teehee

This is in California. A five-day notice was given to all residents that the apartment complex parking lot will be resealed and repainted. All vehicles need to be parked off the lot before the scheduled job starts and any vehicles left on the lot will be towed at owner's expense. The rental agreement has a section describing the specific conditions under which a car can be towed. All of them seem legal and reasonable (inoperable, leaking, expired tags, incorrectly or illegally parked, malfunctioning alarm), and the last one says "or for any other reason allowed by law."

So the question is, if the landlord wants to repair the lot and did not hand-deliver the notice or verbally confirmed with the resident, does the landlord have the legal right to tow the car? What if the resident was away on vacation for two weeks and has no idea about the notice?

I received dividends from foreign ETFs on Jan 4, 2008. They were reported and added up on my 2007 1099-DIV (along with foreign tax paid, also dated 2008). I assume a copy was submitted to the IRS. Should I have the broker correct the form and remove all 2008-dated amounts, or do I need to report the dividends and foreign tax paid on my 2007 tax return, even though the transactions took place in 2008?

I'm on cash basis, and IRS is on calendar year basis AFAIK. Maybe the EX-DIV date was in 2007 (like 12/31), but as far as I am concerned the transactions didn't take place until 2008. Thanks.

When overpaid state income tax is itemized into the federal deduction, I get back federal money I'm not technically entitled to. Next year I will have to report the state refund and pay federal taxes on it.

1) Will I have to report the 2006 state refund only if I itemize on the 2007 tax return? If yes, great (though doesn't make much sense), if not, where will it be reported?

2) Is there a way to adjust my federal taxes this year so that I don't get back this federal money now and don't have to report state refund next year? If yes, how? I was hoping for something on Schedule A, but I don't see it.

Thanks.

I downloaded the Fedora Core 5 DVD ISO from a reputable local mirror. The sha1code matched, so the download is good. Burnt to DVD (with Nero 6.3, once at 8x, once at 4x (slowest)). The DVDs are readable fine but the Media Test fails at around 70% on both (and I can't get too far into the install). What am I doing wrong? TIA.

There's a similar question here -- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=10060218055... -- but the answers don't address everything. I have an idea that will combine and enhance things that already exist (but I don't know if its public domain or simply uncopyrightable). What is the best way to find out if I'll be violating any copyrights? I don't want to search the USPTO database, I want someone else to do it and be bound by it. How much can something like this cost? Thanks.

I'm not satisfied with investment choices at the current 401k investment management company and would like to move my vested funds to another one. I found the following on the fund administrator's site: "You may withdraw Company Matching Contributions when you terminate employment with Company. To withdraw pre-tax Employee Contributions, you must also terminate employment or have a qualifying hardship as defined in the Savings Plan and IRS regulations." Shouldn't there be a law protecting ME? If I can find a better manager for MY MONEY, should I not be able to do so without quitting my job? TIA.