I don't know the answers to your questions, but wanted to suggest that you check out the Quicken support forums. (Click "help" from within Quicken and go to online support.) They talk about all sorts of detailed stuff there, and I'll bet you could find an answer.

Working as a tax preparer I'm surprised by the difference (and often indifference) in giving. Here is some idea of the various levels of giving that I see and some traits that are pretty common within that level of giving. I have a number of clients that earn a middle-income and give $3000 or more each year to charity. From my experience those that give the most generously are active church participants though their donations are not limited to church nor is the majority of the donations to a church. Most of their donations are for a minimum of $100 to each individual charity and often to the same charities each year. The next group of donators is executives earning a higher income. Most often their donations are payroll deductions to United Way and vary from $520 to $1040 per year. As you might guess they work for companies that host United Way employee fundraising meeting. Quite often this is the only donation they make. The next group of donators is your average earner. They often have a weekly payroll deduction ($52-$104/year) to the United Way. Often include church donations of around $500 per year. Notable this group of donators while providing smaller dollar donations of $5-$50 is the biggest supporter of the local police, fire company, kids charities, and veterans charities. They may give to different charities each year. Overall their donations usually fall between $200-$700 per year. But the surprise to me is how many people do not give any charitable donations especially those with higher incomes ($100,000+). I was also surprised by how very few clients made donations in support of Katrina. I've noticed while preparing returns this year the amount of charitable donations was less than last year. The higher cost this past year for gas, increased property taxes, and medical expenses was often mentioned. I expect that next year with the requirement that donations require a receipt (or cancelled check for donations of less than $250) will further decrease the amount of donations that are claimed. On a personal note I will say that this year I too have less charitable deductions on my tax return than in previous years. Some of this is because my income was much lower this year. And some of it is because instead of donating to a charity we chose instead to help some friends and family in need. We gave some money to a friend who's husband was injured and could not work for 3 months. It was not alot of money but very appreciated. And last year a client of mine was very ill and out of work. I sent a note and a check to them as I knew they were facing financial problems with the loss of income and medical expenses. We also have a family member facing a serious medical problem and we helped them out. So our tax-deductible donations have been less but our hearts are in the right place.

I hear you WC, our city council spent $300,000 (unauthorized by voters)to study the "aquatic park" when $300,000 would have majorily improved one of our ageing summer only pools that had to be closed last year. The new proposal is that the ageing pool be rebuilt and covered for year-round use(with many up-grades), and up-dating the other outdoor summer only pool. I personally think that the residents will approve that plan as I do. And, added to our real estate taxes. It also occurs to me that there is a huge cultural and historic difference between those communities in the Eastern states and those here in the West. DH went to Syracuse University in the late 50's and we were so shocked at the school systems back then. We also lived in the greater DC area and North Carolina over the years and found them so 'different' from what we knew as Californians. We never paid for a book and other supplies, so were surprised that families in New York had to. Many things have changed here in the west especially since California's prop 13 (another story) so changed the more scocialist leanings. OUR expectation of having government supplied services is just different...I believe, so maybe that allows us to be more willing to pay the piper. Just thinking.

The lack of development is neither bad not good: It will appeal to some buyers later, and not to others. Feature it - "quiet, uncrowded lakefront" And the lack of a beach - if the whole area is rocky, it's not a feature for anyone else, is it? If you can place some BIG flat rocks for sunning, that would be nice. Baking like a lizard on a rock is good. The "draw-down" is typical for a hydraulic power company. They want to make sure they aren't overwhelmed by snow melt in the spring, so they balance the outflow on their lakes to maximize recreation and power use. The last thing they want is to get caught with too-full reservoirs and a sudden thaw that means dumping water over the spillways instead of running it through the generators. We've been in that situation in AZ and it's with a city of a few million and some critical bridges below the dams. If the Salt River Project says "we're dumping water to save the dams" we often lose bridges or at least the approach ramps to them. The newer bridges are designed with "sacrificial washout" areas that are easily eroded by the flood and cheaper/easier to replace then the entire bridge. But it still screws up traffic for weeks.