HONORABLE MENTION: Luz Gomez

   LUZ GOMEZ

If you were to ask me in my highschool days…”Cruz you are going to be a cop when you turn 29 years old”  I’d probably would of laughed straight in your face and replied “Yeah right” because at the time, I  was way on the other side of law where I even spent some time in the joint just to prove to you how screwed up I was, but it happened!....how?  I don’t have a frickin clue, but by 1991, I found myself wearing a dark blue Dinuba PD uniform and driving a Crown Vic cruzin through the dark alleys of the city of Dinuba, and it wasn’t until a few years later that I had discovered that my Grandfather, Luz Gomez, (pictured above) was actually a county constable in his hometown of Edinburg, Texas during the 1920’s & 30’s, which was considered to be at the same level as a Deputy Sheriff in today’s law enforcement realm.  It was pretty difficult for me to find any information about his past legacy with the exception of my Mom’s memory about a certain incident where my Grandfather was transporting a violent prisoner in the back of his patrol car, which did not have any protected backseat windshield, and somehow the prisoner slipped out of his handcuffs and begin to choke my Grandfather from behind, but Thank God my Grandpa was able to escape  from the prisoner’s neck grip by stopping in the middle of a country road and physically overcame his attacker.  Now remembered this was during the prohibition era where violent assaults on Police Officers was a everyday occurrence, but I really wanted to find more info about my Grandfathers misadventures as a Police Officer,  unfortunately, he died from diabetes complications when I was only 10 years old, which was kind of ironic because I too suffer from the same disease, which scares the shit out of me because he died at the ripe young age of 62 and I'm turning 57 this May.…yikes!  To top it off, my Grandfather remarried a woman named Mabel and together they had a son named Sonny, who was about 15 years older than me (my real Grandmother died of Tuberculosis when my mother was just a small girl…I’m telling you... I’m really screwed) anyway it turned out that Sonny later became a Police Officer in the city of Edinburg during the 1970’s and was later promoted to detective during his career….just like me!...but he too died of diabetes complications, but at a younger age of 52…Shit!  I did find some old newspaper clippings where Sonny worked on a check caper and eventually apprehended his suspect, but man…It would have been awesome if I would of been able to write their stories as crime fighters, but I will still continue with my mission to get some more information about them…anywho…what I’m trying to say is that isn't it funny how things end up in life because I never thought in a hundred years that I would become a cop, but BOOM... it happened...and I became one!  Which shows that sometimes we cannot fully control our destiny so don't be surprised if it happens to you because for some reason God has planted this road for us..therefore some of us become lawyers...some of us become doctors and some of us become cops and there is nothing we could really do about it, but follow the yellow brick road , so here's to you Grandpa for leading the path, in fact, my nephew, Matthew, told me several months ago that he wants to become a CHP officer...Uh Huh...go figure!

COOL FLICS TO WATCH

THEATER:
Lost City Of Z
A explorer (Charlie Hunnam) discovers a previously unknown advanced civilization that once lived in the Amazon jungle, but is ridiculed by other scientists, so he returns to the jungle to get some evidence.

The Case For Christ
A journalist (Mike Vogel) tries to disprove claims of Christianity.

DVD:
Founder
True story of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), who turned the ideas of two brothers, who owned the very first McDonald's restaurant into a multi-billion dollar empire.

Walking With The Enemy
During World War II, A young Hungarian (Jonas Armstrong) disguises himself as a Nazi officer to save his family and thousands of others from a death camp.

THE VALLEY'S FUTURE

On March 17, 2017 our RE-41 classroom had the privilege to hear Mr. Don Scordino from Realty Concepts give a short lecture regarding his personal ideas on the current real estate market and its future possibilities.  According to Mr. Scordino, the central valley, which includes the city of Fresno, is running out of space for future housing development due to the speedy  uprising of our local population and the increase popularity of our lower housing cost compared to the inflatable prices of the bigger cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, but we are now running out of space, which is added by the quality of our fine country living and aggressive growth of the vast luxurious acre-spaced ranches, where two story housing are being forced to take over single story residences to save time, space and money (especially in plumbing costs) because the generated expenses to build a regular home averages between  $60,000-$70,000, and for the home builder to make a comfortable profit, they would have to charge the regular consumer at least over $200,000 to buy a suitable home.  This is truly troublesome for the young first time home buyer, who is just starting off in their job where the normal yearly wage are roughly between $30,000-$40,000 a year, and let’s not forget the rising interest rates on home loans, which are speculated to be as high as 5% by the end of this year, plus, there is no certainty on the type of restrictions that the federal government will imposed on the general public, in regards to bank loans whenever they feel the need to tighten up their belt, which concludes the constant rising score of the consumer’s credit rating that makes them eligible or qualified for a business investment or personal home loan.  

Now with the proposed extension of the California speed rail coming through the Fresno area, there is a good chance that many big city residents will move into the central valley especially since they have the option to sell their highly expensive cradle back home and purchased a few valley residences with cold hard cash,(which will also relieve them of that persistent monthly mortgage), thus, sharing the enjoyment of our fresh country air unlike the polluted smog smell endured in the larger cities, and why not since they can still continue to get to work on time in the big city due to the quickness of the high mighty speed rail, unfortunately, this sudden surge of big city migration will not only enhance the central valley’s population, but it could also mean more housing projects, which will eventually lessened our valley’s space.  Now don’t get me wrong this is indeed fantastic news to every agent in the real estate market, but what happens when we run out of room?  Do we start to suffer the same consequences that lie behind a bigger city like L.A or San Francisco, for instance, with its attached big city problems, like a higher crime rate, increased rent or more pollution? Will the hourly pay rate in our Fresno job match the city government’s demand for higher taxation on limited goods and fuel that is inherited along with the supposably better benefits of becoming a larger city?   What about the increased job demand? Will there be enough work for everyone after everything is said and done!  Are we doing such a good job with this exact problem now?  Some people living in the valley really don’t think so...I guess only time will tell.  

REVERSE MORTGAGES

Just the other day, I ran into an old buddy of mine, who wanted me to sell his house because he needed some quick cash due to a upcoming divorce.  He told me that a loan officer asked him to consider about “Reverse Mortgage” which could possibly put some money into his pocket, but after several hours of explaining this process to him, my friend left his office more confused than he was when he went in. Yet there is a lot of people, who do not fully understand the concept behind reverse mortgages.  So I broke it down for him:

Basically, Reverse Mortgages, involves the elderly (age 62 and older), who have a certain percentage of equity build up in their primary residence (second homes and investment properties do not qualify) and they obtain a loan against that equity where no monthly payments are made until they either happen to die, sell or leave the residence, but (the owner(s) still have to pay for property taxes and homeowner’s insurance.  This FHA insured act was enacted by President Reagan in 1987 as a part of the Housing and Community Development Act also known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) to support the elderly Americans where approximately 48% of the nation’s population among the elderly complained of having financial difficulties after retirement and converted to reverse mortgaging.  

Some of the advantages of reverse mortgages are the ability for the elderly to consolidate or pay debt, fund age care, upgrade or renovate their home, help their family and grandchildren and pay for their vacation with the financial arrangement to receive their money either in a lump sum as cash, as an annuity, as a line of credit or any combination of the three.  The proceeds of the reverse mortgage loan are declared as “non-taxable” and do not directly affect Medicare, SSI or other public benefits, but if the owner was to receive a lump sum it could possibly be classified as a financial investment or “liquid assets”and deemed as a income test in regards to taxes, which includes sums over $40,000 and sums under $40,000 not spent in 90 days.  

Some of the dis-advantages or shortcomings of reverse mortgaging are the possible high costs depending on the loan-to-value ratio, higher interest rates than a conventional “forward mortgage”, and the interest compounds over the life of a reverse mortgage, which means that the interest from the unpaid monthly payment can balloon making it more than likely for the equity of the home to be completely depleted at it’s maturity, and many consumers have obtain this type of loan without fully understanding the terms and conditions where it has been suggested that some of the lenders have been taking advantage of the elderly, which is reported by consumer advocacy groups, although, a 2006 survey showed that 93% of borrowers indicated that their reverse mortgage deals had made a positive impact in their lives. (Closing costs, existing mortgages balances, other liens and property taxes or homeowner’s insurance are typically paid out of the initial principal and any additional proceeds available can be distributed to the borrower.)  On April 25, 2014, FHA revised HECM age eligibility regulation to extend certain protection to spouses younger than 62, whereas, under the old guidelines, if the older qualified spouse was to die and the unqualified spouse was unable to pay or refinance the reverse mortgage loan than they would have to sell their residence or face foreclosure, but now under the new guidelines the younger spouse can stay at the residence as long as they maintain the property taxes and homeowner’s insurance and if not than the loan is payable, which also includes maintaining the property and the loan is also payable if the title to the property is transferred to a non-borrower.  In 2008, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act was established where the proceeds of a reverse loan can be used to purchase a new primary residence as long as the borrower can pay the difference of the new sales price plus closing costs.  Well there you go my friend now if you still don’t understand my explanation about reverse mortgage...than don’t get it and let’s go sell your damm house! 

MIA'S REQUEST

It was 9:30 In morning and I heard a knock on the door, “Honey…it’s your mom” said my wife, Oli.  So I woke up and we had a friendly chat along with some coffee and pan dulce in the livingroom of our apartment.  During our conversation, my 2 year-old granddaughter, Mia woke up and came straddling in from the bedroom wiping her hair from her face and gave my mom a warm hug and sat right next to her on the livingroom couch.  “Oh…look how pretty…hello there beautiful” said my mother.  My wife got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen to cook some breakfast while Mia followed.  As we continued talking, Mia somehow got a picture of a holy saint that was used as a magnet on our refrigerator that was previously given by my mother a few years back, who is also a very devout catholic.  “Mommy…I want Jeezzus” said Mia to my wife (Mia always called my wife “mommy” ever since she was born).  My mom looked at me with a big smile and then said, “Did you hear that Oli…how cute she wants Jesus..por que Oli…have you guys been taking her to church?” My wife, who was equally surprised by the baby’s remark, said in Spanish, “No, but we have a big crucifix in the bedroom that is hung over our heads when we sleep…she must of stared at it or something when she got up and I do pray with her every night.”  “Oh how wonderful!” said my mother, “Oli you should start reading the bible to her ya que esta chiquita so that she could start learning…Mia…do you want Jesus?”  Mia approach closer to my mom, “Uh huh” she said.  My wife temporally stopped cooking and walked into the livingroom.  “Mama…do you want Jesus?” she asked.  “Uh huh” repeated Mia.  So my wife hurried to our bedroom and started searching inside our dresser drawers, “I know we have a small bible in here some place that’s just right for her.”  My mom got up and walked into the hallway toward our bedroom, “Si no…I have one in the car…Oli” she said and went outside to go get it. 

A few minutes had gone by and Mia went up to me, grabbed my finger and pulled me to go with her to the kitchen so here I go dragging my walker along to the kitchen while my wife and mother continued their quest for a holy bible to teach little Mia all about Jesus.  We stopped by the refrigerator and Mia pointed up and said, “Da Da…I want Jeezzus.”  I looked up and there sitting on top of the fridge was a brand new box of Cheezits located next to the boxes of cereals.  “Is this what you been wanting...Mama?”  I asked her giggling inside while I reached above and brought down the box.  “Uh huh” she answered.  A half hour later, my wife and my mother returned back to the livingroom both holding bibles in their hands and saw little Mia sitting next to me as we were busy popping Cheezits into our mouths.  My wife looked at the box of Cheezits between us and then at Mia, “Aww Mia…we thought you wanted Jesus..not Cheezits” she said, “And you made us go look for it…mama..you should of showed me what you wanted!”  Mia then pointed at the television with a big load of Cheezits in her mouth and said, “Mommy…I want toonies.”