BEEN RIPPED OFF? SCAMMED? NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE? We may have a solution for you.

We are Seniors vs. Crime, a Special Project of the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Our mission is to assist in resolving cases committed against the elderly.

No case or matter is too large or too small “Don’t feel embarrassed or guilty.”

We are a FREE service and invite you to call or stop in to discuss your problem. All cases are kept strictly confidential.

Our office is located in the Kings Point Professional Building just south of Atlantic on the west side: 15127 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Fl. 33446 Tel: 561-865-1571 Fax: 561-865-1572

We are here to help you 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Monday through Friday.

We can alert and educate you about Consumer Fraud, Con Games, Scams and other criminal acts that target seniors. Our Speakers Bureau will be happy to send a representative to a group meeting to discuss crime prevention. Please call to arrange a time and date.

HELPFUL HINTS
1. If you are a victim of Identity Theft:
A. File a police report. Be sure to keep a copy
B. Report the ID Theft to the 3 major credit agencies
Equifax 800-525-6285
Experian 888-397-3742
TransUnion 800-680-7289
C. Report the ID Theft to you local Postmaster
D. Be prepared to cancel all credit cards
E. Obtain a copy of the 3 agency credit reports to review and correct
F. Call the FTC’s ID Theft Hotline at 877-438-4338 or file for an FTC Identity Theft Affidavit at www.ftc.gov/complaint

2. To obtain a free copy of your credit report go to www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228
3. To place a FRAUD ALERT on your credit agency reports, call any one of the 3 agencies noted above. By putting a Fraud Alert on your account, each agency will also provide you with access to a free copy of your credit report. The Fraud Alert lasts for 90 days (7 years if a fraud victim) and can be renewed.
4. Check privacy options at www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm
5. To Opt Out of receiving offers for pre-approved credit cards, go to www.optoutprescreen.com or call 888- 5OPTOUT (888-567-8688).
6. To check an investment broker’s status go to www.finra.org/brokercheck or 800-289-9999
7. To check a broker’s license or if an investment is registered go to SaveAndInvest.org or call 888-295- 7422
8. To visit the website of the Florida Department of Financial Regulation go to www.FLOFR.com
9. To test how well you protect yourself take a quiz about yourself at www.idsafetv.net/guiz,oho
10. www.freshfromflorida.com has an A to Z Resource Guide on hundreds of topics. MyFloridaCFO.com/OnGuard provides educational help about financial and insurance issues

By: Mickey Gussow (Waterford)

At 9:40 PM on the night of Feb. 15, 1898, the American battleship USS MAINE exploded and sank quickly in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. The sunken ship was standing upright on the bottom. Its stern superstructure was above the water with the mainmast nearly vertical; amidships was a twisted wreck; and the forward part, about one third of the ship’s length, was completely below the water.

There were 2 possible explanations for the disaster: the ship had been sunk by an accident or by a de-liberate act. If it were an accident, the commanding officer CaptainSigsbee had to explain how it occurred on board since he was responsible for the safety of the ship. If it were a deliberate act performed by the crew, Sigsbee was still responsible. However, if the act had been carried out by the Spanish authorities in Cuba, by dissident Spaniards acting against their government, or by Cuban insurgents, Spain then was at fault because she was responsible for the safety of the ship in the harbor provided the ship obeyed port regulations.

If the explosion originated inside the ship, then the sinking was probably accidental and Spain was guiltless. If the explosion originated outside the ship, then it probably was deliberate and Spain was to blame. Given the strained relations between the U.S. and Spain, determining the cause of the disaster was a very serious matter.

Politics became rampant as to what sunk the MAINE. The Spanish Minister of Colonies cabled “…it would be advisable for Your Excellency to gather every fact you can to prove the MAINE catas-trophe cannot be attributed to us.” Captain Sigsbee cabled Secretary of the Navy, John Long: “Probably the MAINE destroyed by mine, perhaps by acci-dent. I surmise that the berth [moored to a buoy] was planned previous to her arrival, perhaps long ago. I can only surmise this.”

In Washington, people were taking positions even when there were no technical facts upon which to base a conclusion. Some who felt the U.S. should stay out of Cuba were certain that the MAINE was destroyed by an accidental explosion. Their view was that the Spanish did not have an opportunity to sink the ship. And others who believed the U.S. should intervene were convinced that the Spanish had destroyed the ship. They were confident that adequate precautions were taken by the Navy to make an accident impossible. With no knowledge of technology, Secretary Long was inclined that the cause was an accident because he viewed that a modern warship with explosives was liable to sudden destruction.

Popular opinion was fanned by inflammatory articles blaming Spain printed in the “Yellow Press” by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. The phrase, “Remember the MAINE, to Hell with Spain,” became the rallying cry for action. Yellow Press is considered unprofessional journalism by presenting little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead using eye-catching, sensational headlines to sell more newspapers.

The sinking of the MAINE was the dominant topic of discussion in the Navy bureaus. Possibility of an accident seemed to have the most adherents. Lieutenant Frank Fletcher on duty at the Bureau of Ordnance wrote that “…Everybody is gradually set-tling down to the belief that the disaster was due to the position of the [ammunition] magazines next to the coal bunker in which there must have been spon-taneous combustion.” Engineer-in-Chief George Melville suspected a magazine explosion.

Phillip Alger, the Navy’s leading ordnance expert, in an interview published in the Washington Evening Star on Feb., said: “When it comes to seeking the cause of the explosions of the MAINE’s magazine, …the most common cause of these is through fire in the bunkers…I shall again emphasize the fact that no torpedo to our knowledge can produce an explosion of a magazine within.” He also pointed out that a fire on board the CINCINNATI’s coal bunker actually set fire to the fittings and wooden boxes within her magazine. He predicted that if the fire had not been discovered in time, the result would have been an explosion similar to one on the MAINE.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, was upset. He was convinced that there had been no accident. Roosevelt, therefore, considered Alger’s comments very disturbing because he was taking the “Spanish side.”

Roosevelt was concerned that such views would weaken the Navy’s standing before Congress. He was shocked to hear some Republican congressional leaders state that the MAINE disaster demonstrated the U.S. must stop building battleships. Roosevelt argued that the advanced naval powers also had accidents and that the loss was the price the U.S. paid in its role as a great naval power.

Note: Primary reference is HOW THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE WAS DESTROYED by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, 1976.

[wptab name=’Questions’]1. Which of the Wright brothers flew their plane based on the toss of a 50-cent piece?

2. Who was the 1st man to orbit the Earth?

3. Who was the 1st U.S. president to appear on TV while in office

4. What’s the smallest bird in the world?

5. Who said: “When I’m good, I’m very good, but when I’m bad I’m better”?

6. Who was the Sarong Girl?

7. How many were in attendance at the Last Supper?

8. What’s the basic flavoring of Kahlua

9. What are the 4 railways in Monopoly?

10. What does a horologist measure?[/wptab]

[wptab name=’Answers’]1. Orville

2. Yuri Gagarin

3. Franklin Roosevelt

4. The Hummingbird

5. Mae West

6. Dorothy lamour

7. 13

8. Coffee

9. B&O, Pennsylvania, Reading, Short Line

10. Time[/wptab]

[end_wptabset]

By: Rob Tanenbaum

As my passion and occupation, sports has been a dominant element in my life. Yet the transformation of sports from live entertainment to big business evaporates much of the joy.

Every sport has been affected by dollar signs. Every level of every sport suffers. It’s not just professional sports anymore. College sports are cancerous. International soccer is a shameful example of how money tarnishes athletics. The Olympics are a sham of individual and national cheating and have been since Hitler and Avery Brundage poisoned them in 1936. And high school and youth sports are being corrupted by money as well as overzealous parents looking to produce superstar kids and live off them.

As a fan, I remain seduced by the often-compelling human drama that often evolves. This spring’s Masters golf tournament is an example. I’m still hooked on baseball, European soccer and golf. But I rarely watch basketball, tennis and hockey anymore and I really hope to cast aside football.

My biggest gripe is with baseball. My attitude is that baseball should know better. It’s the team game that led the sports revolution in the 1920s when boxing and horse racing were the major competitions. Baseball gave us the World Series so America could always think it was best. Baseball gave us Jackie Robinson so America could always think it wasn’t racist. Baseball gave us numbers like 56 and 60 and 511 and 714 that became ingrained in Americana and set metrics for our lives well before we knew the word “metrics.”

Now what does baseball give us? Mostly cheaters. Yes, there were cheaters 100 years ago too. The pitchers threw spitballs. The batters altered their bats. The runners sharpened their metal spikes. But those were insider deceptions and the players governed themselves — mostly by pitchers throwing beanballs or an occasional free-for-all fracas on the field.

Today’s cheaters alter their bodies and dishonor the game, its numbers and themselves. And, of course, they could care less. They still get more money each year than most of us see in a lifetime.

The most recent cheater to be unmasked is Dee Gordon. South Florida baseball fans, no matter whom they root for, know him well. He plays second base for the Miami Marlins. We all were so proud of him on the last day of last season when he beat out bad-boy superstar Bryce Harper for the National League batting championship, Yes, Dee, the son of major league pitcher Tom Gordon from Avon Park, FL, which is about two hours away by car, took performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) so that his 170-pound body was strong enough to win a batting title. Then he signed a $50 million contract during the off-season and, having scored the big money, foolishly continued to cheat, thinking he couldn’t get caught.

Gordon, in reality, ain’t so stupid. He’ll be docked a pittance for the standard 80-game suspension. Current major leaguers Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon also signed enormous contracts after being outed as PED-users. When Gordon returns to the Marlins lineup on or after July 28, he’ll be greeted as a hero as were Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, all among the large group of superstar cheaters.

The baseball owners and the union talk a good game about stamping out cheating but, in fact, they condone it, allowing these players in the game and a path to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Baseball also offers a convenient excuse for the players to cheat. Did you realize that baseball squeezes each team’s 162-game schedule into a 183-day date range? And the scheduling also includes many multiple-time-zone road trips without a day off. Man, doesn’t your heart bleed for these entitled brats – especially considering that the average baseball salary today is above $4 million?

This situation of cheating-pays is going to get far worse in sports. In fact, it’s already a disaster in pro football. Who’s going to do something about it? The players and owners? No way. They’re making too much easy money. The government? Well, Congress has stuck its nose in big business sports in the past but just enough so be repelled by the hideous odor and duck into a dark corner.

There’s only one group that can save sports from itself and it’s you and me. Enough fans have to be a Howard Beale and raise the window and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Enough fans have to stop going to games, watching games on cable or buying licensed gear so the money- grabbing Ivy-educated MBAs and lawyers in the Commissioner’s office and the sports networks get the message.

The odds of that happening are greater than me taking PEDs and winning a batting title. Yet, if such a grassroots movement of angry, aware fans was started, I promise you I’d be the first to join. Passion be damned.

By: Sheila Hyman

We won’t be having summer bulletins, so I’d like to wish everyone the best summer. If we are lucky, we will not have any unfriendly hurricanes. Those who vacation in the summer, have safe goings and returnings.

Our summer birthday list includes Leah Bulger for July, Ruth Katz, Sandy Simelson and Carol Wallach for August.

I am so happy to tell you we will have 2 sets of new neighbors. The family that bought the Pollacks home hail from Canada. They have a cute dog: watch out Sophie, you have competition! And we have Amy Hastings and Eric Strom from Binghamton. They too will be snowbirds. Some families are very lucky that their children wish to move near them. Amy’s parents live in Aberdeen. Amy and Eric bought Zina’s home, but Zina will still be nearby, in the east of Aberdeen.

I am pleased to see that the tree trimmers are here taking off loose limbs and pruning the tress. I understand that we have a new irrigation company for our community. Hope this one works better than the last one.

Congratulations to Rachel Levy Montalbano, who will be attending Ohio State U. in Columbus, OH after graduating from Syracuse U. in May 2016. Her master’s degree program will be in medical nutrition. Her proud grandparents, Renee Engel and Isaac Levy, are happy to share this info with all of you.

By: Eileen Hahn

Is there a message here? My first article was the April fools issue and my second article after editing became invisible ink. Of course, I do not have a copy, because the minute the printer works, my greatest pleasure is hitting DELETE.

The political season ended in the Moorings with a dance called the “shuffle” as Jane Halley became vice- president and John Unger assumed the presidency. Alfred Lubell was re-elected treasurer, while he and Marilyn were testing another cruise for stability. Jack Miller was appointed to the board, replacing Richard Bond.

Our snowbirds have slowly flown the coop, but Linda Pagoulatos and Carol Hyndman were soaking up our Florida’s Sunshine at the Isles pool to take north with them. Happily next year, our renters, Cheryl and Mike Kreps will return and Eve and Milt Goldshein will be permanent residents in July. Travel has begun and Mitzi Licht and Simon Glastein had a short jaunt to Aruba to be with his family and Helen and Joe Fradella flew to NY to see their kin.

Harriet Fishman had a farewell party before her daughters whisked her off to California for R & R.

May our long-time resident, Ralph Chalmers, RIP.

Since this is graduation season, I had asked for more input in last month’s invisible article, so anyone omitted, I would still like to hear from you. Jane Halley’s granddaughter is graduating and off to college. Laura and John Unger’s grandson, Jacob, is going to the U. of Arizona in Tuscon and Sally Wallet’s granddaughter, Kayla, will be at the U. of Virginia. Eileen and Joe Hahn have a double occasion, grandson, Peter, is graduating from Tulane medical and beginning residency at Long Island Jewish and grandson, Stephen, is beginning at Tulane on an academic scholarship. Marcia and Jerry Kopelman’s grandson has so many scholarship that he can’t decide whether it’s Alabama or Tennessee, but meanwhile, Marcia has enrolled at Palm Beach State College going for her AA degree. Lola Greenberg has the best of both worlds for her granddaughter, Gabrielle is graduating from UCF and she was lucky enough to have her great granddaughter visiting here.

Have a wonderful summer and remember it gets hot all over and we will cover vacations in October, so keep me informed – I’m in your directory.

Volunteers advocating for Florida’s long-term care residents answer your questions regarding the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents in long-term care facilities.

Sponsored by: Sam Golden, Ronnie Ostrow and Pauline Ogus Aberdeen’s Certified Ombudsman

Q: Who runs the Ombudsman Program?
A: Florida’s Ombudsman Program is administered by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. The State Ombudsman is responsible for the overall functioning of the program. He does so through 17 district offices located throughout the state. A District Ombudsman Manager runs each local office. How-ever, the Ombudsman Program relies on volunteers to carry out the program’s mission of advocacy. The Ombudsman Program has over 300 certified volunteer ombudsmen ready and willing to advocate for long-term care residents.

For more information about the Ombudsman Program, visit the program’s website at http://ombudsman.myflorida.com

Q: Can I volunteer with the Ombudsman Program? Are there any prerequisites to become a volunteer ombudsman?
A: ABSOLUTELY! The Ombudsman Program is always seeking volunteers to help advocate for residents! Interested applicants can submit an application, which is found on the program’s website, or by calling 1-888-831-0404.

Although prior professional experience is beneficial, one does not need experience in any particular field to become a volunteer ombudsman. You will receive all the information you need to know about advocating for long-term care residents during your certification training. As a certified ombudsman, you will also have the support of your local district office at any time.

Ms. Stania Rodriquez is the regional manager for Palm Beach Council Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

To ask for an ombudsman’s assistance, learn more about the program, or to become a volunteer ombudsman, toll-free at 1-888-831-0404.

I must confess, I never cared much for brisket, the fatty part of the cow that for centuries Jewish home cooks have embraced for holiday dinners and celebrations.

Still, I knew – well before I became a widow – that in order to win the heart of a potential mate, significant other or lover, I would need to be a brisket-making maven. But, I wondered, where did this written-in-stone tradition come from? Especially since (these days) we are well aware that eating too much artery-clogging cholesterol should be off limits for any potential partner beyond a certain age.

According to legend, the tradition comes from the Eastern European “shtetls.” When a widow learned that a man in her town had lost his wife, she’d swiftly go to her stove to cook up a pot of care and concern. You could compare this activity to a fisherman who tosses his rod into the waters with the hope that he will reel in a big fluke or tuna.

The difference, however, between the fisherman and the widow who cooks a brisket, is that a fisherman can afford to be patient. But unlike the fisherman-who can sit and wait – speed is of the essence if the widow wants to beat out her competition. Even back during “shtetl” days, the ratio of widowed women to men was way out of balance. And today it’s even worse. In fact, a recent US census, reported that of the 13 million widowed-folk over the age of 65 – 11 million are women.

But why a brisket? Well, back in the olden days, when meat was scarce and expensive, bringing a brisket to the grieving widower meant that, when it came to his well-being, no expense had been spared. The money the widow spent on the meat was kind of like an investment we’d make in today’s world. It’s like the once-safe bet of purchasing a tax-free interest-bearing bond. It’s an even better idea, some would say, to invest in our children’s education with hopes that they will (and will be financially able to) take care of us in our old age.

While I now understand where this brisket-roasting tradition came from, I needed to know why the custom is so often referred to as the “Brisket Brigade.” I think I finally found the answer. One day, as I sunbathed in my backyard, a swarm of ants came crawling to feast on the crumbs I’d dropped on the patio from my oversized Dunkin’ Donuts muffin. They marched swiftly-methodically in lockstep formation – and knew exactly what they were doing. They were organized and determined, much like well-drilled soldiers who were out for the kill. These little guys knew (like the savvy widows of today) that the first in line had the best chance of beating out the others.

But these days, just bringing a widower a cooked brisket might not be enough to defeat the competition. You need an edge. A friend of mine who is a widower, told me recently that along with the directions about how to reheat his meal in a microwave, one widow had added her phone number along with a picture of herself that had (obviously) been taken decades earlier.

Since I don’t like making brisket (never did – never will), I guess I need to find another way to make my mark on a man. I could bake a batch of my marvelous nut-studded Jewish cookies called “mandelbread” (but, for the men who wear dentures, I would leave out the nuts).

If neither my cooking nor baking skills would fit the bill, I guess I will have to depend on my good looks, warmth, charm, wit, charismatic and fun-loving personality – to hopefully – win the heart of a very special man.

1. A leap second was added to the world’s clocks on June 30. The Earth takes 0.002 seconds longer than 24 hours to make a full rotation, so an extra second is added every few years to keep real-world clocks in sync with atomic clocks.

2. A wannabe thief chose the wrong victim when he snatched Serena Williams’ phone from a San Francisco restaurant-only to be chased down by the tennis superstar in the street. “He began to run but I was too fast,” she reported. On her return to the restaurant, she got a standing ovation.

3. Scottish-born Rabbi Mendel Jacobs unveiled the first kosher Jewish tartan registered with Scottish authorities. The plaid, made without linen to avoid rabbinic prohibitions on mixed garments, is made up of colors from the Israeli and Scottish flags.

4. Beginning on Sun., Apr. 10, the price of a first class stamp drops 2 cents, to 47 cents. The reduction is the result of an expiring surcharge that had been put in place in Jan. 2014 to help the Postal Service recoup $4.6 billion in losses dating to the Great Recession.

5. The U.S. now has the 2nd highest number of Spanish speakers in the world. There are nearly 53 million Spanish speakers in this country, putting it ahead of Columbia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and 2nd only to Mexico (121 million).

6. Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers, ended his Gear career on Wed. night, Apr.13, 2016. In his final appearance on the court, he scored 60 points.

7. A Japanese maglev bullet train has broken the all-time speed record for rail vehicles, hitting 366 mph on a test track. By comparison, the fastest train operating in the U.S. is Amtrak’s Acela, which tops out at 150 mph and averages 68 mph on its Washington-to-Boston run.

8. French homeowners, in France’s Toulouse region, thought they’d fix their leaky roof which led to an amazing discovery. A painting, believed to be the work of Italian master Caravaggio, was found in a sealed off part of the attic. If authenticated, the painting worth could be estimated at $136 million.

9. Franchising isn’t cheap. It costs as much as$263,000 to open a Subway franchise, plus a $15,000 franchise fee. Taco Bell, which plans to open 2,000 new franchises by 2023, requires anywhere from $1.2 million to $2.5 million in total investment to get started.

10. Americans spent $70 billion playing lottery games in 43 states. At an average of $300 per adult, that’s more than was spent in all 50 states on sports tickets, books, video games, movie tickets and recorded music combined.

The Play Of the Hand Unblocking
Three ways to get extra tricks are called “Hold-Ups,” “Unblocking,” and “Ducking.” Last month we talked about Hold- Ups. This month we will discuss Unblocking. Next time, we will get into Ducking.

Unblocking is all about being in the right place at the right time. As Declarer you want to be able to take all the tricks you are entitled to without getting stuck in the wrong hand. Let’s take a simple, but familiar, situation to begin with. Disregarding the rest of the hand, lets assume you have the following in clubs:

Dummy
♣ K Q J 3
Your Hand
♣ A 7

You must play the A first and then the 7 or you will be stuck in your hand with no way to get the rest of the Clubs. This type of Unblocking should also used in the following situation:

Dummy
♣ A K J 4
Your Hand
♣ Q 6

In most situations where you have a solid or nearly solid suit divided between you and the Dummy, it is critical to plan the play so that you exhaust the hand with the shorter number of cards before getting to the hand with the longer number of cards in that suit.

Another interesting use of Unblocking is when you have a singleton honor Let’s look at the following hand:

You are playing 3 No Trump. West opens the K of spades. You can duck, but it wont make any difference if you or don’t. If you do, he will simply play the Q next and you will have to take it with your Ace.

You now have to decide if you want to establish the clubs or the diamonds. You have 8 diamonds and only 7 clubs. But, the clubs, if properly planned, can give you 6 tricks. The diamonds at best can only give you 5. Look again at the Diamonds. You must give up one diamond to establish the rest. Because you have 8 there are 5 outstanding all of which are higher than yours, after you take the A and the K. When you give up that diamond, the opponents will take their spades and you will go down. So, we need to establish all the clubs.

Immediately, you must play the J of clubs. Now, how do we get to the rest of the clubs. Well, the A of Hearts looks like a good entry … but look at all those heart tricks you can get of the K is onside. Well, if you’re an optimist, you can finesse the K of hearts by playing the Q and letting it ride. As it happens, East will win the K and start in on the spades and down you go. Or, like me, if you are Unlucky Louie, you take the Ace and play down all the clubs and make your contract. This assures the contract but is not always the winning board.

Another “Unblocking” technique is unblocking by discarding. Let’s look at the following situation. Assume you have no other entries in the Dummy except those in this suit:

You must be careful to start off by playing the 10 and not the 3. You might need it later to get to the Dummy. The 10 is covered by the J and you win with the Ace. East, of course, plays the 7. Now you play the K and the Q falls. You must be careful to discard the 9 or you will stuck in your hand with no way to get back to the Dummy.

Do not be a careless player. Don’t get caught in the wrong hand at the wrong time. Unblock!