Month: October 2014

A bizarre car theft saga played out in an auto repair shop in Bainbridge Island, WA last week, when a woman allegedly took another person's car from a local auto repair shop and tried to pay the bill for its repairs with counterfeit money. Oddly, that's the most normal thing about the case. According to employees at the shop on Olympic Drive, Cristina Javon Chavez, 38, walked into the lobby on Wednesday and took a pair of car keys from the counter. An employee stopped her when she tried to leave, at which point she claimed she was picking up a car for the owner, a 25-year-old Bainbridge Island woman. When Chavez claimed the owner of the 1998 Nissan Maxima was her daughter, the employee pointed out that she didn't look old enough to be the owner's mother. Allegedly, Chavez then tried to...

Last week Warren Buffett brought a little bit of hope to the citizens of Detroit, declaring that he believes the city is going to be better off after recently declaring bankruptcy, reported Fortune Magazine. While the city of Detroit recently reached the end of the line in terms of financial stability, Buffet asserted that it can look forward to more new jobs as soon as five years down the road. While the city is just wrapping up the second week of its bankruptcy trial, the process actually began over a year ago. Detroit has been in a long downward spiral for years, ever since the auto industry began its decline. The city has always had strong ties to the auto industry, and when automobile manufacturers hit a rough patch, people started to leave Detroit in search of new opportunities. The...

America's car-making capital is also the capital of something else -- high auto insurance rates. According to a September 14 USA Today article, drivers in Detroit pay 165% more than the national average rate of car insurance, a Bankrate Insurance report recently discovered. The second-highest car insurance rates in the country can be found in New York City -- but drivers in the Big Apple still pay a fraction of what Motor City motorists pay, as New York auto insurance rates are only around 36% more than the national average. Miami came in third, where residents pay 34% more than the average American driver. Meanwhile, the lowest car insurance rates can be found in Charlotte, N.C., Cleveland and Pittsburgh, USA Todayreports. “Factors that would be taken into consideration would be the a...

The Big Apple recently passed legislation that created harsher punishments for "bad apple" landlords. Landlord harassment has been an ongoing issue in New York City, and tenants who choose to fight back are often deterred be lengthy legal processes and road blocks. However, the City Council has taken another step towards prosecuting egregious landlords. New legislation was recently passed that doubles the maximum fine for landlords who are found to have harassed their tenants. Additionally, a public list of offenders will be posted on the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development website, for all to view. Under the new law, the maximum fines for landlords who are found guilty of harassing tenants have increased from $5000 per unit to a cool $10,000. For repeat offenders, ...