Top 10 cities for renters to raise a family

Nearly every couple planning to have kids has the same conversation at some point: Do we raise our kids here, or move somewhere else? That’s especially true if you live in a big city, since the cost of living is generally higher and the quality of public education tends to be more varied.
According to Rent.com, which surveyed 1,000 parents from all over the country, 34 percent are raising their kids in the city and would do it again. Easy access to a wide variety of foods, people and art, combined with a more diverse population than most suburbs, are the main reasons most parents chose to stay in the big city.
The same survey revealed that 56 percent of parents are concerned with safety when it comes to raising kids in the city, and 23 percent of parents find city living cost-prohibitive. With those concerns in mind, Rent.com identified the top rental markets for raising a family based on inventory of apartments, cost of living, violent crime rate and graduation rate.
In alphabetical order, those cities are:
Austin, Texas
This fun, funky city is known for its quirks. Live music is popular every night of the week with the locals, and there’s always something to do. The neighborhood feel of this city makes residents feel at home, and it’s a great place for an active family. From hiking to biking to visiting peacocks in Mayfield Park, the kids will always have something to keep them occupied.
Columbus, Ohio
This affordable Midwestern city has some of the top public schools in the nation, making it a winner among families. During summers and after school, kids can explore the themed indoor and outdoor play parks peppered all over the city. For bird lovers big and small, Columbus offers Pickerington Ponds, an Audubon-designated park where residents can hike, bike and explore over 260 species of birds.
Dallas, Texas
Families in Dallas enjoy the perks of a big city but have a more reasonable cost of living than many other large metros in the U.S. Dallas is filled with family-friendly fun, including zoos, parks and children’s theater. It’s also a big sports town; both kids and adults can enjoy cheering on the city’s football and baseball teams, the Cowboys and Rangers.
Denver, Colorado
If you’re a family looking for outdoor fun, look no further than Denver. The Mile High City has the biggest public parks system of any U.S. city, so there are plenty of opportunities for hiking, biking and rock climbing. There’s plenty of culture, too – if you’re looking for fun indoor activities, head to the art or science museum and then to one of Denver’s delicious restaurants for lunch.
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha has a lot going for it. The public school system is great, the crime rate is low and the cost of living is highly affordable. If you think Omaha is too rural for your kids to enjoy, think again. The city has a zoo which features the world’s largest indoor desert, a world-class children’s museum and plenty of other big-city attractions.
Phoenix, Arizona
This southwestern city has a reputation for attracting retirees with a passion for golf, but the warm climate and gorgeous scenery also attract plenty of families. During the summer heat, kids can enjoy the indoors at the Challenger Space Center or the Octane Raceway, America’s largest indoor go-kart racing venue. When it cools off, head outdoors to do some hiking or biking on the trails through the Sonoran desert.
Portland, Oregon
Families love Portland for its high graduation rate, low crime rate and access to culture. A foodie’s paradise, this city is also known as a haven for green living. Bicycles are everywhere, and many restaurants use locally-grown ingredients in their food. The atmosphere, combined with the beautiful backdrop of the mountains, make this city a hit.
San Diego, California
San Diego has it all: gorgeous weather, great beaches and plenty of family-friendly attractions downtown. Enjoy a day with the kids at SeaWorld or the famous San Diego zoo, and do some windsurfing at the Mission Bay Aquatic Park. Make sure to take the Trolley, a favorite of kids and kids-at-heart.
San Jose, California
One of the best parts about living in San Jose is convenience – the city is known for its public transit. This tech hub offers plenty of fun for families, from the world’s largest Monopoly board to the Children’s Discovery Museum. Happy Hollow Zoo and Park, home to a variety of exotic animals and opportunities for outdoor adventure, is also popular with families in the area.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is beautiful, but it also has brains: The city has a very high graduation rate and a reputation for academic excellence. In fact, big-brained Microsoft magnate Bill Gates calls the Seattle area home. There is plenty to do outdoors, with the Puget Sound and Olympic mountains as the perfect setting for boating, hiking and biking. 

Next Step in TV Evolution? Paying Up for 'Ultra HD'

TOKYO—Persuading consumers to trade in bulky old-school televisions for slim, high-definition models was a huge success story for the TV industry. Now manufacturers are angling to kick off another buying spree. They are gearing up to promote what the industry calls "ultra high-definition" televisions, or UHDTVs, which promise four times the resolution of existing TVs and are likely to be a hot topic at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Such TVs create images using more than eight million pixels, compared with about two million pixels of today's full high-definition televisions. At the moment, however, a major obstacle stands between consumers and sharper pictures: price.
Sony Corp. and LG Electronics, for example, have introduced 84-inch ultra high-definition sets priced at $25,000 and $20,000, respectively. Toshiba Corp. has announced a 55-inch set in Japan for ¥750,000, or $8,700. UHDTVs are expensive because they use a new liquid-crystal-display panel that requires a greater degree of precision from component manufacturers. So far, the manufacturing efficiency for such panels is low, but production quality is expected to improve over time.
The stratospheric price tags—often the case with new technology—don't worry some industry watchers, who recall that HDTV sets, cellphones and other products were initially out of reach of most consumers but became hits as prices declined. In this case, they add, consumers have come to appreciate the benefits of higher resolution on TVs, tablets and smartphones.
"If you're a consumer, you'll pay more for a technology that you understand," said Paul Gagnon, director of North American TV research at NPD DisplaySearch, a research and consulting firm. "And in the case of higher resolution, that's a very easy thing to understand."

That said, there are also reasons for skepticism. Since the HDTV sales wave crested in the last decade, TV makers have tried to slow the unrelenting fall in prices and profit margins by introducing premium models with new technologies such as 3-D or Web connectivity. Those technologies have become common features on mainstream TVs but haven't reversed the downward price spiral.

Very little content has been created specifically for home viewing on ultra high-definition televisions. Meanwhile, early adopters will have to settle for high-definition footage that is adapted, or "upscaled," for the new sets—though proponents say the results look better than upscaled programming first did on HDTVs.
The new format is arriving as consumers clamor for ever-larger televisions. When the early high-definition displays hit the market in the early 2000s, the main class of televisions was around 30 inches in size.
When the bulk of television sizes shifted to more than 40 inches and 50 inches several years ago, TV makers introduced full high-definition displays packing twice as many pixels. Now screen sizes are creeping above 60 and 70 inches, and TV makers again want to add more.
UHDTVs are also known by the moniker "4K" for the roughly 4,000 pixels in the screen measured horizontally, which is roughly twice the resolution.
The greater density allows viewers to sit closer without seeing the effect called pixilation that can appear at times on lower-resolution TVs. Also, it may allow viewers to turn to the television for new purposes, such as reading the news.
"As the trend to larger screen sizes continues, the ability to make that picture more and more realistic from any viewing distance is valuable," said Tim Alessi, director of new-product development at LG Electronics USA. "It's a natural transition."
By 2017, NPD DisplaySearch estimates UHDTVs will account for only 2% of all LCD TVs sold but will represent 22% of all televisions over 50 inches in size. (LCD is the current, widely used technology for TVs.)
Hollywood is beginning to embrace 4K video cameras and 4K movie projectors. Around 60 recent movies—including the latest James Bond film, "Skyfall"—have been offered in the higher resolution, but if a theater doesn't have the 4K projector, the movie will look like a regular HD film.
Sony, which introduced a 4K digital-video camera last year and controls about 10% of the digital 4K-projector segment, said it has built up the industry's largest database of 4K video through its work with Hollywood and its early research on the technology.
"From now on, we'll continue to move 4K from professional use to consumer use by expanding and introducing additional products," said Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai at a news conference in April.
A big question is how quickly television manufacturers will bring down prices. The introduction of full high-definition televisions in the mid-2000s provides a model for how quickly prices can decline. A 40-inch, high-definition television, which cost about $4,800 in 2005, sold for about $560 in 2012, according to NPD DisplaySearch.
There should be no shortage of competing 4K set makers to help push prices down, at least to judge by expected activity at the CES. Westinghouse Digital LLC is planning to show, besides conventional sizes, a 110-inch UHDTV set available for custom order in the first quarter; pricing hasn't been announced.
Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp Corp., and four Chinese manufacturers including Haier Group and Hisense Group also are expected to debut ultra high-definition televisions this year.
While hopes run high, manufacturers don't see UHDTV as a silver bullet to cure the industry's ills. Without changing how consumers see the television and its value, 4K—like 3-D before it—may not do much to help TV makers, said Atsushi Murasawa, general manager of Toshiba's strategic-planning division.
And no one is assuming a surge of the magnitude that accompanied the advent of high definition, when revenue from U.S. wholesale sales rose nearly fourfold between 2003 and the 2008 sales peak, says the Consumer Electronics Association.
"HDTV was like your first love," says Gary Shapiro, the group's chief executive. "Nothing will be as good as that."

Superstorm Sandy victims finally get relief: House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy flood aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two months after Super storm Sandy struck, the House on Friday overwhelmingly approved $9.7 billion to pay flood insurance claims for the many home and business owners flooded out by the storm. The 354-67 vote came days after Northeast Republicans erupted over House Speaker John Boehner's decision to delay a vote earlier in the week; all of the no votes were cast by Republicans. The Senate was expected to pass the bill later in the day.

"It's the right step," said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

The bill gives more borrowing authority to the National Flood Insurance Program to pay about 115,000 pending Sandy-related claims as well as about 5,000 claims unrelated to Sandy.

Northeast lawmakers say the money is urgently needed for victims of one of the worst storms ever to strike the region. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had warned that the National Flood Insurance Program would run out of money next week if Congress didn't provide additional borrowing authority to pay out claims. Congress created the FEMA-run program in 1968 because few private insurers cover flood damage.

The flood insurance measure is the first phase of a proposed Sandy aid package. Boehner agreed to Friday's vote after the controversy over delaying House action on a broader Sandy aid package. Under Boehner's new schedule, the House will vote Jan. 15 on an additional $51 billion in recovery money.

Senate action on that measure is expected the following week; financially strapped local governments are awaiting the money.

Northeast lawmakers say the money is urgently needed for storm victims awaiting claim checks from the late October storm, which was one of the worst ever to strike the Northeast, ravaging the coast from North Carolina to Maine, with the most severe flooding occurring in Atlantic City, N.J., New York City and Long Island and along the Connecticut coastline.

"People are waiting to be paid," said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., whose district includes Atlantic City and many other coastal communities hard hit by the storm. "They're sleeping in rented rooms on cots somewhere, and they're not happy. They want to get their lives back on track, and it's cold outside. They see no prospect of relief."

As with past natural disasters, the Sandy aid proposals do not provide for offsetting spending cuts. Some tea party House Republicans and other fiscal conservatives favor cutting other federal programs to pay for some or all disaster costs.

The Club For Growth, a conservative group, on Friday urged lawmakers to oppose the bill, saying that Congress should only approve Sandy aid in installments to make sure the money is wisely spent and that any new Sandy aid should be offset with spending cuts elsewhere.

"Congress should not allow the federal government to be involved in the flood insurance industry in the first place, let alone expand the national flood insurance program's authority," the group said in a statement.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., a fiscal conservative who voted against the flood bill, said he was among those with concerns about the budget deficit. "We have to talk seriously about offsets," Huelskamp said. "We can't take $60 billion off budget, that's my problem with it."
The current debate over Sandy aid comes barely a year after Congress and the White House set up a new system to budget help for victims of hurricanes, tornadoes and floods before they occur. The new disaster funding scheme permits aid money to be added to the budget in line with amounts budgeted in recent years. The idea was to avoid battling and uncertainty over disaster funding.

Damage from Sandy, however, was so extensive that it's swamping the $12 billion disaster aid budget cap for the current year.

Boehner, of Ohio, had promised a House vote on Friday after his decision to delay an action on a broader Sandy relief package provoked outrage from Northeast Republicans, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said he'd lost trust in GOP leaders in Congress after being promised a vote earlier this week.

New York Republican lawmakers who met with Boehner after the uproar said he explained that after the contentious vote Tuesday to avoid major tax increases and spending cuts called the "fiscal cliff," he didn't think it was right to schedule the vote before the previous Congress ended on Thursday.

About 140,000 Sandy-related flood insurance claims have been filed, FEMA officials said, and there are about 115,000 pending claims. Many flood victims have only received partial payments on their claims.

Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was blamed for at least 120 deaths. Northeast lawmakers have complained that it took just 10 days for Congress to approve about $50 billion in aid for Katrina but that it hasn't provided aid for Sandy relief in more than two months.

The storm damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.

"States and local communities need to know the money will be there before they can give a green light to start rebuilding," said LoBiondo.

More than $2 billion in federal money has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia are receiving FEMA aid.

Could a $1 trillion coin save the economy?: Can a $1 Trillion Coin End Debt Ceiling Crisis?

What if the threat of a voluntary default by the United States could be erased by simply turning one tiny scrap of platinum into a coin?
That's right. No debt ceiling problem. No bickering in Congress. No market jitters. The only thing needed is for the Treasury Department to mint a platinum coin with a face value of $1 trillion.

Of course, this is not going to happen. Creating money out of thin air is hardly a solution. It could lead to even more concerns from those worried about inflation. Critics of the Federal Reserve's monetary easing programs would likely be apoplectic if the Treasury Department trumped Ben Bernanke's "helicopter drop" by minting a trillion more new dollars.
The influential New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has already dubbed the talk a "gimmick." But here is why some people think this bizarre strategy could work.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner made it official: Federal borrowing has reached the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling.
Treasury, which runs the government's debt-issuance operation, is busy creating about $200 billion of headroom by employing what it calls "extraordinary measures." That should cover about two months' worth of borrowing.
When the two months expire, Treasury will no longer be able to pay the country's bills -- that is, it won't be able to borrow more money to pay for spending already authorized by Congress.
If Congress does not act to raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. will default on its debts. Not good. But this is where the platinum coin comes in. Normally, the Federal Reserve is charged with issuing currency. But U.S. law, specifically 31 USC § 5112, also grants Treasury permission to "mint and issue platinum bullion coins and proof platinum coins."
This section of law was meant to allow for the printing of commemorative coins and the like. But the Treasury Secretary has the authority to mint these coins in any denomination he or she sees fit.
With a $1 trillion coin in hand, Treasury could deposit the money into Fed accounts, and pay its debts in that manner, instead of relying on bond issuance.
And none of this requires Congressional consent. Talk about an elegant solution.
The White House unsurprisingly hasn't commented on the idea. But Rep. Jerrold Nadler is on board. "I'm being absolutely serious," he told Capital NY. "It sounds silly but it's absolutely legal."

Elaborate Wikipedia hoax exposed: War is over: Imaginary ‘Bicholim Conflict’ page removed from Wikipedia after five years

While Wikipedia editors strive for perfection, some elaborate hoaxes have managed to slip through (BGR News)A 17^th Century international conflict has finally been laid to rest, nearly 400 years after it never happened. Wait a second. Are you feeling confused?

A fascinating new story in the Daily Dot chronicles how for more than five years, rogue editors on Wikipedia perpetuated a hoax about the “Bicholim Conflict,” a purely fictional historical event.

Before its eventual deletion, the 4,500-word page read in part:
“From 1640 to 1641 the might of colonial Portugal clashed with India's massive Maratha Empire in an undeclared war that would later be known as the Bicholim Conflict. Named after the northern Indian region where most of the fighting took place, the conflict ended with a peace treaty that would later help cement Goa as an independent Indian state.”

Amazingly, the article was even nominated for the site’s Featured Article of the Day, a Wikipedia stable that highlights some of the site’s best-researched and written articles.

The actual writer of the Wikipedia article is still unknown, but members of the Wikipedia community have narrowed down at least one suspect.

“Unfortunately, hoaxes on Wikipedia are nothing new, and the craftier they are, the more difficult it is to catch them,” William Beutler, president of Beutler Wiki Relations, a Wikipedia consulting firm, told Yahoo News. “Anyone who's clever enough to make up convincing sources and motivated enough to spend the time and skilled enough to write a plausible article can deceive whole Internet—at least for awhile.”

A December 2012 poll by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that Google and Wikipedia were the top two research tools used by U.S. middle and high school students.

To its credit, Wikipedia has its own page devoted to Wikipedia hoaxes. Some of the more noteworthy attempts include a page on a fictional conspirator in the assassination of Julius Caesar, a false claim of inspiration in the “Lord of the Rings” novels and a former Harvard student who for eight years successfully operated a Wikipedia page claiming he was the mayor of a small Chinese town.

Beutler, a longtime Wikipedia community editor himself, says he once helped remove a hoax article after its author contacted him in an attempt to boast of their prank.

And as Beutler notes, in many ways, Wikipedia is no different than the professional journalism world from which it culls so much of its source material. No single source is infallible, even to the watchful and detail oriented community of Wikpedia editors.

“There are the outliers in each: Jayson Blair for the New York Times, the ‘Bicholim conflict’ author on Wikipedia,” Beutler said. “Stephen Glass would have been a terrific Wikipedia hoaxer.”

Even stranger, while the fake article itself has been deleted, the Bicholim Conflict continues to haunt the halls of the Internet at large. As the Daily Dot notes, several references to the Bicholim Conflict continue to exist online, with other web sites having copied and pasted the text verbatim. There’s even a book version of the fraudulent article available for sale on the Barnes and Noble website for $20 and credited to “authors” Jesse Russell and Ronald Cohn. As the product’s one reviewer notes in their comment, “A copy of a hoax Wikipedia article (which you could have read for free) in printed form.”