Editorial

Bill Aims to Sink Yacht Deductions

glbm — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:34:23 +0000

By:

Jenifer Fischer

The boating community feels picked on. Legislation proposed this spring seeks to eliminate them from the ranks of second-home owners allowed to deduct their mortgage interest payments.

On May 3, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, along with Reps. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Gary Peters of Michigan introduced the Ending Taxpayer Subsidies for Yachts Act, HR 1702. If successful, the bill’s authors will see to it that boat owners who classify their boats as second homes can no longer write off their mortgage interest payments as permitted under IRS Service Code Section 163.

Currently, second-home owners may deduct mortgage interest as long as the loans they’ve taken out for qualified residences—primary and vacation homes—do not exceed $1 million. Taxpayers may deduct interest for up to two homes under this guideline.

Higher Ethanol Leaves Boaters With No Choice

glbm — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:17:24 +0000

Just as the public may be forced to buy health insurance, boaters may be forced to purchase fuel containing 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline (E15), found harmful to marine and car engines that are older than 2001. Fuel generated from corn that contains a level of ethanol higher than E10 is considered unsafe for marine engines. As the demand for renewable energy leads to a push for more corn in fuels that would replace the present, low-ethanol fuels, many boat engines would be handicapped and unable to use these fuels. Will the government turn its back on boating by limiting the availability of low-ethanol fuels in gas stations?

Human Drugs and Biologics Seep into Great Lakes Waterways

glbm — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:11:45 +0000

A petition was recently submitted to the federal Food & Drug Administration by the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center (GLELC) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), requesting the revocation of the regulation addressing pharmaceutical residues in the environment, especially in our waterways. The petition is requesting the immediate revocation of the FDA’s broad rule providing a categorical exclusion for human drugs and a wide range of biologics, including vaccines, tissues, blood and blood components, allergenics, somatic cells, gene therapy, and recombinant therapeutic proteins created by biological processes, that are allowed to seek into the Great Lakes. The challenged provision provides categorical exclusions to the assessments for new drug applicants.

Asian Carp: Friend, Foe or Delicacy of the Great Lakes?

glbm — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:17:02 +0000

of the Great LaIn response to the cries about the Asian carp threatening to invade the Great Lakes, Congress has asked the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prepare a feasibility study to investigate the potential environmental, economic and social effects of the measures being considered to modify the electric barriers, which are the only present-day batt lefields against the carp.

These adjustments would improve the efficacy and the evaluation of other fi sh deterrents and additional barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS).

The CAWS covers Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal the Calumet rivers, the Calumet Harbor and the Calumet-Sag Channel.

If you can’t buy the boat you love, Love the boat you are with

glbm — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:13:02 +0000

Not so long ago, after a particular boat was seen in ads and at boat shows, it was relatively easy to make the dream come true. The economy hummed. Financial statements could not have looked any better—they were swollen with net values of owned assets. If your last year of income was not sterling, your accountant could help put your banker’s concerns to rest. Your present and future commissions, bonuses and stock market investments and assets had projected healthy yields. Adding an extra cushion of collateral to ease the banker’s concern was no problem. Ways and means of fi nancing the boat were always within reach. Those were the happy days. Financial happiness was in the air, real or based on positive mental att itude. In that strong economy we trusted.

Great Lakes Boating is Going Digital

glbm — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:56:57 +0000

Great Lakes Boating is on the cutt ing edge, ready to make the transition to an all-digital magazine. Th is is the direction in which publishing is heading. You may fi nd that, eventually, you will prefer to take your iPad, Kindle or laptop onboard your boat, instead of a hard copy of the publication. The magazine will be fresher this way. Save yourself the difficulty of carrying several magazine issues, and instead bring one of the devices that will save space and allow you to experience the high quality of a digital magazine.

Michigan Oil Spill

glbm — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:48:38 +0000

Michigan Oil SpA 30-inch pipeline carrying oil ruptured on July 26 in Marshall, Mich., spilling liquid into Talmadge Creek, which feeds into the Kalamazoo River. Enbridge Inc., the company that owns the pipe, estimates that 819,000 gallons of oil leaked, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the total was more than 1 million gallons of oil. The EPA is heavily involved in the issue, heading cleanup and containment efforts. The agency rejected multiple cleanup plans that Enbridge proposed before fi nding one acceptable.

What is the Coast Guard Foundation?

glbm — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:46:01 +0000

The Coast Guard Foundation strives to help Coast Guard men and women strengthen their service to our nation by encouraging them to excel, on-duty and off. The motto of the Coast Guard Foundation is “rescue the rescuers.”

The foundation is providing relief to families when a loved one dies in the line of duty. “Rescue the rescuers” is providing funds when a natural disaster strikes and a Coast Guard member loses his or her possessions.

Avoiding an Oil Spill in the Great Lakes

glbm — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:39:50 +0000

The recent oil spill disaster in the Gulf raises the question of whether the Great Lakes may some day face a similar situation. Although a parallel event has not yet occurred in this region, we must work hard to prevent it from taking place.

Effects of Climate Change and Lake Levels on Boating

glbm — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:38:25 +0000

Lake Levels on BoDiscourse around the world is addressing the effects of climate change. Th is resulted in the political agreements that were reached in 1992 and 1997. Last year in Copenhagen, non-binding commitments were made by more than 20 countries to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. As concentrations of greenhouse gases rise in the atmosphere, trapping solar energy, altered climate patterns could wreak havoc on the wildlife and the economy that are part of the fabric of life in the Great Lakes region and around the world.

Fractional Boating

glbm — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:36:33 +0000

By:

George Bonelli; Chairman & Founder; The SailTime Group; LLC

Lifestyle choices should be replete with simplicity, ease and good value. That feels like a smart approach. Now when it comes to boating, there is a significant conundrum associated with this choice. On the one hand, there are so many clear and compelling reasons why it is a great activity choice. It is terrific for uninterrupted family time, stress reduction, fresh air, and all the positive health and social benefits that go with being outdoors. On the other hand, there are many elements that tend to erode the overall experience.

Trading Budget Dollars for Human Lives

glbm — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:17:26 +0000

The Great Lakes Boating Federation, advocacy voice for the 4.3 million boaters of the Great Lakes region, strongly opposes a federal budget proposal that would close U.S. Coast Guard helicopter stations based in Waukegan, Ill., and Muskegon, Mich. At a press conference held recently at the Shedd Aquarium, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk from Illinois and a survivor of a boating accident both spoke out against the Coast Guard federal budget items. If passed, the budget item would raise the Coast Guard's response time from 17 minutes to one hour and 12 minutes.

Potential Economic Downfall After Lock Closures

glbm — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:15:26 +0000

A DePaul University report recently defined the potential economic consequences of closing the Chicago River Controlling Works and O'Brien locks on the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). Joseph P. Schwieterman's analysis was performed due to concerns about the Asian carp's migration into the Great Lakes.

Of Wind and Water

glbm — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:12:36 +0000

By:

Dennis L. Schornack

Extracting renewable energy from the wind is viewed as one of the 12 steps to wean America from its addiction to oil, and converting manufacturing capacity to build wind turbines is expected to provide the "green jobs" of the future. Hope for a manufacturing renaissance here in the Rust Belt rides on the rising demand for wind power, but building commercial-scale wind farms has proven as difficult as building the coal-fired plants they would replace.

Join the Great Lakes Boating Federation

glbm — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:37:25 +0000

The Great Lakes Boating Federation is the one place boaters can have their say. All 4.3 million boaters on the Great Lakes have a voice with the Great Lakes Boating Federation. A lot is going on with the lakes as views of the world and the future change.