| Business owners rally against proposed tax
SPRINGFIELD - Chris Graue said a new business tax proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich will put an end to his plans to relocate and expand his Lincoln car dealership.Tom Hoerr II said he expects people will be buying fewer landscaping supplies from his Greenview Nursery.They were among hundreds of business owners who descended on the Capitol Wednesday to protest Blagojevich's proposed gross-receipts tax on nearly every state business transaction. It would generate more than $7 billion that the governor wants to use to expand education funding and provide access to health insurance for every Illinois resident.The business men and women, though, said the tax will dry up their profits, forcing them to cut back operations and increase prices just to keep even.Graue, owner of Graue Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and Cadillac in Lincoln, said he will not relocate his business from Lincoln's north to west side and expand it at the same time."If the GRT passes, we will not continue with the project," he said.
Missing Guanabanas? Mark your calendar for Sept. 3
John Zimmerman, in the Bobcat, together with, from left, Justin Bayliss of D'Allessandro Landscaping, Arturo Centeno of Guanabanas and Richie Meyer of Rick Meyer Construction, prepare to reposition the tree trunk that serves as the signpost for Guanabanas as part of the newly installed palm forest at the popular restaurant. Work is moving head for Guanabanas, which obtained its necessary permits on Friday. By Labor Day, Zimmerman, one of the owners, says the restaurant will be up and running again. .
Homeowners urged over mortgage deal
As many as one in five homeowners are overpaying on their home loan by staying on a provider's standard variable rate (SVR), it has been claimed. Moneysupermarket.com said 19% of households risk paying out too much on their mortgage by remaining on an SVR rather than switching to a better product. Research from the price comparison website revealed that the most popular mortgage type among British homeowners is a two- to five-year fixed-rate deal, with just over a quarter of all buyers opting to hedge against future base-rate hikes by locking in a deal. The findings are part of a study to map the UK mortgage landscape and uncover patterns and trends. It found that 24% of people own their property outright, with 42% of households currently paying a mortgage.
Boise City Code S(to)P:it/3.nO/w Explained
When I was a kid we got a hilarious annual Christmas letter from Great-Aunt Pauline - a four-page psychotic recitation of the tragedies that had befallen people in her little town. My brother usually read it aloud while we hooted ourselves sick. One year when the letter's P.S. said: "Oh - Marge died, and Harry fell in a hole", my mother managed to choke out, "THROW IN SOME BULBS!" which was so unlike her that we practically had to be revived. Mom was right, you know – growing daffodils, tulips, iris, lilies and other perennially-blooming flowers from bulbs is almost as easy as throwing them in after Harry. And! This is the best thing! You plant bulbs in fall, forget where you put them or even IF you put them, and one day in spring when you are muttering crankily to yourself "gol-dang income taxes" they go SPROING and give you a grin.
It's adios to 'big red barns'
After 50 years at its high-profile site on the east side of Lafayette, Koehler Bros. Landscaping & Garden Center will be closing part of its business and moving the remainder. Ron Koehler, co-owner of the second-generation firm, said the land at 3431 Indiana 26 E. has been leased to SJC Inc., a land development company that owns property that extends west to the intersection of Indiana 26 and Sagamore Parkway. "It was a great opportunity. It was time to move on," said Koehler. "People like us, Lutterloh's and Bennett's are always sitting on too-valuable land for a nursery. You wait until the right time comes along." A Walgreens drugstore is being built at the former location of Lutterloh's Garden Shop and Nursery, which opened in 1989 at the southwest corner of Old U.S. 231 and Indiana 25 on the west side of Lafayette.
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