LONDON A new survey by Prudential says people in the UK who want to retire this year are looking forward to traveling the world (36 percent) or enjoying themselves (43 percent). Only 5 percent plan to spend anything on charity.

But the top priority seems to be a prerequisite for their dreams: "Prudential has revealed the results of new research which shows the top priority for people intending to retire this year is saving money to ensure they have enough to live on in retirement. Nearly 6 out of 10 people (57 percent) said saving will be a top priority," the press release said.

"Today's retirees are likely to spend longer in retirement than previous generations," Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement income expert at Prudential, said in the survey press release, "so it is encouraging to see that they understand the importance of saving money to ensure they can live comfortably. Saving shouldn't be regarded as something that suddenly stops once you retire, and the current generation of retirees seems to be more aware of this than ever before."

But for many in the U.S., retirement may just be a pipe dream.

CNN Money featured an article titled "Delaying retirement: 80 is the new 65." About a quarter of middle-class Americans have so little savings that they are planning to delay their retirement until they are at least 80 years old.

Eighty years old is two years longer than average life expectancy meaning that many people are working to save enough money to die some day.

"It sounds depressing, but for many it's a necessity," the CNN article said. "On average, Americans have only saved a mere 7 percent of the retirement nest egg they were hoping to build, according to Wells Fargo's latest retirement survey that polled 1,500 middle-class Americans."

People had a median savings of about $25,000. Their median goal was $350,000.

Clive Crook, a Bloomberg View columnist, said Americans' problem is not Social Security solvency, but that it won't be enough to retire on. "When they retire, many baby boomers will see a far bigger drop in their standard of living than they had expected," he said. "Many will have to work longer, whether they want to or not."

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Retirement savings: Too little too late?

The proverbial elephant was in the room - or at least at the Congo Square stage - Friday afternoon at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. To his credit, Mystikal addressed it right away.

"How many of y'all heard I was in jail?" he asked the crowd. "Well, I'm here, so y'all know that was a lie. Now, how many of y'all heard I was going to jail?" There wasmore subdued noise; even at an outdoor festival in response to a headliner's prompt, it feels odd to hoot and holler about impending incarceration.

"Well," Mystikal answered with a sheepish grin, "people talk too much."

Friday's Congo Square set should have been just another in Mike Tyler's accumulating collection of triumphs following his release from prison in early 2010. After serving a six-year sentence for sexual battery and extortion charges, the rapper hit the ground running. He sold out several shows at the House of Blues and ignited Congo Square in 2010 and 2011 with a live funk band.

Almost immediately after his release, he threw himself into the studio with KLC, the producer who had masterminded the bulk of his definitive '90s work for the No Limit label. In late 2011, he signed to New Orleans' other heritage hip-hop independent, Cash Money, whose influence in the world of contemporary rap is nearly unparalleled.

Headlining the Young Money Cash Money showcase at SXSW in 2012, Mystikal was electrifying. Fans from the '90s welcomed him home with open arms, and listeners whose introduction to YMCMB came with new sensations Drake and Nicki Minaj were captivated by his bombastic energy.

Then, about two weeks ago,he was sentenced to three months in jail forviolating the terms of his five-year probation with a domestic violence charge. He will return to jail May 14.

"I'm going through some bad things," he admitted onstage. "But it's gonna be all right."

Mystikal, in white jeans and T-shirt, took the stage with a full funk band, Hot Sausage,that included DJ C. Smith, Galactic's Ben Ellman on baritone sax and Danny Kartel on guitar. The band wore black YMCMB T-shirts customized with Mystikal's name. New Orleans hip-hop icon Mia X, Mystikal's No Limit labelmate, joined him onstage for a snippet of "Make 'Em Say Ungh."

Even before Mystikal fully explored the possibilities of live instrumentation, the comparisons to James Brown flew fast and furious. With a full band, the similarities are pretty apparent; KLC and Leroy "Precise" Edwards' production on Mystikal's best-known songs -- Friday he performed many, including "Tarantula," "Danger," "Never Gonna Bounce," "Here I Go," "The Man Right Chea" and the particularly appropriate "If It Ain't Live It Ain't Me" -- was already funky. Live onstage, Mystikal goes into full-on soul brother mode, yelping, growling and undulating to the music.

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Mystikal addresses personal problems in emotional New Orleans Jazz Fest set

Phillies ace Roy Halladay had an uncharacteristically bad start on Wednesday, giving up a six-run lead to the Braves in what eventually became an 11-inning, 15-13 loss to Atlanta.

Afterwards, the media was informed that Halladay would leave the team for personal matters. The timing -- perhaps coincidental and perhaps not -- is curious, but for now, Halladay's departure is none of our business. The only way that changes is if it's something baseball-related and right now that doesn't appear to be the case.

This has nothing to do with baseball, a person with knowledge of the situation told Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.

And that's why the consensus approach to Halladay's departure has been reverent silence. You won't hear mention of the issue, at least as to how it might be part of the reason for Halladay's bad start, from pitching coach Rich Dubee (via MLB.com).

"At times it doesn't seem like his stuff is accelerating through the hitting zone," Dubee said. "At times it does."

Dubee did say, via CSNPhilly.com, that it was "mostly [Wednesday]" when he saw those struggles from Halladay.

It could have been the heat, Dubee said. I dont know. It could be release point. It was a combination of a bunch of stuff. It wasnt a good night."

So maybe part of it is the personal issue. That's fine, it's not like Halladay --as much as he might pitch like one sometimes --is an actual robot. If he's dealing with family issues, he needs to be given space and privacy to do so.

But if it's something that relates to his baseball performance, then it becomes a concern. If you want an example of this, look towards Giants first baseman/outfielder Aubrey Huff, who recently left the team for "personal reasons" that ended up being anxiety.

That's not to knock anxiety: it's a legit problem. But it's also something that directly relates to Huff's ability to perform on a baseball field. No one's lacking sympathy for Huff as a result of his distress, but the fact that his mental condition will effect how he performs on the baseball field does change the way the Giants go about business.

More here:
Halladay's Personal Affairs None of Our Business

Manny Pacquiao on his personal fortune of P1.352 billion: "Galing sa Panginoon yan, lahat yan hindi ko kinuha ng madalian lang... dugo at pawis ang puhunan ko diyan."

Matapos ang itinakdang deadline sa pagsusumite ng Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth o SALN, inilabas ng Kongreso ang listahan ng pinakamayayamang miyembro nito.

Nanguna sa listahan with a personal fortune of 1.352 billion pesos si eight-division champion at Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao.

Positibo ang general reaction ng publiko sa idineklarang net worth ni Pacquiao dahil katas anila ito ng sipag at pagpupunyagi ng Peoples Champ.

Yung mga dineclare ko, galing sa Panginoon yan, lahat yan hindi ko kinuha ng madalian lang, hindi ko ano yan, kumbaga sa buhay, dugo at pawis ang puhunan ko diyan.

And proud naman ako diyan, pahayag ni Manny sa taped interview sa kanya ng Startalk TX kahapon, Sabado, May 5.

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Manny Pacquiao on his personal fortune of P1.352 billion: "Galing sa Panginoon yan, lahat yan hindi ko kinuha ng ...

Collecting 19 boxes of items for the Zion Community Food Pantry, 7-year-old Zoe Hensley of Ionia has proved young children can make a big difference in the community.

I feel really great. Im so happy that I (collected) so many boxes, said Hensley. I felt so proud of myself.

Hensley, her siblings and her parents helped carry the items into the pantry Thursday after collecting them at Sozo Coffee Roasting and Espresso Bar through the month of April.

Hensleys initial goal was to fill four large boxes full of food. However, she surpassed it and even raised $140, which she used to purchase health care items including soap, shampoo, toothpaste and hand sanitizer.

Personal care items are equally important to give to the food pantry because typically those items are not able to be purchased with food stamps, said Zion Community Food Pantry Director Barb Hollon.

She said she is thrilled with the work Hensley has done to help the community.

Shes just a remarkable young lady, said Hollon, who helped the children place the items where they needed to be.

Hollon added she believes Hensley is a leader who shows compassion for those around her.

Hensley said she would like to hold another food drive in the future, adding she enjoyed collecting and organizing the items.

Hensleys mother, Mindy Hensley, said she was excited about her daughters accomplishment and is happy to have helped her during collection.

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Food drive a success for 7-year-old

Rebecca Huntley ... "[I] started to see terrible things being said and it does challenge your feelings." Photo: Sahlan Hayes

When not persuading Australians to open up, she reveals her own family's untold stories, writes Debra Jopson.

'It's one of those things you do when you're 18,'' Rebecca Huntley says. Twenty-one years ago, when she was applying to study law at the University of NSW, she decided to change her name so her lecturers would not know she was the daughter of the eminent legal academic James Crawford.

''I want your maiden name,'' she told her mother, Marisa Crawford nee Ballini. But her mother told her she would never be accepted in law or politics with an Italian name. So the daughter opened the A-K Sydney telephone book and when her eyes fell on ''Huntley'', marked that on her university application form and changed her name by deed poll.

Her mother, whose family swapped the island of Elba off the Tuscany coast for Queensland's cane farms, approved. ''She said, 'Oh, that sounds wonderfully neutral.' It sounds Australian, which to her is neutral,'' Huntley says.

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The sense of stigma attached to the Italian name was one of the clues that led Huntley to seek out her family's secrets.

But she does not reveal these secrets until the end of lunch at The Boathouse on the harbour's edge at Blackwattle Bay, where she admires the industrial landscape of Sydney Fish Markets and its surrounds against the water, then launches into anecdotes about her soundings of the Aussie mindset.

It is only when she finally tells her family history that it becomes clear why she continues to plumb these strange depths over and over.

She orders mackerel and mineral water, and speaks of one of her earliest memories. When she was four or five, travelling past suburban brick houses, she would wonder who lived there. As director of the Ipsos Mackay report, she is now paid to walk through those doors across the continent to find out what the inhabitants think.

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Secrets and her success

With CIF Prelims on the horizon, a healthy sprinkling of confidence doesn't hurt, and neither does a flood of league titles.

That's the way the Citrus Valley High School track and field program is looking at its trip to the Division 3 meet at Estancia High School, where the program hopes to take the Costa Mesa event by storm this coming weekend.

The Blackhawks, who breezed through the Mountain Valley League to a pair of team championships, are now headed to the first round of CIF competition on Saturday, and will be doing so fresh off a dominating showing at MVL Finals.

After the Citrus Valley boys reeled off their first undefeated league campaign, and the girls did so for the second straight year, the two squads combined to win 18 of 30 events at Thursday's finals, turning in a number of standout performances that highlighted a home meet the hosts dominated from start to finish.

Sophomore Rian Young-Werner won the long jump and had a hand in the winning 4x100 relay, but it was in the triple jump where she shined the brightest.

Her jump of 39 feet, 9 inches not only won the event but set a personal record.

According to Blackhawk coach Marie Honeyfield, she has a puncher's chance of heading to the CIF State meet, but it will take a serious effort out of the youngster.

"If she goes with her A game, she might make it to state," Honeyfield said. "But it won't be easy. She's really, really got to come with her A game."

On the boys side, Apeti Adadevoh is Citrus Valley's horse, as the senior long jumper is the third-best in Division 3.

Honeyfield knows he won't be an easy athlete to oust either.

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Citrus Valley track and team program primed for CIF success

VICTORIA, British Columbia and MANCHESTER, New Hampshire, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

UNIT4Business Software (http://www.unit4software.com), developer of Agresso Business World, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software platform for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC), has won the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Employer of the Year award. The award goes to a local business that demonstrates a commitment to job creation, ongoing training programs, company morale, recognition programs, employee health, and professional and personal development.

UNIT4 Business Software has enjoyed strong growth over the last five years, and has been a leader in creating technology jobs in the community. In 2011, the company hired 21 new employees and plans to hire even more in 2012. Aware that people are the backbone of its achievements, UNIT4 Business Software offers its employees an enviable work environment. From generous training and professional development budgets, to engaging social activities, to competitive benefits and compensation, the company makes corporate culture a priority.

"Victoria has a thriving technology industry and to attract top performing individuals, it is important to invest in your employees, encourage company-wide communication, and give people the opportunity to excel," says Shelley Zapp, president of UNIT4 Business Software. "Over 50 percent of our employees have been with us over five years; our low turnover fosters more efficient teamwork and ensures a deep repository of product and business knowledge within the organization," she adds.

UNIT4 Business Software is the North American subsidiary of UNIT4, a $602 million global business software group. As a local subsidiary, it has the entrepreneurial spirit of a smaller, agile company, yet enjoys the stable underpinnings of a larger corporate presence. Employees have the opportunity to interact with colleagues and customers from countries around the world, giving UNIT4 Business Software a unique international flair in the local technology community.

About UNIT4 Business Software

UNIT4 Business Software in North America (http://www.unit4software.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UNIT4, a $602 million enterprise resource planning (ERP) company and a top six mid-market ERP software player globally. The company helps dynamic public sector, and commercial services organizations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls 'Businesses Living IN Change' (BLINC). Agresso Business World is widely acknowledged as the business software solution that delivers the lowest Total Cost of Change. The software's unique Vita architecture allows for ongoing, post-implementation changes by business users, without the external IT costs typical of disparate systems.

Over 3,000 companies and organizations in 100 countries deploy Agresso Business World for both operational support and strategic management. The company's role-based, Web Services and Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) enabled solutions include Financial Management, Human Resources and Payroll, Procurement Management, Project Costing and Billing, Reporting and Analytics, Business Process Automation, and Field Services and Asset Maintenance.

Thenames of actual companies or products mentioned herein may be thetrademarks of theirrespectiveowners. Agresso, Agresso Business World, BLINC, and VITA are registered trademarks of UNIT4 Business Software.

Media contacts: JoAnn Marlow Director of Marketing, UNIT4 Business Software Phone: +1-(250)-704-4489 Cell: +1-(250)-415-7510 Email: Joann.Marlow@unit4.com Twitter: @UNIT4SoftwareNA

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UNIT4 Business Software Wins Chamber of Commerce Employer of the Year Award

May 4, 2012 in City

The Washington state Court of Appeals Division III on Thursday overruled a Spokane County Superior Courts decision to allow personal docks to be built along the Spokane River as part of the Coyote Rock Development in theValley.

The Superior Court had upheld an exemption the city of Spokane Valley gave the development group to build up to 30 docks without getting permits in accordance with Washingtons Shoreline ManagementAct.

Washingtons Shoreline Management Act is supposed to be read strictly in favor of protecting our shorelines, so that places like the Spokane River are protected, Bart Mihailovich, of Spokane Riverkeeper, said in a pressrelease.

The Department of Ecology, among other plaintiffs attached to the case, argued that the docks would be destructive to the habitats of native species spawning in the area, yet conducive to invasive predators like the smallmouth bass and northernpike.

It was unclear Thursday evening if the Coeur dAlene-based Neighborhood Inc., which owns Coyote Rock LLC, will appeal the courts latestdecision.

JacobPalmer

The nine baby owls that arrived at Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital a couple weeks ago originally thought to be great horned owls are actually of the screechvariety.

The screech owl, while prominent in the Midwest and the East, is extraordinarily rare on this side of the country, according to a WSU newsrelease.

Excerpt from:
In brief: Personal docks case overruled - Fri, 04 May 2012 PST

DETROIT, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While campaigning to become the Governor of Michigan, candidate Rick Snyder proposed to eliminate the business personal property tax because he felt that it was an impediment to attracting reinvestment and new investment into Michigan. Following the Governor's lead, legislators in both the House and Senate have filed bills that would eliminate, phase out, or diminish the effects of personal property tax on businesses.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110726/DA41187LOGO)

For example, Senate Bill 34 would eliminate the personal property tax completely. Senate Bill 142 attempts to eliminate personal property tax for businesses with fewer than 26 employees. To provide relief and encourage investment, Senate Bill 883 would eliminate property tax on new personal property. A bit more complicated, House Bill 4102 and House Bill 4103 provide for three components: the state education tax, the revised school code, and one-half of the tax that would be levied by the tax jurisdictions in the local tax collecting unit.

Like most other states that tax business personal property, Michigan personal property is a tax on commercial, industrial, and utility assets not otherwise classified as real property. Costs on assets such as furniture, fixtures, machinery, equipment, leasehold improvements, and electrical and gas transmission and distribution infrastructure make up most of the taxable property.

Michigan's business and government leaders agree that the property tax should be eliminated, and the following will help businesses be prepared for tax changes:

1. Ensure that real and personal property assets are classified correctly for property tax purposes, not just for federal depreciation purposes.

2. Monitor costs received from the local municipalities, as replacement revenue will likely include an increase in fees for services.

3. Be prepared as more cities consider an income tax.

4. Retain accurate records for any real estate development investments.

5. Recognize that Michigan assessors will uncap the taxable values on any property purchased in arm's length transactions and increase taxes.

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Ryan Reports Michigan Considers Eliminating Personal Property Tax