Free Republic

Kilpatrick may get extended stay in Manoogian9/6/2008, 9:11 p.m. EDT The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his family may remain in the official mayoral residence after he leaves office later this month. A spokesman for Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. told The Detroit News on Friday that the Kilpatricks may be able to stay in the Manoogian Mansion for a while. Cockrel is set to become mayor Sept. 19. Kilpatrick resigned on Thursday as part of a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and pleaded no contest to...

50 Cent's mansion goes up in smokeLast Updated: 30 May 2008 10:24 PM A "suspicious" fire has burned down a multimillion-dollar home owned by rapper 50 Cent. Arson squad investigators were on the scene of the blaze which injured six people. A lawyer for the Grammy-nominated rapper's former girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, said the woman lived in the Long Island house with two of her children. A fire service spokesman said all six people were taken to hospital where they are in a stable condition after suffering smoke inhalation. Earlier this year, Tompkins filed a lawsuit against 50 Cent, whose real...

Church builds mansion for Obama's former pastor March 29, 2008 By Kristen Schorsch, Staff writer The Rev. Jeremiah Wright's four-bedroom home in Tinley Park will feature an elevator, a large family room with a fireplace and bar, a butler's pantry, a rubberized exercise room, a circular driveway, a four-car garage, a spare room for a future theater or swimming pool and a master bedroom with a whirlpool and custom shower as well as a fireplace and under-counter fridge, building plans show. He would add to the mix of townhomes and multimillion dollar single-family homes that make up Odyssey Club, which...

When he was 11, True Thao was running with the chickens and pigs in his village in Laos. He had never seen a telephone or a flush toilet. He didn't speak English. He had never heard of Minnesota. He certainly didn't know that Cedarhurst Mansion, a 26-room jewel of history, was quietly rotting half a world away in a place called Cottage Grove. But in a bizarre only-in-America story, True Thao and his family became the refugees that rescued the mansion.

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, has again cut the asking price on her McLean, Va., estate, this time to $12.5 million, from $25 million when it went up for sale in 2003. John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, bought the 12-bedroom mansion in 1953 shortly after he joined the U.S. Senate. In 1957 the future president sold the home to his brother, who raised his 11 children there. Set on more than five acres, the 19th-century mansion has 18 rooms, 10½ baths and 12 fireplaces. The property also includes a pool, pool house, tennis court and...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war "when it's not necessary." "I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," Edwards told...

So far, so good. So, where does Gore buy his ‘carbon offsets’? According to The Tennessean newspaper’s report, Gore buys his carbon offsets through Generation Investment Management. a company he co-founded and serves as chairman: snip As co-founder and chairman of the firm Gore presumably draws an income or will make money as its investments prosper. In other words, he “buys” his “carbon offsets” from himself, through a transaction designed to boost his own investments and return a profit to himself. To be blunt, Gore doesn’t buy “carbon offsets” through Generation Investment Management - he buys stocks.

It sits on top of a hill, overlooking a busy road -- a big, pink stucco house that dwarfs all the houses around it. It is conspicuous consumption at its worst, or at its best, depending on your point of view. It's not the biggest house around. There are many bigger -- one just a few miles from where I live, not on top of a hill but practically on the offramp of a highway. So many smaller houses have been knocked down to make room for these Goliaths. This is called progress. I don't understand who lives in these...

A state appeals court has ruled that a landowner can build his dream home on an oceanfront cliff along the Central Coast despite attempts to block the construction because it would be an eyesore for boaters and surfers. The California Coastal Commission sued Dennis Schneider, trying to stop construction of his 10,000 square foot mansion in San Luis Obispo County. In a unanimous opinion Wednesday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal said there were no grounds to restrict seaside development. "We believe that it is unreasonable to assume that the Legislature has ever sought to protect the occasional boater's views...

Preservation effort gets help from Cheney By Kevin Wingert news@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - The second most powerful man in the country believes the Wyoming Historic Governors' Mansion is worth preserving. Wyoming's own Dick Cheney, the vice president of the United States, has donated money to the foundation overseeing the restoration of the historic landmark where 19 different gubernatorial families lived while in office. "To know that the vice president of our country is aware of your project and thinks enough of it that he wants to be part of it and wants to be part of...

Carmel, Nov. 16 - It was an intimate and astonishing financial portrait of former Conseco chairman Stephen Hilbert, who told a judge that apart from his $25 million mansion and $5 million in personal property, he's broke. The former Conseco CEO was once the highest paid executive in America at over $100 million a year. Earlier the same judge ruled that Hilbert must repay $72 million to Conseco for interest on unpaid loans. On Tuesday, Hilbert and his wife Tomisue pledged $30 million to go into escrow while he appeals the case. That includes his Carmel mansion and the $5...

So, I wrote a column recently and mentioned what a shock it would be to see the Confederate flag flying at Gracie Mansion in New York City. So, then I got an e-mail from a gentleman in Alabama who reads The Sun News online.So, now I have to adjust my comment and tell you that if you were to see the Confederate flag flying at Gracie Mansion, the New York City mayoral home since 1942, it might not be a shock after all.Ben Thomas of Dadesville, Ala., wrote to tell me about Archibald Gracie Jr., who had moved from New...

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A sex scandal engulfing lame-duck Gov. Paul Patton, and the state Democratic Party's dwindling membership, are offering Kentucky Republicans perhaps their best chance in a generation to retake the governor's office. The last time a Republican was elected governor in Kentucky was in 1967. "The Patton scandal, I think, gives you an argument that Democrats have been in charge all these years. This is what can happen," said Trey Grayson, a 30-year-old lawyer who lives in Park Hills, a suburb of Cincinnati. Candidates in both parties are lining up for a run to succeed Patton, who must...

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) _ State Sen. Robert Wirch is asking Governor-elect Jim Doyle to sell the governor's mansion as a way to address the state's projected $2.6 billion budget deficit. Wirch said selling the $1.3 million mansion would be more of a symbolic gesture than a way to save a significant amount of money. ``Considering the budget deficit and talk about borrowing money against the pension fund, we need to cut all extravagances, and the governor's mansion is more an extravagance than a necessity,'' said Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie. Doyle spokesman Thad Nation said he would not comment until he had...

<p>California is the wealthiest, most populous and most culturally influential of the 50 states, but it's also just one of six that lack a governor's mansion.</p> <p>Or to look at it another way, California has too many governor's mansions -- a seeming contradiction, but only one of many in a complex state.</p>

Global's Unsinkable Captain Gary Winnick's cable firm went under, taking billions in investor wealth with it, but he is lavishly restoring his $94-million mansion. By KAREN KAPLAN and ELIZABETH DOUGLASS, Times Staff Writers Even by the standards of Bel-Air, Gary Winnick's mansion on Bellagio Road is lavish. Perched on a bluff overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club, the Georgian-style house commands views from downtown to the coast. Its 64 rooms include a kitchen with six sinks and enough ovens to warm 100 plates at once. The master suite boasts separate massage, sitting and shower rooms. There are a dozen...

Cardinal wants to sell Chicago mansionFrom the National DeskPublished 5/21/2002 11:23 AMCHICAGO, May 21 (UPI) -- Chicago's Catholic archbishop has proposed selling his landmark 120-year-old mansion to help financially struggling church schools. The palatial three-story red brick mansion, nicknamed the House of 19 Chimneys because of its numerous fireplaces, has been the official residence of Catholic bishops since 1885. But Cardinal Francis George said his vow of poverty conflicts with living in a building worth between $12 million and $20 million.George, 65, suggested selling the Gold Coast property last weekend at the ordination mass for 11 priests. He said he...

Chandra Levy was murdered in the shadows of a 19th century mansion set deep in the woods of a 19th century mansion set deep in the woods of a huge Washington D.C. park, where only the birds--and her killer--could hear her scream.And she was lured there by the promise of a rendevous of someone she knew intimately!The issue that is now on sale charts Chandra's final 2 mile walk to her death, reveals that her apartment was entered and 'cleaned' by the killer or an associate...and much more