County residents.