« April 2024
April 2024
Welcome to the AREA Newsletter for April 2024
President's Message
I don’t know about anybody else, but it seemed like a very short spring to me before the snow was back.
I wanted to be clear about the discussion we had about where to have our meetings. My concerns with meetings at the 6th St. Church were about parking safety and the stairs to get up into the church. The way we were treated and the meals that we had were nothing but first class.
Bringing you
up-to-date on several items
#1 thank you to Jeff Sturgis for taking the minutes of our last meeting, much appreciated
# 2 we had more applicants for our scholarships than in the past, so great news
# 3 lots of positive feedback about the way the tables and chairs were arranged for our last meeting at the Green Ladle.
David Wing
AREA President
Next Meeting -
April 10, 2024 at 10:30 AM
Green Ladle
Lewiston High School
With any luck, a survey will be ready for seniors of Lewiston at our next meeting. The survey will examine what Lewiston seniors think is important for living in our community.
All the Downloads
Click this link to see all the downloads available for this newsletter
STATE
CONVENTION - Click this link to view information and
download the registration form for the State Convention, held this year on
May 2, 2024 in Augusta. State Convention. Note the deadline of April 20, 2024
Treasurer's Column(s)
from Gina Fuller
Treasurer's Report - March 2024
To Your Health
Last month, the feature for this column was Snugsafe. Here's the link again.
This month, the
feature is Alexa for Seniors. Alexa can help seniors who live alone.
Well, Alexa can help any of us who are elderly - and ah, that's most of
us.
Seniors who live alone often worry about their well-being, especially if they have chronic health issues or limited financial resources. It’s natural to worry about what might happen if you fall and injure yourself or need help during a fire, flood or another disaster. Seniors who no longer drive may also have concerns about accessing medical care, buying groceries or performing other basic tasks.
Check out this website - https://www.caring.com/resources/guide-to-alexa-for-seniors/. It provides several different ways that Alexa can be of use.
From the
Statehouse
from Crystal Ward
AREA News update from NEA-Retired Legislative committee as of March 20 , 2024
In Washington D.C. 118th US Congress
Information from NEA lobbyist Stephanie Salvador
HR82 the bill to get rid of the WEP/GPO (Social Security Offset) now has 310 co- sponsors (204 Dems and 106 reps), in the House of Representatives. Speaker of the House Johnson has signed on. Hope that it will be put on the floor for a vote by June is higher than it has ever been.
If it is not brought to the floor there are two options available: the Consensus Calendar, and a discharge petition –the sponsors Rep. Graves and Rep. Spanberger are willing to use these if needed. This is good news.
The immediate next step is to hold a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee with a panel of tech. experts from Social Security and Congressional budget office, etc. to make sure everyone understands and agrees on how this will work
In the US Senate S597 (the companion bill to HR82) now has 53 co-sponsors (41 dems,9 reps and 3 indeps) !!
Senate Majority leader Schumer has signed on to the bill. Senator Collins is a sponsor of this bill and Senator King is a co-sponsor. There has been less action in the US Senate . The Senate Finance Committee is where the bill is at this time. NEA has had talks with members of the Finance Committee
There are other bills on this issue but this is the one that has momentum.
Guardedly optimistic,
Crystal Ward MEA-R
In Augusta
Senator Henry Ingwersen of York County is the sponsor of an important bill -- LD 1152 – An Act to Make Long-Term Disability Insurance Coverage Available to Public Employees. Did you know -- public employees in the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) have NO long-term disability program?
The lack of a long-term disability program is another
way public employees are disadvantaged compared to those in Social
Security. Individuals in Social Security have access to both short
term and long-term disability. MainePERS has a gap in coverage –
Social Security does not have the same gap.
LD 1152 calls on the state to completely fund the
long-term disability program for all MainePERS participants, and we can do
this for as little as $3.2 million. LD 1152 attempts to fill this
gap and will help make sure future disabled public employees, such as
teachers and state employees, do not fall through the cracks again.
The MEA is working on this bill, and we hope to find a way to have this
bill funded.
Contact you Maine Senator and Representative please
Scam Alert
from Mona Ervin
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This scam recently
happened to me. I received an urgent pop-up message on my computer telling me to take action immediately! Pop-up messages, cold calls or emails are tactics used by scammers posing as legitimate tech support. Their goal is to deceive users into believing their computer has issues or has been hacked into, which can lead to victims providing control of their device and disclosing personal information. The pop-up message stated that my computer was infected with a trojan spyware and that I needed to call Microsoft Support for assistance. A phone number was provided. I could not close out of the message, my computer was locked. Using my cell phone I googled the phone number and, not to my surprise, it was a phony number. I ran Norton Anti Virus and that did not do anything. I then contacted my nephew who works in IT. I sent him a screen shot of the pop-up message. He suspected that my computer itself was not infected but that the wall paper was frozen by the pop-up message. It took a 10 minute over the phone conversation for him to guide me how to fix the problem. Scammers hope that the pop-up message will frighten us into fearing the worst about the so-called spyware on our computers. Calling the number provided in the pop-up will give the scammers access to your computer and all of your data files. NEVER CALL THE NUMBER PROVOIDED UNTIL VERIFYING THAT THE
NUMBER IS LEGITIMATE. ALWAYS CONTACT SOMEONE
KNOWABLE ABOUT COMPUTERS BEFORE DOING
ANYTHING. RECALLS To
provide better service in alerting the American people to unsafe,
hazardous or defective products, six federal agencies with vastly
different jurisdictions have joined together to create www.recalls.gov --
a "one stop shop" for U.S. Government recalls. You can research
seven different categories of recalls. |
April Quiz
from Mona Ervin
- Gifted to the United States by France in 1894.
- This massive hydroelectric project took five years to build beginning in 1931.
- Of the 15 national landmarks, this is the only one in New England. It is a famous trail that New England students frequently visit.
- Construction on this 630 foot structure began in 1963, was completed in 1965 and opened to the public in 1967. It was built as a monument to westward expansion.
- This is a famous suspension bridge on the west coast.
- Many consider this to be America's most famous facial memorial.
- This landmark was a famous Franciscan mission.
- This landmark was dedicated to commemorate an attack on our territory.
- 10 Two landmarks on opposite sides of the county are dedicated to the same thing.
- The Statue of Liberty is a near-universal symbol of freedom and democracy, standing 305 feet and 1 inch high on Liberty Island. You can get a sense of the thrill millions of immigrants must have experienced as you approach it on the ferry from Battery Park or Liberty State Park and see the statue grow from a vaguely defined figure on the horizon into a towering, stately colossus.
- The Hoover Dam is named for former President Herbert Hoover. It spans the border of Nevada and Arizona. It controls flooding of the Colorado River. The dam is 726 feet tall and 1244 feet long. A true marvel of engineering.
The Freedom Trail winds through central Boston providing a chance to literally to walk in the footsteps of America’s forefathers. It leads past locations where much of the drama that would bring about the American Revolution unfolded, from Faneuil Hall to the Old North Church to the site of the Boston Massacre. Individual sites are the Massachusetts State House, Paul Revere's House, Kings Chapel, the Old Granary Burial Ground and many other locations of historical significance.
The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot-tall monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible structure. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States and officially dedicated to "the American people". The Arch, commonly referred to as "The Gateway to the West", is a National Historic Landmark in Gateway Arch National Park and has become an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination.
- The Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco with Marin County, completed in 1937, it is a triumph in just about every way. With its 1.7-mi span and 746-foot towers, the Golden Gate Bridge is both beautiful and durable—it was historically built to withstand strong winds and was undamaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. The bridge’s walkway provides unparalleled views of the Bay Area. It was named one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World and is the most photographed bridge in the world.
- Mount Rushmore, located in South Dakota’s Black Hills, is a 60-foot-high likenesses of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. The facial images are carved into a massive granite cliff. The majestic faces are dramatically illuminated at sunset each night. The mountain's elevation is 5,725 feet above sea level. The sculptor chose Mount Rushmore in part because it faces southeast for maximum sun exposure. The carving was the idea of Doane Robinson, a historian for the state of South Dakota. Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor. The project took 14 years to complete.
- The Alamo stands as a monument to the nearly 200 Texan volunteers who fought and died here during a 13-day siege in 1836 by Mexican general Antonio López de Santa Anna. The Texans lost the battle, but they ultimately won their bid for independence with “Remember the Alamo” as their rallying cry. All of the defenders of the Alamo died in the battle, but the most famous deaths were David Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Travis.
- The Pearl Harbor National Memorial is located at the site of the December 7, 1941, attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor. This attack is undoubtedly one of the most critical moments in U.S. history. Not only did it lead to the country’s subsequent entry into WWII, but it also solidified American resolve and united the country in a way that has yet to be replicated. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial today acts as a symbol of that resolve, as well as a place of remembrance for the men and women who lost their lives during the Pacific War, often best depicted at the USS Arizona Memorial located within the national memorial. The fire that was ignited on the Arizona continued for two days, during which time the ship slowly sank into the bay. Unfortunately, 1,177 of the Arizona's crew were killed in the attack. Many of the men on board had been killed instantly by the bombs, while others burned to death and went down with ship.
Recipes
EZEE-KWEEZEEN
Cooking should be easy. Well, everything should
be easy.
Making a cake should be - easy as pie! - Here's a website that helps by making box cake better.
https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/how-to-make-box-cake-better
