Keeping a Dry Christmas Tree Is Like Inviting a Forest Fire into Your Home

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Avoid These Common and Costly Senior Scams

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Financial scams targeting seniors put their retirement savings at risk
By Consumer Reports, Nov. 22, 2016
Scams aimed at seniors can range from fraudsters who pedal bogus anti-aging products for less than $30 to a fake “cash award” racket that empties a $300,000 nest egg. In all, seniors lose an estimated $3 billion a year to scams and other financial abuse. Here are some of the common swindles, according to experts:

• Medicare Open-Enrollment Ploy
• Veterans’ Pension Scam
• Pump and Dump Investment Schemes

Police: We Are Hiring!

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Glowing Liquid May Help Prince George's Police Solve Crimes

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Tracee Wilkins, News4, reports:

Police in Prince George's County, Maryland, say a liquid that glows under a black light will help prevent and solve crimes.

Police will begin to use SmartWater, a product credited for a drop in burglaries in the United Kingdom by nearly 30 percent.
Some Prince George's County residents will get SmartWater for free.
Police chief Hank Stawinski said the product solves a big problem in policing.
"It's very difficult to associate that thief with that item at that crime scene. Smartwater changes all of that," he said.
Users dab the solution on items, and then it will glow under a black light. The liquid leaves behind a unique marker that's left behind even if the item is burned.
"It's like DNA. It's unique to every household. Every application is unique," SmartWater International CEO Phil Clearly said at a news conference Wednesday in Palmer Park, Maryland.
Traces of the product are long-lasting.
"Smart Water is a silent and invisible witness that means that that offender now can be tracked back to that crime days, weeks, even years later," Stawinski said.
Police then can trace stolen items back to their owners through a database.
People who use SmartWater get stickers and signs to try to ward off criminals. It is being used in Prince George's County after an initial $50,000 investment by two independent organizations.
[WJLA's report on SmartWater]

Package Theft Prevention

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WTHR, Indianapolis:

1. Sign for your packages. If there's no one home to sign for the package, it won't be left at your home.
2. Get your packages delivered to shipping locations like The Mailing Station. Anyone with a secondary mailbox at shipping locations like The Mailing Station can get their packages dropped off for free.
3. Show off you home security. If you have a home security system, make sure you have a sign in the front yard. If you have security cameras, make sure potential "porch pirates" know they're there and if you have a doorbell camera, use it.
4. Sign up for email notifications. You can get email notifications from FedEx, UPS, and businesses like Amazon and Urban Outfitters to track your package from initial shipment to its final destination.
5. Have your packages delivered to your place of business. Make sure your workplace is cool with this, and if they are, it's much safer than having packages delivered to your home.
6. Be a "nosy neighbor"/"engaged friend"
7. Sign up for "UPS My Choice" and Fedex "Delivery Manager"

Public School Performance Audit

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Video of the briefing to the County Council and Board of Education is here (The quality of the audio is not consistent).

WSSC Broad Creek Project Completion: Summer 2020

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The Broad Creek Waste Water Pumping Station (WWPS) was built in 1968
Consent Order - December 2005
3 remaining projects:

• Beginning at Swan Creek Road along MD 210 going south to the Piscataway Waste Water Treatment Plant: projected substantial completion date is May 30, 2017.
• Beginning at Swan Creek Road along MD 210 going north, turning left on Cornett Street and right on Livingston Road and ending  just before the intersection of Fort Washington Road and Livingston Road:  projected substantial completion is May 30, 2017.
• Broad Creek WWPS Rehabilitation and Tunnel: anticipated substantial completion is Summer 2020 (based on early 2017 contracts award).

Replace Smoke Detectors Every 10 Years

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News 4's Susan Hogan warns an old detector may not protect you and your family. Consumer Reports recommends that you replace your smoke detectors every 10 years.

Robocall Update: We need actions, not empty promises (from Consumers Union)

We’re making progress, but there’s more work to do. After much build-up, the FCC’s Robocall “Strike Force” — a coalition of telecom and tech companies — presented the results of their new effort to block irritating and hazardous robocallers and keep them from interrupting our lives. Sadly, although there are billions of robocalls every month, the phone companies’ solution does nothing to stop them. Like much of the FCC, we’re holding the applause until the Strike Force commits to a deadline to make new consumer tools available to block unwanted calls for everyone, for free. The phone companies can do better. WAY better. Please join us in sending a message to AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon telling them to make call blocking tools available immediately and to commit to concrete dates for ending unwanted calls. SEND A MESSAGE » During the meeting, federal regulators were unimpressed by the plan. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler insisted that the Strike Force reconvene within six months for another report, and said what companies had done so far was “only a start.” As Wheeler also made clear, consumers can’t wait for more half measures. We need solutions now and will fight for firm commitments from phone providers. Please tell the phone companies to make call blocking tools available immediately and commit to concrete dates for solving the larger robocalls problem. Thank you for staying vigilant in our campaign to end robocalls. Your activism is making all the difference. Tim Marvin, EndRobocalls.org Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports SEND A MESSAGE »