Burlington's apples shine

Burlington High School, which gives every student an iPad to keep until graduation, has become a poster child for tech giant Apple.

The company will present staff and students with the Apple Distinguished School award on March 13 and laud the school's efforts to transform classroom learning through the company's technology on its website.

"It's nice for the staff and students to be recognized," Principal Mark Sullivan said yesterday. "This is our second full year using the iPad, and I think the biggest measure of success is that it's helped our kids become more creative and engaged in their classrooms."

Using different apps, students in psychology class, for example, are able to see a 3-D image showing each part of the human brain on their iPads, while students in anatomy class are able to see an image of a cat's anatomy. Teachers post homework on their blogs, and students, who have the option of buying the iPad at market price when they graduate, are able to compile curated portfolios of their writing or artwork that they can present to colleges or to employers in the future.

Dylan Smith, a 16-year-old junior, writes papers on his iPad, while Adriana Berardi, one of his classmates, takes notes on it.

"There is game-playing, but people are pretty disciplined with them," Smith said. "I honestly thought a lot of the teachers would not know how to use them, but it's worked out."

To help anyone who has a problem, the high school has designated its own version of Apple's "Genius Bar," staffed by a teacher and a handful of students each period, as part of a course for which they earn credit.

In all, more than 2,000 Burlington students have iPads at their disposal. In addition to high schoolers, there's one for every student in grades six through eight at Marshall Simonds Middle School; one first grade class in each of the town's four elementary schools; and every fourth and fifth grader at Pine Glen Elementary School, said Assistant Superintendent Patrick Larkin.

Even though elementary and middle school students can't take the devices home, the virtual blackboards are helping first-graders spell out words and increase their journal writing output, Larkin said, while older students are becoming better organized through apps like Explain Everything, Evernote and Genius Scan.

"We're supposed to be preparation for the real world, so what's going on in here should look like the real world," Larkin said. "We're getting our kids comfortable with resources they can use, no matter what device they're on. That's been a big focus for us."

Burlington schools pay for the iPads over a three-year period through an Apple equity lease program, he said, and their goal is to have one for every student in the district within two years. To date, Apple has sold more than 4.5 million iPads to U.S. schools.

Students are currently using the iPad 2, but school officials may invest in updated IPad models or iPad Mini, Larkin said.

"The thing we need to be clear on is we do have to monitor kids' screen time when they have their face in a device," Larkin said, adding the school district holds monthly "parent technology nights" to address any concerns parents may have over excessive technology use. "Obviously we still want to teach the social skills we've always taught."

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European carmakers to get serious at Geneva show

PARIS — The Geneva Motor Show has long had a reputation as one of the glitziest stops on the global auto show circuit — the place to unveil luxury models and out-of-this-world fantasy concept cars. But this year the dire state of the European auto industry will hang over the exhibition halls. Hit by fleeing customers, struggling economies and idle production lines, the region's carmakers need to make tough decisions if they are going to survive.

Paul Newton, an analyst at HIS Automotive, an industry consulting firm, says no broad themes have emerged ahead of this week's show and no landmark unveilings are expected — a sign of the industry's malaise and uncertainty. He argues that European automakers need deep restructuring — not just a set of flashy new wheels.

"The Koreans are taking customers from somewhere. And it would appear that these guys are taking customers from the mass-market, established European players," said Newton.

While the European financial crisis has sent unemployment soaring and led to a sustained fall in overall retail sales across the region, Europe's auto companies were struggling even before the global financial crisis hit in 2008. They have long had far more factory floor space and employees than they need to produce the number of cars they can reasonably expect to sell.

This is reflected in the poor results of the Geneva Motor Show's European exhibitors: Last year, Fiat's profit fell 73 percent, while Renault's dropped 15 percent. PSA Peugeot Citroen posted a record €5 billion ($6.5 billion) loss. Of the major European auto groups, only Volkswagen is thriving — profit rose 41 percent in 2012, although that was less than expected.

Meanwhile in the U.S., both General Motors, which will be debuting a convertible Corvette at the show, and Ford recorded healthy — but reduced — profits as strong sales in the U.S. covered losses in Europe.

Even if Europe's carmakers were better able to compete on a global stage, their home market is suffering. Car sales across Europe fell for the fifth year in a row in 2012, pulling back another 7.8 percent, according to data from consultancy PwC. Analysts say sales probably won't climb back to the 2007 peak before at least 2020.

One reason for the poor financial performance is idle factory floors. A report by analysts Alix Partners found that at the height of production in 2007, the industry in Europe was only using 83 percent of its capacity. It's expected to be around 75 percent for the next couple of years. One way carmakers in the U.S. have turned around their operations is by dealing with their own overcapacity problem, shutting 18 factories in four years; Europe has yet to bite the bullet.

On top of this, building a car in Europe is more expensive than in many competitor countries thanks to rigid labor agreements that drive up wages and offer generous benefits. Those same agreements also make it difficult to transfer jobs elsewhere.

The high costs of labor and the overcapacity at factories both conspire to eat into profits — which could otherwise be re-invested in innovation and technology to capture new customers.

The only way forward, analysts say, is to become leaner by tackling uncompetitive labor regulations and closing factories.

This may be harder in some countries than others. In recent months, for instance, the French government and unions have fought plans by PSA Peugeot Citroen to trim its excess capacity by closing its Aulnay plant and eliminate 8,000 jobs.

"The principles behind egalite and fraternite and all the rest are great if you can afford it," said Newton of the generous French contracts that also hamper other European manufacturers.

"The problem is France really can't afford it when it's competing with people who basically make better products at a cheaper price."

Volkswagen, which is expected to unveil a new GTI model in Geneva, has benefited from Germany's more flexible labor laws, which have helped it keep costs lower and continually push innovation. In addition to the rise in profits, the carmaker saw sales jump 21 percent last year.

Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, has hailed a new partnership with Mercedes as a way to address overcapacity, but said it all comes back to negotiating more flexible terms with workers. The carmaker is planning to eliminate 7,500 jobs in France over the next three years, mostly through attrition.

"It's a win-win relationship, which allows us to increase the utilization rate at Renault's factories, while keeping our partners from investing in new production capacity," he told Le Monde in a recent interview.

Ghosn and his competitor CEO Philippe Varin of PSA will be using Geneva to persuade the press and their customers that 2013 represents a new beginning.

But as Laurent Petizon, an analyst with Alix Partners, stresses, if manufacturers are going to make a new start once the current economic and industrial downturns begin to ease, they have to learn the lessons of overcapacity and inflexibility.

"The crisis is an opportunity to reform the industry once and for all," he said. "There will be growth, maybe in two years. But to capture it, you have to be healthy!"

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Tax bills for rich families approach 30-year high

WASHINGTON — Washington is gridlocked again over whether to raise taxes on the rich.

But it turns out that wealthy families already are paying some of their biggest federal tax bills in decades, even as the rest of the population continues to pay at historically low rates.

A new analysis shows that average tax bills for high-income families rarely have been higher since the Congressional Budget Office began tracking the data in 1979.

It's the middle- and low-income families who aren't paying as much as they used to.

Liberals say rich families can afford to pay higher taxes because their incomes have grown much more than incomes for middle- and low-income families.

Conservatives say raising taxes on the wealthy would reduce their incentive to save and invest, hurting long-term economic growth.

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Evernote hacked: 50 million passwords reset

LONDON — Online note-taking service Evernote Corp. says it has been hacked and is resetting all its 50 million users' passwords as a precaution.

The Redwood City, California-based company said in a post published late Saturday that an attacker had been able to access sensitive customer information and that every user would have their account reset "in an abundance of caution."

Evernote says the attacker was able to access an unspecified number of customers' encrypted passwords. Decoding such passwords can be difficult but is far from impossible.

The company says it has seen no evidence that any customer data had been tampered with or that any payment information had been compromised.

A phone message left with Evernote on Sunday was not immediately returned.

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Foreclosure on 92-year-old widow is reversed

WASHINGTON — Jeanette Ogle, a 92-year-old widow with a reverse mortgage on her house, got a huge birthday surprise last week: She did not lose her home at a scheduled foreclosure auction that had drawn scrutiny from federal and state agencies and consumer advocates.

Because of obscure federal rules that critics say have snared unwitting elderly 
homeowners across the country, Ogle's home in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., had been set for foreclosure on Feb. 27, her birthday. But after interventions on her behalf by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, AARP and the Arizona attorney general's office, the auction was canceled.

In a letter to Ogle, the company that ordered the foreclosure, Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. of Spring, Texas, said it changed its plans and is now "committed to allow you to remain in ⅛your⅜ home" and will "take no action to displace you as long as the mortgage agreement ... is not in default."

According to government estimates, more than 9 percent of all federally insured reverse mortgages — the ones hawked on TV by Henry "the Fonz" Winkler, among others — were in default in 2012. This is especially significant because so many reverse mortgage borrowers, like Ogle, are in their 80s and 90s, living on Social Security, and may be unaware of certain fine-print details about their loans.

Reverse mortgages work just as the name implies: Rather than the borrower paying the lender, the lender provides money to the homeowner, secured by a mortgage on their property. Borrowers under the most popular form of reverse loan, insured by the Federal Housing Administration, must be 62 or older to qualify. As a general rule, the principal and interest balances owed do not become due and payable until the borrower moves out, sells the house, dies or fails to pay property taxes or hazard insurance premiums.

One technicality tucked away in FHA's regulations can snag owners whose spouse dies after taking out the reverse mortgage. If the surviving spouse's name does not appear on the mortgage documents, the outstanding debt balance becomes due and payable. If the surviving spouse can't afford to buy the house to make the payoff, the property may be put up for foreclosure sale.

Ogle's situation illustrates the problem: She did nothing wrong. Ogle and her late husband, John, who died in 2010, refinanced a reverse mortgage in 2007. Though Ogle believed her name remained on the mortgage documents and she was a co-borrower, a loan officer listed only John's name. Ogle says she never agreed to her name being removed and suspects fraud.

When her husband passed away, the loan balance became due and payable. Bank of America — the servicer of the mortgage on behalf of Fannie Mae, the big national loan investor — informed Ogle of the FHA rule. She complained to the Arizona attorney general's office, which negotiated an agreement with Bank of America that it would not foreclose. Subsequently, however, when the servicing contract was transferred to Reverse Mortgage Solutions, that firm renewed the threat of foreclosure and set the date for the sale.

Reverse Mortgage Solutions refused to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, Ogle's son, Bob, filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and with the state attorney general, seeking their help in saving his mother's home. He told me in an interview that "I don't think my mother could survive a move, she just couldn't handle a foreclosure." Fannie Mae, owner of the loan, expressed sympathy for her situation and promised not to evict her, but would not postpone the scheduled foreclosure.

Enter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Though precisely how it brokered the final resolution of Ogle's problem has not been made public, its intervention into the case appears to have been a catalyst. Bank of America, which had made a promise in 2010 to Ogle not to foreclose simply because her name was missing from the documents, purchased her loan from Fannie Mae and now owns it. The bank then canceled the Feb. 27 auction.

"We wanted to stay true to our commitment," said Dan Frahm, a spokesman for Bank of America. "So we bought back the loan."

Ogle's reaction? "Oh, I'm on cloud nine," she said. "I'm staying put in my house. I don't have to move. And even though I'm 92, I've got all my marbles — so everybody should know I plan to be around for a while."

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Ready to throttle Chevy Cobalt that’s stuck on high idle

I have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt LS, 2.2-liter engine with a manual transmission. It has 186,000 miles and is a very good commuting vehicle. Recently it was idling rough and I read that cleaning the throttle body might solve the problem. All went well with the cleaning; I removed the throttle body and moved the "butterfly" to clean it more thoroughly. But after I was done, the vehicle fell into a high-idle syndrome of some sort. It now idles at 1,500 rpm rather than 800, which is normal.

Someone suggested that I drive it in first gear and "force" the rpm down to 800 or so. I tried this and it worked for a while, but as soon as I hit the gas pedal, it's back up to 1,500 rpm. I have been told I will need to take it to the dealer to have the computer "re-flashed." Is that true?

I suspect the high idle speed after removing and cleaning the throttle body is due to a vacuum leak. Are you sure any and all vacuum lines that you may have removed, disconnected or disturbed during your service were properly reconnected? Did you install a new gasket between the throttle body and intake manifold when you reinstalled the throttle body? An air or vacuum leak would allow unmetered air to enter the induction system downstream of the mass airflow sensor, causing a lean air-fuel mixture that creates a high idle speed.

GM suggests cleaning the throttle body and throttle plate with a clean shop towel and its Top Engine Cleaner or equivalent. GM does not recommend using strong solvents because of potential damage to electrical components, sensors, seals and O-rings.

The throttle body on this engine incorporates two throttle position sensors and an electronic throttle actuator motor. I'm hoping none of these were damaged during the cleaning.

You might try disconnecting the battery for 60 seconds. In the next few driving cycles, the electronic control module may relearn the correct idle speed. I'm betting on an air or vacuum leak.

***

I am banking on you solving this problem. We purchased our 2010 Ford Escape XLT/AWD 4-cylinder new in March 2010. Four months later, a rattle developed when traveling at 1,500 rpm. The rattle is heard underneath the vehicle but doesn't occur all the time. The rattle can be heard over the radio and lasts 10 to 20 seconds and then it stops. The dealership finally replaced the serpentine belt tensioner and the rattle ceased for several months. Today, the third tensioner replacement was put on our vehicle. The mechanics seem to be at a loss as to what is causing this to continue to occur. Our dilemma is that the three-year warranty is up in March and we need a solution to this ongoing and extremely frustrating problem.

Ask the dealer to check Ford service bulletin 11-10-26, dated October 2011. According to my Alldata database, this bulletin covers a rattle or drone between 1,300 and 1,400 rpm generated by a resonance in the serpentine accessory drive belt. Ford has issued a new alternator/generator pulley kit to address this issue.

As I first read your question, your description of the rattle reminded me of the typical sound caused by a cracked heat shield mount on a catalytic converter.

***

Several months ago, the right low beam on my son's 2009 Chevy Malibu went out. He had the bulb replaced, but a month later the bulb went out again. Another month later, the bulb went out again. Are there any recalls on this problem? If not, what else can we do?

Carefully inspect the socket and connector for this bulb. If there are signs of electrical arcing, corrosion or discoloration, replace the connector. GM issued a service kit for this connector, and if the vehicle is still under warranty, the replacement would be covered.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrandstartribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Who will pay what in 2013 taxes?

How much households at different income levels will pay in federal income, payroll, corporate and estate taxes for 2013.

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Bottom 20 percent

Average income: $10,552.

Average tax bill: -$284.

Average tax rate: -2.7 percent.

Share of federal tax burden: -0.4 percent.

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Middle 20 percent

Average income: $46,562.

Average tax bill: $6,436.

Average tax rate: 13.8 percent.

Share of federal tax burden: 8.6 percent.

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Top 20 percent

Average income: $204,490.

Average tax bill: $55,533.

Average tax rate: 27.2 percent.

Share of federal tax burden: 71.8 percent.

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Top 1 percent

Average income: $1.4 million.

Average tax bill: $514,144.

Average tax rate: 35.5 percent.

Share of federal tax burden: 30.2 percent.

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Note: The average family in the bottom 20 percent of households pays no federal taxes. Instead, many families in this group get payments from the federal government by claiming more in credits than they owe in taxes, giving them a negative tax rate.

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Source: Tax Policy Center

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Experts cite Quincy urban revitalization project

QUINCY— A planned downtown redevelopment project in Quinicy has drawn nearly $200 million in investments from outside the city and is attracting attention from national urban planning experts.

The Patriot Ledger reports  that demolition in Quincy Center is set to begin next month, the first step in the $1.6 billion project. About 3.5 million square feet of business, retail and residential space in Quincy Center will be created in the next seven years.

The Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute is citing the Quincy project as one to watch. And Northeastern University is planning a course for the fall semester called "The Quincy Model" about the public-private partnership behind the project.

Experts say that the model behind the development could be used by developers and other cities to revitalize aging urban areas.

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Information from: The (Quincy, Mass.) Patriot Ledger

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Who will take on job of fixing Detroit's finances?

DETROIT — It appears the appointment of an emergency manager to take over Detroit's failing finances is all but a done deal. But one question remains: Who will get the difficult, thankless job?

Gov. Rick Snyder is being coy about his selection, saying only the person is "top notch." Michigan's Emergency Loan Board will do the official hiring of the candidate, who will provide state oversight on spending and restructuring.

Whoever is chosen, he or she will not only have to tackle the city's massive deficits and debt but also succeed in pulling Detroit out of a fiscal tailspin so steep that it's had to borrow millions of dollars just to pay its bills and city workers' salaries.

"This will take somebody who has very deep and strong financial expertise and very deep and strong political and personal capabilities," said Timothy Horner, a partner in the Warner Norcross & Judd law firm. Horner, whose firm has been closely following Detroit's fiscal struggles because it represents businesses and creditors, told The Associated Press on Friday that the emergency manager job is "a very difficult assignment."

An appointment is unlikely to occur before Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has a chance to appeal Snyder's determination Friday that the city is in a financial emergency. The 10-day appeal period will be followed by a March 12 hearing. It's then that Snyder can change his mind or reaffirm his position and move forward with an emergency manager appointment.

Bing said Friday that doesn't agree with Snyder's determination and that he is looking into the city's options.

Emergency managers have the power under state law to develop financial plans, renegotiate labor contracts, revise and approve budgets to help control spending, sell off city assets not restricted by charter and suspend the salaries of elected officials.

Given the makeup of Detroit — more than 80 percent of the 700,000 residents are black — the emergency manager's job would be easier if that person is black, according to Bill Brandt, chief executive of Development Specialists, Inc., a national turnaround firm.

"If he's even toying with the idea of putting a white fella in charge in a city that's 80 percent black it will be seen as more of this plantation mentality," Brandt said of Snyder.

Detroit and its mostly white suburbs have shared an often-strained relationship for decades.

"You need to get a buy-in from the large population and the way is to get a spirited intellectually bright African American with a great deal of political chops," Brandt added.

Among the issues needing immediate attention, is Detroit's massive health care costs and unfunded pension benefits to retirees.

Detroit's sinking population — a quarter-million people left between 2000 and 2010 — and shrinking tax base will have to fund its legacy liabilities, Horner said.

"Over many years, the city made many promises to employees and workers and incurred debt based upon a city that was much larger," he said, noting the emergency manager will first need to address "short-term liquidity issues" while handling "long-term legacy liabilities."

Horner also pointed out the manager would need to have experience with bankruptcies.

"If the emergency manager is not able to restructure, we will end up with Chapter 9," he said.

But bankruptcy can be avoided if everyone comes to the negotiating table, said William M. Dolan, a partner in the Brown Rudnick international law firm.

Providence, R.I., had a $110 million structural deficit, $1 billion in unfunded health care and an $800 million unfunded pension. Dolan represented the city last year in negotiations with its active unions and retirees over concessions to address legacy liabilities.

Both sides negotiated everything down and converted health care coverage to Medicare from private plans.

"When you go into bankruptcy your pension is gone. It's gone," Dolan said.

But for residents, the appointment of an emergency manager runs deeper than ledger sheets and balance books.

"You are telling the people of Detroit that they are too stupid to manage their own affairs, and that's an insult," said Oliver Cole, a photography studio owner in the city and president of a 900-family neighborhood association on the northwest side.

"We want the city of Detroit to function," the 62-year-old added. "We want it to be a great city, have police, fire, good EMS, trash pickup and parks maintained.

"The emergency manager gives people the opinion he can do anything. That is tantamount to another mayor and that's why I disagree. You have supplanted the will of the people to elect their leader. Now you say 'your voice doesn't count.' "

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McConnell: Spending cuts modest, reduce US debt

WASHINGTON — The Senate's Republican leader says the automatic spending cuts that just started to kick in are modest and a step toward curing Washington of its "spending addiction."

Sen. Mitch McConnell says the across-the-board cuts are not as devastating as some predicted. The Kentucky Republican also says families have had to trim their budgets and can appreciate Washington's step to curb spending.

McConnell says the entire idea of the automatic spending cuts came from President Barack Obama's staff. Those cuts were set to take effect only if Congress and the White House failed to reach a bargain to reduce the nation's debt, but without a deal those deep cuts began to take hold on Friday.

McConnell appeared on CNN's "State of the Union."

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