text:
\section{Introduction}
Traditionally, power distribution systems have been engineered as radial networks that carry power from the utility feeder to the end consumers of electricity. These consumers are seen as a set of passive loads, and generally, the utility has no control of their electricity demand, and does not collect any real-time information from them. In the future, under the \emph{SmartGrid} initiative, distribution systems are envisioned to undergo dramatic transformation in structure and functionality. Instead of passive demands, buses in the network could include clusters of households with rooftop solar installations, electric vehicles, and storage; these generation and storage devices are commonly referred to as distributed energy resources(DERs). It has been shown that massive penetration of rooftop solar can cause voltages to rise in the distribution system, while large-scale deployment of electrical vehicles can cause voltages to drop \cite{Carvalho08,Guille09}. The objective of this paper is to address this voltage regulation problem.

Voltage regulation in distribution networks is traditionally achieved via tap-changing under-load transformers and switched capacitors; however, while ensuring that voltage requirements are met, the setting of these devices might not optimal, in the sense that they may not minimize the thermal loss or some other objectives. On the other hand, by relying on a cyber-infrastructure for sensing, communication, and control, it is also possible to utilize DERs with capability to provide reactive power for optimal voltage regulation (see, e.g., \cite{Lam12} and the references therein). Unfortunately, the current speed of installation of DERs far outpaces the deployment of the cyber-infrastructure.\footnote{The advanced metering infrastructure (e.g. smart meters) transmit their information on a daily bases and are not used for real-time communication.} For example, most distribution networks in California have not implemented real-time two-way communication between DERs and the utilities, but the state already has 2900 MW of installed capacity \cite{SEIA13}, enough for about 600,000 households. Therefore we are faced with a situation where DERs are already in the distribution network with no communication network to coordinate them. Thus, an urgent question arises: in order to utilize DERs for voltage regulation in distribution networks, how should they be managed with no communication or very limited communication between the buses in the network?

In our setting, we assume each bus can measure its own voltage magnitude, active and reactive power injections, but cannot communicate with other buses in the network. The available control action at a bus is the adjustment of its active and reactive power injections. Altering the active power injection at certain buses corresponds to demand response (DR) actions. Because of economical and regulatory considerations, dynamic DR is difficult to implement without a communication network; therefore, in this paper we only consider reactive power injections at each bus as the main control knob for DER-based voltage regulation. We assume that reactive power can be provided by, e.g., the power electronics grid interfaces of rooftop solar installations \cite{JoOo:00,LoKr:01,solar_bridge}.

 In this paper, we propose a method for voltage regulation that relies on the local control actions\footnote{We call the control actions \emph{local control actions} to emphasize that only local information is available at each bus.} of reactive-power-capable DERs. We provide sufficient conditions such that local control is guaranteed to be successful in maintaining any specified voltage profile. We also provide conditions on the network topology and active power injection regions that shows when local control cannot maintain voltage stability in the system. We arrive at our results by casting the voltage regulation problem as an optimization problem, and investigate the conditions under which optimality can be achieved without communication between the buses.

The problem of voltage regulation in distribution networks has received considerable attention in recent years. Centralized algorithms have been proposed in \cite{Baran07,Turitsyn10,Villacci06} and decentralized algorithms have been proposed in \cite{Farivar12,Lam12,Bolognani12,Robbins12}. For the latter, communication is generally assumed to be possible between subsets of the buses (e.g., \cite{Lam12} provides a distributed optimization algorithm that adheres to neighbor-to-neighbor communications, and \cite{Bolognani12} can choose different communication topology using an approximate model for power flow). In contrast, our proposed algorithm does not rely on a communication infrastructure. A related questions in context of voltage stability has been studied in \cite{Ilic:1986}.

 This paper is organized as follows.  Section \ref{sec:model} introduces the notations and the power system distribution model adopted throughout the paper. Section \ref{sec:result} gives the main algorithm. Section \ref{sec:sr} provides convergence analysis of the algorithm. Section \ref{sec:sim} provides case studies,  and Section \ref{sec:con} concludes the paper. The proofs of the main results are provided in the Appendix.

\section{Model and Problem Formulation} \label{sec:model}
This section introduces the power distribution system models and also provides the formulation of the problem. Consider a distribution network with $n$ buses. Today, most power distribution systems operate as radial networks connected to a single feeder\cite{Kersting06}; therefore we model the network as a connected tree rooted at the feeder. By convention, the feeder is labelled as bus $0$. The distance from bus $i$ to the root (bus 0) is the number of vertices on the unique path from bus $i$ to the root. The depth of the tree is the maximum of the bus distances to the root.

Let $V_i=|V_i| e (j \theta_i)$ denote bus $i$ complex voltage, and define  vector $\mathbf v =[ V_0 \; V_1 \dots V_{n-1}]^T \in \mathbb{C}^n$. Let $I_i$, $P_i$ and $Q_i$ denote, the complex current, active and reactive power injections at bus $i$, respectively; and define $\mathbf i=[I_0 \; \dots \; I_{n-1}] \in \mathbb{C}^n$, $\mathbf p=[P_0 \; \dots \; P_{n-1}] \in \mathbb{R}^n$ ,and $\mathbf q=[Q_0 \; \dots \; Q_{n-1}] \in \mathbb{R}^n$. Let $\mathbf s=\mathbf p + j \mathbf q$ denote the complex power. The active powers in a distribution network are typically constrained by upper and lower capacity limits, i.e.,  of $\underline{P}_i \leq P_i \leq \overline{P}_i$, where the upper and lower bound are determined by by the types of devices at bus $i$. Let $\mathcal P =\{\mathbf p \in \mathbb{R}^{n-1}: \underline{P}_i \leq P_i \leq \overline{P}_i \}$ be the feasible region formed by the bus injections (see \cite{Zhang13,LTZ12} for more detailed discussions).

 Given two connected buses $i$ and $k$, let $y_{ik}=g_{ik}-jb_{ik}$ denote the admittance of the transmission line between them, and let $\mathbf Y$ be the bus admittance matrix \cite{Overbye04}. Then, the complex power injections are related to the voltage by $\mathbf s = \diag (\mathbf v \mathbf v^H \mathbf Y^H)$,
 where $(\cdot)^H$ denotes the Hermitian transpose, and the $\diag(\cdot)$ operator returns the diagonal if the argument is a square matrix or a diagonal matrix if the argument is a vector. We are interested in regulating the voltage in the distribution network, so let $V_0^{ref}, V_1^{ref},\dots,V_{n-1}^{ref}$ be the set of reference voltage magnitudes that we are interested in tracking. We assume that the feeder behaves as an infinite bus, thus $V_0=V_0^{ref}$. We assume that bus $i$ can control its reactive power, whereas the active power is set at a prescribed value $P_i^*$. We formulate the voltage regulation problem as the following feasibility problem:
 \begin{subequations} \label{eqn:feasible}
 \begin{align}
 \mbox{find } & \mathbf q \\
 \mbox{s.t. } & |V_i|=V_i^{ref},~ i=0,\dots,n-1 \\
 &  P_i=P_i^*, \; i=1,\dots,n-1 \label{eqn:p_f} \\
  & \mathbf p + j \mathbf q =\diag(\mathbf v \mathbf v^H \mathbf Y^H), \label{eqn:s_f}
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
 where \eqref{eqn:p_f} corresponds to the fact that active powers are fixed, and the equality constraints in (1d) correspond to the power flow equations.
That is, we seek to find a reactive power injection vector $\mathbf q$ such that the voltages are at their desired levels. The feasibility of \eqref{eqn:feasible} can be decided by the following optimization problem:
 \begin{subequations} \label{eqn:main_v}
 \begin{align}
 \min_{\mathbf q }\; & \sum_{i=1}^{n-1} (|V_i|-V_i^{ref})^2 \label{eqn:obj_v} \\
 \mbox{s.t. } & P_i=P_i^*, \; i=1,\dots,n-1 \label{eqn:p_v} \\
 & V_0=V_0^{ref} \label{eqn:v0_v} \\
 & \mathbf p + j \mathbf q =\diag(\mathbf v \mathbf v^H \mathbf Y^H), \label{eqn:s_v}
 \end{align}
 \end{subequations}
 where the feeder bus (bus 0) always holds its voltage to be at $V_0^{ref}$. The objective function means that the system is trying to minimize the deviation of the voltage magnitudes to their reference values. The feasibility problem in \eqref{eqn:feasible} has a solution if and only if the optimal value of the optimization problem \eqref{eqn:main_v} is 0.

 It turns out the objective function in \eqref{eqn:obj_v} is not easy to analyze. We rewrite \eqref{eqn:main_v} with a new objective function as:
  \begin{subequations} \label{eqn:main}
  \begin{align}
  \min_{\mathbf q }\; & \sum_{i=1}^{n-1} \left(|V_i|^2-(V_i^{ref})^2 \right)^2 \label{eqn:obj} \\
  \mbox{s.t. } & P_i=P_i^*, \; i=1,\dots,n-1 \label{eqn:p} \\
  & V_0=V_0^{ref} \label{eqn:v0} \\
  & \mathbf p + j \mathbf q =\diag(\mathbf v \mathbf v^H \mathbf Y^H),  \label{eqn:s}
  \end{align}
  \end{subequations}
 Intuitively, the reason that \eqref{eqn:obj} is much easier to handle than \eqref{eqn:obj_v} is that $|V_i|$ is not differentiable with respect to $\mathbf q$ but $|V_i|^2$ is. The rest of the paper presents a local control algorithm to solve \eqref{eqn:main}.

\textbf{Remark:} In this paper we do not consider the constraints on bus reactive power injections $\mathbf q$. In an earlier work, where limited communication is present, all constraints were considered \cite{Lam12}. The next step of this work is to incorporate the constraints on reactive power injections. \hfill $\Box$

\subsection{Uniqueness of Power Flows} \label{sec:2A}
Given a power system with $n$ buses, the state of the system is described by $2n-1$ real numbers: the $n$ voltage magnitude and $n-1$ angles (taking bus $0$ to be the reference bus). This suggests that there are $2n-1$ degree of freedom in the power system. However, for transmission networks, specifying the voltage magnitudes and active powers $P_1,\dots,P_{n-1}$ is not enough to determine the state of the system since there could be multiple angles that result in those active powers \cite{BeVi:00}. In contrast, due to the tree structure of a distribution network \cite{LTZ12}, specifying voltage magnitudes and active powers at $n-1$ buses is enough to fully specify the state of the system. Therefore we often give the power system state in terms of voltage magnitude and active power; the corresponding angles and reactive powers are uniquely specified.

\section{Local Control Algorithm} \label{sec:result}
Consider a distribution system that is operating at its reference voltage, i.e., with $|V_i|=V_i^{ref}$ for $i=0 \dots n-1$. Denote the corresponding active and reactive injection vectors by $\overline{ \mathbf p}$ and $\overline{\mathbf q}$, respectively. Due to changes in renewables and loads, the active power injections in the system may change from $\overline{\mathbf p}$ to $\mathbf p'$. If the reactive powers stayed constant at $\overline{\mathbf q}$, the voltage magnitudes are no longer at the reference values. This section proposes an algorithm to bring the voltage magnitudes back to the reference values. By adjusting the reactive power, the algorithm relies  purely on local voltage measurements and does not involve communication among nodes in the network.

To correct the voltage magnitudes, there are $n-1$ control variables: the reactive power injections at all the buses except the feeder (bus $0$). We assume that the problem in \eqref{eqn:feasible} has a solution, or equivalently the optimal value of the problem in \eqref{eqn:main} is 0, and we design a local control algorithm that finds the optimal reactive power injection vector $\mathbf q$. Since bus $i$ can only measure local quantities, we propose the following iterative update algorithm:

\textbf{Local Control Algorithm:}
\begin{itemize}
\item Initialize the system at $t=0$.
\item At time $t$, bus $i$ measures $|V_i[t]|$ and makes the following update:
\begin{equation} \label{eqn:update_i}
Q_i[t+1]=Q_i[t]-d_i \left(|V_i[t]|^2-(V_i^{ref})^2 \right)
\end{equation}
for $i=1,\dots,n-1$. Intuitively, a bus should inject more reactive power to raise its voltage, so $d_i$ is assume to be positive (see \cite{Robbins12} for a deeper discussion).
\item $t \leftarrow t+1$ and repeat
\end{itemize}
By a slight abuse of notation, let $\mathbf q=[Q_1 \; \dots Q_{n-1}]^T$ since we do not explicitly control the reactive injection at the feeder. The matrix version of the update in \eqref{eqn:update_i} can be written as
\begin{equation} \label{eqn:update}
\mathbf q[t+1]= \mathbf q[t]- \mathbf D \left(|\mathbf v[t]|^2 - (\mathbf v^{ref})^2 \right),
\end{equation}
where $\mathbf D=\diag(d_1,\dots,d_{n-1})$ is a diagonal matrix and the squares are taken component-wise. Note both $|\mathbf v[t]|$ and $\mathbf v^{ref}$ are both vectors. We envision the local control algorithm would run in a continuous fashion to supplement the actions of devices such as tap-changing under-load transformers (TCULs) and switched capacitors. This local control algorithm is similar to the first-stage algorithm in \cite{Robbins12} where we replaced $|V_i|$ by $|V_i|^2$.

\section{Convergence of the Local Control Algorithm}
The convergence properties of the local control algorithm are investigated in this section. Since the active bus injections are the parameters in the voltage regulation problem, the convergence of the algorithm also depends on the prescribed active power injections. Recall from Section \ref{sec:model} that $\mathcal P$ is the feasible injection region determined by the active bus power constraints. In this section, we answer the following two questions:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Under what condition can we ensure that the algorithm converges for every $\mathbf p \in \mathcal P$?
\item How does network topology influence the convergence of the algorithm? That is, for the two networks in Fig. \ref{fig:star_line} and same active injection vector, does the algorithm converge for one of the networks but not the other one?
\begin{figure}[ht]
\centering
\subfigure[Star Topology]{
\includegraphics[scale=0.7]{star.eps}}
\subfigure[Line Topology]{
\includegraphics[scale=0.7]{line_s.eps}}
\caption{We are interested in how the topology of the network affect the convergence property of the local control algorithm. We show that it is easier for the local algorithm to converge on the star network than the tree network. Therefore the depth of the network limits the convergence of the algorithm.}
\label{fig:star_line}
\vspace{-0cm}
\end{figure}
\end{enumerate}

Since power system planners generally plan for the worst-case scenario, answering the first question would ensure that the algorithm would work for every possible $\mathbf p$ and communication is not needed to regulate the voltage. Theorem \ref{thm:sr} below states that it is in fact sufficient to check the convergence of the algorithm at a single $\mathbf p$ to ensure the converge for the entire feasible injection region $\mathcal{P}$.

In section IV-C, we show that the local control algorithm converges for the star topology under a much broader set of conditions than for the line topology. Since typical distribution networks are more like lines than stars, they are in some sense inherently more difficult to control only using local actions. Before stating the convergence theorems for the entire $\mathcal P$, we first state the result for a single power injection vector.
\subsection{Convergence for a Power Injection Vector }
The local control algorithm shows that we can view the $n-1$ voltages on the non-feeder buses as a function of the $n-1$ reactive power injections at these buses. The active powers and the feeder voltage can be interpreted as parameters in this function. From this point of view, we make the following definition:
Let $\mathbf M$ be the $n-1$ by $n-1$ Jacobian matrix where the $(i,k)$-th entry is
\begin{equation} \label{eqn:M}
M_{ik}= \frac{\partial |V_i|^2}{\partial Q_k};
\end{equation}
the partial derivative is evaluated at some active power and voltage magnitudes.

Note that $\mathbf M$ depends on both values of both the active powers and voltage magnitudes; however,  the variation of $\mathbf M$ with respect to voltage magnitude is relatively small over a wide range of operating conditions \cite{BeVi:00}. In this regard, we will always evaluate $\mathbf M$ at some $\mathbf p$ and the reference voltage magnitudes. To emphasize the dependence of $\mathbf M$ on $\mathbf p$, we write it as $\mathbf M (\mathbf p)$.

The next lemma gives the sufficient condition when the local control algorithm converges.
\begin{lem} \label{lem:1}
Suppose the optimization problem in \eqref{eqn:main} has optimal value $0$ (that is, the problem in \eqref{eqn:feasible} is feasible). Let $\mathbf p$ be the active power injection vector. The update in \eqref{eqn:update_i} converges if $\mathbf D \mathbf M(\mathbf p) + \mathbf M(\mathbf p)^T \mathbf D \succ 0 $, where $ \succ 0 $ denotes positive definiteness.
\end{lem}
The proof is an application of Prop. 2.1 in \cite{Bertsekas97} and is given in Appendix \ref{app:1}.

\subsection{Stability Region} \label{sec:sr}
The matrix inequality $\mathbf D \mathbf M(\mathbf p) + \mathbf M(\mathbf p)^T \mathbf D \succ 0 $ is in the form of a Lyapunov equation, and this motivates the next definition
\begin{defn}
An active power injection vector is called stable if there exists a diagonal matrix $\mathbf D$ such that $\mathbf D \mathbf M(\mathbf p) + \mathbf M(\mathbf p)^T \mathbf D \succ 0$. The set of all stable active power injections is called the stability region and is denoted by $\mathcal S_p$.
\end{defn}

Deciding the existence of a stabilizing $\mathbf D$ for a given $\mathbf p$ is a convex problem, and can be solved using semidefinite programming techniques \cite{Boyd04}. Theorem \ref{thm:sr} below shows how the stability for the entire region $\mathcal P$ can be checked.

Given the feasible injection region $\mathcal {P}$, let $\mathbf p_{\min}$ be the minimum injection vector in $\mathcal P$. That is, $\mathbf p_{\min}=[\underline{P}_1 \; \dots \; \underline{P}_{n-1}]$ (recall $\underline{P_i}<0$ is the lower bound on the active power injection, which correspond to the maximum demand). The next theorem gives a sufficient condition for the stability of $\mathcal P$ in terms of the stability of $\mathbf p_{\min}$.
\begin{thm} \label{thm:sr}
Let $\mathbf p_{\min}$ be the minimum injection vector.  Let $\bm \theta_{\min}$ be the corresponding angles when the voltage magnitudes are at their reference values (recall Section \ref{sec:2A}). Suppose $|\theta_{\min,ik}| \leq \tan^{-1}(b_{ik}/g_{ik})$. Then if $\mathbf M(\mathbf p_{\min})$ is stable, $\mathbf M(\mathbf p)$ is stable for all $\mathbf p \in \mathcal P$. That is, $\mathcal P \subseteq \mathcal S_p$.
\end{thm}

The proof of Theorem \ref{thm:sr} is given in the Appendix. The significance of the theorem is that it suffices to check the stability of a single point, and this would ensure the global stability of the entire $\mathcal P$. Thus, in practice it is easy to check whether $\mathcal P \subseteq \mathcal S_p$ and how much demand need to be reduced to achieve stability under local controls.

The condition on $\theta_{\min,ik}$ is discussed in detail in \cite{LTZ12}, and is equivalent to the thermal constraints on the transmission lines. They are expected to hold in almost all practical situations.

\subsection{Effects of Topology on the Stability Region} \label{sec:long}
Theorem \ref{thm:sr} states that the stability of $\mathcal P$ is determined by the minimum injection vector. In this section, we show that the stability region $\mathcal S_p$ shrinks as the depth of the network increases. This shows that long networks are inherently more difficult to control, or equivalently, a line network is inherently more unstable than a star network. Due to space constraints, rather than stating a general theorem, we state a result pertaining to line networks.
\begin{lem} \label{lem:long}
Consider a $n$-bus homogeneous line network where every line has admittance $1-j$. Then the stability region of $\mathcal S_p$ approaches the single point $\mathbf 0$ as $n$ goes to infinity.
\end{lem}

This lemma states that as the depth of the network increases, communication becomes critical in maintaining the voltage stability of the network.  Practical networks often have a large depth, e.g., the 123-bus system has a depth of 23; therefore, some communication would likely be necessary for large distribution networks.

\section{Case Studies} \label{sec:sim}
We analyze the stability of the proposed local control algorithm for three of the IEEE test feeders: the 8-bus, 34-bus and the 123-bus network (see \cite{testfeeders} for system data). Since only one demand point is given in the data, we compute $\mathbf M$ at that point. By Theorem \ref{thm:sr}, all demand vectors less than the given demand is stable. Table \ref{tab:stable} shows whether the networks is stable under its current demand.
\begin{table}[ht]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
Networks & 8-bus & 34-bus & 123-bus \\
\hline
Depth & 6 & 19 & 23 \\
Stable & yes & yes & no
\end{tabular}
\caption{Stability of the three network at the demand given in \cite{testfeeders}.}
\label{tab:stable}
\vspace{-0.5cm}
\end{table}

\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.35]{34sim_a.eps}
\caption{The behavior of voltage magnitudes under the local control algorithm. Each curve is the normalized voltage, i.e., $|V_i[t]|/V_i^{ref}$. All of the curves converges to $1$, which means that all voltages are at their reference.}
\label{fig:34sim_a}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.35]{34sim_b.eps}
\caption{The behavior of voltage magnitudes under the local control algorithm. Each curve is the normalized voltage, i.e., $|V_i[t]|/V_i^{ref}$. The demand in the system is 3.5 times the demand in Fig. \ref{fig:34sim_a}. Due the heavier loading, the network becomes unstable under the local control algorithm and experiences large voltage swings.}
\label{fig:34sim_b}
\vspace{-0.7cm}
\end{figure}

We focus on the 34-bus network and demonstrate the action of the local control algorithm. Figures \ref{fig:34sim_a} and \ref{fig:34sim_b} respectively show the voltage magnitudes in the network when the local action is able to stabilize the voltage and when it fails to do so. In Fig. \ref{fig:34sim_a} the demand is set to be the current demand in \cite{testfeeders}, and initially, we vary the voltage randomly by 10 \% and apply the local control algorithm in Section \ref{sec:result}. The voltage magnitudes converge to the reference voltages.

The local control algorithm fails to converge once the demand in the network is increased to 3 times its current value. In Fig. \ref{fig:34sim_b}, we increase the demand to $3.5$ times the current demand, and again vary the voltage randomly by 10 \% from its reference value; the figure shows the unstable behavior of the voltage magnitudes.

\section{Conclusion} \label{sec:con}
In this paper we investigated the utilization of reactive-power-capable DERs for voltage regulation in distribution networks without explicit communications among the buses. We proposed an algorithm where each bus controls its reactive power injections sensing only its own voltage magnitude. We provided sufficient conditions when the algorithm converges for the entire feasible active power injection region of a network, and necessary conditions that shows longer and heavier loaded networks are harder to control using localized algorithms. We validated our claims in case studies using the IEEE 34-bus test feeder.

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Many of us feel left behind in this world surrounded by technology. Now learn how to use technology with Qriyo verified Gurus at your home and keep in touch with the ever evolving tech world.
Learn to use a smartphone.
Learn the basic usage like using calls, music player etc.
Also, learn more advanced things like browsing the internet.
Develop intuition so that to use any new app without assistance.


This week's conference may set the tone, not only for this spring's argument calendar, but also for the fall.
I've mentioned before that the Court has not yet set any oral arguments for the remainder of the term. This week's conference is perfectly positioned to (at least partly) fill the March 10th sitting.
But there is a less visible part of the Court's docket that has also hit a winter lull — the Court's requests for full briefing. These do ebb and flow, as the Court digests its workload. But if you glance at the sidebar to your left, you'll notice (at least as I write this) that there has only been one request for full briefing in the past 30 days. (( In fairness, the Court did issue about a dozen briefing requests on January 9th, so they have only recently fallen off this list. )) Briefing requests need time to mature into oral arguments, so part of the Court's complex docket-dance is keeping enough briefing requests in the air to be used for the argument calendar when needed.
If you work through the calendar math, a request for full briefing issued today would give the parties at least two or three months (combined) to complete briefing, and then another month for a law clerk to write a study memo for the Court's consideration. So, a request issued today could not result in an oral argument this term. (( In particularly time-sensitive cases, the Court does sometimes set a shorter schedule. )) At best, briefing requests made this month and next will ultimately be the cases that fill out next fall's argument calendar. With that in mind, I expect a big burst of briefing requests this month and next as the Court starts to reload for next year.


text:
Q: Programmatically make a call in broadcast receiver In my Android application I want to make a call as a response to a special SMS. So I created app which listens for in coming messages and make a call because of a particular sms. The application works on emulator as expected but when I'm trying to run application on tab which has Android 4.0.3 it ends calling just after starting the call. Here is the code I have used.
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
public static final String SMS_RECEIVED = "android.provider.Telephony.SMS_RECEIVED";
String msgBody;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
    IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter(SMS_RECEIVED);
    registerReceiver(broadcastReceiver, filter);
}

BroadcastReceiver broadcastReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {

    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
         // TODO Auto-generated method stub

        if(intent.getAction().equals("android.provider.Telephony.SMS_RECEIVED")){
            Bundle bundle = intent.getExtras();
            SmsMessage[] msgs = null;
            String msg_from;
            if (bundle != null){

                try{
                    Object[] pdus = (Object[]) bundle.get("pdus");
                    msgs = new SmsMessage[pdus.length];
                    for(int i=0; i<msgs.length; i++){
                        msgs[i] = SmsMessage.createFromPdu((byte[])pdus[i]);
                        msg_from = msgs[i].getOriginatingAddress();
                        msgBody = msgs[i].getMessageBody();
                    }
                }catch(Exception e){

                }
            }
        }

        }
        Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), msgBody, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();

        if(msgBody.equals("CALL")){
            Intent myIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CALL, Uri.parse("tel:" + "XXXXXXXXXXX"));;
            myIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
            context.startActivity(myIntent);
    }
};

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
    return true;
}
}

I have added following permissions:
 READ_SMS
 RECEIVE_SMS
 CALL_PHONE

What is the wrong here ? Please help me.
Thanks in advanced.

A: Create another activity say CallActivity, start this activity from your receiver e.g
 Intent i=new Intent();
 i.setClass(context,callActivity.class);
 i.putExtra("number","phone_number");
 i.setFlags(Intent.Flag_Activity_newTask);
 context.startActivity(i);

Now in onCreate() method of CallActivity, just launch call phone intent:
  Intent myIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CALL, Uri.parse("tel:" + "XXXXXXXXXXX"));;
  startActivity(myIntent);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Social housing is perceived to be one of the basic instruments of housing policy. Despite the difficulty in demarcating this concept, owing to the different forms of social housing in individual countries, one of the main features of social housing is taken to be its targeting of socially more needy strata among the population. The first part of the article seeks an answer to the question of to what degree this claim corresponds to how social housing has really evolved in advanced European countries. The second part of the article focuses on efforts to date at creating a sector of social housing in the Czech Republic, while analysing the possibility of targeting such housing for certain socially defined households. From the article it becomes clear that targeting social housing for certain social strata, especially socially more needy households, is not a clear-cut process and is subject to change over the course of developments. The substance of these changes is the continuous search for balance between the social aspects of housing and economic possibilities. The main factor influencing the possibilities for the progress of social housing in the Czech Republic is the country's economic framework.


A late dinner run (drive) to pana88 turned into an evening walk around Turner Park. It's not often that Chad and I both enjoy the weather outside so tonight was just perfect.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Love.
This entry was posted in Marriage, Uncategorized on 07.10.12 by awastell.


This is the home stretch of the vacation episodes and we saved the best for last! This episode features recordings from San Diego Comic-Con 2016 and the March 2017 L.A. Comic Book and Sci-Fi Convention. Brendo and Phil are joined by Andrew Linde and Derick Armijo as they talk about goings on at the cons and other fun stuff. Thanks for listening and tell your friends!
This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged andrew linde, benview network, bob's burgers, brendan creecy, comic-con, convention, derick armijo, live, los angeles comic book and scifi convention, nintendo, nostalgia, phil vecchio, podcast, radio brendoman, sdcc, shrine show on April 6, 2017 by brendoman.


text:
Q: how to ask maven war plugin to copy particular jar file into warfile/web-inf/lib I have a simple.jar file that stay in c:/JAR.
When i used maven war plugin to create a war file, it will copy all the dependencies into lib folder.
How can i ask maven to copy simple.jar into lib folder as well.

A: I believe this will work for you.  I'm not 100% sure the C:\\JAR is correct though. You might have to fiddle with this syntax.
<build>
 <plugins>
       <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>2.0.2</version>
        <configuration>
          <webResources>
            <resource>
              <directory>C:\\JAR</directory>
              <targetPath>WEB-INF/lib</targetPath>
            </resource>
          </webResources>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
 </plugins>
</build>


London, 26th June 2018: Independent research commissioned by Zeek Mobile Ltd (Zeek), Europe's leading Retail Currency platform, has revealed that nearly half of UK shoppers (47 percent) are purchasing gift cards to spend on themselves. The study, the first of its kind in the UK, surveyed over 2,000 UK consumers and found that the top three drivers for self-purchase are convenience (37 percent), to receive a discount (36 percent) and to help budget shopping (24 percent).
§ Which UK shoppers are buying gift cards for self-use?
o Millennials (16-34 yr olds) are most likely (3 in 5) to purchase gift cards for self-use with a further 15 percent saying they do this often. Again convenience, receiving a discount and budgeting their shopping were the top 3 reasons for self-purchase.
o Men are more likely than women to purchase a gift card for convenience and to receive a discount (both 41 percent for men versus 34 percent and 33 percent respectively for women). Women are more likely to do this to help them budget their shopping (26 percent compared to 22 percent of men).
o When it comes to encouraging self-purchase, receiving a discount tops the list of things that would prompt Brits who haven't bought themselves a gift card before to do so (34 percent).
§ Who is benefitting from this trend?
o Both online and offline retail are gaining from the self-use trend. Whilst shoppers are more commonly using them for online purchasing (66 percent), nearly half of respondents (48 percent) have used them to shop in-store where the average order value is 17 percent** higher than it is online.
o Gift cards bought for self-use are helping to drive loyalty – with almost 3 in 5 (57 percent) of self-purchasers saying they visit a particular store or restaurant more often because of their gift card – and 24 percent agreeing that they do this 'much more' often. At 71 percent, Millennials are again leading this trend.
o Over three-quarters of self-purchasers are overspending on their gift card providing retailers with additional revenue. On average they overspend by £28.35 per transaction. Millennials are overspending by the most, averaging an overspend of £33.34.
o Gift cards are assisting retailers with customer acquisition – over 7 in 10 UK shoppers agree that a gift card would encourage them to shop at a store they wouldn't normally visit – additionally, nearly a quarter of Millennials say that it would 'definitely' encourage them.
o Fashion is the most popular sector for self-use at 28 percent. However, supermarkets follow closely behind with 25 percent. Electronics came in at 23 percent and entertainment at 22 percent.
Zeek was established in 2014 and has quickly become Europe's leading Retail Currency platform, working directly with over 100 major retail brands. Today 97 percent of the gift cards sold on Zeek are for self-use, whilst the average self-purchaser buys 1.67 vouchers a week. The company has 600,000 registered users on its platform and sees between 20 – 40 thousand new users signing up each month.


Screens showing the persons listed in a single Biographical item.
This example is from the Biographical report for Thomas Arndell and is for the Biographical item for the Baptism of his daughter in May 1792.
This example is from the Biographical report for George Crossley and is for the Biographical item for the Census &c NSW General Muster 1806.


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« In praise of "popular" books | Main | Roger Stone is charged with crimes about his appearance before the House Intelligence Committee »
" for whatever they eat, I eat" Washpost
" ... ibn Said soon fled and made his way to North Carolina, where he was captured around Fayetteville. He was jailed, then handed over to plantation owner and future congressman James Owen, the brother of John Owen, a future governor of North Carolina.
One old account states that authorities took notice when ibn Said scrawled "piteous petitions" in Arabic on the walls of the jail.
Ibn Said then spent the rest of his life with the Owen family in Bladen County, N.C., at their plantations on the Cape Fear River.
He soon became a celebrity.
People were struck by his dignity and bearing, Deeb said. He was the subject of newspaper articles and visits by "scholars." Some were eager to claim that he was an Arab, whose people were "not Negroes," according to historian Ala Alryyes, an expert on ibn Said's life.
"Let not the humanizing influence of the Koran upon ... pagan, homicidal Africa be depreciated," one Southern diplomat wrote.
Ibn Said embraced Christianity to a degree, and reportedly read an Arabic version of the Bible his owner acquired for him.
He praised James Owen, his owner, and Owen's bother, John, as "good men, for whatever they eat, I eat, and whatever they wear they give me to wear." Washpost
This doesn't seem to fit the present general narrative which envisions the antebellum South as a vast Gulag in which Black and semi-Black people were beaten daily, or at least regularly, for minor infractions of plantation discipline or ... just for the fun of it. pl
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/01/20/when-few-enslaved-people-could-write-one-man-wrote-his-memoirs-arabic/?utm_term=.0b5311a3df53

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Trailer: Elite Season 2 to premiere on 6th September
Staff Reporter | On 07, Aug 2019
Elite returns to Netflix this September and now, not only do we know when class is officially back in session, but we also have our first glimpse of the new season.
The series, written by Carlos Montero (The Time in Between) and Darío Madrona (Génesis), takes place in Las Encinas, the best and most exclusive school in Spain, where the elite send their children to study. It's also where three working class kids have just been admitted after their academy was collapsed and the local council divvied up the students between other schools in the area. They thought that they'd lucked out, but maybe they weren't so lucky after all – because by the end of Season 1, a dead body has turned up and a suspect has been found.
Season 2 sees the class grow in size, with the addition of several new faces. The returning cast includes Miguel Herrán (Money Heist, Tiempo después), Jaime Lorente (Money Heist, La sombra de la ley), Itzán Escamilla (Las chicas del cable, El Ministerio del tiempo), Miguel Bernardeau (Ola de Crímenes), Arón Piper (15 años y un día), Ester Expósito (Cuando los ángeles duermen), Mina El Hammani (El Príncipe), Álvaro Rico (Velvet Collection), Omar Ayuso (who debuted with ÉLITE) and Danna Paola (Atrévete a Soñar).
They'll all be back together again on 6th September, Netflix has confirmed. Here's the first teaser for Season 2:
Elite is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £8.99 monthly subscription.
Elite Season 2 set for September release
School's back in session this September for Netflix, as Elite returns for its second season.
The series, written by Carlos Montero (The Time in Between) and Darío Madrona (Génesis), takes place in Las Encinas, the best and most exclusive school in Spain, where the elite send their children to study. It's also where three working class kids have just been admitted after their academy was collapsed and the local council divvied up the students between other schools in the area. They thought that they'd lucked out, but maybe they weren't so lucky after all – because by the end of Season 1, a dead body has turned up and a suspect has been found. Think Gossip Girl meets How to Get Away with Murder meets 13 Reasons Why.
Season 2 sees the class grow in size, with the addition of several new faces. Jorge Lopez (Soy Luna, Violeta), Georgina Amorós (Bienvenidos a la familia, Vis a Vis) and Claudia Salas (La Peste) are joining the show's ensemble. The returning cast includes Miguel Herrán (Money Heist, Tiempo después), Jaime Lorente (Money Heist, La sombra de la ley), Itzán Escamilla (Las chicas del cable, El Ministerio del tiempo), Miguel Bernardeau (Ola de Crímenes), Arón Piper (15 años y un día), Ester Expósito (Cuando los ángeles duermen), Mina El Hammani (El Príncipe), Álvaro Rico (Velvet Collection), Omar Ayuso (who debuted with ÉLITE) and Danna Paola (Atrévete a Soñar).
Now, we know when we'll see them all in action, with Miguel Bernardeau and Paola appearing in a cute teaser video as Guzmán and Lucrecia to reveal that the series' second run will begin in September. As for when exactly in that month it will arrive? We'll have to wait a little longer to find out…
Production starts on Elite Season 2
Production is now underway on Season 2 of Netflix's Elite.
The series, written by Carlos Montero (The Time in Between) and Darío Madrona (Génesis), takes place in Las Encinas, the best and most exclusive school in Spain, where the elite send their children to study. It's also where three working class kids have just been admitted after their academy was collapsed and the local council divvied up the students between other schools in the area. They thought that they'd lucked out…but maybe they weren't so lucky after all.
The 8 episode-season is directed by Silvia Quer (Bajo sospecha, Velvet, Febrer) alongside Ramón Salazar (La enfermedad del domingo, Tres metros sobre el cielo) and Dani de la Orden (El Mejor Verano de mi vida, El pregón), who also directed the first season.
Season 2 will debut later this year. Here's a video announcing the new cast members:
Lights are back on in Las Encinas, this time around with 3 new faces. Elite Season 2 in production. Stay tuned. 💋 #Elite #EliteNetflix pic.twitter.com/R4jjWJ6X8H
— Elite (@EliteNetflixTV) January 15, 2019
Netflix renews Elite for Season 2
Netflix is going back to school again with a second term ordered for its teen series Elite.
The crime drama, directed by Ramón Salazar (Sunday's Illness, Three Steps Above Heaven) and Dani de la Orden (El Mejor Verano de mi vida, Party Town), takes place in Las Encinas, Spain's most exclusive school. Tensions are already high, as three working class kids have just been admitted after their academy was collapsed and the local council divvied up the students between other schools in the area. But when a classmate turns up dead, everyone ends up under question. Who is behind the crime? Is it one of these recent arrivals from a different world? Or is there something deeper hiding beneath the surface?
After Season 1 investigated the identity of the killer, the show still has questions left unanswered, and Netflix has wasted no time in sticking its hand up in the air to ask: within a couple of weeks of its premiere, Netflix has ordered a second season from producers Zeta Audiovisual, with another eight episodes commissioned.
The order marks Netflix's continuing push into Spanish-language content, including Money Heist and Las Chicas del Cable.
Elite: Netflix orders second Spanish original series
Netflix is heading back to Spain for its latest original series.
The streaming giant is increasingly stepping up its investment in European shows and films, as pressure rises on VOD services to support and release content from the continent. So far, that has mostly taken the form of co-productions with everything from UK series Marcella (ITV), Kiss Me First (Channel 4) and Watership Down (BBC) to TV2 Denmark's Rita, Antena 3's La Catedral del Mar and RTVE's El Ministerio del Tempio.
Now, hot on the heels of Las Chicas del Cable, Netflix is producing its own Spanish language series once again. The effervescent, uninhibited and sensual drama is created by two leading Spanish TV writers, Carlos Montero (El comisario, The Time in Between and creator of Physical or Chemical) and Darío Madrona (Génesis, La chica de ayer and co-creator of the successful show The Protected). Élite will be executive produced by Zeta Audiovisual (Ahora o Nunca).
It takes places in Las Encinas, the best and most exclusive school in Spain where the elite send their children to study. It is also where three working class kids have just been admitted, after their academy was destroyed by an earthquake and the local council divided up the students between the different schools in the area. The clash between those who have everything and those who have nothing to lose creates the perfect storm that ultimately ends in a murder. Who is behind the crime?
Erik Barmack, Vice President of International original series at Netflix says: "We are excited to be working with such talented producers and writers on an edgy, young thriller from Spain that will resonate with a global audience."
At Élite, friendships will be more complicated than ever, sex will be forbidden and romance will be close to impossible.
"Making shows for teens is very exciting, it is the time of your life when things matter the most. We are delighted to work on a show about the desire and the need to fit into an elite world where all can be great and yet all can go terribly wrong," says Francisco Ramos, executive producer behind two of the most successful teen blockbusters ever made in Spain, Three Steps Above Heaven and I Want You.
The first season will consist of 8 episodes and will be entirely shot in 4K, with a release date set for 2019.
Elite Netflix
True Crime Tuesdays: Lorena
Alicia Silverstone and Mark Feuerstein to star in Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club
Trailer: Brazil's Samantha! returns to Netflix for Season 2... March 16, 2019 | Staff Reporter
Watch: Martin Freeman stars in Netflix horror Cargo... April 19, 2018 | Staff Reporter
First trailer for Black Mirror Season 3 reminds us what's real... October 7, 2016 | Staff Reporter
Netflix cancels Travelers following Season 3... February 2, 2019 | Staff Reporter


La Jolla Shores is a highly sought after coastal community that was originally developed in the early 1900s and is commonly referred to as "The Shores." The Shores is bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west and Torrey Pines Rd to the south and east, with the La Jolla Farms to the north. Most of the residences in this area are custom builds with many cottage style homes and there are a total of 19 beachfront residences. La Jolla Shores is home to the famous La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, which is a private club that was first opened in 1927 and is still family run (by the Kellogg family).
The La Jolla Shores neighborhood homes (not condos) typically range from about $2-5M, with a median home price of about $2.5M, but has had sales as high as $16M in recent years.
New Construction detached home in La Jolla Shores. West facing balconies with sunset and water views. Chefs dream kitchen with walk in pantry. This Beach house is near one of the best beaches in San Diego, with restaurants, coffee shops and markets for all your needs. Upscale shopping and dining nearby. Snorkel, kayak at the cove or watch the waves crash on the cliffs. Excellent Schools and community pride. Be the first owners of this new home.
Location, location, location! Just across the street from La Jolla Shores Beach on El Paseo Grande, Vallecitos, and Camino del Oro and built in 1971, the 106 "Clubdo" condominiums offer pool, spa, and secure underground parking. Great for primary or vacation home; vacation rentals are allowed! Shores Village shops and restaurants are just a stroll away and every day feels like vacation at the Clubdos!
Representing great value for the square footage and location enjoyed, these 53 residences built in 1976 measure over 2,000sf and offer community pool, spa, and tennis court. Del Charro Woods is located just a quick stroll to La Jolla Shores Beach and Shores Village restaurants and shops, tucked away on Caminito del Cid. Easy access to freeways and Village.
Located at 2510 Torrey Pines Road and built in 1974, 60 condos offer a community pool just a short walk to La Jolla Shores Beach. Easy access to freeways and Village.
At 2600 Torrey Pines Road, these 64 condos built in 1971 offer a pool, two tennis courts, and a location near La Jolla Shores Beach. Easy access to freeways and Village.
Extraordinary custom homes overlooking La Jolla Cove, open sea, and northern coastline line the hillsides in Montoro and enjoy two community tennis courts, pool, and spa.
At 2420 Torrey Pines and built in 1980, 24 condos offer pool, sauna, and a gym close to La Jolla Shores Beach. Easy access to freeways and Village.
Many units offer sea views at 2500 T Pines, one of very few high-rise buildings completed before the 30ft height limitations imposed by the Coastal Commission. This 60-condo development was built in 1973 and offers tennis, spa, exercise room, sauna, steam, and a recreation room. Easy access to freeways and Village.
At 2830 Torrey Pines Road, 29 Mediterranean-styled condominium residences built in 1996 offer pool and spa. 20 of these homes include attached garages with easy access to freeways and Village.
Built in 1961 and located at 2352 Torrey Pines Rd, 49 condos offer easy access to freeways and Village. Easy access to freeways and Village.


Taking the family on holiday to Africa is easier than you think. With family and multi-generational travel options increasing in popularity there are many options for families of any age to choose from. We recommend a safari in Kenya's famous Masai Mara National Reserve combined with the island beach paradise of the Seychelles to bask in the sunshine along pristine beaches.
The Masai Mara is a nature lovers paradise and firm favourite of safari goers. Driving out into the great wide open wilderness to be rewarded with sightings of lion, wildebeest, elephant and other wildlife gives family a great opportunity to experience the rush and excitement of experiencing the same things for the first time. That giddy feeling of not knowing what waits around the next bend or silently observing all the strange and wonderful creatures. The local Masai Manyatta's (villages) are also a highlight and give a fantastic insight into how different our lifestyles can be. Children and adults will be equally delighted by the open natural wilderness and being able to see open skies from horizon to horizon or by the dazzling starlit night sky. Play games identifying night time animal sounds or ticking off wildlife on your spotters list - there are many interactive ways to keep the whole family entertained. At camp the staff looks after your every need giving you well deserved relaxation time amidst breathtaking scenery.
Travelling from the wilds of Kenya a flight takes you across the warm Indian Ocean to the tropical Seychelles where the ocean and palm fringed beaches await. With a family villa to spread out in, your family's every need is cared for while visiting the island. With a kids club taking care of activities for the youngsters, adults have plenty of time to explore the island and its adventures. Take a sailing boat out into the turquoise waters, cycle to the villages or dive the colourful reefs, there are watersports of every kind for the marine adventurer. Take a timeout at the luxurious spa with treatments that will make any tension simply melt away. Kids are entertained with treasure hunts, beach games, local crafts, culinary projects and trips of island exploration - guaranteed to keep even the most sprightly of children active and mentally stimulated. A variety of meal delights await with seafood enthusiasts more than adequately catered for. Whether choosing the buffet or ala carte options - there is taste sensation for every palate.
Combining the excitement of a safari with a leisurely beach stay for your next family holiday is easy on our Between Two Paradises tour - click here for more information on this great family tour option.
To book your family getaway to Kenya & the Seychelles, contact one of our experts or call 020 7843 3500.


One of my favorite non-nail blogs to read is Kelly's Korner. Kelly does a series called "Show Us Your Life" and today's topic is "Show Us Your Favorite Beauty Products".
I thought I'd join in today and blog about my about my favorite nail products.
Now, if you are trying to remove a glitterbomb polish, that's another issue, and you'll need to visit this post to see the trick for that.
Thanks for visiting my nail blog!
Loved your post and product recommendations!


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JetBlue removed a passenger from a flight for confronting Ivanka Trump
Danielle Muoio
Dec. 22, 2016, 12:14 PM
Ivanka Trump speaks at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
JetBlue removed a passenger and his husband from a flight on Thursday after he was said to have confronted Ivanka Trump and her children.
In a statement emailed to Business Insider, the airline confirmed that the passengers were removed from the plane.
"The decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly," JetBlue said.
"If the crew determines that a customer is causing conflict on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight.
"In this instance, our team worked to reaccommodate the party on the next available flight," JetBlue added.
The passenger who was removed did not immediately respond to inquiries from Business Insider.
Representatives of Trump declined to comment.
TMZ reported that the passenger told Trump "your father is ruining the country" before he was removed from the plane, which was departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
According to TMZ, he then said: "Why is she on our flight? She should be flying private."
SEE ALSO: Alaska Airlines kicked a passenger off a plane for catcalling a female flight attendant
NOW WATCH: Delta says they removed the YouTube prankster for disrupting 'the cabin with provocative behavior'
More: Ivanka Trump JetBlue BITranspo


The black hole transient V404 Cygni exhibited a bright outburst in June 2015 that was intensively followed over a wide range of wavelengths. Our team obtained high time resolution optical spectroscopy (! ˜ ! 90 s), which included a detailed coverage of the most active phase of the event. We present a data base consisting of 651 optical spectra obtained during this event, that we combine with 58 spectra gathered during the fainter December 2015 sequel outburst, as well as with 57 spectra from the 1989 event. We previously reported the discovery of wind-related features (P-Cygni and broad-wing line profiles) during both 2015 outbursts. Here, we build diagnostic diagrams that enable us to study the evolution of typical emission line parameters, such as line fluxes and equivalent widths, and develop a technique to systematically detect outflow signatures. We find that these are present throughout the outburst, even at very low optical fluxes, and that both types of outflow features are observed simultaneously in some spectra, confirming the idea of a common origin. We also show that the nebular phases depict loop patterns in many diagnostic diagrams, while P-Cygni profiles are highly variable on time-scales of minutes. The comparison between the three outbursts reveals that the spectra obtained during June and December 2015 share many similarities, while those from 1989 exhibit narrower emission lines and lower wind terminal velocities. The diagnostic diagrams presented in this work have been produced using standard measurement techniques and thus may be applied to other active low-mass X-ray binaries.


By now, most of us have heard about the shenanigans of Big Banks around foreclosures–robo-signing, sloppy record-keeping, fradulent foreclosures of all kinds. Federal regulators, 4 years into this, appear to have finally woken up. This week, regulators required 14 mortgage servicers to mail out 4.3 million letters to possible victims of wrongful foreclosure practices. It's about time.
These letters will invite the borrowers to submit their cases for a free review by independent consultants that are funded by the lenders but vetted by regulators. In other words, the banks must pay for the reviews and the salaries of the reviewers, but all are under the scrutiny of the regulators. If it is determined that borrowers were harmed financially by negligent or fraudulent foreclosure proceedings, then banks must compensate the borrowers.
The regulators under the Comptroller of the Currency have apparently determined that wrongdoing did take place. That's why these letters are going out. These regulations are also enforced by the Federal Reserve which, as you may remember, coughed up the TARP payments to these same Big Banks, BofA, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo as well as a host of smaller banks.
What Are Some Tricky Bank Practices?
Banks have seemingly engaged in many activities ranging from merely negligent to downright nefarious in order to foreclose on non-paying borrowers or, even in some cases, on people who actually were paying or who even owned their homes outright. That's right. The massive money and power of these Big Banks allowed them to foreclose on people who had no mortgages at all in a few isolated cases. Most of these misdeeds have come to light in the so-called judicial states where each foreclosure must go before a judge and where borrowers can contest the action if they so choose. California, by the way, is a non-judicial state where foreclosure proceedings do not involve the courts or judges.
Some judges and attorneys in these judicial states have noticed peculiar signatures, for instance, with the same signatory appearing multiple times on legal documents but clearly in different handwriting. Multiple personality disorder? It appears not–robo-signing was the name of that game. And, it is fraud. This is what some banks were doing when they couldn't locate the original paperwork. Our system of real estate has demanded that the original paperwork be present to back any claim to foreclose for over 200 years. But, banks had instituted their own electronic system, called MERS, which made it easier to change the ownership of mortgages but more difficult to maintain the paperwork. Solution? Make it up…just do anything to kick those people out of their houses.
What Are Regulators Offering As Compensation?
Well, that's the rub, isn't it? The whole Wall Street fiasco has been marked by absent or weak regulators. Already more than 10 million homes have been foreclosed upon and regulators are just now making any noises about calling the banks to account. So far, the regulators have not established any guidelines for compensating borrowers found to have been fraudulently deprived of their homes, though compensation of some sort is promised.
Plus, banks may want to be "held harmless" against further lawsuits if they pay even token compensation. Will the regulators agree to that? Given the terrible track record of these regulators, there is every reason to suspect the real purpose of these letters rather than aiding consumers aims really to calm the situation for the servicers who are now facing massive potential litigation. If it seems paranoid to suspect federal regulators of favoring the banks over consumers, call me guilty because I do suspect that very thing.
How Do Borrowers Sign Up?
This isus jt a short update. I have just been informed that the Attorneys General of the states who were ready to do a terrible deal with the Big Banks, as mentioned in a previous post, have had a change of heart. They've shelved the give-away to the banks in the face of MASSIVE PROTEST. No, people weren't demonstrating in front of their meeting room, though that might be a good idea if I had any idea where it was. It was simply an avalanche of protesting emails, letters and phone calls.
From what I understand, no new deal has been discussed. Simply, the $20-billion giveaway has been quietly laid to rest. It's really shocking to me that this deal could've progressed so far in the first place.
How could these various Attorneys General not realize how angry the populace is over the bad behavior of the Big Banks? How could they possibly think that regular citizens who lost their homes to foreclosure because of the irresponsible lending policies of the Big Banks would think it was fine to allow the banks and their executives to make off with trillions of dollars and then let them off with a mere $20 billion to be shared among 50 states? How could they not realize that people who lost their retirement dreams as their pension funds and 401ks crashed because of the behavior of the Big Banks would not think such a deal was a fine thing? How could they not realize that every single homeowner in America whose home has lost value or whose home is actually underwater puts the blame squarely on the Big Banks?
Luckily, Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of New York, was not asleep at the switch as so many of these others appear to have been. Were there others who noticed? I don't know, but I would like to think that Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California, took an active role in putting this terrible deal in the trash bin.