Banking regulators release Helm Bank’s and Great Eastern Bank’s enforcement actions agreed to in October

Helm Bank USA, based in Miami, signed a consent order with federal and state banking regulators Oct. 17, according to information on October enforcement actions released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday.

Helm Bank must deveop a Bank Secrecy Act compliance plan, implement internal controls and a training program, revise its strategic plan and develop a plan for managing interest rate risk, among other requirements, according to the 19-page consent order.

Banking regulators also modified Miami-based Great Eastern Bank of Florida’s consent order on Oct. 25. The consent order was originally issued in July. The modification includes a requirement that the bank submit a written capital plan to boost its capital and a plan to reduce its classified assets. It must also revise its strategic plan and its plan to improve earnings, and submit a Bank Secrecy Act compliance plan, among other requirements outlined in the 19-page modification.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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Opera’s Second Act

Laura Horton’s grandmother always dreamed of becoming an opera singer.

Today, Horton’s 10-year-old daughter, McCall, is living her great-grandmother’s deferred dream.

“My grandmother was a professional singer and she wanted to be in the opera,” said Laura Horton, an attorney who lives with her family in Coral Gables. “Though she passed away this year, when I hear the opera, I feel like I hear my grandmother’s voice. It’s very meaningful to me that my daughter is taking over her footsteps.”

McCall is one of 20 choristers ages 8 to 12 who are performing with the Florida Grand Opera in its production of Puccini’s La Bohème at the Adrienne Arsht Center and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The children are members of the Miami Children’s Chorus (MCC), based in Coral Gables and conducted by music director Timothy Sharp.

The chorus and opera have had a partnership for nearly 30 years, said Alejandra Serna, a spokesperson for the opera.

“Rehearsals with the children's chorus has been excellent and I have been very impressed with them,’’ said Ramon Tebar, conductor for La Bohème and music director of FGO.

The children are featured during Act II, which features lovers Mimì and Rodolfo and their friends at a Parisian café, amid street vendors, street urchins and crowds.

“Act II of La Bohème is always difficult,” Tebar said. “The music is very fast and they have to move and run on stage during the whole act while singing. It can prove difficult for the adult choristers, but for the children it's as easy as eating ice cream. It's a joy making music with them.’’

The children have become captivated by the art form.

“Whenever I talk about the opera at school no one really knows about it,” said Zelda Rosenberg, 9, a fourth grader at David Fairchild Elementary in Coral Gables. “Whenever I talk about it they really don’t take interest in it. They’re more into rock bands and sports.”

The children also are exposed to foreign languages. La Bohème is performed in Italian; subtitles are shown in English and Spanish.

“I get to sing in Italian, and that’s not something you get to do every day,” said Alejandra Vivanco, 11, who had one line to sing in the production.

“I’m excited and nervous, but mostly excited,” said Alejandra, a student at Jorge Mas Canosa Middle School, immediately before the Nov. 17th opening night performance at the Arsht.

Though she only had one line to sing, she practiced and practiced to perfect her part.

“At first I was not doing it so well, so I had to keep working until I got it right,” she said. “But, now I am confident about myself and I’ve been told that I’m doing it better.”

She has been a member of the Miami Children’s Chorus for three years; this is her first opera.

McCall, a fourth grader at Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, joined the Chorus in August and has fallen in love with the opera.

“I like the way the adults and the kids combine the singing,” she said. “Also, I like being on stage.”

For MCC business manager Viviana Liviero, the experience with FGO has been just as memorable. Though Liviero is now employed with MCC, she remembers when she would watch her own daughter perform at the opera.

“I was in the other side and then in the office,” Liviero said. “She was lucky to be chosen twice. This is just a phenomenal opportunity for the children.”

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Chris Colfer Glee Interview Land of Stories 2 Details

Earlier this year, I had the great pleasure of catching a screening of Struck By Lighting; the brave, funny, inspiring and touching film Chris Colfer wrote and starred in. Now, he's revisting the character of Carson Phillips in Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal, a novel that serves as the perfection companion piece to the film.

On the small screen, Colfer recently lost his perfect companion (affectionately nicknamed Klaine by their fans) when Blaine admitted to cheating on Kurt out of fear their long distance relationship was driving them apart. But the characters, and actors, recently reunited in NYC to film scenes for Glee's Christmas episode, which is where ETonline caught up with Colfer to talk about the future of Klaine, learn how Lighting struck twice and what's next for his critically acclaimed fantasy series, The Land of Stories.

ETonline: How has your trip to New York been?

Chris Colfer: It's been a whirlwind, but amazing. We got to film at the ice skating rink in Bryant Park, which was just incredible. It was one of the best filming experiences I've ever had. For one, we were on ice skates for 11 hours, in the heart of the city, surrounded by the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building. It was gorgeous.

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ETonline: Are you a good skater?

Colfer: You know, I have only skated once before in my life so I was really, really cautious the first hour. I got progressively much, much better as the night goes on. Now, I'm ready for The Olympics.

ETonline: They say the key to skating is perfecting the fall.

Colfer: If there's one thing I know how to do, it's fall. But every time I would fall, I would try to strike a pose to make people know I was all right ... which the paparazzi always managed to catch [laughs].

RELATED - The Evolution of Amber Riley

ETonline: What can you tell me about the scenes you and Darren Criss were filming?

Colfer: It's the Christmas episode and that whole scene is a long awaited conclusion to the character's troubles and their relationship. I don't want to say if they get back together or not, but as of right now, they've decided to be very good friends. They're too close and mean too much to one another to ever let anything ruin their relationship.

ETonline: Before we get the Christmas episode, Kurt will take another stab at getting into NYADA. Is he dissatisfied at Vogue or is he jealous of what Rachel gets to do?

Colfer: I think a little bit of both. There's always the question of, "What If?" He never wants to feel like he missed out on an opportunity, and while everything is going great with Vogue so far, he just wants to make sure he's pursuing all his options.

ETonline: Kurt working for Vogue.com has allowed you to work with Sarah Jessica Parker, and tonight you duet on Let's Have a Kiki. Did you ever imagine something like that?

Colfer: What if I said yes? [laughs] I am a huge fan of The Scissor Sisters and Sarah Jessica Parker, but never thought I would be celebrating my fandom of both in the same situation. I kind of lucked out on this one.

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ETonline: Your NY trip has also been in support of Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal. Is it a straight novelization of the film, or something else?

Colfer: Carson is killed by a bolt of lightning in the first scene of the movie and everything is told in flashbacks with his narration from beyond the grave. The book is the journal he kept during the last few months of his life. The book is a little bit more intimate. The best compliment I've been getting is that the book and the movie work well as a pair. What you don't get from the movie, you get from the book, and vice versa.

ETonline: A lot of writers who adapt their own works for other platforms will talk about the joys of using that opportunity to right wrongs, or add in things they wish they could have the first time. Did that happen here?

Colfer: Yes! There are going to be so many deleted scenes on the DVD – there was so much from the funeral that we cut because it actually played too sad with them in there. I mean, it's already sad, but with all this funeral stuff, you just wanted to kill yourself because it was so depressing. We wanted the movie to end on an upbeat note, but there's a line that Allison Janney's character has when she's talking about lightning. She says that after her son died, she was reading that lighting is a negative charge between the friction that the clouds carry in the sky and she'd like to think that her son was so positive, that the moment he died, he attracted the bolt right out of the sky. I thought it was so powerful and tragic and sad, so I was able to incorporate that line into the book.

ETonline: With this journal off your plate, has that opened up room for you to focus on Land of Stories 2?

Colfer: Yeah, it absolutely has. I am my own worst enemy, I guess, because whenever I'm writing one thing, I can't stop thinking about the next thing I'm going to write, so I'm very excited to be working on the sequel. Actually, I have my computer open right now and I'm tightening up chapter 10.

RELATED - Chris Colfer's Crazy New Project

ETonline: Anything you can tease about the next book?

Colfer: The sequel takes place two years after the first book, so the twins are 14, and they have not been back to the Land of Stories, or seen their grandmother, in two years and they don't know why. They desperately want to go back into the fairytale world and see their grandmother, and they can't figure out what is preventing that. Hopefully, knock on wood, [the book will come out] in late summer/early fall of 2013 – sooner rather than later. I know a lot of readers are anxious for the next chapter, which I'm excited about.

ETonline: Once that's off your plate, is there another project waiting in the wings of your imagination?

Colfer: Always! I'm always thinking about my next script is or what the next film I'm going to pursue is. The most fun for me is creating worlds and creating characters -- I just have the best time writing.

Glee airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Fox, and to pick up Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal, click here!

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Activist busted for spray-painting anti-jihad subway poster promises to take case to trial

The Egyptian-born activist arrested for blasting pink spray paint on what she saw as an offensive Times Square subway poster -- because it called the jihadist enemies of Israel "savages" -- is promising to take the case to trial.

Mona Eltahawy, 45, came to Manhattan Criminal Court for a routine appearance on her misdemeanor graffiti case today and declined Manhattan prosecutors' no-jail offer, which would have allowed her to plead guilty to a simple disorderly conduct violation.

Under the rejected deal, Eltahawy would have had to pay $248 restitution to the MTA, for alleged damage to their property, along with $794 restitution to a passerby who'd tried to stop the defacement, getting blasted herself in the process.

Steven Hirsch

Mona Eltahawy with her lawyer Stanley Cohen outside court today

The bulk of the $794 would have compensated the passerby for damage to her Gucci eyeglasses, Eltahawy's lawyer, Stanley Cohen, explained after court.

"I acted out of principle and I did what I believe is right," Eltahawy said as she left the courtroom, calling the posters "racist," when asked why she wants to take the case to trial.

The ads were paid for by the pro-Israel American Freedom Defense Initiative and read in part, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel, defeat jihad."

"She's a person of principal who's committed to truth and justice and peace, and stands by her powerful statement [of spray-painting the poster] which actually defused the situation," her lawyer told reporters.

"If not for her pink paint protest, the posters could otherwise have "triggered a much more explosive response," he said. "People saw someone stood up and spray painted this ugly, racist sign and said 'khalas,'" the lawyer said, using the Arabic word for "enough."

She's due back in court Feb. 2.

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Miami-Dade pending home sales spiked in October

Despite a dearth of homes and condos on the market in Miami-Dade County, pending sales rose 67 percent in October with 4,172 residential properties going under contract compared with 2,488 a year earlier, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

The number of pending sales rose 18 percent in October from September.

In a statement, Martha Pomares, chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors, said “The Miami real estate market is poised for another record year that would suprass the all-time sales record set in 2011. Strong demand persists despite the shortage of housing inventory, and listings are increasingly selling at a more rapid pace, driving in significant price appreciation.’’

With strong demand and little on the market, properties are selling for closer to their asking price and sellers aren’t inclined to offer discounts. For October, single-family homes in Miami-Dade sold at 95 percent of the original listing price, while condos went for 97.1 percent of original listing price on average, the Miami Realtors said. In October 2011, single family homes fetched 91 percent of listing price on average and condos got 93.6 percent of listing price.

Pending sales are a forward indicator based on the number of contracts signed over a given period.

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Powerball dreamers include Miami Heat’s LeBron and Haslem

He may have it all, but LeBron James knows how to dream.

He says he’s buying Powerball tickets for Wednesday night’s $550 million drawing. James makes more than $17 million a year in salary without having to worry about hitting the numbers. But still ...

“Damn right I am,” he said when asked if he’s buying tickets. “And I’m going to make sure to take care of you if I win.”

Udonis Haslem, while not quite in James’ income bracket — he makes a mere $3.7 mil a year — typically plunks down $200 for lottery tickets. He once won $150.

“Basically it was enough to buy more tickets,” he said Wednesday at Miami Heat practice.

Chris Bosh says he’s taking a pass — “but my wife on the other hand...”

For the rest of us, scrounging for enough dollar bills to buy a few tickets, it’s a big day. Dreamers are crowding mini-marts and grocery stores for a chance at becoming a multi-millionaire, just like the Heat stars.

The chances of winning?

One in 175 million.

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Actors' Body Transformations For Roles

Jared Leto

After a major weight gain in the 2007 film Chapter 27, Jared Leto slimmed down drastically in 2012 for his role as a transsexual named Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, the same movie Matthew McConaughey dropped weight for. "I waxed my entire body, including my eyebrows. I've lost a lot of weight because I'm playing a young person with AIDS," he told ETonline at the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards. "It's been challenging but really inspiring too." Leto revealed his weight loss in a Terry Richardson photo shoot.

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Ex-cop gets 15 years in prison for selling NYPD guns to drug ring

William Farrington

Nicholas Mina in court today.

A former New York City police officer is going to prison. He admitted to stealing guns from police lockers and selling them to drug dealers to pay for his addiction to the painkiller oxycodone.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said Wednesday that Nicholas Mina was sentenced to 15½ years in prison.

Authorities said Mina sold four stolen NYPD-issued guns to a drug ring. He made a plea deal in October.

Mina, his suspected dealer, and three accomplices were arrested in July.

He was an officer nearly five years and worked in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood.

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Miami police: Crime down after year-long Operation Resilience

Violent criminals are not the only threat to neighborhoods, Miami police say. Prostitutes, drug users, and even motorists who disobey the rules of the road can jeopardize the safety of residents.

That’s why Miami police cast a broad net with Operation Resilience, a citywide crackdown that launched in December 2011 and concluded in November with more than 1,000 arrests made for crimes ranging from suspected murder and drug trafficking to prostitution and robbery.

Maj. David Magnusson, commander of tactical operations for Miami police, said the broad sweep has helped reduce violent crime in the city’s north, south and central districts.

“Homicides are lower at the same point now than they were last year,’’ he said, “and [the numbers of] people shot are lower than they were at the same time last year.’’

Tapping officers from several divisions within Miami’s police department — including gang units, narcotics investigators, robbery detectives and traffic cops — Operation Resilience flooded the city’s streets with police during crackdowns, Magnusson said.

Police conducted 12 separate sweeps over the year with each operation taking place over two, nonconsecutive days, he said.

During those sweeps, police made 380 felony arrests, including 83 for drug possession, 93 for drug trafficking, 156 for drug purchasing, 10 for gun possession, and 19 for battery.

While the operation’s primary mission was to reduce drug-related violent crime, officers also targeted “quality of life’’ crimes such as public intoxication, indecent exposure, gambling, prostitution and traffic infractions.

Magnusson said residents frequently complained of drivers speeding or running stop signs in their neighborhoods, and vagrants pushing carts on public streets in the middle of the night.

“We have found, and there is scientific proof, if you let these things go on unchecked, it just gives that atmosphere that anything goes,’’ Magnusson said, “and after a while anything does go.’’

Police reported making 259 “quality of life’’ arrests and 110 traffic arrests during the course of the operation. They also issued 4,832 traffic citations.

While traffic infractions are not considered serious crimes, Magnusson said they act as a deterrent in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

“People aren’t going to be up to their tricks when cars are being stopped by police,’’ he said.

Magnusson said Miami police are aware of the criticism that such sweeps provide only a respite from crime, and that the criminals return once the operations are completed. He estimated that each sweep was followed by a period of seven to 10 days of relative quiet in the affected neighborhoods.

“We have to find new ways to deal with these issues,’’ he said, “but at the end of the day it’s putting the officers out there.’’

Now that Operation Resilience is complete, Magnusson said, Miami police will launch Operation Throw In the Towel, which will target drug traffickers who work out of homes and businesses.

Police plan to use forfeiture, liens and fines to pressure those drug dealers or their landlords to “throw in the towel,’’ Magnusson said.

“We’re going after the sellers,’’ he said, “and after the structures they sell from.’’

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Google Breaks All Android App Reviews, Threatens Android Fans’ Safety

“A Google User” is now the number one Android game and app reviewer on Google Play, Android’s version of Apple’s App Store. That’s because every single one of the millions of existing reviews, possibly including yours, has had its author replaced with this nameless, faceless person.

Screenshots taken by Jeremiah Rice of the Android Police blog show this prolific (but completely generic) author has taken over the Google Play store. Meanwhile, if you visit the store on your Android smartphone or tablet you won’t see a name attached to most reviews at all; just the review’s title, and the device that the game or app was run on.

Believe it or not, this is all intentional. It’s the start of a new Google policy … one which may threaten some Android fans’ safety or privacy.

​Google+, whether you like it or not

Google now requires you to have a Google+ (pronounced “Google Plus”) account in order to leave reviews on Google Play, the Chrome Web Store, and Google Maps. No reason for the switchover is given in the pop-up which explains this; you simply click “Continue” if you want your reviews tied to your Google+ account, and if you don’t want them linked you don’t write them at all. If you don’t have a Google+ account, you have to sign up for one before you can write a review.

​Why Google is Plus-ifying everything

Google’s success as a company is determined by how many ads it sells. Google’s share of the ad market is being eaten into by Facebook, which has essentially “walled off” a huge part of people’s day-to-day lives in a place Google can’t index or sell any ads on. For better or for worse, Google’s execs feel that what they need to do to compete is copy Facebook, in the form of Google+.

Why? Because if everyone is “Plusing” things instead of “Liking” them, and if everything people do shows up on Google+ instead of Facebook, then now Google (instead of Facebook) knows what you’re doing online and where you’re doing it — and that gives it a much better position from which to display and sell ads.

​Why this is a problem for many

Besides the obvious privacy concerns (although Google offers limited tools to manage how much it tracks you), Google+’s “real names” policy is dangerous to anyone whose safety is jeopardized by attaching their given name to their online activities. This includes women who are victims of stalking, minors who are victims of abuse, transgender persons in transition, and dissidents in repressive political or religious regimes. By requiring a Google+ account to use more and more of its services, Google is forcing these people to choose between excluding themselves and running the risk of having ​all​ of their Google services terminated for a “real name” policy violation, including their personal Gmail accounts.

Google+ policy allows for pseudonymous accounts, if you’re widely known by that pseudonym online. Everyone’s Google+ page, however, has a button to report what anyone feels is a suspicious name, which puts marginalized persons like those listed above at the mercy of every “troll” who comes by.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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