August 2016 | Baltimore Beacon

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Helping to save sea creatures

Dependent on volunteers For the past 25 years, the Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program. has been responsible for responding to stranded marine mammals and sea turtles along the nearly 4,360 miles of Maryland coast.

The program couldn’t succeed without a dedicated group of more than 100 first responders and animal husbandry volunteers, according to Animal Rescue Manag-

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL AQUARIUM

By Carol Sorgen When an undernourished baby porpoise was found stranded in North Carolina several years ago, volunteers from the National Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program brought it to the Aquarium’s offsite facility in Fell’s Point.

The porpoise apparently hadn’t been weaned from its mother because it didn’t even know how to eat fish.

“The poor little animal appeared to try to snuggle against the side of our hospital pool as it swam around,” recalled Jerry Beard, 73, a volunteer with Animal Rescue since 2002.

The volunteers named the porpoise “Gus,” and Beard said, “We had to initially force feed him with gruel while we taught Gus to swallow small fish.”

Before they could release the porpoise into his natural environment, they also had to get him accustomed to the presence of other fish and mammals, so the volunteers put on wet suits and swam around with Gus. “We weren’t trying to play with or interact with him, because we didn’t want him to associate humans with friendly or lifesustaining behavior.”

After several months in which they basically taught Gus how to be a porpoise, the Aquarium transferred him to a much colder ocean water facility in New England so he could build up the necessary protective layer of fat to survive in the North Atlantic, where he was to be released.

Later, Beard was able to travel with a crew to Maine, where a Coast Guard ship took Gus a few miles into the ocean and let him go.

Such released animals are often fitted with a tracking device so satellites can follow their movements and confirm their survival.

“Satellite tracking data showed Gus to be still active more than a month later,” said Beard.

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L E I S U R E & T R AV E L

There’s more to Chattanooga than the choo choo; plus, how to avoid summer travel scams page 23

ARTS & STYLE Yvonne Roe gets some help releasing a rehabilitated sea turtle back into the ocean.

Roe is one of about 100 animal rescue volunteers with the National Aquarium who help care for and return sea creatures stranded along Maryland’s coast.

er Jennifer Dittmar. “They’re the ones who help us do our jobs,” she said.

Essex resident Yvonne Roe, for example, began volunteering with Animal Rescue shortly after the program began. A soil conservation technician, Roe, now 52, said that her professional job and her volunteer responsibilities dovetail nicely.

“What I do during the day — keeping soil on land and not running into our waterways — helps keep our marine life healthy,” she said.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Roe and fellow conservationists, sea creatures get sick, injured or stranded.

When that happens, Roe and other volunteers work with the Aquarium veterinarians and other specialists to care for the an-

imals — feeding, cleaning, administering medicine, and getting into the cold-water tanks to encourage the marine mammals to get some exercise.

“What’s not to love about swimming with dolphins?” said Roe, adding that she feels that it’s a privilege to be able to work with creatures that most people will never have the opportunity to see.

As the story of Gus indicates, among the most emotional aspects of the work for the staff and volunteers is the release back into the sea of animals that have been returned to health by the program.

Roe fondly remembers “Cookie,” a gray seal that helped bring her and her father See ANIMAL RESCUE, page 27

Pickleball offers a fun way to fitness for all; plus, a new exhibit documents what has come to be called the Baltimore Uprising of 2015 page 26 TECHNOLOGY k Robots on the job k Helpful links and apps

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FITNESS & HEALTH k Ways to fight mosquito bites k Managing stress as we age

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LAW & MONEY k Best bond funds for today k How to invest in a start-up

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A matter of taste Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when often associated with toxic foods, so peofirst we practice to perceive. ple who possess a keener awareness of poYes, I know. That last word, tential poisons tend also to be if I was truly quoting Sir Walter more keenly attuned to other Scott, should be “deceive.” possible dangers in life.

That was my topic last month Other studies associate dif— how the practice of lying is ferent personality traits with so central to socializing among people who enjoy bitter flavors humans. more than most. These folks But this month, I’m talking are the most likely to admit about perception, which evithey enjoy manipulating, and dently (or should I say, appareven tormenting, other people ently?) weaves no less tanin pursuing their goals. gled a web.

On a more positive note, FROM THE I recently read about several PUBLISHER one might say such people studies of flavor perception that By Stuart P. Rosenthal are also more apt to explore found an interrelationship beopportunities and take risks, tween our personalities and our taste buds. which contributes to human survival in anThey are small studies, certainly not defini- other way. tive. But they seem to be onto something.

Here’s another astounding result from For example, researchers have found that recent perception studies: what we’ve repeople (and rats, for that matter) who are cently tasted appears to affect how (and particularly sensitive to bitter tasting foods how strongly) we react to ordinary events. tend also to be jumpier, less social, and more In 2011, a study found that volunteers prone to anxiety that those who are not. who took a swallow of an extremely bitter There appears to be a genetic element drink judged others more harshly for varito this sensitivity, reflected in the number ous actions than did people who had simof fungiform papillae (what our taste buds ply drunk water. for bitterness sit on) on our tongues.

Similarly, more recent experiments The genetic link helps provide an expla- found that volunteers expressed a more nation for the relationship: bitter tastes are aggressive response to nuisances when

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• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei • Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King • Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Contributing Editor ..........................Carol Sorgen • Art Director ........................................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ............Steve Levin, .................................................................... Paul Whipple • Editorial Assistant ........................Rebekah Sewell

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they had tasted grapefruit juice rather than water prior to being asked.

And just as our taste may affect our feelings, the flip may be true. An experiment last year found that men whose sports team had just won a game judged a lemon sorbet to be sweeter in taste than the men whose team lost.

And yes, researchers have an explanation here, too: our taste buds for sweetness also possess receptors for the primary stress hormones we produce. So when stress hormones flood a person’s body, his taste buds for sweetness tend to be dulled.

In contrast, when the “feel good” hormone serotonin is released, we become more sensitive to sweet taste “and can detect it at concentrations that are even 27 percent lower than before the serotonin release,” according to an article in the Washington Post earlier this year.

These observations raise a number of interesting questions, about both our abilities to perceive and our abilities to feel.

We know there are elements of subjectivity when we perceive objects or situations with our senses. But we generally assume our perception of reality should be consistent over time, and not change with

our moods.

Similarly with our feelings: We tend to assume that the way we feel about others reflects our “true” inner reality — not something as superficial as what we had for dinner or whether our ball team won or lost.

But it appears that situations that “leave a bad taste in our mouths” might well affect not only our perception of foods, but our attitudes toward others and their behavior.

Can a person change his personality by changing his diet? Is it true that “we are what we eat” — in a psychological as well as physical sense?

It might be worth experimenting on ourselves a bit. If we’re in a “sour mood,” maybe it’s a good time for a piece of candy.

If we want to enjoy an evening with our sweetheart, we probably shouldn’t choose grapefruit for a first course.

On the other hand, at least in my home, a good piece of dark chocolate — bitter though it may be — always brings a smile to my wife’s face. I’ll try not to think about that too much...

Letters to the editor Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

Dear Editor: Writing and blogging, schizoaffective disorder, and telling the truth (nothing but the truth): You had me in the first two pages of the July issue of the Beacon, Mr. Rosenthal. (“Nothing but the truth?”, From the Publisher) I am an individual who loves to write, who lives with schizoaffective disorder, and like many other people, who wrestles with truths.

Your editorial is meaty and thought-provoking. I wondered if this was a sub rosa commentary on our presidential election and politically-inflamed world, especially in these few months before the November elections.

For me, being honest and telling the truth start with my connecting with that “still, quiet voice.” I think that lying for me leaves me bereft, as if I have committed a crime.

And yet, I do lie, I do omit, I do not always say the (complete) truth.

I remember once learning that there can be a big gap between Reality and Truth. But, for me, what is most important to identify and hold to are “My Truths.”

I have lived with mental illness for much longer than fifty years. At the beginning of my journey of healing, I was so alienated from my Self, I wanted only to Not Be. So, I have made it essential to find my truths and live my truths.

Leslie Robin Kassal Via email

Dear Editor: I found the review of Walking Well Again in the July issue of particular interest because of my experience. I had suffered from nerve damage for which a physician prescribed a strong opioid.

I saw Dr. Goldman for a different problem, and while there we discussed my situation. He suggested, after an extensive interview, that I might try an orthotic. He fitted me with one, and now I no longer need the opioid.

David L. Fisher Via email Dear Editor: In the June issue I read the letters from readers commenting on your editorial “Political musings” in the April issue. While The Federalist Papers are useful in developing an understanding of original intent, Madison’s transcript of the debates at the Federal Convention is even more so.

The Federalist Papers were designed to sell the new system. The debates were aimed at figuring out what the new system’s structure should be, which is not the same, since many options were debated.

You will see when reading the debates that the founders did not want gridlock to characterize the operations of the new system. They placed great emphasis on the need for compromise in order for the new See LETTERS TO EDITOR, page 29

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Technology &

Innovations Surprising places you can find robots

On uneven terrain Two-legged machines that look like humans aren’t new, but most versions are slow, clunky and quick to fall over. The upgraded ATLAS robot, built by Alphabetowned Boston Dynamics, blows the others out of the water. It’s smaller, sturdier and more nimble than any humanoid robot thrown into real-world settings.

The 5’9”, 180-pound robot is packed with sensors to maintain balance and avoid obstacles. It can walk over uneven terrain in a snow-covered forest, and takes a hard push without tipping over. The robot can also pick up packages and place them on shelves, open doors, and even get up after a fall.

While ATLAS isn’t ready to replace humans just yet, it does show promise for tackling all sorts of human tasks, from stocking shelves to cleaning houses. Sure, huge challenges remain, including designing dexterous robotic hands and improving autonomous decision-making. Early uses will include emergency tasks, such as search and rescue missions in dangerous territory.

Note: Amazon’s Kiva robots already move objects around in huge warehouses, and Fetch Robotics designs small robots that can work alongside workers and help stock shelves.

In your hair Panasonic is developing a robot that can rinse, shampoo and blow-dry your locks

while massaging your scalp with its 24 automated “fingers.” It’s not designed to handle razors or scissors, so barbers and hairstylists can rest easy about their job prospects...for now.

With its aging population and shrinking workforce, Japan will probably be the quickest to embrace this new technology, with the U.S. following along slowly.

Panasonic has tested prototypes in Japan but hasn’t yet unveiled any for commercial use.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN

By John Miley and Matthew Housiaux Robots working in factories, on the battlefield, in hostage situations and in many other places are commonplace today.

But it may surprise you to learn about the rapid development of humanoid robots and other intelligent machines that will soon pop up in places you might not expect — from the hair salon and corner bar, to the dairy farms that produce your milk.

Such robots may not quite rise to the level of “synths,” the fictional human-looking robotic servants starring in the summer science-fiction series “Humans,” but they’re amazingly handy and may eventually be as ubiquitous in our lives as smartphones.

Check out these nine robotic assistants (most fresh on the market, some still in development) designed to make our lives easier and make businesses more efficient in a number of surprising ways.

On the farm Got milk? These robots do. Robo-machines weighing more than 2,000 pounds are equipped to corral cows. A stainless steel arm equipped with cameras and lasers accurately locates teats to automate the milking process.

It pumps out about 800 gallons of milk per day, while also performing chemical analysis on the milk to keep tabs on each cow’s health.

The robo-milkers are so cow-friendly that animals nuzzle up to them voluntarily. Dairy farmers can monitor the machines remotely via a smartphone app, and can even get texts for each cow’s insemination date, especially useful when dealing with big dairy herds.

Each machine, from manufacturer DeLaval, costs about $200,000.

But does it know your name?

Whether you take your martinis shaken or stirred, this robot bartender will serve up a satisfying drink. Robo-bartenders made their big debut during the maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean’s state-of-the-art cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, last year.

Programmed to mimic the graceful moves of Italian dancers, the robot’s two automated arms can handle 176 bottles of spirits (all of which are mounted to the ceiling, with special valves for precision dispensing) and serve up to 120 drinks per hour. Patrons order drinks from an app on their phones and wait for the robo-bartender to work its magic.

One might even make an appearance at the next party you attend. Makr Shakr is rolling out a mobile version that can be delivered to any location upon request.

There is a downside, though: Robo-bartenders don’t empathize with your problems quite as well as their human counterparts.

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Harmony of the Seas has a "bionic" bar in which robots pour the drinks.

At the mall

At the grill

Developed by Toshiba, this android — with lifelike skin and hair along with humanlike gestures — created quite a stir when “she” began working at a Japanese department store earlier this year, smiling at customers and greeting them with a prerecorded message.

Though she can sing, too, she doesn’t answer questions. Robots like this will become more common in Japan as its population ages, and more and more jobs go unfilled by humans.

99 billion hamburgers served? Soon, some of those will be made by robots. Momentum Machines has designed a new robot that flips patties, slice and dices veggies, and assembles everything on a toasted bun, producing a complete burger every 10 seconds, or 360 per hour. Momentum Machines hoped to have five machines installed in burger joints by this year and 1,500 by 2017.

They have not reached their goal yet, but the push for a higher minimum wage in the fast-food industry may spur quicker adoption.

At your hotel room door Step aside, Jeeves and Hobson. SaviOne, an autonomous robot for the hospitality industry, is already at the service of guests in a few of Silicon Valley’s ritzier hotels.

How does it work? Hotel staffers simply load SaviOne with items requested by guests. Then, guided by Wi-Fi, the robot can go up and down elevators and glide through hallways to make deliveries.

Forget your toothbrush? SaviOne will be there with a new one, posthaste, and send you a text message when it’s at your door. (A cousin performs similar tasks in hospitals.)

At the moment, SaviOne is not cost-effective enough to displace many hotel workers, but manufacturer Savioke hopes hotels that are short-staffed will make the investment.

In med school Before med students go to work on humans, they can practice on robot stand-ins who won’t complain so much about botched procedures — at least not yet.

The latest evolution of medical mannequins, these humanlike robots (cousins of crash test dummies?) can mimic human patients by sweating, bleeding, convulsing and more with the help of internal batteries, pneumatic power and wireless sensors.

They’re so lifelike that their pupils dilate in response to light. The robots can even recognize and respond to injected drugs.

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Registration is now open for Fall courses given by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. If you love to learn, join the vibrant Baltimore community of students age 50 and older for 24 weeks of noncredit classes each year. No tests or grades! Subjects include history, film, literature, philosophy, art, science, music, theater and politics. Classes start on Sept. 12. Classes are held at Grace United Methodist Church, 5407 N. Charles St. Call (410) 516-9719 for an information packet, or visit http://bit.ly/osherbaltimore.

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Need someone to talk to when the rest of the fam is too engaged with their smartphones? Jibo may be the friend you need.

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Robots are programmed to test doctors-intraining, and a teacher can remotely take control of the robot’s voice to make situations more real.

A fully equipped SimMan 3G from Norway-based manufacturer Laerdal runs about $70,000.

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based on your mood.

It’s also capable of telling stories, complete with graphics and sound effects, and taking photos of special events with its seeand-track camera, which can automatically sense when someone is posing for a picture.

It’ll also help to keep you organized with timely reminders of appointments. Jibo’s developers hope that it will function as a sort of humanoid tablet, keeping track of your information at the same time that it keeps you company.

Jibo costs $749 but is temporarily sold out.

All contents © 2016 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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There’s a section for older adults, including a quiz to test your knowledge about staying healthy as you get older. http://healthfinder.gov

Beacon Links & Apps

By Barbara Ruben

The scenic route

Links

The best route isn’t always the quickest one — something mapping apps don’t understand. Try the website My Scenic Drives to see more than highway exit signs and toll plazas.

Enter the city or ZIP code to see what’s nearby, or just search by state for gems such as California’s Big Sur coast and Kansas’ Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway. www.myscenicdrives.com

Health help With a tag line of “Live well. Learn how,” the federal government’s Healthfinder.gov website helps you find information and tools to stay healthy.

Healthfinder.gov has resources on a wide range of health topics selected from approximately 1,400 government and non-profit organizations. From a tab for “Health topics from A to Z” to articles about health news updated daily, the site includes comprehensive information about dozens of conditions.

For bibliophiles Want to keep track of the books you’ve read or the ones on your overstuffed book shelves? LibraryThing is an online service

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

to help people catalog their books easily.

You can access your catalog from anywhere, and LibraryThing also connects people who have the same books and comes up with suggestions for what to read next.

Users can catalog movies and music as well, and lend and track their books. Twohundred items can be entered into LibraryThing free of charge. For unlimited entries, the cost is $10 a year or $25 for a lifetime membership. www.librarything.com

Apps Facebook photos in words Facebook is training its computers to become seeing-eye guides for blind and visually impaired people as they scroll through the pictures posted on the world’s

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largest online social network.

The new feature on Facebook’s iPhone and iPad apps interprets what’s in a picture using a form of artificial intelligence that recognizes faces and objects. VoiceOver, a screen reader built into the software powering the iPhone and iPad, must be turned on for Facebook’s photo descriptions to be read aloud.

Until now, people relying on screen readers on Facebook would only hear that a person had shared a photo without any elaboration.

The photo descriptions initially are confined to a vocabulary of 100 words. For instance, the automated voice may only tell a user that a photo features three people smiling outdoors without adding that the trio also has drinks in their hands. Or it may say the photo is of pizza without adding that there’s pepperoni and olives on top of it.

The vocabulary of Facebook’s photorecognition program includes “car,” “sky,” “dessert,” “baby,” “shoes,” and, of course, “selfie.”

Facebook also plans to turn on the technology for its Android app and make it available through Web browsers visiting its site.

Get the lowest price Pricerazzi helps consumers search for better prices on purchases they have already made. That’s useful because many stores offer to match competitor prices if their customers find a cheaper price.

With Pricerazzi, users scan their receipts into an app. The software then searches to see if there are better prices and sends the user all the forms and directions on how to get a better deal. Pricerazzi takes a 15 percent cut of the price savings.

Pricerazzi, free to download for Ios and Android.

Where history was made As you travel, History Here, produced by the History Channel, will alert you about nearby places where interesting events happened.

It can be serious, such as the Rodney King trial in Simi Valley, Calif., which led to rioting in Los Angeles after the acquittal of four white police officers charged with beating a black motorist. For something lighter, how about the New York apartment where baseball legend Mickey Mantle lived?

The free app sends location-based notifications to iPhones and Apple Watch.

There’s an app for Android, but you must open it to see what’s nearby.

— Additional information from the Associated Press

To subscribe, see page 30.

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LESS STRESS Coping with stress gets more difficult as we age. Some tips for staying calm ALZHEIMER’S HALLMARKS Brain scans are for the first time finding markers of cognitive decline PREVENTING DIABETES Keep prediabetes from progressing by changing your diet and exercising MORE STATIN RXs? Statins can help prevent heart problems even in patients with few risks

Ways to protect against mosquito bites If you’re trying to avoid mosquito bites, there are four simple ways to do it: Cover up, use insect repellent, stay indoors, and eliminate places where the bug can breed.

A mosquito’s first choice for biting is bare, unprotected skin. So be sure to wear a hat, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants when you go outside.

You can go one step further and treat your clothing with permethrin, a synthetic insect repellent, or purchase clothes already treated with the chemical. Permethrin spray is available from many retailers that cater to camping or outdoor sports enthusiasts.

Clothing treated with permethrin remains protective after a number of launderings, but be sure to check the product information to learn how long the protection will last.

If treating items yourself, follow the product instructions carefully. Do not apply permethrin products directly to your skin; the product is made to treat clothing.

Choosing and using insect repellent When used as directed, insect repellent

is the best way to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Even children and pregnant women should protect themselves with insect repellent, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) said.

When you’re choosing insect repellent to apply to your skin, look for the active ingredients DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) or picaridin (KBR 3023). DEET and picaridin provide the best protection against biting mosquitoes, but DEET is the most common ingredient found in repellents.

Dermatologist Dr. Melissa Piliang recommends DEET. “Higher concentrations of DEET give you longer-lasting protection if you’re staying out several hours,” she said.

Products with DEET typically offer different formulas that contain 5 percent to 100 percent of the chemical, giving you about 90 minutes to 10 hours of protection.

Be sure to follow the directions on the package.

Mosquitoes are most active from dusk till dawn, so Piliang stresses that it’s most important to apply repellent every time

you go out during those hours.

In many parts of the country, mosquitoes also bite during the day, so apply it whenever you go outdoors for an extended period. If you sweat or get wet, you may need to re-apply.

Apply insect repellent only to exposed skin, and concentrate on your ankles, feet, neck, ears, arms and legs, Piliang said. Do not spray repellent on the skin that’s covered by clothing.

Heavy application isn’t necessary. And don’t spray or pump repellent directly onto your face — spray your hands, then spread the repellent carefully on your face, avoiding your eyes and mouth.

If you also are using sunscreen, apply the sunscreen before applying insect repellent. Wash off the insect repellent once you’re inside for the day, Piliang added.

Easy way to avoid mosquitoes: Stay inside with the air conditioning on, or in a place with window and door insect screens that can keep mosquitoes outside.

If you’re staying in a place without screens or air conditioning, or if you’re

sleeping outdoors, sleep under a mosquito bed net. Mosquito bed nets are a good idea for travelers, the CDC said.

Keep mosquitoes away Want to hinder mosquitoes from breeding in your backyard? Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water, so drain any standing water on your property, the CDC advises.

Also, any kind of container can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Empty bird baths, garbage cans, buckets, flowerpots, play equipment and anything else that collects water.

Mosquitoes like garbage cans, too.

Spray your garbage cans regularly with insecticide and keep the lids on.

A Wellness Update is a magazine devoted to up-to-the minute information on health issues from physicians, major hospitals and clinics, universities and healthcare agencies across the U.S. Online at www.awellnessupdate.com. © 2016 www.awellnessupdate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Putting added nitrates into perspective

By Densie Webb, R.D. Nitrates in processed meats such as bacon, ham, deli meats, sausages and beef jerky have been scrutinized and vilified since the 1970s.

Nitrates (in the form of sodium nitrate) are added to most processed meats to “cure” or preserve them, giving them their characteristic color and taste, while preventing contamination, particularly with the sometimes deadly Botulinum and Listeria bacteria.

Yet the Environmental Working Group includes nitrates on its “Dirty Dozen” list of dangerous food additives. And the World Health Organization reports that consumption of processed meats, a source of nitrates, is strongly linked to cancer.

Thus, the concern over nitrates has led to more meats labeled “no nitrates added.”

Should you go nitrate-free?

Nitrate facts Before reaching for that “no nitrate” product, here are a few things you should know first:

• You can’t completely avoid nitrates, since 80 percent of the nitrates in our diet come from vegetables — such as celery, greens, beets, parsley, leeks, cabbage, fennel and drinking water. Only about 6 percent come from cured meats.

• Vegetarian diets, which have been shown to be healthy, contain about four times more nitrates than a conventional diet.

• Nitrates themselves are not the problem; there is cause for concern only when they are converted by the body to nitrosamines. Nitrosamines have been identified as cancer-causing compounds.

• Meats, such as organic lunch meats, labeled “no nitrates added” are not actually nitrate-free. Instead of adding sodium nitrate, celery powder (naturally rich in nitrates) is typically used. However, even naturally occurring nitrates can be converted in the body to nitrosamines.

• Antioxidants, such as vitamin C, found in fruits and vegetables, help reduce the conversion of nitrates to nitrosamines.

Some processed meats have vitamin C

added (labeled “ascorbic acid”).

• While some previous studies have linked nitrates to certain forms of cancer, several recent studies, including one published in January 2016 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, have found that dietary nitrates may be beneficial by helping to lower blood pressure and prevent damage to arteries.

The bottom line Without nitrates, bacon and ham would be an unappetizing gray color and lack that unique “cured” flavor. Choosing processed

meat labeled “no added nitrates” doesn’t mean you’re avoiding nitrates; it simply means nitrate-rich celery powder has been substituted for sodium nitrate.

Keep in mind that most processed meats are high in saturated fat and sodium, which everyone should limit, whether or not you choose no-nitrates-added meat.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com. © 2016 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

JOHNS HOPKINS ONLINE SEMINARS

Johns Hopkins Medicine offers free online seminars throughout the year featuring experts who present the latest information on a variety of health topics. Each online seminar is live and consists of a 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute interactive question-and-answer session with the physician. Enjoy the presentations anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your own home, at no cost. The next seminar will focus on running injuries and takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 30 from 7 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthseminars/upcoming.

8

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Health Shorts Group walkers are healthier If you’re looking for a way to increase your physical activity, you might want to consider joining a walking group.

In a survey published early this year in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, investigators looked at data from studies involving close to 2,000 participants in group walking activities.

They found that walking in a group effectively increased physical activity for participants. They also found that people who walked in a group were more likely to stick with the activity over the long term. In ad-

dition, group walking lowered blood pressure, body fat, body mass index and total cholesterol.

Any type of walking done regularly is likely to achieve similar results, but group walking appears to lower these factors by a greater degree. Group walking also reduces the odds of depression and enhances physical functioning.

All of these benefits occurred despite the fact that most of the walking groups’ activity levels fell short of moderate activity guidelines.

To find a walking group, you might check with your doctor or local recreational or community center. Many walking groups can be found online.

Try searching for the term “walking group” paired with your city or ZIP code.

Or visit www.walkers.meetup.com. If you don’t have a computer, your local librarian

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

may be able to help.

— Mayo Clinic Health Letter

Making radiation more effective against tumors Researchers at the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a key immune response that causes radiation treatment (radiotherapy) against skin cancer tumors to fail. In the journal Nature Immunology, they offer a novel solution to promote successful radiotherapy for the millions of cancer patients who are treated with it.

The team found that when radiotherapy damages skin that harbors tumors, special skin immune cells called Langerhans cells, which are normally dormant, are activated. These Langerhans cells can uniquely repair the damage in their own DNA

caused by radiotherapy.

Then Langerhans cells travel to nearby lymph nodes to communicate with other immune cells, and help program a population of “regulatory” T cells. These cells then travel back to the damaged tumor, and shield it from attack by the immune system.

Investigators mimicked the effect of immunotherapy drugs that blocked the ability of Langerhans cells to repair their own DNA after radiotherapy, causing them to die, and thus preventing the immune response that protects skin tumors.

“Our study suggests that this combination approach — combining radiotherapy with drugs that rev up a healthy immune response — will help make radiation therapy much more effective,” said the study’s lead author, immunologist Jeremy Price, Ph.D. While this study was conducted using mouse models of melanoma and focused on the skin where these Langerhans cells are located, the researchers believe the See HEALTH SHORTS, page 9

BEACON BITS

July 27

SIGNS OF A STROKE

Join rehab therapist Stacey Wachter from Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital for an interactive and educational session on stroke awareness. The program takes place at Ateaze Senior Center, 7401 Holabird Ave., Dundalk, on Tuesday July 27 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. You will learn about techniques to reduce your chances of having a stroke and how to incorporate chair exercises as a prevention method. Free stroke prevention kits will be given to all participants. Sign up in the program binder at the front desk of the center. Call (410) 887-7233 for more information.

July 21

B’MORE HEALTHY SENIOR NUTRITION EXPO

The Baltimore City Health Department Division of Aging and CARE Services will hold the B’More Healthy Senior Nutrition Expo on Thursday, July 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Waxter Senior Center, 1000 Cathedral St. Activities will include: nutrition and health screenings; community resources; nutritional services and information; raffles and giveaways; on-site meal demonstration; and exercise wellness. A free Butterball gift certificate will be given to the first 200 participants. Call (410) 396-1324 for more information.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

Health shorts From page 8 same process happens in organs throughout the body.

— WhatDoctorsKnow

Knee MRIs can predict arthritis ahead People who are at higher risk to develop knee osteoarthritis (OA) from being overweight or having injured their knee in the past may have normal X-rays, but worsening lesions or damage appearing on their MRIs predicts a significantly higher risk of soon developing knee osteoarthritis or painful symptoms, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

Depending on the type of lesion, their risk of developing knee OA within three years as diagnosed by X-ray is three to 20 times greater.

“These worsening lesions are an early warning sign and an opportunity to intervene before a person develops the debilitating disease,” said lead investigator Dr. Leena Sharma. “If we employ aggressive prevention strategies in persons with these lesions before they develop knee osteoarthritis, we may be able to delay disease development or alter its course.”

Sharma is a professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine rheumatologist.

Prevention strategies include paying attention to weight and carefully reviewing physical activity to avoid potentially damaging activity and injury, said Sharma.

This is the first study to examine and determine the impact of knee lesions in persons at higher risk for knee OA with normal X-rays. Previously, it wasn’t known

whether the lesions predicted the new development of OA or future symptoms such as frequent knee pain.

Many scientists had thought these lesions were insignificant and simply the result of aging, though in the last few years, the lesions have sparked more suspicion.

The study was published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Among Americans 55 years and older, 40 percent have frequent knee pain or knee osteoarthritis. In older adults, knee OA is responsible for as much chronic disability as cardiovascular disease. Current treatments may help symptoms, but do not delay progression of the disease.

— WhatDoctorsKnow

medicines to ease heart failure symptoms.

Concerns were raised when results after nearly five years of research showed about equal number of deaths in bypass patients and in those who got only medicine, despite fewer heart-related deaths in the bypass group. Those findings were published in 2011.

The 10-year results were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago.

The study involved 1,200 heart failure patients in 22 countries, including the United States. Most were men around age 60

when the study began. All were taking heart medicines, and about half were assigned to also get bypass surgery.

More than half the patients in each group lived beyond the study’s first phase.

The 10-year results are a look back at all patients studied.

A total of 359 bypass patients died from any cause, or about 59 percent, compared with 398 medicine-only patients who died, or 66 percent.

Deaths from heart disease-related causes totaled 247 in the bypass group, or 41 percent, versus 297 medicine-only patients, or 49 percent.

— AP

Bypass boosts survival in heart failure patients Heart failure patients with clogged arteries have a better chance of surviving 10 years if they get bypass surgery plus medicine rather than just drugs alone, according to an international study.

Earlier results from the same research raised questions about the benefits of bypass versus medicine alone, but researchers say the long-term evidence clearly favors the surgery.

The lead author of the study, Duke University cardiologist Dr. Eric Velazquez, said the results “are so definitive and so robust” that they would likely lead to stronger recommendations favoring bypass surgery for these patients.

Nearly 6 million Americans and 23 million people worldwide have heart failure, and many of them also have artery disease similar to those studied. In recent years, bypass surgery has increasingly been recommended for such patients, along with

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AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

How to manage stress as you get older We all experience a little stress from time to time. It’s not so hard to handle when we’re young. But as we age, coping with stress isn’t as easy anymore.

“We tend to have less resilience to stress [as we age], and older adults often find that stress affects them differently now,” said Dr. Michelle Dossett, an internal and integrative medicine specialist at the BensonHenry Institute for Mind Body Medicine.

What’s different about coping with stress when we’re older? “Our cells are aging. Heart fitness and lung capacity decline, especially if you’re sedentary,” said Dossett. That keeps us from adequately accommodating the body’s natural stress response.

If you have a chronic disease, which is

already a burden on the body, it’s even harder to bounce back physically from the toll the stress response takes.

You may also feel a difference mentally.

“Normally when we’re stressed, our brains get flooded with stress hormones, the midbrain takes over, and the front of the brain — which controls concentration, attention and decision-making — works less well,” Dossett said. “Stress hormones in the brain can also contribute to short-term memory problems that are unrelated to dementia or age-related memory loss.

Good sleep is important “Restorative sleep helps to flush stress hormones from the brain. However, many older adults have sleep problems. Stress

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may make it more difficult to fall back asleep, and the inability to clear these stress hormones from the brain during sleep means that the cognitive effects of stress can worsen over time,” Dossett added.

When you were younger, your stressors may have been a busy day at the office or a crying child.

“Stressors that tend to affect seniors are the loss of a loved one; too much unstructured time on your hands; a change in relationships with children; or a loss of physical abilities, such as vision, hearing, balance or mobility,” said Dossett.

Symptoms of stress may include tension headaches, indigestion, heart palpitations, poor concentration, sleep difficulties, anxiety, irritability, crying or overeating. If any of these symptoms are interfering with your quality of life, Dossett suggests that you seek help.

Stress management If you’re feeling stressed, Dossett recommends talking about your concerns with loved ones, and getting a physical check-up. “Stress may be having a physical impact on you that you’re unaware of,” said Dossett.

Treatment may include addressing an underlying condition, such as high blood pressure. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise are also important, as is nurturing yourself by pursuing activities that bring you joy, and making time to socialize.

A big part of stress management focuses on triggering the opposite of the stress response: that is, the relaxation response, which helps lower blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen consumption, and stress hormones. Techniques to elicit the response include yoga, tai chi, meditation, guid-

ed imagery, and deep breathing exercises.

“One breathing exercise is to inhale slowly, mentally counting 1-2-3-4, and then exhale slowly, silently counting 4-3-2-1,” said Dossett.

Another treatment for stress is cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps you identify negative thinking and replace it with healthy or positive thoughts.

“These are great skills, but they often don’t work right away. So you may need medications, such as antidepressants, as a bridge,” said Dossett.

Limit stress if possible When the brain senses danger or a need to fight, it sounds the alarm for action: it tells the muscles to tighten and signals the adrenal glands to release stress hormones — such as adrenaline and cortisol. Those hormones make you breathe faster, getting more oxygen to your muscles, and they trigger the release of sugar and fat into the blood, giving your cells more energy. To accommodate these needs, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure goes up.

These physical changes are all part of the stress response, which is helpful if you need to jump out of the way of danger.

Once the brain senses safety, body function returns to normal.

This routine isn’t harmful if it occurs once in a while. But if you put your body through those paces frequently, or even constantly, you may suffer a cascade of dangerous and sometimes lasting effects such as high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, insomnia, heartburn, indigestion, and an increased risk for heart disease. © 2016. President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

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11

Scans find marker of Alzheimer’s decline

By Lauran Neergaard Scientists are peeking inside living brains to watch for the first time as a toxic duo of plaques and tangles interact to drive Alzheimer’s disease — and those tangles may predict early symptoms, a finding with implications for better treatments.

It’s not clear exactly what causes Alzheimer’s. Its best-known hallmark is the sticky amyloid that builds into plaques coating patients’ brains, but people can harbor a lot of that gunk before losing memories.

Now new PET scans show that those plaques’ co-conspirator — the tangle-causing protein tau — is a better marker of patients’ cognitive decline and the beginning of symptoms than amyloid alone. That’s especially true when tau spreads to a particular brain region important for memory, researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“It’s a location, location, location kind of business,” said Dr. Beau Ances of Washington University in St. Louis, who led the work. The plaque “starts setting up the situation, and tau is almost the executioner.”

May aid drug development The new study is very small, and more research is required to confirm the findings. But it highlights the importance of developing drugs that could target both amyloid and tau buildup, something researchers hope one day could help healthy but at-risk people stave off the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

“This is exactly the type of information we’re going to need” for better treatments, said Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer Maria Carrillo, who wasn’t involved in the new study. “It’s cool to see the utility of this new imaging technology actually being deployed and used.”

About 5 million people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s, a number expected to more than double by 2050 as the population ages. Today’s medications only temporarily ease symptoms, and finding new ones is complicated by the fact that Alzheimer’s quietly ravages the brain a decade or two before symptoms appear.

Doctors have long known that many older adults harbor amyloid plaques that increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s but don’t guarantee they’ll get it. The latest theory: Amyloid sparks a smoldering risk while tau pushes patients over the edge.

PET scans reveal tau Only recently have scientists developed a way to perform PET scans to see tau deposits like they can see amyloid buildup, so that they can test that theory. Currently, the expensive scans are used only for research — doctors don’t know enough yet

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to use them for routine patient care.

Ances’ team analyzed both amyloid and tau PET scans from 10 patients with mild Alzheimer’s and 36 apparently healthy older adults. They compared patterns of amyloid and tau deposits with a battery of standard memory tests.

Sure enough, the Alzheimer’s patients had a lot of amyloid in their brains, as did some healthy people who scored fine on the memory testing. Some cognitively normal people also had bits of tau deposits.

But tau tangles that clustered in the temporal lobe, a region linked to memory, most closely matched cognitive impairment on those memory tests, the researchers reported.

The findings suggest that while amyloid is an early sign of Alzheimer’s risk, and people can tolerate some tau tangles, the toxic tau spreading to the wrong spot is the “in-

teraction to tip the person over,” Ances said.

He plans to study larger groups of people to better understand that decline into full-blown Alzheimer’s.

A number of drugs that target amyloid build-up have failed in recent years. Many

researchers think the treatment wasn’t started early enough, before patients showed symptoms.

A handful of anti-tau drugs also are being developed.

— AP

12

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AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Pay Medicare premiums tax-free with HSA

By Kimberly Lankford Q: We have a sizable health savings account in my wife’s name. She will turn 65 and go on Medicare in August. I am 71, and my monthly Medicare Part B premium is deducted from my Social

Security payment.

Can we use money from her HSA to pay our Part B premiums, even though they’re automatically deducted from my Social Security benefits? Can we also pay our Part D prescription-

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drug premiums from the HSA? A: After your wife turns 65, you can use money from her HSA to pay Medicare premiums for both of you. And even though your premiums are deducted from your Social Security benefits, you can withdraw money from the HSA tax-free to reimburse yourselves for the Part B premiums.

You can also use the HSA money to pay Part D premiums for both of you, as well

as premiums for Medicare Advantage plans (but not Medigap).

Keep in mind that your wife will no longer be able to make new contributions to her HSA after she signs up for Medicare. For more information, see IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts at www.irs.gov/publications/p969. © 2016, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Aug. 4

SELF-HEALING FOR CANCER PATIENTS

Sinai Hospital will host a presentation led by internationally renowned mind-body expert Kevin Chen, Ph.D., MPH, on Thursday, August 4, from noon to 2 p.m. in the Cancer Institute conference room, 2401 W. Belvedere Ave. Chen teaches mind-body integration techniques, stress management, and more to enhance self-healing and overall well-being. You will learn evidence-supported self-healing techniques designed to enhance your recovery and develop a positive, optimistic and confident attitude about your life journey. This event is free and open to the community. Reserve your space by July 28. To RSVP, contact Yolanda Marzouk at (410) 601-0920 or ymarzouk@lifebridgehealth.org.

Aug. 3

NORTHWEST HOSPITAL STROKE WELLNESS CLUB

Meet other stroke survivors at the Northwest Hospital Stroke Wellness Club. Share your challenges and success stories in a supportive environment with opportunities for activities, lectures and fun. The club meets the first Wednesday of every month at the Intermediate Care Conference Room (IMC) at Northwest Hospital, 5401 Old Court Rd., at 10 a.m. There is no fee. Call (410) 601-WELL (9355) to join.

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Unfairly blamed for their parents’ divorce Dear Solutions: cannot get out anymore. His wife stays I am engaged to a man I met shortly home as a caregiver, and keeps asking after his divorce from a longme to come with my husband term marriage. His three to visit. We were all friends grown children rarely agree when we were younger. to see their father since his My husband doesn’t want divorce, and blame me for to visit them anymore betheir parents not getting cause the patient doesn’t inback together. teract, and there’s no conTheir mother, his former versation, so my husband is wife, is alone now. Finally, bored and uncomfortable. at his insistence, they have When I tell the wife that I’ll agreed to come and visit come myself, she keeps inSOLUTIONS him and meet me. sisting that Henry, her husBy Helen Oxenberg, I’m very uncomfortable. band, really wants to see MSW, ACSW Should I try to make sure Lou, my husband. they know that I only met their father Lou doesn’t feel so great himself anyafter his divorce and never even knew more, although he still keeps up his achim while he was married? tivities. However, he refuses to visit.

We are planning a quiet wedding in Should I pressure him to go, and if not, a month. Should I invite them? What what do I say to my friend, the wife?

— Help should I say to them?

— Ada Dear Help: Dear Ada: Say “I’m so happy to meet you!” ExplaYour friend probably needs these visits nations should have been, and are, up to even more than Henry. It’s the stimulation their father. Evidently, no matter how of outside company that they need. “grown up” children of divorce are, there However, it may be hard for Lou to see his is still that urgent wish or fantasy that their friend ill this way, and he may find it threatparents will get back together. ening for his own future as he grows older.

My suggestion is that you stay away See if you can enlist another couple who from any explanations and leave those to Henry likes to go along. This will stimulate their father, who certainly should have told some interaction, which all of you might them that he met you after the divorce. enjoy, including Henry, who probably just At some point you might say, graciously, wants to see people around him. that you’re sorry for the pain their family has So don’t pressure Lou, just suggest that and is experiencing. Their father and you this is a way to make helping an old friend should tell them about the wedding, and say easier. Everyone will feel good doing this — that you hope they will consider attending. your friend, the wife, Henry the husband — And it might be helpful if their father reas- and even Lou. sured them about future financial arrange- Dear Solutions: ments that might affect them. Good luck.

All my life I’ve been afraid of critiDear Solutions: cism. Now I’m old, and there are things We have a friend who is not well and I’d like to try, but I stop myself. Do you

have any advice?

— L. Dear L: Yes. Try not to hurt anyone. But finally, now at last, be who you are, and say what

you feel — because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. © Helen Oxenberg, 2016. To inquire about reprint rights, call (609) 655-3684.

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Health Studies Page

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Studying fall prevention among veterans

By Carol Sorgen Falls and their consequences are a serious medical concern for older adults.

Complications following falls are the leading cause of deaths due to injury among them, and are the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospitalization for trauma.

Even if an individual who falls does not sustain an injury, impaired balance among older adults often results in an overall lessening of physical activity and less ability to function satisfactorily both independently and in social situations.

Older veterans may be at even greater risk for falls due to their high rate of co-existing medical conditions. The VA Medical Center has made research into fall prevention a high priority, but effective programs

only reduce falls by 30 percent.

Now the center, located at 10 N. Greene St., is conducting a study to determine whether a combination of interventions will help reduce falls better among older veterans.

This research may lead to new and effective interventions that could reduce fall risk, injury-related hospitalization and death. It is hoped that it can also be implemented at other VA Centers, as well as throughout the community.

What exercise is best?

Tai chi is currently considered to be one of the most effective fall prevention exercise interventions, and is endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, there are few stud-

ies comparing tai chi with other methods to help prevent falls.

While tai chi may generally improve balance, decrease fall risk, and improve lower body strength, it may not improve gait and mobility, and does little to improve the negotiation of obstacles — which is one of the largest contributors to a fall.

The majority of falls occur during walking, with slips and trips being the most common causes. Investigators believe that targeted interventions that focus on improving stepping and walking ability may be more effective at improving balance and reducing falls.

The VA Medical Center study will compare tai chi to a multimodal balance intervention (MMBI) program that will focus on standing balance, walking, stepping, strength training and recovery from a slip.

Six months of classes Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Those in one group will attend an hour-long class three times a week that will consist of balance work, a supervised obstacle course, and lower extremity and core strengthening.

Over the six months of class, the exercises will gradually increase in difficulty to challenge balance. A skilled instructor will lead each class, and one to two assistants will be present to assist with fall risk prevention.

Participants in the second group will attend an hour-long supervised tai chi class three times a week. All tai chi classes will be taught in a group setting by an experienced instructor.

The emphasis during the class will be on standing movements, body alignment, weight shift and changes of direction.

Movements will be adapted as the class progresses to increase the difficulty of weight shift and change in direction over time so that participants’ balance is continually challenged throughout the six months. Chairs or hand rails will be available for the participants to use as needed for balance recovery.

Who is eligible for the study?

The investigators plan to enroll 56 veterans over the age of 65 who live in the community. They will be randomly divided between the two types of classes. Participants must have had a fall in the last year and be at high risk for another fall.

The investigators will follow all participants for six months after completion of the exercise program to examine differences in fall rates between the groups.

For more information, or to see if you qualify for the study, call Dr. Leslie Katzel at (410) 605-7248 or email Leslie.Katzel@va.gov, or call Jeffrey Beans at (410) 605-7000, ext.

4168, or email jeffrey.beans@va.gov.

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

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15

Statins benefit even lower-risk patients

By Lindsey Tanner The first major research of its kind shows that cholesterol-lowering statins can prevent heart attacks and strokes in a globally diverse group of older people who don’t have heart disease.

The results bolster recommendations in recent guidelines on who should consider taking the drugs.

The aim was to prevent heart problems using a statin alone, blood pressure drugs, or a combination of the two. The three approaches are commonly used in high-risk patients or those with evidence of heart disease.

The patients in the study did not have heart disease and faced lower risks of developing it, and the statin approach worked best.

World-wide study The research involved nearly 13,000 men and women from 21 countries on six continents. Most previous studies on heart disease prevention have been in white, North American patients with higher risks because of high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels or other conditions.

But with heart disease a leading global killer, causing 18 million deaths each year, there is a trend toward recommending preventive drug treatment to more borderline patients.

The benefits of this strategy were “seen in people from every part of the world,” said study co-author Dr. Salim Yusuf, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “This is globally applicable.”

The research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago.

Study sites included Canada, Europe, China, South America and South Africa.

About 20 percent of patients were white.

Patients were at moderate risk because of age — men were 55 and older and women were at least age 60 — and because they had another heart disease risk factor, including obesity, family history or smoking. On average, their cholesterol levels were nearly normal, and blood pressure was slightly lower than the cutoff for high blood pressure, which is 140 over 90.

They were randomly assigned to receive one of the treatments in low doses or dummy pills for almost six years. The drug treatments all reduced cholesterol and blood pressure levels but other results varied.

Large risk reduction Statin-only patients were about 25 percent less likely to have fatal or nonfatal

heart-related problems than those given dummy pills. Those in the combined drug group fared slightly better, and the researchers credit the statin for the benefit.

Blood pressure drugs alone worked no better than dummy pills at preventing these

events, except in the fraction of patients who had high blood pressure. The drug doses used may have been too low to provide much benefit to low-risk patients, although longer See STATINS, page 16

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AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Prevent prediabetes from progressing

By Dr. Howard LeWine Q: I recently had a blood sugar test.

The level was slightly higher than normal. Does this mean I have diabetes?

A: No, it more likely means you have prediabetes. That’s a condition in which the blood sugar is higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes can go on for years — and can even progress to full-blown diabetes — without causing a single symptom.

The most common way to test blood sugar levels is a fasting blood sugar test. It requires a single blood sample that’s collected after you’ve fasted for at least eight

hours.

Normal blood sugar is less than 100 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) after an eight-hour fast. You have diabetes if your blood sugar is 126 mg/dL or higher after a fast. People with a blood sugar reading above 100 but below 126 have prediabetes.

A different blood sugar test called hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) can be done without fasting. It reflects your average blood sugar over the prior two to three months.

A normal HbA1c is 5.6 percent or lower.

A level of 6.5 percent or higher means you have diabetes. And prediabetes is defined

by an HbA1c between 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent.

While having prediabetes definitely increases your risk, it doesn’t mean you’ll definitely get diabetes. Once you know that you have prediabetes, you can take steps to prevent it from developing into full-blown type 2 diabetes. A few simple lifestyle changes can stop you from ever getting a diabetes diagnosis.

Certain foods or eating patterns might be particularly helpful for preventing diabetes. For example, people who eat a Mediterranean style diet have a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. The diet is high in whole grains, whole fruits (not fruit juice), vegetables and fish.

Combine diet with at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. Taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day is a good option — or you

can choose another aerobic activity, such as dancing or playing tennis.

If you’re overweight, trimming down by even a small amount can help you avoid diabetes. Losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight is enough to reduce your risk.

If you weigh 165 pounds, you can make a difference with a loss of just 8 to 12 pounds.

These three changes — diet, exercise and weight loss — can cut your risk of getting type 2 diabetes by more than half.

Howard LeWine, M.D., is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. For additional consumer health information, please visit www.health.harvard.edu. © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Statins

the results add important evidence favoring drug treatment for lower-risk patients, but emphasized that lifestyle approaches including diet and activity should be included. He wasn’t involved in the research.

The study used 10 milligrams daily of rosuvastatin, sold as a generic or under the brand name Crestor. The editorial authors said other statins would likely have similar results.

Crestor’s maker, AstraZeneca, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research paid for the study. Yusuf reported receiving grants from both, and several co-researchers reported grants and personal fees from the company and other drugmakers.

The blood pressure drugs were candesartan, sold as a generic and by AstraZeneca as Atacand; and hydrochlorothiazide, a generic diuretic.

— AP

From page 15 follow-up may be needed, according to a journal editorial published with the research.

Heart problems and deaths were relatively rare in the three study groups. In the combined drug group, less than 4 percent of patients had those outcomes, versus 5 percent of those on dummy pills. Nearly similar results were seen in the statin-only group. Those outcomes occurred in about 4 percent of patients on only blood pressure drugs and in those on dummy pills.

Patients on statins had slightly more muscle pain or weakness — known statin side effects — than those on dummy pills.

Statin patients also had slightly more cataract surgeries, but the researchers said it isn’t known if the drug played a role.

Dr. Clyde Yancy, cardiology chief at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

17

Questions on dry heels and swollen legs Q.: My heels get very dry and cracked, and are sometimes painful. What can I do to help make them better?

A: There are several things you can do to help heal the skin on your heels. Cracked heels usually develop when the skin around the rim of the heel is dry and thickened, and increased pressure applied to the fat pad under the heel causes the skin to split.

To prevent this, moisturize often. Moisturizers provide a seal over your skin to keep water from escaping and your skin from drying out. Try rubbing your heels with a thick moisturizer, such as Eucerin or Cetaphil, several times a day.

Some moisturizers contain keratolytic agents — such as urea, salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid — that help soften and exfoliate the skin, but they may cause slight stinging or irritation.

Foot soaks — in warm, plain or soapy water for about 20 minutes — may be helpful. Follow up with a loofah or foot scrubber, then coat your heels with a petrolatum-based ointment, such as Vaseline or Aquaphor.

You might want to use those petrolatumbased moisturizers just before you go to bed, as they can feel a bit greasy. Slipping on a pair of socks over your moisturized feet may help lock in moisture overnight.

If these measures don’t help, or if your heels become swollen or inflamed, talk to your doctor or a dermatologist. You may need a prescription ointment with stronger moisturizers or a steroid cream to relieve inflammation.

Bandages or a special tissue glue can protect and hold the edges of the cracks together so that they can heal. Wearing supportive shoes and losing excess weight also may help relieve pressure on your feet.

If you have other skin conditions, such as psoriasis or eczema, you’ll want to con-

sult with your doctor as well, as this may affect treatment.

If you have diabetes, it’s especially important to take good care of your feet.

Cracked heels that are left untreated may lead to infection and ulcers.

— Lawrence E. Gibson, M.D., Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care.

E-mail questions to MayoClinicQ&A@mayo. edu. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org. © 2016 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All rights reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Leg swelling often caused by vein problems Q: I recently saw my doctor because my ankles and lower legs swell. She says I have venous insufficiency. What does that mean? Is it serious?

A: Venous insufficiency means that the veins don’t work properly. Most people with the condition develop it in their legs.

The veins are responsible for draining blood and fluid back to the heart. So people with venous insufficiency usually have symptoms caused by the buildup of fluid in their legs. These symptoms can include: • Swollen or painful varicose veins.

• Swelling (edema) of the foot, ankle or calf. This swelling may get worse if you stand for long periods of time. And it usually improves when you lie down or raise the legs. Swelling may also get worse during a woman’s menstrual cycle.

• A sense of heaviness.

• Throbbing, achy or crampy pain.

• Redness and irritation of the skin.

Over time, the skin may get thicker or become darker in color.

• In very severe cases, skin in the lower legs becomes so stretched that skin ulcers form or the skin may actually ooze fluid.

Venous insufficiency is very common.

Women are affected more than men. The condition is more common as people age or become overweight. In many people, it develops after the veins have been damaged by an injury, surgery or a blood clot.

The treatment of venous insufficiency depends on why it has developed, where it develops, and the symptoms it causes: • In mild cases, simply elevating the legs appears to help.

• Support stockings help to reduce swelling and discomfort. You can buy these at a medical supply store. Custom fit stockings are also available with a pre-

scription from your doctor.

• A diuretic (water pill) such as hydrochlorothiazide or furosemide will control some of the fluid buildup.

• Mild steroid creams, such as hydrocortisone cream, can reduce redness and irritation of the skin.

• Skin ulcers often need careful attention. Special bandages help speed the healing process. Antibiotics are prescribed if the ulcers become infected.

— Howard LeWine, M.D. is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

18

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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Money Law &

MEDICARE DRUG CHANGES?

The rising cost of drugs may spur Congressional action on Medicare Part D NETWORK TO FIND A JOB

How to find and make new contacts who can help you land employment BE A CHEAPSKATE

Mutual funds charging the lowest fees nearly always come out on top

Best bond funds given low interest rates

By Steven Goldberg Seven years after the end of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the U.S. economy continues to lead the developed world. Gross domestic product in the U.S. has been rising only about 2 percent annually (compared with a more normal 3 percent), but the economies of most other major nations are at, or just above, stall speed.

Will we ever get back to normal global growth? Probably, given time. But a return to the good old days is still a ways off.

Meantime, efforts by central bankers to light a fire under the global economy have pushed down bond yields to ridiculously low levels. Until growth picks up, those yields should stay artificially low. Citing concerns over sluggish employment growth, the Federal Reserve once again opted to leave rates unchanged at its June meeting.

Little gain, future pain Because interest rates are so low, investing in most kinds of bonds is risky. If yields increase (and there’s a lot more room for rates to rise than there is for them to decline), bond prices will fall, so fixed-income investors must be vigilant.

Take the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond. As of June 14, it yielded a puny 1.61 percent. If consumer prices rise at the historical annual rate of 3 percent, a 10-year Treasury is a guaranteed loser even if the bond’s price remains unchanged. Heck, even at 2 percent inflation, you’ll be in the hole with a 10-year Treasury because the bond’s interest will be less than the rise in consumer prices.

The best argument for owning U.S. Treasuries is that they pay more today than government bonds issued by many other developed countries. Many overseas bonds sport negative yields — a phenome-

non I can’t begin to understand. In effect, you buy a government bond knowing that you will get back less when the IOU matures than what you put in. Makes me want to buy stock in a company that makes safedeposit boxes.

The advent of negative yields has prompted investors to lock up their cash in super-long-term bonds that pay meager yields. Spain — get this — recently issued 50-year bonds with a 3.45 percent coupon.

France also issued 50-year bonds. Belgium and Ireland each sold 100 million euros of 100-year bonds in private deals.

I predict that one day we will look back on long-term bonds with tiny or negative yields, such as the 10-year Treasury, in much the same way we now view the insanely high price-earnings ratios of tech stocks in the late 1990s.

When yields inevitably do head north, those holding bonds will suffer huge loss-

es. Just a one-percentage-point rise in the yield on the 10-year Treasury would cause its price to fall by 9 percent. A two-percentage-point increase would trigger a 17 percent plunge. Depending upon their current yields, a one-percentage point rise in 50-year and 100-year bonds would bring a price collapse of 25 to 45 percent.

The case for owning bonds So, why own bonds at all? Because stashing all your money in stocks can be too risky. Bonds provide ballast for your portfolio, and investment-grade bonds often rise, or at least generate positive total returns, during periods of falling stock prices.

Bonds issued by shaky companies (aptly called junk bonds) currently offer the most attractive yields: 7 percent, on avSee BOND FUNDS, page 19

Not afraid of risk? Invest in a start-up

By Joseph Pisani Last year, Randy Murphy went to DietBet.com and bet $25 that he could drop 4 percent of his weight in four weeks. After shedding about 20 pounds, he won back $50.

Now he’s making an even bigger bet: Murphy invested $1,000 in the company that owns DietBet, New York-based WayBetter Inc. Making the purchase — which was the first time he’s bought a company’s stock — was easy. Murphy clicked a link in an email from WayBetter that invited DietBet users to invest. After a few clicks, he had ordered up 1,000 shares for $1 each.

“I’m not a wealthy guy, but I felt like the risks were worth it,” said Murphy, a program manager and a volunteer medical first responder. “It has the potential to pay off.”

Usually only rich people and venture capitalists invest in start-ups. But now more regular folks are getting the chance.

That’s because of two major changes to a federal law that have made it easier for small businesses to sell shares and raise cash from the public.

In June 2015, rules known as Regulation A were updated in an effort to get more companies to raise money from the public.

And this May, brand new crowdfunding

rules went into effect allowing even smaller companies to raise up to $1 million a year from average Joes and Janes.

Many are hitting up their customers.

Shoppers who go to BeautyKind.us to buy moisturizer or perfume will see a banner on the top of the site: “BeautyKind is going public! Click here to learn how you can be a BeautyKind shareholder!”

Fans of Virtuix, a developer of virtual reality gear for video games, will see a link on the top of its website: “Interested in investing in Virtuix?”

N1ce, which sells frozen mojitos, daiquiris and other cocktails in easy-tocarry tubes, told its 13,000 Instagram followers that it was crowdfunding: “Take your chance to own a part of N1ce and claim a front row seat to our journey as we go global.”

Big risks Investing in start-ups is risky. Most fail.

And many don’t have a proven business model. Some desperately need the money to hire employees, make a product or open a store.

Experts say there are a few ways investors can make money from their investment, such as if the company is bought or

if it goes public. But none of that is guaranteed to happen, and if it does, it could take years before it happens, experts say.

“The bottom line is that Main Street investors should not invest beyond what they are comfortable losing,” said Mike Pieciak, who is the deputy commissioner for Vermont’s securities regulator and serves on a committee that advises the Securities and Exchange Commission about small companies.

To protect inexperienced investors, the SEC publishes financial details and other information about the companies on the SEC website. More importantly, it also limits how much they can invest, depending on which rules the companies use to raise money.

For example, if your annual income or net worth is below $100,000, you can invest a maximum of $2,000 or 5 percent of your income or net worth, whichever is less, in start-ups.

While the crowdfunding rules are brand new, Regulation A has been around for years.

But small companies rarely used Regulation A because the maximum $5 million they could raise in a year didn’t justify the costs of winning regulatory approval, said Gary Emmanuel, a securities attorney in New York. In 2011, for example, only one company re-

ceived approval to sell shares under Regulation A, according to a 2012 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The 2012 law known as the Jobs Act increased the amount companies could raise to as much as $50 million in a 12-month period. Since the law took effect last June, more than 80 companies have applied to the SEC to sell shares, and more than 30 of them have been approved.

And as soon as new crowdfunding rules went into effect last month, more than 25 companies signed up.

Getting in on the ground floor Murphy read about the risks before he invested in WayBetter. His $1,000 investment is small enough that it won’t hurt him much financially, he said. Murphy believes in the company and already knows that DietBet helps people lose weight.

He also liked that WayBetter is expanding its betting model to other products, such as StepBet, which motivates people to walk more. WayBetter, which declined to comment for this story, wants to raise as much as $20 million through Regulation A. “I love the idea of getting in on the ground floor,” said Murphy.

— AP

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

Bond funds From page 18 erage. But high-yield bonds come with substantial risk that the issuer might not be able to pay you back, and often perform poorly when stocks are tanking.

With all that in mind, here are my favorite bond mutual funds and exchangetraded-fund picks for the current market, listed from the most conservative to the riskiest. Note that I’m not including past returns for any of the funds because they would tell you little about how the funds will likely do in the future.

You’ll never grow rich owning Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (symbol VCSH), but you won’t go broke, either. I especially love two numbers about this fund: its annual expense ratio of just 0.10 percent and its average duration of 2.8 years (duration is a measure of interest-rate sensitivity; a duration of 2.8 years suggests that the fund’s price would drop by 2.8 percent if interest rates rose by one-percentage-point). The exchange-traded fund invests in short-term, high-quality corporate and government bonds. It yields just 1.9 percent, but the modest payout is a fair trade-off for the low risk.

For money held in taxable accounts, I favor Vanguard Limited-Term Tax Exempt (VMLTX), which charges 0.20 percent a year and yields a paltry 0.9 percent

(equivalent to a taxable 1.6 percent for an investor in the top, 43.4 percent bracket).

But the average duration is only 2.5 years.

If you can meet the $50,000 minimum, you can qualify for the fund’s Admiral share class (VMLUX), which charges just 0.12 percent and yields 1.0 percent (a taxable-equivalent yield of 1.8 percent for a top-bracket investor).

If you find it beneficial to invest in a single-state muni fund, which delivers interest that is free of federal and state income taxes, make sure it has a relatively modest duration.

Jeffrey Gundlach, co-manager of DoubleLine Total Return Bond N (DLTNX), has been a good prognosticator of the future course of interest rates. Over the past six months, he has trimmed his fund’s average duration from 3.5 years to 2.9 years, suggesting that he thinks rates will rise a bit.

Total Return, which sports a relatively generous 3.2 percent yield, holds a mix of government mortgages and much riskier privately backed mortgages. About 20 percent of its assets earn junk ratings.

As the name suggests, Metropolitan West Unconstrained Bond (MWCRX) has a lot of flexibility. Among other things, the managers can sell bonds short (that is, bet on their prices to fall and yields to rise). At last report, the fund’s average duration was just 1.4 years. Some 85 percent of the fund’s assets are in corporate bonds,

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non-government-backed mortgages and other securitized debt.

All told, about one-fourth of the fund’s assets was in junk-rated securities. The fund yields 2.5 percent. Its four managers have a long and superior track record running Metropolitan West Total Return (MWTRX), a more-traditional, middle-ofthe-road bond fund that is a member of the Kiplinger 25.

Loomis Sayles Bond (LSBRX) fishes

19

in treacherous waters. The fund, which yields 3.9 percent, has about 30 percent of its assets in bonds with junk ratings and another 10 percent in unrated bonds, as well as 8 percent in common stocks. It also invests a sizable chunk in foreign bonds. Says comanager Elaine Stokes: “There’s so little yield in the world that we don’t think it pays to be in bonds with high credit ratings.”

Steve Goldberg is an investment adviser in the Washington, D.C. area.

20

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AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Drug costs may spur Medicare changes

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Calling the rising cost of drugs “unsustainable,” congressional advisers in June recommended major changes to Medicare’s popular outpatient prescription program, now 10 years old.

The proposal from the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, steers clear of calling for the government to negotiate drug prices directly, an option both presidential candidates advocate.

For beneficiaries, the plan is a mixed bag. All seniors would get better protection from extremely high costs, but some may have to spend more.

The recommendations are unlikely to gain traction in Congress during an election year, but they will get a serious look from staff experts on key House and Senate committees overseeing Medicare.

MedPAC is a congressional agency charged with making regular recommen-

dations on Medicare, the government’s premier health insurance program, with about 57 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries. Echoing widespread concerns about drug costs, MedPAC said spending for Medicare’s prescription program grew by nearly 60 percent from 2007 through 2014, from $46 billion to $73 billion.

That was driven by spending on highcost beneficiaries who tend to use the most expensive medications, such as the recent breakthrough cures for hepatitis C infection. Congress should re-examine the program’s design “to better ensure financial sustainability,” the commission said.

Out-of-pocket limit sought The MedPAC proposal would protect all seniors by setting an annual limit on how much they can be required to pay for medications — a new safeguard.

However, it would also raise costs by about $1,000 for some beneficiaries who

land in the widely loathed coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole.” And MedPAC also proposed restructuring modest copayments that low-income beneficiaries may face, in order to encourage greater use of generic and preferred brand name drugs.

Insurance companies, the middlemen who deliver coverage to some 39 million beneficiaries in the prescription program, aren’t likely to be pleased.

The MedPAC plan wouldn’t change the share of total program costs subsidized by the government, which is roughly threefourths. But a change in the payment formula would put insurers more directly on the hook for managing spending on the priciest drugs. That could expose the companies to greater financial risk.

Currently, after a beneficiary reaches what’s called the “catastrophic” threshold of the benefit, taxpayers are responsible for 80 percent of the cost of drugs. The insurer’s share is 15 percent, and the beneficiary pays 5 percent. That threshold is about $7,500 this year, counting spending both by the patient and by the insurer.

Under MedPAC’s proposal, beneficiaries would no longer have to worry about how to keep paying that 5 percent, which can be substantial with some drugs costing $100,000 a year. Instead, the beneficiary’s exposure would be limited to about $4,850.

Insurers, however, could face a potential

downside. MedPAC concluded that the current formula doesn’t give insurers much incentive to drive bargains with pharmaceutical companies, since Medicare picks up 80 percent of the cost of catastrophic coverage.

The plan calls for gradually dialing down the government share to 20 percent.

Drug companies may not like that either, since insurers would demand bigger rebates.

It could also pressure pharmaceutical companies to restrain prices for new drugs.

No negotiation with drugmakers While the complex proposal involves major restructuring, Medicare would not negotiate with drugmakers. In many other economically advanced countries, the government is actively involved in setting prices, leading to lower costs for consumers. The drug industry says if the U.S. takes that road, it could reduce their investment in research and development.

But in this election year, both presidential candidates have called for some form of direct negotiation by Medicare. For Republican Donald Trump, that stance puts him at odds with Republican congressional leaders opposed to the government setting drug prices.

MedPAC said its entire package would save an estimated $2 billion annually, and $10 billion over five years.

— AP

BEACON BITS

July 26

ALL ABOUT ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

Join a discussion on advance directives and the process of obtaining them on Tuesday, July 26 at 12:30 p.m. An advance directive lets you decide who should make health care decisions for you if you cannot do so yourself. You can also specify what kind of treatments you do or do not want.

The program takes place at the Woodlawn Senior Center, 2120 Gwynn Oak Ave., Gwynn Oak. To learn more, call (410) 887-6887.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

21

Want a new job? Network to find contacts Q: I have applied to so many jobs on job lead from an 85-year-old congregant in the Internet, but haven’t heard a thing their church.) from any of them. What Call, visit or e-mail the peoshould I do? ple you know. Ask them to cofWhile I think it’s fine to fee. Ask how they are, and let apply for jobs via the Internet, them know the specifics of you should know that each job your job search (field of interposting draws dozens, perhaps est, level of position you seek, hundreds, of responses. It’s difetc.). See if they know of anyficult to get noticed in a torrent thing or anyone else you of applicants. To find a job might get in touch with. today, building relationships is the more effective way to go.

Make new contacts Networking might sound like CAREER COACH Actually, networking oppora time-consuming way to find a By Judy Smith tunities are everywhere — job. It may be, but keep in mind: Statistics show that approximately 80 percent of jobs today are acquired via networking!

The reason networking is so effective is because organizations seek referrals from their employees before they announce a position publicly. This approach makes for a faster, easier selection process for them, and reduces competition for a job seeker at the same time.

If you want to find people who know about job openings before they’re advertised, you can’t afford not to network.

Reconnect with old contacts There are two parts to networking: Reconnecting with people familiar to you, and forming new relationships.

Begin by creating a list of everyone you know — family, friends, neighbors, second cousins, previous co-workers, and people from your place of worship. Include your dry cleaner, accountant, lawyer and hairdresser.

Everyone knows at least 200 people.

Maybe one of the people you know is aware of a good contact for you. Don’t disqualify anyone. (I read about someone who got their

ple (perhaps offer to join them there), offer to help them set up a record-keeping system related to their job search efforts, etc.

Right after the event, gather all the business cards you collected and send an email message to everyone you met to say hello again, check on how they’re doing, and review the conversation you had and what you offered to do for them.

Better yet, arrange an in-person get-together with one (or more) of them. It’s been said that it takes six to eight interac-

tions before a contact really knows you and the range of your skill set.

Send e-mail updates monthly. Check progress, remind contacts about your offer, and let them know you still value their referrals.

Not everyone is a natural networker, but good networking karma has a way of coming back to you. May your efforts bring good results.

Judy Smith is a registered career coach.

Visit her website at www.judysmith.solutions.

waiting in line, shopping in a store, working out at the gym, eating in a restaurant — just ask somebody something about themselves. People are usually pleased to find a person really interested in knowing more about them.

Attend social and professional events.

There are lots of people to engage in conversation at social gatherings, chamber of commerce meetings, fundraising affairs, organized networking events, neighborhood council meetings, scheduled lectures and on and on.

The goal of networking at such events is not to find a job right away. Networking is about building relationships. And that requires focusing on the other person first.

Of course, when we engage in networking, we want something. But don’t ask a new contact for what you want right away. Instead, focus on what you can give them. Giving is the only way to establish a real connection.

Ask questions to learn what’s important to this person and use the information to determine something you can do to support them. You can suggest (or forward) reading materials they would find beneficial, tell them about other good places to meet peo-

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AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Cheapskate mutual fund investors do better

By Stan Choe Stay cheap.

Research keeps piling up to show that one of the best predictors for the success of a mutual fund is if it has low fees. Whether the fund specializes in stocks, bonds or other investments, having low costs tends to lead to higher future returns.

The latest piece of support comes from Russ Kinnel, director of manager research at Morningstar. He recently looked at returns for several categories of funds through 2015 — from foreign-stock to municipal-bond offerings.

He ranked funds in each category into five groups, based on their expenses. For each type of fund, he found that the lowest-cost group had a higher rate of success than the second-cheapest, which had a higher rate of success than the third-cheapest, and so on.

To see how much your mutual fund charges in fees, check its expense ratio.

The number shows what percentage of its

assets goes each year to pay for manager salaries and other costs.

Many stock funds have an expense ratio of 1 percent, but most of the dollars invested are in funds that charge significantly less than that.

Kinnel recently talked about the importance of keeping that number as low as possible. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: So, when I’m considering a mutual fund, the very first thing I should look at is its expense ratio, right?

A: I’m always careful to point out that it’s not all you need, but it’s a great place to start. It’s such a strong predictor of future success. Our data show that it works in all kinds of funds and in all kinds of markets.

And the longer you hold an investment, the more important it becomes. The compounding effect of getting into lower costs is huge.

In a single year, that 0.30 percentage

point difference between the expenses of Fund A and Fund B is obviously not going to be a huge deal for your returns. But the way compounding works and the way that investing is a very long-term game, it adds up tremendously.

Q: What about people who are comfortable being in a higher-cost fund because it’s done well for them the last few years?

A: I could say they overcame the fee in the past, so who cares? But the reason you should care is that fees are far more persistent than outperformance. Performance, especially in the short term, is a combination of luck and skill and fees and other things.

We’ve tested it, and you can take the top performers and pit them against cheapest funds, and in the next five years, the cheapest funds will crush the top performers from the previous year.

We’ve gone so far as to say that if you put cheap funds with bad performance versus great funds with high costs, the cheap bad performers will win.

Q: It feels strange for something with a lower price tag to be better than the “premium-priced” one.

A: Often, we’re inclined to think that if you pay more for something, you get something better. If I pay more for a car, computer or bottle of wine, I’m generally going to get something better. Not always, but generally.

There are a couple catches with that. One is that when you’re looking at a fund’s ex-

pense ratio, you’re not looking at the dollars that the manager is paid. You’re looking at the percent (of the fund’s assets). Because of economies of scale, it’s often the case that the manager of the lower-cost fund is actually getting paid much more, because they’re running an $8 billion fund for 0.70 percent versus a $500 million fund charging 1.0 percent. The manager of the bigger fund is getting paid more.

So it’s kind of comparable to a Ford or Toyota versus if someone made a car for you by hand. It would cost 10 times more, but would probably be worse.

Also, fees are very persistent. All around, having low fees improves your margin for error. You don’t know what the market’s going to give you. If you know the next 10 years will be the greatest bull market ever, then great, you could probably buy a higher-cost fund. But it’s probably more likely that the next 10 years will have subpar returns, and you’re forking over an even bigger chunk of your return.

Q: Is a takeaway from this that we should just invest in index funds?

They’re often the cheapest funds.

A: That can be a takeaway. But not all index funds are cheap. If you look at ETFs, there’s a lot of high-cost garbage out there.

There are crazy ETFs for crazy niches.

I’d turn it the other way and say: Stay with a low-cost provider, such as Vanguard, American Funds, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, iShares.

— AP

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

MAP OF BALTIMORE COUNTY

Maryland Access Point (MAP) of Baltimore County is part of a nationwide effort to streamline access to support, services and benefits to older adults, persons with disabilities, their families and care providers. Call (410) 887-2594 or email aginginfo@baltimorecountymd.gov.

LOOKING FOR A LOW-COST, LEGAL ALTERNATIVE TO BANKRUPTCY? Are you a Senior, Veteran or Disabled Person Living on Social Security, Disability, Pensions or Veteran’s Benefits?

Federal law protects your income from creditor garnishment. Debt Counsel for Seniors, Veterans and the Disabled (DCSD) can protect you from creditor harassment. If you can’t pay your credit card or medical bills or your student loans or payday loans, you can stop paying them without filing for bankruptcy.

We are celebrating 15 years of helping seniors with their debt without filing for bankruptcy and protecting them from letters and calls from collection agents. You too can live worry-free, as thousands of our clients do.

Call Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled For a Free Consultation at 1-800-992-3275 EXT. 1304 Founded in 1998 Jerome S. Lamet Founder & Supervising Attorney • Former Bankruptcy Trustee www.debtcounsel.net info@lawyers-united.com

Ongoing

LEGAL AID FOR SENIORS

Maryland Legal Aid provides a full range of civil legal services to financially qualified Marylanders and people over 60 from 13 offices around the state. For more information, visit www.mdlab.org.

July 29+

KUNG FU INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

The United States Kuo Shu Federation will host the annual International Kuo Shu (Kung Fu) Championship tournament at the Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Rd., from July 29 to 31. This marks the 28th year of this event in Maryland, regarded as one of the premier Chinese martial arts tournaments in the world. The event features competition for youth and adults.

Opening ceremonies will take place on Saturday morning with the traditional Lion Dance kicking off a full day of forms, weapons and sparring competition. To learn more, visit www.usksf.org or call (443) 394-9200.

Ongoing

VOLUNTEER AT THE PRATT

Volunteers are an integral part of the Enoch Pratt library system, performing a variety of activities and assignments. To learn more, call (410) 396-9940 or visit www.prattlibrary.org.

Ongoing

MERCY MEDICAL CENTER SEEKS VOLUNTEERS

Mercy Medical Center has ongoing volunteer opportunities.

Contact Mercy’s Volunteer Office at (410) 332-9227 (TTY (410) 332-9888) or volunteers@mdmercy.com to discuss volunteer opportunities or ask questions about application requirements, and to share your interests, goals and skills.

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Travel

23

Leisure &

Scammers like to target older travelers for a variety of scams. Learn what to look out for on page 24.

Chattanooga — beyond the choo choo sipping freshly-roasted, whiskey-barrelaged coffee, or from a leisurely river cruise on the Southern Belle serenaded by the “Tennessee Waltz” to a high-octane bluegrass festival.

You can eat fried green tomatoes and sweet tea glazed chicken at one meal, and upscale cuisine like wild boar ragù at the next. You can study a rare, 1947 “bubblehead” tow truck in one museum and move to a Wilhem de Kooning painting in another.

A city transformed

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHATTANOOGA CVB

In 1969, television newscaster Walter Cronkite dubbed the then-smokestack town of Chattanooga “America’s dirtiest city.” The Tennessee River was an industrial sewer of lead and heavy metals.

Cronkite’s label sparked a renaissance, symbolized by the popular, riverfront aquarium that is the largest in the Southeast, and the free electric shuttle chugging through a bustling downtown.

Chattanooga’s slogan is now “A Great City

by Nature.” The city of about 175,000 sits on the Tennessee River’s banks in a geologic bowl surrounded by mountains. Outside magazine twice named it the “best town ever.”

Lookout Mountain at 2,388 feet looms nearby. The area has over 10,000 caves — the greatest concentration of caves in the U.S. The river is home to over 300 species of fish that support bald eagles and ospreys.

Tennessee is the “epicenter of aquatic diversity,” said aquatic biologist Bernie Kuhajda. “The critters are what make Chattanooga really special.” It’s even known as the “salamander capital of the world,” harboring 11 percent of the world’s salamanders.

Ruby Falls, located inside Lookout Mountain, is — at 145 feet — the world’s highest underground waterfall open to the public.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHATTANOOGA CVB

By Glenda C. Booth During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln asserted, “If we can take and hold Chattanooga and East Tennessee, I think the Rebellion must dwindle and die.”

He saw the region as crucial to a Union victory because of the fertile fields that fed soldiers, the Tennessee River that moved them, and four radiating railroad lines that transported supplies.

People today are still “taking” the Chattanooga area — taking in many offerings indoors and out. There’s history, art, music, good food, nature and more.

The town was made famous by the hit song, “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” when Glenn Miller’s swing band recording became the nation’s number one song on December 7, 1941. (It remained atop the charts for nine weeks.)

Chattanooga is the birthplace of blues queen Bessie Smith. And baseball great Willie Mays played with the Chattanooga ChooChoos at age 16.

The city, which sits at Tennessee’s border with Georgia, is a place where you can go from eating grits and black-eyed peas to

The Tennessee Aquarium attracts more than 700,000 visitors each year. It houses not just thousands of fish, but penguins, owls, frogs and butterflies as well.

Under the sea The 190,000-square-foot Tennessee Aquarium is downtown’s centerpiece, topped by six triangular glass points that dominate the skyline. In its Imax theater, the 66-by-89-foot screen and 3D viewing make fish seemingly nip at your nose.

The River Journey exhibit traces a raindrop falling in the Appalachian Mountains as it makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

In the Ocean Journey building, marine invertebrates squiggle, and gentoo and macaroni penguins dive and dart through the water.

Other intriguing critters from around the world include leucistic alligators (white with a “toupé” of dark spots), hyacinth macaws, six-foot-wide Australian whiptail stingrays, and spindly pipefish that coil their tails around underwater grasses.

The award-winning Bluff View Art District weaves together art galleries, outdoor sculpture, gourmet cuisine, B&Bs and nature into a cohesive whole.

The Hunter Museum showcases American art from 1730 to the present, including artists like Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole and Edward Moran. There’s also 20th century art, including works by Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, Edward Hopper, and abstract expressionist Wilhem de Kooning.

The International Towing and Recovery

Museum honors people of the vehicle towing industry with tow trucks dating to 1916. It traces the industry’s history, starting with the first wrecker ever fabricated

by Ernest Holmes, a local mechanic, who bolted a bed onto a Cadillac chassis and cab. The museum boasts the world’s largest collection of toy tow trucks.

Feisty women Chattanooga has spawned some intriguing women.

For “Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith, music was her ticket out of poverty.

Born in a shack around 1894, she started out singing on street corners for nickels and dimes, and later, “drank, swore and brawled with the toughest of them,” recalls a poster in the Bessie Smith Cultural Center dedicated to her.

“The blues is a feeling,” one exhibit notes, and Bessie lived it. She sang about pain, sorrow, joy, despair and comfort.

Exhibits also explore the contributions of local African-Americans. Early 20th century posters remind visitors of unfortunate stereotypes. Aunt Jemima’s pancakes: “Sho hits the spot!” touts one.

Then there’s “Antique Annie,” Anna Safley Houston, who amassed one of the See CHATTANOOGA, page 25

24

Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Don’t fall for these summer travel scams

By Justin Lavelle The summer vacation season is finally here. Have you booked your trip yet?

There’s actually someone who’s more excited about your trip than you are, and that’s the scammers hoping to rake in millions from unsuspecting travelers. This time of year, travel scams surge — targeting people of all ages, but especially older travelers.

Here are a few tips to protect you, your family and friends during the busy summer travel season: • Avoid the vacation rental scam — One of the biggest scams today targets travelers booking hotels and vacation homes through websites. Renters are en-

ticed by an incredible deal and book it online with a payment wire. When they arrive at their destination, the hotel or rental home exists, but they have no record of your reservation or payment, and have no room waiting for you. That’s because your money went to the scammers instead.

Always do some online research before paying in advance online, or use a background checking service. You can search the individual or company’s name (and physical address) to get a sense of whether or not the company is real and if the name matches the property.

Also, always pay with a credit card that has a fraud prevention guarantee, book through well-known travel websites and

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companies, and call the properties directly to confirm that they do offer rentals and have availability when you are looking to book.

• Don’t broadcast the fact that you’re traveling — Telling people when you’re going away and where you’re going is advertising your absence, leaving you, your friends and family open to scams (and your home open to theft).

One common scam results from your email account getting hacked. The scammers send an email to your contacts that appears to come from you, telling them you’ve either being mugged or somehow lost all your money while on vacation.

“You” then ask your friends or family members to wire money, which goes to the scammers!

Since the email is coming from someone they know, people will sometimes believe it. Remind your friends and family never to wire money without talking to you or someone you’re traveling with first.

• Beware of high pressure travel club companies — Some of today’s “travel club” companies employ unscrupulous tactics and high pressure sales to entice consumers into purchasing their vacation club memberships (similar to the style of many timeshare companies).

Consumers believe they are getting

something for free by attending travel club sales presentations, and then are under the belief they are joining the vacation club at a reduced price after high pressure tactics.

They later find out they are not getting a good deal, and could have purchased the same vacation for less elsewhere. In general, vacation clubs are a common source of travel complaints, so it’s best not to agree to the presentation in the first place.

• Steer clear of shared Wi-Fi, if possible — Most people understand the dangers of using an open public Wi-Fi hotspot.

Did you also know you also have to be careful with protected networks at hotels and other venues that require a password?

Any time you use a shared Wi-Fi network in a public spot, it’s easy for someone to intercept your data and monitor what you’re doing. They know what sites you’re visiting, your account passwords, emails and more.

• If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is — If a deal sounds incredibly cheap, there’s a strong likelihood it’s a scam.

Companies aren’t about to give you an 80 percent discount on your travel and stay.

Protect yourself from scams by always using a credit card with fraud protection, always get everything in writing, play it safe by booking directly with a company See TRAVEL SCAMS, page 25

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

Chattanooga From page 23 finest collections of antique glass, porcelain and pottery in the world, now filling the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts in Chattanooga. Called a “genius,” an “enterprising business woman,” and an “eccentric,” Houston built a ramshackle, tarpaper barn herself to store her “pretties.”

She had nine or 10 husbands, perhaps setting the world record at that time, and suffered deprivation rather than relinquish her collection. The museum has 10,000 glass pieces, including pitchers, cruets, vases, baskets, bottles and beer mugs.

The Trail of Tears Several sites in the region memorialize the Trail of Tears — the 1838 forced removal of native peoples ordered by President Andrew Jackson. In all, about 4,000 Cherokees died.

The Passage waterscape in Chattanooga leads down to Ross’s Landing, where over 3,000 Cherokees were sent downriver by boat.

“This is our national story, an emotional story that has to be told,” said Melissa Woody, Cleveland (Tenn.) Chamber of Commerce vice president.

Red Clay State Historic Area ranger Jamie Russell, a Cherokee, stresses, “We were a distinct nation that once controlled 40,000 square miles.” Today’s park was the site of the tribe’s council, or capital.

Blue Hole Spring and an eternal flame invoke reflection on one of America’s darkest chapters. The flame burns because the involuntary evacuees took embers with them and

Travel scams From page 24 (whether it’s United Airlines or a resort in Mexico), and do your research on a site like Trip Advisor.

Before you get wrapped up in the idea of a relaxing getaway, do your homework and proceed with caution to protect yourself and your family.

You can also use a website or app background check service, such as BeenVerified, that enables you to verify information

believed that as long as the embers burned, the Cherokees would survive.

The Hiwassee Heritage Center in Charleston presents both the native peoples’ and the U.S. military’s perspectives (The U.S. Government called the 23 internment camps “emigration depots.”) A monument at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park at Blythe’s Ferry, where the evictees crossed the river, lists the names of those removed, including Bullfrog, Big Hoe and Young Duck.

The Chicamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park tells the story of the Confederates’ 1863 victory at Chickamauga and their loss a few months later when Union forces won control of Chattanooga in a Civil War battle known as the “Death Knell of the Confederacy.” Authorized by Congress in 1890, this was the nation’s first national military park.

Beyond Chattanooga The greater Chattanooga area offers hiking, hang gliding, fishing, canoeing and scenic cruises. Lookout Mountain is a popular spot from which you can see seven states on a clear day.

Amateur spelunkers can walk almost a mile inside the mountain to see the 145foot Ruby Falls. It is the world’s highest underground waterfall open to the public.

Into trains? Year-round excursions on working steam-powered trains start at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

“They are faster than horses,” quipped Tim Andrews, president.

A former mayor called Chattanooga “Nowheresville,” complaining that you could smell it and taste it before you arrive.

and avoid the many scams that proliferate on Craig’s List and other sites that specialize in vacation rentals. You can also use it in conjunction with a people search when transacting on Airbnb.

BeenVerified charges a monthly fee starting under $25, with discounts for three or six month memberships. Rates vary among the services.

Justin Lavelle is communications director for BeenVerified.com, which allows individuals to find information about people, phone numbers, email addresses and property records.

Today, Chattanooga is a happening town, with food, fun and features for all tastes.

Chattanooga eats Speaking of which, for a southern mix of food and fellowship, try the Soul Food Express, where locals gossip under spinning fans and snarf up fried chicken, catfish, fried corn, pinto beans, and macaroni and cheese.

At another long-established soul food spot, Memo’s, the motto is, “It’s all about the dollar and not the color,” in reference to its history of serving customers of any race.

The 212 Market’s fried green tomatoes, grits, and black-eyed pea-and-kale salad stand out. Sugar’s Ribs specializes in finger-licking barbecue and sides like okra, corn on the cob, and scrumptious banana pudding.

25

At festivals, you might get Tennessee stump dogs — hotdogs cooked on charcoal inside a hollow stump. Don’t forget moonpies, a local snack. And very sweet tea is served with everything.

To learn more about attractions and lodging, visit www.chattanoogafun.com.

The Beaux-Arts Chattanooga ChooChoo Hotel, in the 1909 restored train station, offers antique Pullman rail car rooms.

Rooms start at $155 a night. See http://choochoo.com or call (423) 2665000 for more information.

American Airlines has the most (and least expensive) flights to Chattanooga, starting at about $325 roundtrip from Dulles and BWI. Delta Airlines offers flights from about $340 from Reagan National Airport.

BEACON BITS

July 28

VISIT YOUR HOMETOWN

Enjoy a tour of Oriole Park, the Museum of Industry, and lunch at Rusty Scupper, all for $75. Call Seven Oaks Senior Center at (443) 608-0613 for reservations.

Aug. 9

A TRIP TO ST. MARY’S Cruise to the land where the famous Smith Island cake was born.

Cost is $119. Call Cockeysville Senior Center at (410) 887-7694 for a reservation.

26

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Style Arts &

A melted piece of a bus tailpipe that was engulfed in flame during the uprising in Baltimore last year is part of a new Maryland Historical Society exhibit. See story on page 29.

Pickleball offers fun way to fitness for all ries told by Pritchard’s wife, Joan, she came up with the name because the combination of different sports — badminton, ping pong and tennis — reminded her of the pickle boat in crew, where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats. Another account, however, says that the game was named after the Pritchards’ dog Pickles, who liked to chase the ball.

How to play The game can be played either indoors and out (it’s particularly popular in the South and Southwest where it can be played outdoors almost year-round).

Games are played to 11 points. You score points when serving, and two out of three games win a match.

You can play singles or doubles, on a court that measures 20 feet by 44 feet (smaller than a tennis court). The paddles are similar in size to those used for racquetball.

From a backyard game, pickleball has evolved into a sport that is popular not only throughout the U.S. and in Canada, but is growing internationally, especially in

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By Carol Sorgen Mix together a bit of badminton, ping pong and tennis, and you’ve got pickleball — a game that’s growing in popularity across the country.

“It’s addictive,” said Susan Smolen, who first heard of the game about eight years ago while visiting a friend in Florida. Now Smolen plays four times a week when she’s in Baltimore, and “every day, all day” during the four months of the year she spends in Florida.

According to the USA Pickleball Association (www.usapa.org), pickleball was invented in 1965 in Washington state by Joel Pritchard (a former congressman and lieutenant governor), Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, whose kids were bored with their usual summertime activities.

Pritchard’s property had an old badminton court, but there wasn’t a full set of racquets on hand. Instead, the men improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles, a perforated plastic ball, and a net that was 36 inches high instead of the conventional 60 for badminton.

Two theories circulate about the origins of the name of the game. According to sto-

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The curiously named sport “pickleball” combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong, using a perforated plastic ball and a low net. Its popularity has been skyrocketing over the last decade, and there are several indoor and outdoor pickleball courts in the area.

Europe and Asia. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) 2015 Participant Report, there are more than 2.46 million pickleball participants in the United States alone.

While popular among older players who enjoy both the social and fitness aspect of it, pickleball is now being taught to kids in middle and high schools as well.

According to Smolen, who is also an avid tennis player, “You have to be pretty fast” to play it well, but pickleball can still

be a lot of fun for players at any level.

Where to play While in Baltimore, the Owings Mills resident plays at the South Carroll Senior Center in Sykesville. The games there are open to registered members of the center.

Membership is free, but you must be at least 60 to register.

Diane and Howard Gartner, also of OwSee PICKLEBALL, page 28

Cars, boats, furniture, antiques, tools, appliances Everything and anything is sold on

Radio Flea Market Heard every Sunday, 7-8:00 a.m. on 680 WCBM

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

Animal rescue From page 1 closer together. Roe believed her father had never understood her fascination with sea creatures.

When he happened to be staying nearby on the weekend scheduled for Cookie’s release, she invited him to join her for the event.

“My father had served in the Navy, and believed the sea is for man,” she said. “But after seeing Cookie returned to her native habitat, and how hard we had worked to make her healthy again, he finally understood what is so special to me about putting these creatures back where they should be.

“It was a bonding moment for us,” Roe recalled, adding that now her father regularly asks her about what she’s doing at the Aquarium.

According to Dittmar, Animal Rescue has successfully rescued, treated and returned 177 animals to their natural habitats, including harbor, gray, harp and hooded seals; sea turtles (green, loggerhead, and the rare, endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles); rough-toothed dolphins; a harbor porpoise; a manatee, and a pygmy sperm whale named “Inky,” who was nursed back to health over a period of six months after ingesting a lot of plastic.

(Workers believe Inky confused the floating plastic with squid.)

Beard was enlisted in the rescue crew 14 years ago, when the Animal Rescue Manager at the time attended Beard’s church and mentioned that he was looking for a volunteer who understood the tracking data used to follow the animals that are rehabbed and released. (The Aquarium

BEACON BITS

July 25+

BALTIMORE IMPROV FESTIVAL

The Tenth Annual Baltimore Improv Festival will showcase a variety of local, regional and nationally-known improv groups in shows and workshops in Baltimore from July 25 to 31. All shows will be held at Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. For more information, call (410) 539-3091 or 1-888-745-8393 or visit www.baltimoreimprovfestival.org. Most festival shows are $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

July 31+

PATTERSON PARK SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

On the hills of Patterson Park, hear local bands at the Patterson Park Summer Concert Series Music, Patterson Park, East Lombard St. and South Patterson Park Ave. Concerts start at 6:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.pattersonpark.com.

posts such data on its website so the public can see where released animals go.)

“He found out I was a retired electrical engineer and snapped me up,” Beard laughed.

Beard, who lives in Pasadena, has had a strong attachment to the sea ever since serving in the Navy. He now spends more than 250 hours a year volunteering at the Aquarium, not only with Animal Rescue, but also setting up exhibits and doing community outreach.

“I’m proud to be part of this,” he said.

“People from all over the world know about the Aquarium and come to visit.”

first responders — those who are first on the scene when the Aquarium receives a call about an animal in distress.

First responders identify the species, take photos, relay signs and symptoms to the Aquarium staff, and secure the scene to keep the animal safe from onlookers.

The Erbes live in coastal Delaware, and since 2009 have responded to well over

200 calls, helped transport 48 seals to the Aquarium, traveled more than 34,000 miles, and donated more than 4,000 volunteer hours.

“We’ve only lost one seal in that time,” said Chuck Erbe, adding that being able to assist in the release of the animals when See ANIMAL RESCUE, page 28

First responders Animal Rescue volunteers spend 100 hours performing general volunteer duties at the Aquarium before receiving more specialized training, said Dittmar.

While Roe and Beard perform animal husbandry duties, volunteers like Chuck and Ellen Erbe and their son, Tom, are

lifestyle

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27

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Bladensburg 301-699-9785 55 AND BETTER! Laurel 301-490-1526 Laurel II 301-490-9730

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www.ParkViewSeniorLiving.com Call the community nearest you to inquire about eligibility requirements and to arrange a personal tour or email parkviewliving@sheltergrp.com.

Professionally managed by The Shelter Group. www.thesheltergroup.com

28

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AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Pickleball

BEACON BITS

July

RESPLENDENT EXHIBITS

From page 26

View colorful floral and abstract paintings by MICA grad Mattye

ings Mills, play at the Jewish Community Center-Owings Mills. (You don’t have to be a member of the JCC to play, but there is a pickleball fee.)

The Gartners, also enthusiastic tennis players, picked up the sport about two years ago. They enjoy the fact that it can be played indoors during the winter months, and you don’t need to join a league. “You just show up and wait your turn,” said Diane Gartner.

The JCC generally sponsors pick-up games three mornings a week, but that

Hamilton and Baltimore County schoolteacher Kate Norris through July 30 at the Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Call (410) 276-1651 or visit www.creativealliance.org for more information.

Ongoing

SUMMER ART SHOW AT GRIMALDIS Explore artworks by various artists at the summer group show at C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 N. Charles St., Tuesday-Saturday, 10

a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Call (410) 539-1080 or visit www.cgrimaldisgallery.com for

tends to change during the summer, when campers are also using the tennis courts.

About 15 to 20 people regularly come to play during each session. “It’s getting more popular as people find out more about it and watch others play,” said Gartner.

Gartner agrees with Smolen that the game looks a lot easier than it actually is, but also observes that you can play at your own pace and your own level. “You can get a good workout, but it’s not as intense as tennis,” she said. “It’s a fun, social activity.”

For a list of pickleball courts in Maryland, visit www.usapa.org/what-is-pickleball-where-to-play-in-your-area.

more information.

Animal rescue

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

FROM PAGE 30 ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

J U D A S

A L I C E

T A C O

O C A N

I N T H E D U M P S

T A R T

O B O E

P L A N

L A Z Y E R E I

B E S T

S K O A A L S I S N T A O P E O A N R T H

A N D D I R T Y I N A W E

W O B O R D O N T E A H A U S E T S W H O N E H A N A S A T T T C H S H E

A T H E E L S

From page 27

D E A D

O S L O

B L E W

E A R N

E M D U E S M C L I O

O N O N E S L U C K

P E R I

S T E T

H O N O R

H Y E N A

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410-744-8433 www.ShangriLaSeniorLiving.com 6348 Frederick Road, Catonsville Previously known as Paradise Assisted Living

they’re rehabbed is a “happy day.”

“One of the blessings of this work,” said Ellen Erbe, “is meeting like-minded and like-spirited people who all have the same heart. It’s a privilege to be a part of this.”

If you’d like to help The National Aquarium has a variety of volunteer opportunities available — from exhibit guides to certified divers to horticulture assistants, to name just a few. For details, call the Volunteer Office at (410) 576-3886 or email volunteer@aqua.org.

The Aquarium, which opened its doors

35 years ago, on August 8, 1973, is located at 501 E. Pratt St. More than a million visitors a year come to see its living collection of more than 20,000 fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and marine mammals.

Visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Ticket prices are $39.95 for adults ($36.95 if 60+), and $24.95 for children ages 3 to 11.

Call (410) 576-3800 or visit www.aqua.org for more information.

To reach the Stranded Animal Hotline, call (410) 576-3880 or the Natural Resources Police at 1-800-628-9944.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

29

Exhibit documents spring 2015 uprising Baltimore was a city in turmoil in spring 2015, as violence erupted in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray. The Maryland Historical Society’s newest exhibit, “What & Why: Collecting at the Maryland Historical Society,” takes a look at that unsettled time with objects and a video installation of images from the “Preserve the Baltimore Uprising” project that documented the unrest and cleanup efforts.

The new exhibit, which will run through June 30, 2017, also includes more than 50 items spanning four centuries of donations to the museum, including two of Eubie Blake’s practice pianos, period clothing, portraits, silver, and a wool tapestry of George Washington.

Preserving the recent past Objects from the “Preserve the Baltimore Uprising Project” include melted aluminum from a burnt bus engine as well as pieces of burnt bricks collected at the site of a fire at an unfinished senior center construction site at the corner of N. Chester and E. Lanvale Streets.

“We have an obligation to record all aspects of Maryland’s diverse history, not only its distant past but its current events as well,” said Maryland Historical Society President and CEO Mark B. Letzer. “This material will be a seminal contribution to the nationally important collections of the Maryland Historical Society.”

“So many images were created during that period of unrest and in the months leading up to it — by people of all different backgrounds

Letters to editor From page 2 system to work properly. [I have published an annotated “translation” of Madison’s transcript to make the language easier to understand. It is available on Amazon.com for $3 as a Kindle ebook.]

The founders made many compromises during the Convention, and they made it clear that future legislatures would need to do the same in order for the system to

and perspectives, both amateur and professional,” said James Singewald, one of the photographers who donated photos to the “Preserve the Baltimore Uprising” project.

“Just about everyone has a camera these days, but what do you do with all those images? The Uprising Archive allows anyone who has something to share from that tumultuous and emotional time to do so, and have it available for the public to see and share.”

Outpouring of images The Maryland Historical Society issued a call for images related to the uprising in May 2015. More than 12,000 images were submitted, including photographs taken from cell phones and cameras, audio segments, oral histories, and more than 2,000 intergovernmental emails surrounding the unrest that were released by Baltimore City.

The images depict activists, demonstrations, the presence of the National Guard, police officers, military hardware and more.

The effort behind the creation of the www.baltimoreuprising2015.org website is a joint undertaking by the Maryland Historical Society, faculty from the University of Baltimore, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Coppin State University, Morgan State University, MICA, Johns Hopkins University, and staff from the Maryland State Archives.

All joined forces to preserve and make accessible original content that was captured and created by individual community members, grassroots organizations and

witnesses to the protests that followed the death of Freddie Gray on April 19, 2015.

Submissions are still being received.

With many people plugged into the instant technologies of social media and cell phone photography, more people than ever before could participate in recording and preserving history as it unfolded, according to Digital Projects Coordinator Joe Tropea.

“We sensed the importance of what’s going on and sensed that people would study this event for years to come,” he said.

The overall exhibit also includes some of the Historical Society’s most touching and important acquisitions — from paintings to textiles — often accompanied by the story behind the object.

“This exhibition explores not only what MdHS has been collecting for the past five years, but the stories behind why donors share their possessions with us,” said Chief Curator Alexandra Deutsch.

“The range of what we collect is very

broad — from 18th century portraits to objects from the Baltimore Uprising of 2015 — because we strive to represent the fullest possible picture of Maryland’s history from first settlement to the present.

Donors are motivated by many reasons when they give an object or objects to the museum, and each donor has a special story to tell.”

If you are interested in joining the efforts to preserve the Baltimore Uprising, contact Joe Tropea at the Maryland Historical Society by email at remembrance@mdhs.org.

The Maryland Historical Society is located at 101 W. Monument St. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

For more information, visit www.mdhs.org. or call (410) 685-3750. Admission is $9 for adults ($7 for seniors), and the museum offers free admission the first Thursday of every month.

work. They would have little use for today’s legislators who are unwilling to bend on any important issue.

They were quite frank in making it clear that the ball would be in the hands of future legislators, and it would be up to them to either make the system work or wreck it — and that wrecking it would be a real possibility. As Franklin said at the signing, “We’ve given you a federal government — if you can keep it.”

Richard Kreutzberg, via email

Senior High. !"#$$!%"&"'($!)*+'!"#$ ",!-(.('(*+"&/0"12#(1!"*2&*"3%#4(0!)" +#5"/!6"#33#%*5/(*(!)7"8-3!%(!/1!"+#5%"(/0!3!/0!/1!"&/0" !/%(12"+#5%"'($!7" !"#$%&'$()#$*+!*#+(,$-#.($./0(#'$(!$,!/1 233$!+$40.0($/.$2( www.Integrace.org

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301-644-1604 410-795-8801

30

AUGUST 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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Crossword Puzzle

PUZZLE PAGE

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1. Monopoly monotony 5. Witnessed 8. Brick made from mud 13. Arm bone 14. Cabinet handle 16. Auto maker with California home 17. Airhead 18. Fish market feature 19. Further along the recovery process 20. In need of analgesics 21. How to solve the six longest Down clues 23. Use one of the five senses 24. “The Greatest” (1942-2016) 25. Beginning of “time” 26. ___ Moines, Iowa 28. One of two Indy champs named Bobby 30. It could mean opportunities or operations 33. Sightseers 36. Discussion system that predated the World Wide Web by 10 years 38. Good place to buy Road Runner traps 39. Russian rejections 41. Oliver Twist’s request 42. Per ___ (average per person) 44. Detective story 46. End of can and Cant 47. Start the speech with “I believe...”

49. Cruise ship dir. from Miami to Nassau 50. Long, long, long, long time 51. Breakfast meat option 53. Librarian’s admonishment 56. Executives 61. Sicken with sweetness 62. More qualified 63. Light bulb measure 64. Crescent-shaped figure 65. Cook pumpkin seeds 66. __ A Sketch 67. Clickable image 68. Last year in a decade 69. Cow or scow

70

70. Ingredient in Chicken Andouille Gumbo

Down 1. Paradigm of betrayal 2. Waitress at Mel’s Diner for nine seasons 3. Sad 4. Like a couch potato 5. Its tin cover does not actually state “smokeless tobacco” 6. Fiercely competitive 7. Type of fireplace 8. Appearing shabby 9. End start 10. Scandinavian capital 11. Used a breathalyzer 12. Deserve 15. Soup base 22. Joint project of the Natl. Endowment for the Arts and the United Service Org. 24. “ ___ was saying” 27. “I kissed thee ___ killed thee” (Othello to Desdemona) 29. “How to Make ___ Rag Doll” (threader’s-guide instructions) 30. Star-crossed 31. Prefix with scope or meter 32. “Never mind; leave it alone” 33. Chipotle choice 34. Anthem start at a Blue Jays game 35. Connect without tools 37. Flightless birds 40. “Drink up” 43. Grounded 45. Blue-stater (most likely) 48. Mesmerized 52. ___ World Turns 54. Ten Commandments word 55. A bad-guy in The Lion King 56. Crumpet traymate 57. Trumpet playmate 58. Architect’s doodles 59. Consumer Reports adjective 60. D.C. baseball team 61. Advertising award named for a Greek goddess

Answers on page 28.

BALTIMORE BEACON — AUGUST 2016

CLASSIFIEDS The Beacon prints classified advertising under the following headings: Business & Employment Opportunities; Caregivers; Computer Services; Entertainment; For Sale; For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free; Health; Home/ Handyman Services; Miscellaneous; Personals; Personal Services; Vacation Opportunities; and Wanted. For submission guidelines and deadlines, see the box on the right.

CAVEAT EMPTOR! The Beacon does not knowingly accept obscene, offensive, harmful, or fraudulent advertising. However, we do not investigate any advertisers or their products and cannot accept responsibility for the integrity of either. Respondents to classified advertising should always use caution and their best judgment.

EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally accept advertising in violation of federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap in connection with employment or the sale or rental of real estate.

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Home/Handymand Services HAULING AND JUNK – Low upfront pricing, free estimates, senior discounts. 365 days. Licensed and insured demolition. Attic Sweepers Hauling. 443-838-2353. www.atticsweepershauling.com.

BALTIMORE’S BEST JUNK REMOVAL – Clean Outs: Whole House, Emergency, Attics/Basements. Furniture and Junk Removal, Yard Waste Removal, General Hauling, Construction Debris Removal. Free estimates.

10% Senior Discount. Licensed, Bonded and Insured. Call Jesse, 443-379-HAUL (4285). www.baltimoresbestjunkremoval.com.

Personal Services E.A.F. MEALS IS A PERSONAL CHEF SERVICE that specializes in complete, balanced, home-cooked meals. To get an understanding of exactly what we at E.A.F. Meals bring to our customers, please go to the United States Personal Chef Association website, access their “Hire a Chef” listing, type in the name Eric Dunsen, and click on the E.A.F. Meals Link.

Financial Services

Wanted

ACCOUNTING, TAXES, AND BOOKKEEPING, eldercare. CPA 38 years, reasonable rates.

Call 410-653-3363.

WE BUY GOLD AND SILVER JEWELRY. Costume too. Gold and silver coins, paper money, military, crocks, old bottles and jars, etc.

Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

For Sale

WE BUY STERLING SILVER FLATWARE, tea sets, single pieces of silver, large pieces of silver plate. Attic, basement, garage. You have something to SELL, we like to BUY. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE CRYPTS in Cloister’s Mausoleum at Dulaney Valley Gardens. Retail value $15,000. Sell for $7,500 or best offer. 410-870-1442.

2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed.

Asking $900 for the pair. Can email pictures if desired. Call Steve, 410-913-1653.

Home/Handymand Services

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEWELRY – wrist and pocket wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, coins, quilts, old toys, postcards, trains, guns, pocket and hunting knives, linens, fishing equipment and tackle boxes, fountain pens, Christmas garden items, crocks and jugs, lamps and lanterns, pottery, military items, sports memorabilia, advertising signs, paintings and contents of attics, basements and garages. Professional, no pressure individual with over forty years of experience.

Lloyd D. Baker. 410-409-4965. 717-969-8114, office.

SANFORD & SON JUNK REMOVAL. Trash + Junk removal, house & estate cleanouts, garage + basement cleanouts. Demolition – Shed, deck fence + pool removal. Licensed + insured. Free estimates over the phone. Call 7 days a week, 7 am to 7 pm. 410-746-5090.

BUYING ANTIQUES, ESTATES. 20-year Beacon advertiser. Cash paid for jewelry, gold, silver, old coins, pens, art, old toys, dolls, trains, watches, old comics, sports memorabilia, military guns, knives, swords, all collections. Tom, 240-4763441.

Health MOBILE EYE EXAMS – Comprehensive and/or low vision eye exams provided to Baltimore seniors with limited mobility. Visit www.HomeEyeOD.com or call 443-802-9920 for more information.

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED Deadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.

Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards.

Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise.

Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad.

Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:

The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept.

P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227 Wanted

Wanted

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a serious capable buyer. I am very well educated [law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the antique business] and have the finances and wherewithal to handle virtually any situation. If you have a special item, collection or important estate I would like to hear from you. I pay great prices for great things in all categories from oriental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, from silver and gold to classic cars. If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phony promises or messy consignments. References gladly furnished.

Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834.

Thank you.

BUYING VINYL RECORDS from 1950 through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least 100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

COLLECTOR BUYING MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, weapons, rifles, shot guns, knives, swords, bayonets, web gear, uniforms, etc. from all wars and countries. Large quantities are okay.

Will pay top prices for my personal collection.

Discreet consultations. Call Fred, 301-910-0783.

Thanks for reading!

BEACON BITS

Aug. 13

OPEN COCKPIT DAY

On Saturday, August 13, the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, Martin State Airport, 701 Wilson Point Rd. in Middle River, will hold its final 2016 Open Cockpit Day. Imagine being a pilot for a day as you climb into the pilot seats of the museum’s outdoor flight line of airplanes. The NinetyNines, an organization of women pilots, will be exhibiting and available for sharing information on careers in aviation. Tours of the flight line begin at 11:15 a.m. and the last tour of the planes departs at 2:15 p.m. The museum closes at 3 p.m. In the event of rain, the Open Cockpit segment will be cancelled as planes cannot be open during wet weather. Admission for this special event is $5 for adults and $1 for children. Active military, including National Guard and veterans with an ID, are free. For more information on museum events, call (410) 682-6122.

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE Clinical Research Studies

Balance Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Coronary Artery Disease Study .14 Investigational Medication Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Iron Supplement Study . . . . . . .17 Irritable Bowel Study . . . . . . . .14 Memory Loss Drug Study . . . . .17 Memory Loss Imaging Study . .16 Urinary Leakage Study . . . . . . .15

Dental Services

Diamond Dental of Owings Mills 9 Mishpacha Dental . . . . . . . . . . .13 Northern Parkway Family Dental . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Events

Beacon 50+Expo . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Financial Services

Baltimore Life Insurance . . . . . .20 Bennett Senior Services . . . . . .20 Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled . . . . . .22

JS Richardson Insurance . . . . . .19 Maryland Able Account . . . . . .21 PENFED Credit Union . . . . . . .21 Secure Benefits Alliance . . . . . .19

Park View Apartments . . . . . . . .27 Shangri-La . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 St. Mary’s Roland View Towers .24 Virginia Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Hearing Services

Hearing & Speech Agency . . . . .8

Housing Referral Service

Oasis Senior Advisors . . . . . . . . .9

Home Health Care

Legal Services

DAR Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Independent Home Care . . . . . .22 One Day At A Time Personal Care . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Options for Senior America . . . .20

Housing

Briarwood Estates . . . . . . . . . . .27 Buckingham’s Choice/Integrace 29 Charlestown/Erickson . . . . . . .12 Christ Church Harbor Apts. . . . .21 Fairhaven/Integrace . . . . . . . . . .29 Gatherings at Quarry Place/Beazer Homes . . . .6 Linden Park Apts. . . . . . . . . . . .24 Park Heights Place . . . . . . . . . .29

31

Frank, Frank & Scherr Law Firm .18

Medical/Health

Dr. Richard Rosenblatt, DPM . .11 Physical Therapy and Wellness Center . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 SentinelCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Skin Cancer EB . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Stuart Goldman, DPM . . . . . . . .12 UM Health Advantage . . . . . . . .11

Real Estate

The Bob Lucido Team . . . . . . . . .3

Services

Greg Young, Exterminator . . . .24

Home Safe Home . . . . . . . . . . .12 Homelife Remodeling . . . . . . . . .5

Shopping

Radio Flea Market . . . . . . . . . . .26

Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation

CommuniCare Health . . . . . . . .13 Keswick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Manor Care Health Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Subscriptions

The Beacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Theatres/ Entertainment

Toby’s Dinner Theatre . . . . . . . .26

Travel

Eyre ............................................25 Festive Holidays.........................25 Nexus Holidays ..........................25

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AUGUST 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; BALTIMORE BEACON