James R. Kaskie, president and CEO of Kaleida Health and Great Lakes Health System of Western New York, has been named the 2011 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by the University at Buffalo School of Management.

The award will be presented at the 62nd Annual School of Management Alumni Association Awards Banquet beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the Millennium Hotel Buffalo, 2040 Walden Avenue, Buffalo.

Kaskie was selected by a vote of past honorees and the board of directors of the alumni association, who cited his vision and leadership in building strategic partnerships.

After joining Kaleida Health in 2004 as president and COO, Kaskie was named to his current position in 2006.

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Many of you are aware of the devastating fires that severely damaged central Texas during the past few months. In Bastrop County alone, the fires consumed 34,000 acres and 1,600 homes, according to an investigation released by the Texas Forest Service. If you are one of the thousands who has suffered fire damage, you may be wondering what to expect with your insurance claim. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be writing exclusively about how Texas law deals with fire losses. Today, I will focus on total losses.

Section 862.053 of the Texas Insurance Code states the following regarding total losses:

§ 862.053. FIRE INSURANCE: TOTAL LOSS OF REAL PROPERTY.

(a) A fire insurance policy, in case of a total loss by fire of property insured, shall be held and considered to be a liquidated demand against the company for the full amount of such policy.

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Considering paying cash for your dream home? So are more and more people.

The number of all-cash deals has risen 25 percent from a year ago, making up 30 percent of May 2011 home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. These all-cash buyers are typically either trading down for retirement, investors or wealthy folks.

All-cash deals arent for everyone

The key to deciding whether an all-cash home purchase is for you, is to weigh the pros and cons. Also, you should view your mortgage as an investment like any other with liquidity, risk and return. These days, the pros of an all-cash purchase are quite compelling: stronger negotiating power, waving goodbye to monthly payments and bypassing the lengthy, maddening mortgage-approval process.

However, certain drawbacks also exist, including forgoing mortgage interest deductions, depleting savings and losing out on futureperhaps more profitableinvestment opportunities.

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There are many ways to save money and some are easier than others are.  Some of the best ways to save money is by changing your lifestyle in small ways.  Many of our daily habits cost us a great deal of money without us realizing it and these charges add up over time.  Making these small lifestyle changes can result in big bucks in your bank account.

Give Up The Bottled Water

Bottled water is one lifestyle choice that many of us can do without.  The cost of bottled water is very expensive when compared to tap water, costing the average consumer nearly $1,400 annually.  Most bottled water is just purified municipal water, so you can get the same results by placing tap water in a reusable filtered water bottle and save yourself a ton of money.

Cancel Unused Memberships

Many people are paying for memberships that they never use.  Whether the membership is for a wine club or a fitness club, if you are not using the membership you are just wasting money.  The average gym membership will cost you around $600 per year and some memberships cost even more, so if the membership is not being used, cancel it and keep the money in your pocket.

Boot Your Bad Habits

Many of the most common bad habits are very expensive.  People who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day are spending between $1,800 to $2,700 per year, depending on where they live.  Individuals that drink high calorie lattes on a regular basis are spending around $900 annually for their habit.  Gambling is the most expensive bad habit, costing regular gamblers thousands of dollars as they try to beat the house.  Instead of indulging in these habits that are costly and unhealthy, place that money into your savings account and watch your savings grow.

In an effort to educate cardmembers on how to redeem their rewards points, Southwest is offering those who have its credit card 1,000 bonus points to watch a short video describing the process. At the end of the video (roughly 2 and a half minutes), you’ll be asked for your Rapid Rewards number and the last four digits of your credit card number.

Assuming your credit card account is open and in good standing, the 1,000 bonus points should post in 6 to 8 weeks. And while not everyone has reported success in getting the bonus points, it seems like the majority of cardholders are eligible, so it is definitely worth checking out.

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Well, all except oneFlooding.

Flooding strikes in rain forests, it strikes in deserts, it hits highly-populated areas, it hits the sticks, it thumps the mountains, and it hammers the valleys.

Flash floods can develop very quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes and with no warning, explains HSH.com contributing writer Gina Pogol in her latest article titled, Flooding: The most common natural disaster in America: