« March 2024
Welcome to the AREA Newsletter for March 2024
Next
Meeting
March 13, 2024
Green Ladle
- Lewiston High School
10:30
AM
All the Downloads - Click this link to
view all the downloads for this month. Some folks like that
better.
President's
Message
This has been an interesting early winter so
far with not much snow and a little more rain.
Many thanks to several
of our committees for their work outside of our regular meetings and the
work that they have done. Don't forget we will start our meeting at
10:30AM at LRTC Green Ladle and out guest speaker this month will be from
Seniors Plus (Laure Johnson) with lots of inforation that will come in
handy.
See you soon,
Dave Wing
Welcome
home to Grace Keene, who has spent quite a bit of time in the
hospital this winter. Here's hoping that she recovers
well!
Budget and
Finance
from Gina Fuller
Gina must
have had extra time on her hands to prepare all these materials. You
may
download them here or from the downloads link
above.
Treasurer's Notes
Treasurer's Update
Scholarship
from Jean Roy
The Scholarship Committee, Sue Conklin, Wendy
Jacobs, Beth Bell and I met and had a conversation with Gina and David
...........................................
The scholarship forms were
revamped and sent to all guidance counselors at Edward Little,
Lewiston, Leavitt, Lisbon, Oak Hill, Poland and Spruce Mountain
electronically and by mail. We also put an article to announce it in Sun
Spots and in the Twin City Times. The article was also shared on FaceBook
by AREA members. The scholarship application is due by March 29th for the
committee to review and select the recipient. The student will receive a
check for $2000.00 after submitting their transcript to show that they
earned a minimum GPA of 2.5 in the previous
semester.
Activity
Forms
from Joyce Bucciantini
Joyce reminds us that our
volunteer and activity forms are due by the beginning of April.
Joyce
will bring forms to the next meeting. Download the form at
the following link.
To Your Health and
Wellness
Many of us live alone. And
most of us are senior citizens. And for many of us, a daily check in
is a good idea. The phone app called "Snug" will allow you to check
in with a click every day, and if you don't - well, it will notify you or
someone else. It's just a simple but important check in service for
anyone really. AND.. it's free. Here's the web site - https://www.snugsafe.com/
Seniors Plus is
the agency that helps us stay well, stay at home, and stay independent.
They could use your help. On March 22, 2024, Seniors Plus will
sponsor the "Fill Your Plate Breakfast from 7am - 9am at the Hilton Garden
Inn in Auburn. This is a great chance to show your support for the people
who help support us. Click this link - Fill
the Plate Breakfast.
Follow up - And here is an interesting follow up from a previous meeting. Donna Whelan shares this information about AI. Well worth the read.
Scam
Alert
from Mona Ervin
1.
Check cooking scam
Last year, the big thing was check washing,
where thieves stole paper checks from postal boxes, mailboxes or
even carriers and then washed the checks with chemicals, keeping the
signature but erasing the amount and the payee so they could fill in a new
name and amount. But now, they’ve discovered a less messy way to steal.
In check cooking, thieves take a digital picture of a stolen check and
then use commercially available software to alter it.
“It looks very real, even with the watermarks and all,” explains Michael Bruemmer, vice president of data breach resolution and consumer protection at Experian, a global credit verification and financial services firm. Criminals can print a new phony check or else just deposit the altered image using a bank’s mobile app, he notes.
How to stay safe: Consider using a safer payment method, such as a credit card. But if you choose to write paper checks, scammers still need to steal a physical copy. Make it harder for them. Instead of putting the check in a mailbox, drop it off directly at the nearest post office. And continually monitor your checking account and watch for any suspicious transactions.
2. Voiceprint
Scams
Thanks to technological advances, it’s possible for
thieves to capture a recording of your voice and then use a software
program to generate an imitation “deepfake” version that can be used
to impersonate you. “That voiceprint can be used to access your
insurance or your financial institution or apply for a driver’s
license,” Bruemmer says. The New York Timesreported on a recent
case in which a representative at a major bank received a call from a
deepfake copy of a Florida investor’s voice, requesting that the bank
move the man’s money elsewhere. Fortunately, the fraud attempt was
spotted by the bank before the real investor lost his
savings.
How to stay safe: To prevent your voice from being duplicated, “don’t answer the phone,” Bruemmer advises. “If someone needs to get hold of you, they can text you.” Bruemmer even is cautious about answering calls that appear to be from people on his contact list, since the call could be coming from a phone that’s been stolen or had its SIM card cloned, he says.
3. Delayed-action sweepstakes
scam
Sweepstakes scammers, who call or write to say that
you’ve won a fabulous fortune, have been around for ages. But recently
they’ve come up with a new variation on the old formula, according to
Bruemmer. Instead of trying to get you to pay taxes or other fees in
advance to collect the nonexistent prize, the scammers will ask for
personal information so that they can validate you and set up the payout.
“They’ll say, just give us your banking information and your Social
Security number, and we’ll file with the IRS and we’ll take care of
everything,” he explains. “But, boom, it’s just another form of
identity theft.” Instead of quickly looting your bank account — what
Bruemmer calls a "smash and grab" — the scammers may play a long game.
They’ll write small checks on your account to see whether you notice the
fraudulent activity. If you don't, they'll continue to use the account to
obtain credit cards and lines of credit in your name that they can siphon
off, giving them a potentially bigger payday down the road.
How to stay safe: As with previous variations of the sweepstakes scam, remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you get a call from someone claiming that you’ve won a huge prize, the safest bet is to just hang up. And never, ever provide any personal information.
4. Paris Olympics
scams
Criminals try to find ways to exploit big events that
are in the news. With the Paris games coming up this summer, Nofziger
suspects that we may start seeing a revival of the fake emergency scam,
which bears similarities to the grandparent scam but is slightly
different. It could work something like this: A scammer hacks someone’s
email account, and shortly after, all of that person’s contacts will
receive the same message — something to the effect of, “Hey guys,
I’m over in Paris and my wallet got stolen! Can anyone please help me
out by sending gift cards or a Venmo deposit?”
To the
recipients, it’s a potentially convincing ruse. “You’re thinking
very quickly, well, Amy was in Paris two years ago, and she loves the
Olympics, so it all makes sense,” Nofziger explains. “Yeah, I’ll
send you money.”
And Olympics officials are warning ticket
seekers to avoid bogus ticketing sites and scam emails purporting to be
from Paris 2024 (the official website for the games) or the Olympic
committee.
How to stay safe: Resist the urge to react immediately if you hear from a friend in Paris needing cash. Instead, follow the Federal Trade Commission’s advice and try another way to contact the person who supposedly is in need, such as calling them on the phone. Alternatively, reach out to a trusted source who knows the person and would be aware of whether or not they went on a trip to Paris.
If you’re intending to go to Paris and receive emails regarding tickets to the games, the official website for Paris 2024 notes, “You will never be asked for the login details for your ticketing account (ID and password)” or “banking details.” Check the sender’s email address; scammers will often change one letter or number, or use .com rather than .org, hoping recipients will mistake the fake address for the legitimate one.
Patrick J. Kiger is a contributing writer for AARP. He has written for a wide variety of publications, including the Los Angeles Times Magazine, GQ and Mother Jones, as well as the websites of the Discovery Channel and National Geographic.
Legislative
Update
from Crystal Ward
Hello
AREA
- On Wednesday, Feburary 14, 2024, Governor Mills released her
supplemental budget. This proposal will have a public hearing in the
coming weeks and will be subject to much debate between now and the end of
the legislative session.
Bad News: The Governor’s
supplemental budget does not address the salaries for teachers or wages
for school support staff. The MEA has been adamant: if we want
to address the shortages we are seeing in schools, we must raise the entry
wages and salaries for educators. In fact, we wrote a whole report
about it: Raise-the-Pay-for-Maine-FINAL.pdf
(maineea.org)
The governor put in nothing to help retired fix the mess made in 2011 to the MainePers pension system . In January the two co-chairs of the Labor Committee, Senator Mike Tipping, and Rep Amy Roeder along with Rep. Charles Skold from Labor committee and bill sponsor Rep. Jan Dodge met with governor Mills about LD70 and an idea that would cost much less. It was a frustrating meeting --- The message from the Governor, according to Rep Dodge, was that the governor repeated in several iterations was, "They have received increases! Sometimes through one-time payments, Adhoc COLA's, increases to the base to which the COLA's are applied and the cumulative benefits of their 3%." She was not interested in the new idea and will not support LD70. Governor Mills says that MainePers Retired are not a priority.
Yes, very frustrating considering we had bipartisan support for LD70 and had figured out a way to fund it that was much less expensive!!! The Governor proposes various new programs, and carries $100 million forward to the next two year budget (2025-2027), but does not propose any improvements for educator wages, salaries or MainePers pensions.
GOOD News - There is a bill that is on the Appropriations table, for funding, that would increase the share that Maine pays of health insurance from 60% to 65%. That will not be decided until the end of the session in April.
Down in Washington the bill in the House of
Representatives to correct the Social Security Offset has over 300
co-sponsors and is our best hope to get a vote on the floor by
summer.
Quiz
from
Mona
Ervin
So You Think You Know Maine?
1 Which governors shared the same
royal last name?
2 What is the northern most point in the United
States east of the Great Lakes?
3 Five individuals either born in
Maine or whose homes were in Maine, have served in the President's
cabinet. Can you name them and the position each held?
4
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty settled this conflict between the
United States and Great Britain. Was it determining financial payments
resulting from Arnold's march to Canada; The War of 1812; The
Aroostook War; Payments to purchase Campobello.
5 How many
islands are there off the coast of Maine? A) just over 2000
B) just over 3000 C) Just over 4000 D) just over
5000.
6 Which of the following is not originally from Maine? (A) John
Ford (B) Milton Bradley (C) E.B. White (E) Erin Andrews
7
True or False? Maine’s coastline has so many deep harbors that it
could provide anchorage for all the naval fleets in the world.
8 Can
you name the following? The Maine State dessert? treat? bird? tree?
fish? berry? cat? animal? insect? crustacean?
9 Which coastal Maine
community became the first chartered city in the United States?
10 How
many lighthouses are in Maine? (A) 45 (B) 55 (C)
65 (D) 75.
Answers
1 William
King and Angus King both served as Governors of Maine. William King
was the first governor serving from 1820 to 1821. He secured a
federal appointment and resigned as governor after one year. Angus
Kins served as governor from 1995 to 2003. He later was elected to the
United States Senate.
2 Escourt Station is located on the
Canada–United States border between Maine and Quebec, at the
southern end of Lake Pohenegamook in the North Maine
Woods region. It derives its name from the adjacent village of
Estcourt, Quebec,
3 President George Washington, at the start of his
first administration, appointed Henry Knox the nation's first Secretary of
War, a position he held from 1789 to 1794. He is well known today as
the namesake of Fort Knox in Kentucky, the repository of a large
portion of the nation's gold reserves. Born in Boston, he lived in
Thomaston.James Blaine twice served as Secretary of State, first
in 1881 under President James A. Garfield and Chester A.
Arthur, and then from 1889 to 1892 under President Benjamin Harrison.
He is one of only two U.S. Secretaries of State to hold the position under
three separate presidents, the other being Daniel Webster. Blaine was
not born in Maine but moved here after college. Frances
Perkins was born Fannie Coralie Perkins in Boston in 1880, but her
roots were in Maine. Her mother, Susan E. Bean, came from Bethel, and her
father Frederick Perkins was born and raised in Newcastle. Her free times
were spent in Newcastle. She qualifies as a Mainer. Perkins was an
American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States
Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that
position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first
woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. Edmund Muskie of
Rumford served as the 58th United States Secretary
of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to
1981. Wiliam Cohen of Bangor, A Republican, served as
Secretary of Defense (1997–2001) under Democratic President Bill
Clinton.
4 The Webster- Ashburton Treaty resolved numerous issues,
among then the border of Maine with New Brunswick. New Brunswick
officials arrested some Americans in disputed areas, Maine called out the
militia and seized the territory in question, the so-called Aroostock
War. The incident dramatized the need for a border settlement. Webster and
Ashburton agreed on a division of disputed territory, giving 7,015 square
miles to the United States and 5,012 to Great Britain; agreed on the
boundary line through the Great Lakes to the Lake of the Woods; and agreed
on provisions for open navigation in several bodies of water.
5 There
are over 4600 islands off the coast of Maine. Mount Desert is the
largest. Chebeague is considered the smallest of the inhabited islands.
Only about 1,200 Maine coastal islands have an acre or more, and 600
comprise 95% of the island acreage. Of these islands, only 15 have a
year-round population.
6 The answer is E.B. White who was a
columnist with The New Yorker and a beloved children’s author, having
written the classics Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. He and his wife
decided to buy a farm in Brooklyn, Maine, as a summer retreat from New
York City in 1933. They fell in love with the area and eventually moved
there full-time in 1938. John Ford, was a naval officer and film
director born in Cape Elizabeth in 1894. Over his career of more than 50
years, Ford directed more than 140 films and was the recipient of six
Academy Awards. A few of his most well-regarded films include Stagecoach,
The Grapes of Wrath, and The Searchers. Milton Bradley was born
in Vienna, Maine in 1836. His initial business ventures were
failures but he found inspiration from an imported board game a friend
gave him, concluding that he could produce and market a similar game to
American consumers. In the winter of 1860, Bradley released The Checkered
Game of Life. From 1860 through the 20th century, the company he
founded, Milton Bradley Company, dominated the production of American
games, including The Game of Life, Easy Money, Candy Land,Operation, and
Battleship. The Milton Bradley name had been in use for 149 years.
Erin Andrews was born in Lewiston, Maine on May 4, 1978. Her parents
are Paula Andrews, a teacher and Steven Andrews a journalist. She is an
American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence
as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after
joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2012 and
has since become the lead sideline reporter for the network's NFL
broadcasting team. In 2010, she also gained further recognition from
placing third on the tenth season of ABC's Dancing with the
Stars and eventually co-hosted the show from 2014 to 2019 with Tom
Bergeron.
7 True.
8 The state dessert is the blueberry pie;
the state treat is the whoopie pie; the state bird is the black-capped
chickadee; the state tree is the white pine; the state fish is the
landlocked salmon; the state berry is the blueberry; the state cat is the
Maine Coon; the state animal is the moose; the state insect is the
honeybee; the state crustacean is the lobster.
9 York, ME became the
United States' first chartered city in 1641.
10 There are
65 lighthouses in Maine. Two of the most famous and
photographed are West Quoddy Lighthouse painted like a candy cane and
Portland Head Light located along the rocky coast of Cape Elizabeth.
Portland Headlight is the most photographed lighthouse in the
nation.
Recipes
from
EZEEE. KWEEZEEN
Who
doesn't love a crisp biscotti with morning coffee or as a snack in the
afternoon? Flavorful and crunchy, perfect with coffee or tea.
And so very easy to make. This has to be the perfect EZEE-KWEEZEEN recipe.
Here's the link from Cookies and
Cups - Cake Mix
Biscotti
And here's the wicked simple instructions, tried and tested in the EEZEE-KWEEZEEN test kitchen.
1. Make up a regular cake box mix - almost any flavor - but vanilla works best.
You can also bake the chocolate cake and the brownie recipe together for chocolate biscotti.
2. Add a cup of flour. Remember that the goal is to make a dry cake.
3. Add the flavoring or extras you wish - almmond extract, vanilla -or - almonds, walnuts, etc.
4. Bake the cake as you normally would. Set it out to cool.
5. Once cool, cut the cake into biscotti sized pieces and arrange them on a cake drying rack.
5. "Re-bake" at 200 degrees
for at least three hours. It's a slow re-bake. When crispy, just
turn off the oven and let them stay till the oven cools.
Editorial?
Ah, parting shots - Sometimes I just have to take a
risk.
From the blog at PithnGrit - Heaven
