Senior Women Web

Author: SeniorWomenWeb

  • The Most Interesting New State Laws of 2013

    Along with New Year’s resolutions, January 1 marks the day many new state laws go into effect. In an annual tradition, the National Conference of State Legislatures has compiled a list of some of the most interesting ones.social media

    In 2012, all but four states met in regular session and enacted more than 29,000 bills and resolutions. Not all new laws go into effect on the first of the year — it depends on the state’s constitution and whether the statute itself specifies when the law will officially begin.

    Among the wide variety of new laws NCSL has identified, several have made news in the last year. Maryland’s same-sex marriage law, for example, became national news when the legislature first passed it, and voters later approved it in a statewide ballot referendum. Numerous states considered and passed legislation making it illegal for an employer to request social media account information from an employee or applicant. One such law goes into effect on New Year’s Day in Illinois.

    The following laws grouped by general topic area will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

    Alcohol and Drug Policy

    A new Illinois law allows those under 21 who are participating in culinary programs to consume alcohol. Illinois SB 758
     
    A new law in Oregon funds a program, distinct from the General Fund, for retired state police officers to discourage tobacco use in underage children. Oregon HB 4172
     
    In California, it’s not a crime to possess illicit drugs if you are seeking assistance for yourself or someone else who has suffered an overdose. California AB 472. 
     
    A new law in Illinois enhances the penalties for manufacturing and selling bath salts. Illinois HB 5250
     
    A new Washington law licenses medical marijuana producers and dispensaries to ensure qualified patients have access to an adequate, safe, consistent and secure source of medical quality cannabis. Washington SB 5073

    Animals, Agriculture and Wildlife

    In California it’s unlawful to let a dog pursue a bear or bobcat at any time. Previously, exceptions had been made for hunting. California SB 1221
     
    In Illinois it’s against the law to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade or distribute shark fins. Illinois HB 4119
     
    Laws in California and Illinois prohibit the use of a vehicle or watercraft if any aquatic plants or animals are attached to the exterior.  Similar bills aimed at stopping the spread of invasive species have been adopted in Michigan, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. California SB 935 and Illinois HB 3888

    Children and Families

    Alaska will become the 31st state to enact autism insurance reform. The new law requires private health insurance plans to cover the diagnosis, testing and treatment of autism spectrum disorders for children and young adults up to the age of 21 with no financial cap on benefits. Alaska SB 74

  • Off the Table for Now: Using the Chained CPI to Reduce Social Security Payment Calculations

    The change in the way Social Security payments are calculated for Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)  is a moot point in ‘Fiscal Cliff’ problem-solving for now,  but we thought we’d  offer a 2010 CBO (Congressional Budget Office) post that could explain the Chained CPI —  now being referred to as a budget-cutting approach.

    We are also including some FAQs from the Social Security Administration concerning 2013 monthly payments.

     Using a Different Measure of Inflation for Indexing Federal Programs and the Tax Code; A blog post by the  Congressional Budget Office February 24, 2010

    Federal laws try to protect taxpayers and recipients of government benefits from the effects of rising prices by specifying that dollar amounts in many parts of the tax code and in some programs be automatically adjusted or indexed for inflation. Without such indexing, a rise in the general level of prices would alter the effects of federal policies even in the absence of action by lawmakers.

    For example, if a Social Security beneficiary’s payment remained the same over time (in other words, not indexed for inflation), the value of goods and services that the beneficiary could purchase would go down.cardpunch operators for ssa

    Many federal programs and parts of the tax code are currently indexed to increases in the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to many analysts, however, the CPI overstates increases in the cost of living because it does not fully account for the fact that consumers generally adjust their spending patterns as some prices change relative to other prices.

    Social Security Administration Photograph: Cardpunch operators SSA employed throughout the late 1930s and into the 1950s to maintain Social Security records in the days before the advent of computers.

  • The Mystery of a Slit Throat and a Harem Conspiracy

    Ramesses III — the second Pharaoh of the 20th dynasty —  is believed to have reigned from 1186 to 1155 BC. The discovery of papyrus trial documents show that in 1155 BC members of his harem made an attempt on his life as part of a palace coup.

    A study in the British Medical Journal’s Christmas 2012 issue concludes that the conspiracy was led by Tiye, one of his two known wives, and her son Prince Pentawere, over who would inherit the throne, but it is not clear whether the plot was successful or not.

    The fate of Ramesses III has therefore long been the subject of debate among Egyptologists. So a team of researchers, led by Dr. Albert Zink from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman of the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC) in Italy, undertook detailed anthropological and forensic analyses on the mummies of Ramesses III and unknown man E, the suspected son of the king.

    CT scans of Ramesses III revealed a wide and deep wound in the throat of the mummy, probably caused by a sharp blade — and which could have caused immediate death, say the authors. A Horus eye amulet was also found inside the wound, most probably inserted by the ancient Egyptian embalmers during the mummification process to promote healing, add the authors. The neck was covered by a collar of thick linen layers.

    Analysis of unknown man E revealed an age of 18-20 years, while an inflated thorax and compressed skinfolds around the neck of the mummy suggests violent actions that led to death, such as strangulation, write the authors. Furthermore, the body was not mummified in the usual way — and was covered with a “ritually impure” goatskin — which the authors say could be interpreted as evidence for a punishment in the form of a non-royal burial procedure. The authors believe that unknown man E “is a good candidate for Pentawere.” However, they stress that the cause of death “has to remain a matter of speculation.”

    Finally, DNA analysis revealed that the mummies share the same parental lineage, “strongly suggesting that they were father and son,” they say. The authors conclude that Ramesses III “was murdered during the harem conspiracy by cutting his throat.” They add that the genetic relationship of unknown man E to Ramesses III, and his unusual mummification process, including the ritually impure use of a goat skin to cover the body, makes him a good candidate for Pentawere. Thereby, shedding new light on the harem conspiracy.

    *The EURAC-Institute for Mummies and the Iceman gathers and coordinates all currently available scientific data on the Iceman and various other mummies and  promotes innovative techniques for mummy conservation. The Institute promotes the use of non-and minimal invasive investigation methods, such as computer tomography, nanotechnology, molecular and biological approaches, as well as ancient DNA research. 

    Photograph: Tiye, Temple of Hathor in Serabit el-Khadim; Ancient Egyptian busts in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. Wikimedia Commons

  • A Pair From Ferida’s Backyard: The Nuthatch and the Thrush

     The Common and Uncommon Nuthatch
     
     
    The White-breasted Nuthatch is a fairly common bird. It has ordinary coloring — black and gray with white underparts — and is small, about the size of a sparrow. It frequents woodlands and deciduous forests like the Black-capped Chickadee. It makes its nest in tree hollows like the woodpecker and, also like the woodpecker, has an undulating flying pattern. It eats insects and seeds (particularly sunflower seeds) like so many other birds. So what makes this bird unique? nuthatch
     
    It’s an upside-down creature most of the time while other birds have more of a rightside-up personality. The Nuthatch is the only bird that regularly starts at the top of the tree (or birdfeeder) and works its way down as it seeks its food. There is an advantage to going downward; the bird is able to see food overlooked by the usual upward direction of other birds.
     
    And that is what speaks to me. What causes this one bird, who is like other birds in lots of ways, to do something different when it would be so easy to do what the rest of the bird world does?
     
    It is intriguing to see what the natural world offers as mirrors. This simple example makes me think of us, the human species, and how we have so many commonalities — in culture, in peer groups, in professions, in fashions, etc. — that make it almost inevitable that we be the same. Like the Nuthatch, however, we may have to deviate from the usual to find what nourishes us, what distinguishes us as individuals. And it is that something that helps us to express our true, particular nature within the broader spectrum of humanity.
     
    Here is a general introduction to the Nuthatch and for more specific information about the White-breasted Nuthatch, click on the link at the left.
     
    Fine for Finches   
     
    In the summer our forsythia bush is green and full, creating a private nesting environment for a host of our local House Finches. They are the little birds that flock around the feeders and serenade us with song.

  • Aging America: The Cities That Are Graying The Fastest

    By Joel Kotkin*

    Notwithstanding plastic surgery, health improvements and other modern biological enhancements, we are all getting older, and the country is too. Today roughly 18.5% of the US population is over 60, compared to 16.3% a decade ago; by 2020 that percentage is expected to rise to 22.2%, and by 2050 to a full 25%.Old State House, Boston

    Yet the graying of America is not uniform across the country — some places are considerably older than others. The oldest metropolitan areas, according to an analysis of the 2010 census by demographer Wendell Cox, have twice as high a concentration of residents over the age of 60 as the youngest. In these areas, it’s already 2020, and some may get to 2050 aging levels decades early.

    For the most part, the oldest metropolitan areas — with the exception of longtime Florida retirement havens Tampa-St. Petersburg and Miami — tend to be clustered in the old industrial regions of the country. These are regions that have suffered mightily from deindustrialization and the movement of people toward the South and West. These metro areas now make up eight of the 10 oldest among the nation’s 51 largest metropolitan statistical areas.

    The oldest city in America is Pittsburgh, where 23.6% of the metro area’s population is over 60. The old steel capital is followed by such former robust manufacturing hubs as Buffalo (No. 3 on our list), Cleveland (fifth), and Detroit (ninth).

    How did these places get so old? The biggest factor: migration deficits. More Americans have been leaving these cities than moving there, and people who move tend to be younger. Meanwhile these graying cities attract relatively few immigrants from abroad. Pittsburgh, for example, ranks 34th among the 51 biggest metro areas in net domestic migration, losing some 2% of its population to other places over the past decade. It also stands 50th in foreign immigration over the same period. Buffalo has fared even worse: it’s 40th in domestic migration and 49th in new foreign-born residents.

    Another factor is low birth rates. An aging population, not surprisingly, does not produce many children. In 2000 only three U.S. metro areas had more elderly than children under the age of 15 (Pittsburgh, Miami and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.). The 2010 Census showed we now have 10, with the addition of Buffalo, Boston, Cleveland, Hartford, Providence, Rochester and San Francisco to the first three. Thus the elderly population is overtaking the younger population not only in Florida’s retirement havens, but in a number of Rust Belt and Northeastern cities — and the West Coast may not be far behind.

    The graying trend, like aging itself, is pervasive. The number of children relative to elderly declined over the past decade in every one of the 51 largest major metropolitan areas.

    But not all of America’s most rapidly aging cities are in Florida and the Rust Belt. Even the New York metro area, usually associated with the “young and restless,” is also getting senescent, with an elderly population nearly equal to that of the young. It ranks 15th on our list of the grayest cities. This is surprising, since like more-old-than-young San Francisco (17th place), immigration from abroad has been strong.

    Other metropolitan areas widely celebrated as magnets for the young and hip are also aging rapidly. For example, while Portland remains younger than average, it rose from 36th oldest in 2000 to 29th oldest in 2010. Even Seattle got older, rising from 39th place in 2000 to 34th in 2010.

    Photo from Wikimedia Commons: Old State House, Boston, MA, USA

  • Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Royalty on Paper

    Triumphal Chariot of the Emperor Maximilian

    Images of royalty in all their splendor, designed to convey the power, majesty, and accomplishments of European monarchs and their courts from the 16th century to 1900, are presented in Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Royalty on Paper at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

    On view through June 16, 2013, the exhibition highlights some 35 prints and drawings from the Museum’s collection, with select loans from private collectors. Among the works on display is Albrecht Dürer’s monumental Triumphal Chariot of the Emperor Maximilian (1522), printed on eight large sheets of paper and joined together for the first time at the MFA. Other artists represented include Goya, Jacques Louis David, and Honoré Daumier.

    The exhibition explores the varied ways in which European monarchs and aristocrats were represented by court artists and those outside of these rarified circles in works that served as propaganda, commemorated an historical event, or even poked fun at perceived excesses or ineptitude.

    Highlights include multiple images by various artists of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Louis XIV, and Queen Victoria, as well as select images of Henri II and Marie Antoinette of France and Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I of England, and others of noble birth. In these regal portraits and depictions of lavish court entertainments, the artists captured a world of unbridled privilege that only the royals and their attendants could enjoy.

    To enhance the appreciation of exhibit, the New England Historic Genealogical Society has produced a detailed family tree tracing Maximilian I’s relationships by birth and marriage to the royal houses of Europe, available on its website.

    Illustration: A portion of Albrecht Dürer’s monumental Triumphal Chariot of the Emperor Maximilian (1522). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

  • Bills Passed: The Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012; Reducing Preterm Delivery; Strengthening Investigations of Sex Offenders & Missing Children

    From Women’s Policy, Inc; Bills Passed. December 21st

    House Passes Bill to Reduce Preterm Delivery
    On December 19, the House passed the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early (PREEMIE) Reauthorization Act (S. 1440), as amended. 

    Senate Passes Sex Offender Bill
    On December 17, the Senate passed the Strengthening Investigations of Sex Offenders and Missing Children Act (S. 1792). 

    House Passes DNA Collection Bill
    On December 18, the House approved the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6014). Full Text of H.R. 6014: Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of …

    www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr6014/text –
     
    (Editor’s Note, from Wikipedia: “Katie’s Law, also known as the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2010, is a [passed] federal law to provide funding to states to implement minimum and enhanced DNA collection processes for felony arrests. The bill is named after Katie Sepich, who was brutally attacked outside of her New Mexico home in August 2003. She was raped, strangled, her body set on fire, and abandoned at an old dump site.”Katie Sepich
     
    “Katie’s attacker’s skin and blood were found under her fingernails. This DNA profile was sent to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) where officials hoped a match would be made. A DNA match identified Gabriel Adrian Avila, who had been arrested in November 2003 for aggravated burglary and was serving time in the New Mexico Corrections System since November 2004. After being confronted with his DNA evidence, Avila subsequently confessed to the murder of Sepich.” Read more at the Wikipedia and other sites.)
     
    Senate Urges Elimination of Child Prostitution Website

    On December 20, the Senate adopted a resolution (S. Res. 439) expressing the sense of the Senate that Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC should eliminate the “adult entertainment” section of the classified advertising website Backpage.com.

    Bills Introduced:

    Child Protection

    S. 3705 —- Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)/Finance (12/21/12) — A bill to establish a commission to develop a national strategy and recommendations for reducing fatalities resulting from child abuse and neglect.

    S. 3708 —- Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)/Judiciary (12/21/12) — A bill to encourage reporting of child abuse.

    Crime

    S. 3704 —- Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)/Judiciary (12/20/12) — A bill to clarify the authorized uses of funds in the Crime Victims Fund.

    H.R. 6691 —- Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)/Judiciary (12/20/12) — A bill to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety.

    Employment

    H.R. 6673 —- Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)/Education and the Workforce, Oversight and Government Reform, House Administration (12/17/12) — A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide leave because of the death of a son or daughter.

  • The Day the Baby Fell in Love

    by Julia Sneden

    In our living room are two photographs inherited from my husband’s maternal grandmother. They hang above an old family desk, and are pictures of his great great grandparents, Sarah Pulling Lane French (1818-1899) and her husband, Joseph Henry French (1815-1876). These are portrait shots, head and shoulders only, handsomely set in deep, oval, 10” mahogany frames.Christmas Carol

    The picture of Sarah shows her to be a slender woman, her hair parted in the center with two knots or coiled braids at the top on either side of the part, and the rest pulled back by a ribbon around her head. Her face is turned slightly to her right, her light eyes gazing into the distance. She appears remote, without expression. She has a high forehead, thin lips, and a rather square, firm jaw. It’s not a face to intrigue you, but neither is it as formidable as some I’ve seen from that era. According to my own great grandmother, (born in 1833), one had to sit absolutely still with one’s head in a clamp, not blinking for what seemed like forever, when one posed for those early photographs. No doubt that probably explains why so many of our ancestors come off looking positively grim.

    Joseph also looks to the right. He’s a proper pater familias, with a beard neatly trimmed, but he has the same curious lack of facial expression. He wears a suit with a vest, and a bow tie (the real, hand-tied item).

    We know quite a bit about them. They were New Englanders, born and reared in Massachusetts. Sarah descended from a long line of proper Puritans, including a Mayflower passenger. We don’t know as much about Joseph’s family, but he himself must have been a good businessman, because he supported a large family. Apparently he owned the whole block where they lived in Rockland, MA, because as their children grew up and married, Sarah and Joseph had houses built on the property for them.

    My husband’s grandmother, Charlotte, grew up surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins, all next door, through the hedge, or just around the corner. Her grandmother Sarah (Joseph was by then dead) kept a benevolent if stern eye on them all. She was a deeply religious woman, a devout Baptist. The entire family gathered at her house for dinner each Sunday after church, and following the meal, all were expected to sit quietly in the parlor, and not engage in any frivolity, inasmuch as respect for the Sabbath was the priority. Charlotte later related to me that Jane, her mother, would think up reasons for her small family to leave such gatherings early, so that the children could go home and play, one assumes quietly and indoors, well out of Grandmother’s sight.

    But the photos on our walls give no hint of such strictures and tensions. To us, they’re just old family photos in pretty, oval frames. As such, they’re part of our decor, and we’re all so used to them that we’ve rarely thought about the people in them …. that is, until the night the baby fell in love with Sarah.

  • Further Shopping Adventures: Trick of the Eye, Pattern Magic and Building a 4-Cylinder Engine

    It may be getting late for those packages sent from the Exploratorium in San Francisco, but most of these new finds should be found in your local and online stores:

    For  Bird Watching enthusiasts, consider a marvelous 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle from Galison entitled Avian Friends with illustrations by Geninne Zlatkis. It’s apparently very popular (we got the last puzzle at the Exploratorium) but consider Valentine’s Day, perhaps? Or, just wait for restocking and send an IOU.

    The ECOlogical Calendar for 2013; A New Way to Experience Time:  A Chris Hardman calendar (from Pomegranate)  tracks the year’s natural cycles. It presents information on seasonally visible stars, the phases of the Moon and tides, the ratios of darness and light, the seasonal behavior of Earth’s creatures and a host of other details about the natural world.Trick of the Eye

    Whether a child or adult, we’ve always been captivated by illusion. Trick Of The Eye; Art and Illusion (Prestel) is a book that imaginatively presents examples of  ‘Real or painted’. In one example, two Greek painters, Zeuxis and Parrhasius  argued about which of them was the greatest artist and which could paint nature more accurately. With the tale is the illustration of Adriaen van der Spelt and Frans von Mieris, Trompe-l’Oeil with Garland of Flowers and a Curtain, 1658. The Art Institute, Chicago. Buy the book for yourself.

    And while you’re at it, especially for the experienced sewers among our audience, Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi isnow in English and available (Laurence King) at booksellers. It includes step-by-step instructions for making sculptural clothing. 

    For an older audience, we selected Building Bots; Designing and Building Warrior Robots, which may appeal to the more sophisticated robot builder with a background in associated learning and an interest in the sport.

    Our resident male approved of the Smithsonian Motor-Works Model of a 4-cylinder engine you can build yourself (ages 8+) and, frankly, any woman who wants to understand what’s under the hood as well as future drivers in your family. And for a stocking stuffer consider the 50 year calendar paperweight for someone’s desk, who can use a perpetual present. It’s carried by Kikkerland. Avian Friends 1000 piece puzzle

    Forbidden Island,  for ages 10 and up,  has been around for a couple of years but is well-reviewed,  nominated for and the winner of game awards, especially for families:  “Join a team of fearless adventurers on a mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of a perilous paradise.”  Perfect for game night.

    — T.G.

  • Number of US Deaths by State Due to Injury by Firearms

    2009

     

    |Back entrance to library, Newtown, CT

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    Firearm — In 2009, 31,347 persons died from firearm injuries in the United States (Tables 18 and 19), accounting for 17.7% of all injury deaths that year. The two major component causes of all firearm injury deaths in 2009 were suicide (59.8%) and homicide (36.7%). Firearm injuries (all intents) decreased 1.9% from 2008 to 2009. The age-adjusted death rate for firearm suicide did not change from 2008, whereas the death rate for firearm homicide decreased 5.0% in 2009 from 2008.

    Map & Rank by:

    Region Name

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    Note: You can also click on a column header to rank by that column.
    Click again to reverse the order.

      Firearms Death Rate per 100,000
     
    United States 10.11
     
    Alabama 17.4
    Alaska 14.7
    Arizona 13.0
    Arkansas 16.2
    California 8.3
    Colorado 11.5
    Connecticut 4.9
    Delaware 8.9
    District of Columbia 16.6
    Florida 12.1
    Georgia 12.9
    Hawaii 3.6
    Idaho 12.9
    Illinois 8.1
    Indiana 11.4
    Iowa 6.3
    Kansas 10.9
    Kentucky 12.8
    Louisiana 18.1
    Maine 8.7
    Maryland 10.2
    Massachusetts 3.1
    Michigan 10.9
    Minnesota 6.2
    Mississippi 16.8
    Missouri 13.6
    Montana 16.0
    Nebraska 7.3
    Nevada 15.5
    New Hampshire 6.2
    New Jersey 4.7
    New Mexico 14.6
    New York 4.8
    North Carolina 11.7
    North Dakota 9.2
    Ohio 8.4
    Oklahoma 14.5
    Oregon 10.3
    Pennsylvania 10.4
    Rhode Island 5.0
    South Carolina 13.6
    South Dakota 9.2
    Tennessee 15.2
    Texas 11.1
    Utah 10.2
    Vermont 8.9
    Virginia 10.4
    Washington 9.1
    West Virginia 13.3
    Wisconsin 7.9
    Wyoming 18.1
     
    Guam NSD2
    Puerto Rico 21.62
    Virgin Islands 50.72

    (show/hide notes)

    Notes: 

    Age-adjusted rates per 100,000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates are postcensal estimates based on the 2000 census estimated as of July 1, 2009. Since death rates are affected by the population composition of a given area, age-adjusted death rates should be used for comparisons between areas because they control for differences in population composition. Data are for 2009.
    Sources: 

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report Volume 60, Number 3, December 2011, Table 19. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf.
    Definitions: 

    NSD: Not Sufficient Data.

    Causes of death attributable to firearm mortality include ICD-10 Codes W32-W34, Accidental discharge of firearm; Codes X72-X74, Intentional self-harm by firearm; X93-X95, Assault by firearm; Y22-Y24, Firearm discharge, undetermined intent; and Y35, Legal intervention involving firearm discharge. Deaths from injury by firearms exclude deaths due to explosives and other causes indirectly related to firearms.

     

     
     

    August 2012, ©2012 National Conference of State Legislatures. 
    Possession of a firearm by the mentally ill is regulated by both state and federal laws:

    Federal Law

    Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d), it is unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person “has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution.”

    State Laws:

    Possession of a Firearm by the Mentally Ill by State