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Being gay and gray in Baltimore

Benefits of marriage While LaGrant and Richardson say their partnership has always been strong, they feel being married gives it a deeper dimension.

“There’s something about being recognized as a married couple — not just by our family and friends, but by the public and by the law — that is so powerful,” said Richardson who, like LaGrant, is a realtor.

“I am recognized as an individual who has chosen to be with this person, who just happens to be a woman,” she added.

JANUARY 2015

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK VOLKER

By Carol Sorgen Wendy LaGrant and Megan Richardson met through mutual friends in 2000. They became jogging partners, then romantic partners, and in 2009, while on a visit to a friend in Provincetown, Mass., the couple spontaneously decided to marry.

“It took a lot of logistics [to pull off a spur of the moment wedding], but it was a lot of fun,” said LaGrant, 59. The couple now lives in Franklintown.

Getting married was not something the two had spent much time thinking about.

“For so long, it was so out of reach that we didn’t really talk about it,” Richardson said.

“We went about our lives and we made plans... just not marriage plans.”

But after Massachusetts legalized samesex marriage in 2004, there were “murmurings,” said LaGrant, that couples who married in a state where such unions were legal would be recognized as married in Maryland. (As of the election of November 2012, Maryland became one of the now 35 states that have legalized same-sex marriage, as has the District of Columbia.)

According to the Pew Research Center, more than 70,000 same-sex couples have married in the United States. And in states that offer some form of legal recognition, 43 percent of same-sex couples are currently in a legally recognized relationship, according to a 2011 study by the Williams Institute.

No one knows just how many LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) seniors live in Maryland, but according to the Institute for Multigenerational Health at the University of Washington, some 2 million Americans 50 or older identify as LGBT, with that number expected to double by 2030.

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Mark and Russ Volker got married just days after same-sex marriage became legal in Maryland on Jan. 1, 2013, celebrating with 65 friends and relatives. Partners who marry can now access more than 1,000 federal benefits with their spouse, including Social Security.

Before they were married, the couple took steps to protect each other as best they could when it came to health directives, their assets, etc.

But they always felt that having their decisions respected and honored might have more to do with whom they “ran into” in a legal or medical situation than what steps they had put in place to take care of each other.

Following the legalization of marriage, “although there is still work to be done to make sure all legally married older samesex couples will be entitled to the same benefits, many will, for the first time, be able to access the more than 1,100 federal benefits — from Social Security to the Family and Medical Leave Act — that can

help improve their health and economic well-being,” said Aaron Tax, director of federal government relations for the national nonprofit group SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay Elders).

While LaGrant and Richardson had learned to live with the fear of not being able to provide for each other in all the ways they wanted to, “it’s a huge relief that we don’t have to worry about that anymore. It’s incredibly empowering.”

A second marriage for some Like LaGrant and Richardson, Mark and Russ Volker — who exercise their right to use the same last name — didn’t originally See GAY AND GRAY, page 12

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Facing facts Perhaps because so many readers have death rates from the most common disrecently told me how much they’ve enjoyed eases, such as heart disease and cancer, we make longevity gains my recent columns, I’ve deevery year at every age. cided to risk spending some We might not be surprised of that capital this month by when the Centers for Disease sharing a number of statistics Control tells us that Americans’ that I think paint a rather trouaverage life expectancy at birth bling picture and lead to some rose 1.9 years from 2000 to controversial conclusions.

Because I can’t possibly lay 2010 (from 76.8 to 78.7). But out all the pertinent facts, did you know average life exmuch less their ramifications, pectancy at the age of 65 rose in one column, this will have by 1.5 years over the same to be continued next month. decade (from 82.6 to 84.1), and FROM THE But let’s start with some PUBLISHER by 1.1 years for those who were good news, which has been By Stuart P. Rosenthal 75 (from 86 to 87.1)? well-covered in the Beacon These generally positive and elsewhere: Americans are living longer developments give rise to some serious fiand healthier than ever before. nancial implications.

In part due to that — and in part due to A 2009 study by the MacArthur Foundademographic effects set in motion by the tion estimated that “adding 3.1 to 7.9 years baby boomers’ parents decades ago — our to life expectancy by 2050 would add an estimated $3.2 trillion to $8.3 trillion to population as a whole is aging rapidly.

According to the Census Bureau, in 1970, Medicare and Social Security outlays 9.8 percent of U.S. residents were 65 and above current expectations,” Businessweek over. In 2010, 13 percent were 65+. By 2030, reported. when the remaining boomers will have That could be a real problem, given that reached or passed 65, more than 20 percent even based on current funding streams, Social Security is anticipated to be able to of the U.S. population will be 65 or older.

Plus, as we continuously drive down pay only 75 percent of promised benefits in

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2030 unless significant changes are made, and the Medicare program is in nearly as bad a shape.

This year alone, the two programs are already costing U.S. taxpayers more than $350 billion out of general revenues, according to the latest Trustees’ report.

So with the prospect of reduced federal benefits in the future, are boomers in a position to self-fund their longer, more active retirements thanks to regular savings and judicious investments? On the contrary.

But Businessweek reports that, “until 2007, when the oldest boomers were staring down the barrel of retirement, baby boomers’ average annual saving rate was negative 0.5 percent. They weren’t just saving too little, they were piling on debt in what should have been prime saving years.”

In contrast, earlier generations raised during or shortly after the Great Depression and living through WWII typically saved more than 10 percent of their income during their middle earning years.

Fortunately, boomers are now saving about 11.6 percent per year on average, but given the importance of compound interest to building up a nest egg, it may be too little, too late.

And their children, the millennials, are doing even worse, at least for the moment.

Americans under 35 are currently spending 1.7 percent more than they are making each year.

There is one group, however, that is sitting rather pretty: Americans 75 and over.

Despite the fact that over the past decade median U.S. household net worth has declined from $115,000 to $81,200, according to the Federal Reserve, among those 75 and up, median household net worth increased from $131,000 (in 1989) to $195,000 in constant 2013 dollars.

No doubt we should be happy that the 65 and over age group — which had the highest rate of poverty in the country in See FROM THE PUBLISHER, page 11

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.

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SPICE UP YOUR HEALTH Curry, coriander, cardamom and cumin have a variety of health benefits ALZHEIMER’S DEPRESSION A study seeks Alzheimer’s patients for a drug to alleviate depression REVERSING VISION LOSS In experimental use, stem cells helped those with macular degeneration

Google plans pill to search for illnesses

By Brandon Bailey Google is working on a cancer-detecting pill in its latest effort to push the boundaries of technology.

Still in the experimental stage, the pill is packed with tiny magnetic particles, which can travel through a patient’s bloodstream, search for malignant cells, and report their findings to a sensor on a wearable device.

As many as 2,000 of these microscopic “nanoparticles” could fit inside a single red blood cell to provide doctors with better insights about what is happening inside their patients.

The project is the latest effort to emerge from Google’s X lab, which has been try-

ing to open new technological frontiers to solve nettlesome problems and improve the quality of people’s lives.

The same division is also working on several other futuristic projects that have little to do with Google’s main business of Internet search and advertising: Self-driving cars, a computer called Glass that looks like a pair of eyeglasses, Internetbeam balloons, and contact lenses for diabetics that can measure glucose in tears.

Some investors frustrated with the costs of financing X’s projects ridicule them as expensive flights of fancy, but Google CEO Larry Page likens them to moon shots that could unleash future innovation and

money-making opportunities.

How pill would work At this point, Google believes the cancerdetecting nanoparticles can be coated with antibodies that bind with specific proteins or cells associated with various maladies.

The particles would remain in the blood and report back continuously on what they find over time, said Andrew Conrad, head of life sciences at Google X, while a wearable sensor could track the particles by following their magnetic fields and collecting data on their movement through the body.

The goal is to get a fuller picture of the

patient’s health than the snapshot that’s obtained when a doctor draws a single sample of blood for tests that aren’t comprehensive enough to spot the early stages of many forms of cancer.

“We want to make it simple and automatic and not invasive,” Conrad added. Just as Google is doing in the contact lens project, the company is here looking for ways to proactively monitor health and prevent disease, rather than wait to diagnose problems, he said.

Data from the sensor could be uploaded or stored on the Internet until it can be inSee GOOGLE PILL, page 4

It’s not easy to discontinue sleep meds Do you take a drug to help you sleep every night? You’re not alone. Millions of Americans rely on prescription sleep medications, called sedative hypnotics.

“People believe they can’t sleep without them, and they stay on them for years,” said sleep expert Dr. Lawrence Epstein, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. But you can wean yourself off the drugs using a combination of dose reduction and behavior changes.

Epstein points to two challenges when it comes to fighting sleep aid dependence.

One is that when you stop taking the drugs, you get a withdrawal response that keeps you from sleeping well.

“If you stop too quickly you can get rebound insomnia, which makes symptoms worse,” said Epstein.

The other challenge is that the rebound insomnia then convinces users they need the drugs to sleep. In reality, the medication is just preventing withdrawal symptoms.

That cycle creates dependence, which is different from an addiction that’s characterized by compulsive use and preoccupation with a drug that interferes with normal life.

A gradual process The encouraging news is that Epstein helps people get off sleep medications

every day. It starts with a gradual, progressive reduction in the amount of sleep medication you take.

Make sure this is done under the direction of a physician. Abrupt stopping can trigger seizures in some people.

Reducing the medication requires planning. “Each time you lower the dose, your sleep will be disrupted because you’ll have the withdrawal effect. So be prepared, and know your sleep won’t be as good for a few days,” said Epstein.

The longer you’ve been on the medications, the slower your doctor will make the taper. It’s a process that can last from weeks to months.

Reducing medications may not be enough to help you rest each night. So your doctor will likely pair the process with tools to counter behaviors that do not promote sleep. These include: 1. Cognitive behavior therapy, which helps you redirect your thoughts to reduce anxiety about sleeping 2. Relaxation techniques, such as guided visualization 3. Recognizing the stimuli that prevent sleep, such as television, computer and smartphone screens 4. Improving sleep hygiene by — using See SLEEP MEDS, page 4

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Sleep meds From page 3 the bed for sleep and sex only; blocking as much noise and light as possible; going to bed and waking at the same times each day; and getting out of bed if you haven’t fallen asleep within 20 minutes 5. Dietary changes, such as avoiding alcohol, caffeine and foods that promote

Google pill From page 3 terpreted by a doctor, he said. That could raise questions about privacy or the security of patient data. But when asked if Google could use the information for commercial purposes, Conrad said, “We have no interest in that.”

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

acid indigestion.

Sleep drugs may help you get a decent night’s rest, but they come with the risk of impairment — even amnesia — the next morning.

You’ll know you’re affected if you have a hard time getting started in the morning, or if you’re groggy when you wake up. That may also put you at risk for impaired driving.

It’s vital to know how long these drugs

last in your body. Some, like zolpidem (Ambien), are short-acting. Others, such as eszopiclone (Lunesta) and temazepam (Restoril), are medium-acting. Long-acting drugs include flurazepam (Dalmane) and clonazepam (Klonopin).

“If the problem is falling asleep, pick a drug that doesn’t last long. If the problem is awakening during the night, pick one that lasts longer, but learn how long it takes you

to get rid of the medication, and put aside enough time for sleep to let the drug clear from your body,” Epstein advised.

If you’re groggy in the morning, talk to your doctor about a different medication or dose, and don’t get behind the wheel of a car.

— Harvard Health Letter © 2014. All Rights Reserved. Distributed

by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Aiming for early detection

The diagnosis probably wouldn’t have been made at such an early stage if Stanis hadn’t been seriously injured, prompting Google’s X lab to explore better ways for doctors to keep watch for early warning signs. Stanis, who is now cancer-free, is part of the team working on X’s nanoparticle technology.

Conrad described the project during an appearance at a tech industry conference organized by the Wall Street Journal.

He said the team working on the nanoparticle project includes a cancer spe-

cialist and other doctors, as well as electrical and mechanical engineers and an astrophysicist who has been advising on how to track the particles through the body.

Google is looking for partners who would license the technology and bring products to market. “Our partners would take care of all that stuff. We’re the inventors and creators of the technology,” Conrad said.

It could be a decade before Google’s nanoparticle research pays off, according to the company, based in Mountain View, California.

— AP

The effort to develop a better way to detect cancer was inspired by the experience of Google engineer Tom Stanis.

After getting hit by a car while bicycling, Stanis wound up in a hospital emergency room where a medical scan looking for internal bleeding alerted doctors that there was a tumor growing in his kidney.

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PARKINSON’S DISEASE EDUCATION AND SUPPORT GROUP This free ongoing support group offers discussions by a trained facilitator covering such topics as research, treatment, coping

skills, alternative therapies, diet, exercise and more for Parkinson’s Disease patients and their families and caregivers. The groups are held at Johns Hopkins at Green Spring Station, Foxleigh Building, 2330 Joppa Rd. For more information, including upcoming schedules, call (410) 616-2811.

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FREE BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS AT ST. AGNES Join St. Agnes Hospital for free blood pressure screenings held every month. There is no registration required and they are given

on a first come, first serve basis. Screenings are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Saint Agnes Hospital, 900 Caton Ave. For more information, call (410) 386-6000, or visit www.stagnes.org.

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In examinations of older adults, average scores on vision tests can be better in the clinic than at home. Sometimes patients are able to read at least two or more lines extra on an eye chart in the clinic compared with what they could read at home.

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., suggests dim lighting may be the culprit. “The major factor contributing to this difference was poor lighting in the home,” said Dr. Anjali M. Bhorade, a Washington University ophthalmologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The study was published online in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

The researchers studied 175 patients ages 55 to 90, including 126 with glaucoma.

All patients had their vision measured at home and at the Glaucoma and Comprehensive Eye Clinics at the School of Medicine.

The average scores on vision tests were better in the clinic than at home, Bhorade said. Nearly 30 percent of the patients with glaucoma were able to read at least two or more lines extra on an eye chart in the clinic than on the same chart at their homes, and 39 percent of those with ad-

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Dim lighting at home hurts vision

vanced glaucoma read three or more additional lines in the clinic.

The same results were observed with up-close vision. More than 20 percent of patients were able to read two or more additional lines of text at the doctor’s office than they did at home.

Patients without glaucoma had similar differences.

“The lighting levels were below the recommended range in more than 85 percent of the homes we visited,” Bhorade said.

“Since most older adults spend the majority of time at home, our study suggests that better lighting may increase vision and possibly improve the quality of life for a large number of people. The houses we visited were almost three to four times less bright than an average clinic.”

Although the study didn’t look specifically at potential dangers associated with low light, such as falls, other research has determined that a difference of two or more lines on an eye chart is associated with a significant difference in how a person functions in daily life.

“Our study results also suggest that not all older adults benefit from increased lighting. Clinicians should refer their patients for a customized in-home evaluation by an occupational therapist or low-vision rehabilitation specialist who can make suggestions to optimize the lighting in people’s homes.”

— What Doctors Know

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Medicare may cover end-of-life counseling Medicare will consider paying doctors to counsel patients about their options for end-of-life care, the same idea that spurred accusations of “death panels” and fanned a political furor around President Barack Obama’s healthcare law five years ago.

The announcement came in a voluminous regulation on physician payment. It will “give the public ample opportunity to weigh in on the topic,” said Medicare spokesman Aaron Albright.

Medicare will consider a change for 2016.

Such counseling would be voluntary,

aiming to make patients aware of their options so they can determine the type of care they want at the end of life.

It’s an idea that has wide support in the medical community, and some private insurance plans already pay for such counseling. Supporters say counseling would give patients more control and free families from tortuous decisions.

Before former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ignited the “death panel” debate in 2009, there was longstanding bipartisan consensus around helping people to better understand their end-of-life choices and decisions.

In 2008, a year before debate over the Obama’s health overhaul spiraled into tea party protests, Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation requiring doctors to discuss issues like living wills with new Medicare enrollees.

That effort dissipated almost instantly

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

when Palin said the end-of-life counseling provision in the legislation would result in bureaucrats deciding whether sick people get to live. The language, modeled after a bill by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., was ultimately removed.

Now the administration is dipping its toe in the water again.

— AP

Drugs still found in online supplements Dietary supplements containing potentially dangerous prescription drug ingredients may still be for sale even years after safety recalls, a study found.

In supplements bought online, researchers detected hidden steroids, simi-

lar ingredients to Viagra and Prozac, and a weight loss drug linked with heart attacks.

They tested 27 products promising big muscles, sexual prowess, weight loss and more. Of those, 18 contained ingredients not approved for over-the-counter use; 17 still had the same drug that prompted the recalls.

Manufacturers are putting profit ahead of consumer health, but lax oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is contributing to the problem, said lead author Dr. Pieter Cohen, an internist and researcher at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Boston-area healthcare system.

The tested supplements were recalled by manufacturers after the FDA raised concerns about drugs in their products.

This type of recall is usually voluntary, involving products that could potentially See HEALTH SHORTS, page 8

BEACON BITS

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Jan. 16

Becky Johnson will demonstrate laughter yoga at the Arbutus Senior Center on Friday, Jan. 16 at 11 a.m. To reserve a seat, call (410) 887-1410. The center is located at 855 A Sulphur Spring Rd. in Halethorpe.

Jan. 16 Mary came to ManorCare Health Service – Woodbridge Valley debilitated from an infection. Mary couldn’t even get out of bed! didn’tknow know She told us ‘Ididn’t what to expect. I’ve never been hospitalized.’

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MAINTAIN YOUR BRAIN Robyn Zahar will present a brain fitness class at Pikesville Senior Center on Friday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. The center is located at 1301 Reisterstown Rd. For more information, call (410) 887-1245.

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7

Cook with spices that work like medicine I decided it’s worth the extra five minI’m one of those cooks that combines whatever I find in the fridge or pantry with- utes to use spices his way. Indian spices are out a plan. I’ll throw spices and foods togeth- some of the healthiest on the planet and can act as an aphrodisiac, antibacer like a mad scientist, kind of terial, immune booster, respihow I did in my 1987 organic ratory aid and digestive tonic. chemistry class (hoping I I recommend these: wouldn’t blow up the lab).

Garam masala. This is not Recently, I went to my first one spice, it’s a blend which difcooking class, “Secrets of Indian Cuisine,” at Sur La fers regionally. It usually conTable. Focusing was difficult tains cinnamon, nutmeg, since I was distracted by the cloves, peppercorns, turmeric incredible aroma of the garlic, and mace (not the kind of mace onion and seasonings which you spray in a mugger’s face, DEAR were simmering in the pot. this “mace” is a waxy red coatPHARMACIST Our chef taught us how to ing off a nutmeg seed.) Garam

By Suzy Cohen create the most amazing masala can help you with digesChicken Tikka Masala I’ve tion and respiratory conditions. ever tasted! In between bites and moans, I Curry. This is actually a blend of spices, asked why his tasted so much better than including turmeric, which is known for its the restaurant version. anti-cancer benefits and ability to reduce He said, “The secret is the spice you inflammation. Curry blends may cause diuse.” He did not use the powdered spices arrhea in sensitive people. In case you you get from a regular grocery store. His have ever experienced an Indian food reacwere fresh, and he turned both the cumin tion, curry is the ‘laxative.’ and coriander seeds into powder using a Coriander. It’s from the seeds of the little electric coffee grinder. cilantro plant, but it tastes nothing like Our eyes widened as he passed around cilantro. Lightly toast them to extract more his freshly ground spice and the same flavor. This spice reduces insulin and spice in a store-bought version. The color blood sugar, and one study suggests it and aroma were completely different. One binds heavy metals such as lead.

Green cardamom seed. During cookwhiff and his point was made!

ing class, I gently popped open the seeds in a mortar and pestle by tapping them, and then simmered both the seeds and outer shells in oil. What a difference compared to the store-bought powdered type!

Cardamom is rich in minerals, especially potassium, so its medicinal action on the body reduces blood pressure and controls blood clot formation.

Chewing the seeds helps with bad breath. This spice is also used in chai tea.

There’s also a black cardamom seed which has more of a smokey flavor.

Cumin seed. This is rich in iron, in case you have anemia. Cumin is the seed of a small parsley plant. It helps you secrete bile acids and pancreatic enzymes, and that helps you break down your food.

It also has anti-diabetic actions, like the sulfonylurea medicines.

Fenugreek. You can buy the seeds and crush them. They have estrogenic properties, so some women use them to control hot flashes. Older folks can also benefit from the cholesterol lowering properties of fenugreek.

Visit my website for more information and the recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala.

This information is opinion only. It is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose your condition. Consult with your doctor before using any new drug or supplement.

Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist and the author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist and Real Solutions from Head to Toe. To contact her, visit www.SuzyCohen.com.

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Health shorts From page 6 cause serious health problems and even death. The FDA’s role includes assessing whether recalls successfully remove potentially unsafe products from the market.

“There should be significant legal and financial consequences for manufacturers who the FDA finds to be continuing to sell these spiked supplements,” Cohen said.

Unlike prescription drugs, dietary supplements don’t need FDA approval before they are marketed. Still, their labels must list all ingredients, and manufacturers are not allowed to sell products that are “adulterated or misbranded,” the agency’s website says.

The authors say laws that increase FDA’s enforcement powers may be needed to fix the problem.

In response to the study, the FDA said it

has issued hundreds of consumer alerts warning about tainted products, sent warning letters to supplement makers, “and pursued civil and criminal enforcement” against those illegally marketed products.

Deterring manufacturers is sometimes challenging because they are often difficult to locate and some are overseas, the agency said.

The researchers bought 27 of the 274 supplements recalled from 2009 to 2012.

The products were purchased in summer 2013 from manufacturers’ websites or other online retailers. An Oregon research laboratory tested them.

Whether any consumers were harmed by using the tainted supplements was beyond the study’s scope. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

— AP

BEACON BITS

Dec. 31

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY AT SEVEN OAKS Ring in the New Year a bit early at Seven Oaks on Wednesday,

Dec. 31, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.! Tony Luciano will provide musical entertainment and help countdown to the New Year with a champagne toast. Enjoy a home cooked meal of baked ziti with meatballs, salad, bread and dessert. You’re welcome to BYOB of your favorite beer or wine, but beverages will also be available. Tickets are $10 in advance. Seven Oaks is located at 9210 Seven Courts Dr. in Nottingham. For more information, call (410) 887-5192.

Treating Difficulty Standing or Walking, attributed to Arthritis, Spinal Stenosis, Neuropathy, Poor Circulation or Poor Balance I am a patient who had severe foot pain for 2 years, with no relief in sight....by the end of the 4 days I was 85% pain free in both feet. I thank God for Dr. Goldman and his passion for research in healing people with foot and leg pain.

How fortunate I feel to have found a doctor who could not only diagnose an underlying problem that many specialists missed, but who has been able to find a painless and rapid method of relieving the worst symptoms.

– Alvin, Baltimore

– Susan, Baltimore

As a podiatrist with over 30 years experience, I have always focused on non-surgical treatment of foot and leg pain. I find that most people with foot or leg symptoms (arthritic, aching, burning, cramping or difficulty walking) , even those who have had other treatments, including surgery of the foot (or back), can be helped, usually in 1 or 2 visits.

— Dr. Stuart Goldman

Stuart Goldman, DPM

Fellow American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons

4000 Old Court Road, Suite 301, Pikesville

Author, multiple articles on Foot & Leg Symptoms

410-235-2345

Marquis Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare

H elP F orYour F eeT.C oM

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

Health Studies Page

9

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Hopkins studies Alzheimer’s depression Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and memory loss in older adults. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that Alzheimer’s currently affects 5.2 million Americans, and that this number will likely triple by the year 2030.

While most people are familiar with Alzheimer’s as a disease that causes memory loss and functional decline, many patients with AD also have changes in mood that increase suffering for patients and families alike, according to Dr. Paul Rosenberg, a geriatric psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center, who specializes in improving treatment in Alzheimer’s-related mood symptoms.

One of the most common mood changes in AD is depression, which affects an estimated 40 percent of persons with the disease and can seriously decrease quality of life. In addition to the usual stresses of life and aging, Rosenberg observed that there are several specific causes of depression in AD.

Brain changes spur depression First, those with AD, particularly in the early stages of the disease, may be keenly aware of their loss of memory and difficulties functioning. Alzheimer’s can cause considerable psychic distress because people are afraid that they are “losing their minds,” even when the symptoms are very mild.

“Many patients spend inordinate amounts of time and energy trying to fight the disease,” said Rosenberg. “They make lists, use post-it notes, ask family members

to remind them of appointments, etc. The effort of trying to remember and to keep one’s mind organized can be anxiety-provoking and exhausting.”

In addition, Rosenberg continued, the biologic effects of Alzheimer’s on the brain likely make patients vulnerable to depression. “We have evidence that the neuro-degeneration of AD affects important circuits controlling mood regulation, including those involving the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine,” he explained.

Depression in AD has different symptoms than depression in young people, according to Rosenberg. Alzheimer’s patients are less likely to overtly say they’re depressed, to have sleep/appetite disturbances, or to wish for death or feel suicidal. But they are more likely to be nervous, anxious, agitated or ruminative, with anxious thoughts that are difficult to get out of their head. The common denominator in depression is loss of enjoyment of life, known as anhedonia (Greek for “not taking pleasure in life”).

Medications are widely used to treat AD-related depression, but researchers are still trying to determine if they are actually effective. The most commonly used medications are in the class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain.

Unfortunately, in one study of the SSRI sertraline, Rosenberg and his fellow researchers found that the drug was not effective for depression in AD.

Drug study underway Since SSRIs only affect serotonin, and other neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine are affected in AD and depres-

sion, Rosenberg is currently studying a drug that also affects norepinephrine.

See DEPRESSION STUDY, page 10

Diabetes Research Study 50-80 year old men & women with Type 2 Diabetes are needed to participate in an exercise research study at the University of Maryland/Baltimore VA Medical Center.

Parking and compensation for your time will be provided.

Call 410-605-7179.

Mention code: EPC-DM.

Want to Prevent Falls in the Elderly?

Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the University of Maryland &Veterans Affairs of Baltimore to better understand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

You will receive:

• Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFT at Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line *You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours each per visit

CALL TODAY!

10

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Depression study From page 9

Caring places. Healing spaces.

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These medications are called selective noradrenergic-serotonergic reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

Rosenberg’s current study will examine the effect of a particularly potent SNRI, venlafaxine, in depression of AD patients.

While venlafaxine has been FDA-approved for major depression in general, Rosenberg and his fellow researchers want to find out if it is effective for patients with depression and AD. Those selected to participate in the study must be age 65 or older and have mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. They will visit Johns Hopkins Bayview Memory Center five times over the course of three months. Participants will receive $20 for each visit.

During the study visits, they will undergo neurological and physical examinations by the study physician, including lab tests such as blood tests; be given tests of thinking, memory, mood and activities of daily living; and agree to have a study partner who will answer questions about the participant’s thinking, memory, mood and activities of daily living.

The study will be recruiting for approximately two more years and aims to recruit up to 50 participants.

In addition to medication, one of the pri-

mary treatments for depression in AD is behavioral intervention, noted Rosenberg, remarking that setting up an appropriate degree of supervision as well as a structured environment, including regular times for bedtime and awakening, can be crucial.

“Alzheimer’s patients feel less depressed when they are well supported and don’t need to worry as much about keeping track of day-to-day activities, and this sort of cognitive supervision and emotional support is usually supplied by families,” he said.

For this reason, the Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center also offers a Dementia Needs Assessment for both patient and caregiver.

“Many patients with Alzheimer’s disease benefit from increased socialization and activities,” Rosenberg continued.

“Early in the disease they can often utilize services of a senior citizens’ community center, while as the disease progresses they may benefit more from the increased level of services offered in an adult day care center. The latter often provides transportation as part of the package which offers extra respite for family members as well.”

To learn more, contact recruitment coordinator Wendy Golden at (410) 550-9022 or visit www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ psychiatry/specialty_areas/memory_center /research.html.

BEACON BITS

BridgePark

4017 Liberty Heights Avenue Baltimore, MD 21207

410.542.5306

Dec. 27

CELEBRATE KWANZAA Bring the family to learn about Kwanzaa, and celebrate this holi-

day honoring family, community and culture at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum on Saturday, Dec. 27 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The event is free,

Ellicott City

3000 N. Ridge Road Ellicott City, MD 21043

410.461.7577

Fayette Health 1217 W. Fayette Street Baltimore, MD 21223

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301.736.0240

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410.956.5000

but advance registration is required. Call (410) 887-1080 or email BannekerMuseum@BaltimoreCountyMD.gov. The museum is located at 300 Oella Ave. in Catonsville.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

11

Stem cells safely reverse some vision loss

By Maria Cheng An experimental treatment for blindness that uses embryonic stem cells appears to be safe, and it improved vision in more than half of the patients who got it, two early studies show.

Researchers followed 18 patients for up to three years after treatment. The studies are the first to show long-term safety of an embryonic stem cell treatment in humans.

“It’s a wonderful first step, but it doesn’t prove that (stem cells) work,” said Chris Mason, chair of regenerative medicine at University College London, who was not part of the research. He said it was encouraging that the studies proved the treatment is safe and dispelled fears that stem

From the publisher From page 2 1959 (35 percent) — today has the lowest poverty rate of any age group (9.5 percent).

But we might not be so happy to learn that the current poverty rate of children under 18 is more than twice as high (19.9 percent).

We haven’t even begun to talk about Medicaid — the joint federal/state healthcare and long-term care program for the poor and those with disabilities — and how its fast-rising needs are straining that program in many states as well as on the national level.

cells would promote tumor growth.

Embryonic stem cells, which are recovered from embryos, can become any cell in the body. They are considered controversial by some because they involve destroying an embryo, and some critics say adult stem cells, which are derived from tissue samples, should be used instead.

Treated macular degeneration Scientists have long thought about transforming embryonic stem cells into specific types of cells to help treat various diseases. In the new research, scientists turned stem cells into retinal cells to treat older adults with macular degeneration and children with Stargardt’s macular dys-

trophy, the leading causes of blindness in those populations.

In each patient, the retinal cells were injected into the eye that had the worst vision. Ten of the 18 patients later reported they could see better with the treated eye than the other one. No safety problems were detected. The studies were paid for by the U.S. company that developed the treatment, Advanced Cell Technology, and were published in the journal Lancet.

Dr. Robert Lanza, one of the study authors, said it was significant the stem cells survived years after the transplant and weren’t wiped out by the patients’ own immune systems.

For some of the patients, Lanza noted their

improved vision changed their lives, referring to a 75-year-old horse rancher who had been blind in one eye before the treatment.

“One month after his treatment, his vision had improved [substantially], and he can even ride his horses again,” Lanza said in an email. He said other patients have regained their independence with their newfound vision, and said some people are now able to use their computers again, read their watches or travel on their own.

“The next step will be to prove these (stem cell) treatments actually work,” Mason said.

“Unless there is a sham group where you inject saline into [patients’] eyes, we can’t know for sure that it was the stem cells that were responsible.”

— AP

There are facts about that program and many others I could share, and next month I may do some of that. But I think you see where I am going with this.

Please pick up the Beacon next month and give me a chance to finish my thoughts, because I feel there is an important discussion we need to be having in this country.

It starts with facing certain facts. Who knows where it will end?

participate in a clinical research trial for

INVESTIGATIONAL MEDICATION FOR ALZHEIMER’S The PAREXEL® early phase unit, located at Harbor Hospital in Baltimore, MD, is currently seeking volunteers with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease to participate in a clinical research trial to evaluate a new investigational medication for Alzheimer’s Disease.

We are recruiting the following populations • Males

• You have been diagnosed • Females of with mild to nonchildbearing moderate potential Alzheimer’s Disease • Ages 55 - 85

The study involves up to three screening visits, one in-house stay of 3 days / 2 nights and 13 outpatient visits. If you qualify and complete the study you may receive up to $4,850 in compensation. Your legally authorized representative may receive up to $875.

© 2014 PAREXEL International Corporation. All rights reserved.

For more information, please visit our website www.PAREXEL.com/baltimore, or contact us toll free at 1-800-797-2448.

Please reference Alzheimer’s study.

12

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Gay and gray From page 1 think that marriage was an option for them, at least not in Maryland.

They first met through mutual friends nine years ago, while each was grieving the loss of a spouse (in Mark’s case a spouse in every sense of the word but legal, he said, while in Russ’s case, a wife to whom he had been married for 43 years).

The couple discussed getting married in a different state that already recognized same-sex marriage, but in the years it took their relationship to evolve from friendship

to romance, the landscape was changing and they decided to wait and see if Maryland would legalize same-sex marriage.

Once it did, they applied for a marriage license, hoping to get married on January 1, 2013. But as is so often the case, the bureaucratic wheels can turn slowly, and they wound up delaying the service several days.

The two had a church wedding before approximately 65 friends and members of both families, including Russ’s three children and his grandchildren, who have been very accepting of Mark.

While their relationship has continued to evolve and deepen over the years, being

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

married has brought the two even closer, they say. Now the couple, who say they live a “banal and normal” life in every way, enjoy the time they have with each other.

Reluctance and fear remain Not all older gay couples are heading to the altar.

LaGrant said that since marriage wasn’t an option for so many years, instead of rushing to the altar, many older couples are hesitant to “come out to that degree.”

“Marriage is another stand they have to take,” she said, “and another way of ‘coming out.’ For each couple it’s a personal and private decision.”

While the gay community in general is experiencing much more freedom in recent years, including the right to marry, “it’s easy to forget that it’s more difficult for older people to come out than younger people,” said Jessica Rowe.

Rowe is an eldercare consultant and a member of the newly formed Howard County Older Adult LGBT Task Force, whose goal is to educate Howard County residents about the older LGBT community and help the latter with any problems it faces. (Currently there is no similar task force in the Baltimore area.)

Rowe noted that older adults came of age in a time when anti-gay prejudice was far more common than today. Therefore, older LGBT adults may either have internalized those attitudes, remaining afraid to come out

of the closet, or simply are aware that more of their peers are less tolerant of LGBT lifestyles, so they choose not to speak of it.

But another reason older adults may find it more difficult to be out in public may be due to attitudes of age discrimination among younger LGBT individuals. “Older LGBT people often are not accepted by the younger LGBT community, as well as (by) the mainstream older community,” Rowe asserted.

“Some have never told their children.”

While these issues may lead some to become more outspoken and activist, others find themselves less interested in politics and more focused on family and each other.

Once active in the gay rights campaign, LaGrant and Richardson are now more focused on growing their real estate business and on their lives together.

“I’m not as good a gay as I used to be,” LaGrant chuckled. “Our focus is now on each other.”

The same holds true for Mark and Russ Volker. “We’re pretty apolitical,” said Mark. “We have our life together...our family, our friends, music, theater, church. We enjoy our domesticity. We treasure every second with each other.

“I found someone to open my heart to,” said Russ, recalling the words he spoke at their wedding. “Being married means everything.”

Freelance writer Robert Friedman also contributed to this story.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

13

NY style no-bake lower-fat cheesecake Each year, the American Institute for Cancer Research teams up with the Careers through Culinary Arts Programs in high schools across the country in a contest to create healthy, nutritious and delicious recipes.

This year, three winners are awarded scholarships. This cheesecake recipe was developed by Jessica Stansbery of Phoenix, Ariz.

Ingredients Crust: 1 cup walnuts 1/2 cup rolled oats 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder 1 cup dates, cut into thirds Filling: 16 oz whipped low-fat cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. lemon zest Sauce: 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, reduced Garnish:

4 oz. fresh blueberries 6 oz. fresh strawberries, quartered 1 Tbsp. sugar

Presentation When ready to serve: top cheesecake with sugared berries. Cut into slices and drizzle with pomegranate reduction.

Makes 10 servings.

Per serving: 230 calories, 12 fat, (4 g. sat fat), 28 g. carbohydrate, 6 g. protein, 3 g. fiber, 180 mg. sodium.

Directions Prepare crust: Place walnuts, oats and cocoa powder in food processor. Pulse and process until finely ground. Add dates and process until mixture holds together.

Transfer to a 6 or 7-inch spring form pan, baking dish, or pie plate. Press mixture along bottom and up sides of dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

Prepare filling: Whisk cream cheese with powdered sugar, vanilla and zest. Spoon over crust and smooth with a spatula. Refrigerate.

Make sauce: Bring juice to boil, reduce heat to low so mixture simmers for 10 minutes. Cool in refrigerator.

Prepare garnish: Mix blueberries with strawberries in bowl. Toss with sugar and set aside.

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

You want to intervene in your child’s life?

Dear Solutions: My daughter and son-in-law have been married for two years. Now she thinks it’s time to have a baby. Instead of trying for that, he has walked out, saying he needs time off before he decides to stay in the marriage.

My daughter is devastated. He has no parents, and I would like to really get hold of him and talk to him, but my daughter won’t let me. I would talk to him about the meaning of marriage and commitment. It’s not supposed to be a temporary arrangement.

How can I convince her to let me try?

— Bernice Dear Bernice: So you think marriage should be a life sentence. He says he’s out on parole. The main thing for you to accept is that you’re not his parole officer.

Honor your daughter’s wishes. She knows better than you what has gone on in her marriage. Also, the thought of a baby and what that entails in terms of responsibility may have scared him.

Be supportive to her. Assure her that you’re there for her in any way that will help, but that “way” is up to her. As for the parolee, you can just express your hope that he can work things out.

Offer to pay for counseling if he or they think that could help. But unless someone asks you for help, that’s all you can do now.

It’s their problem, and it will have to be their solution.

Dear Solutions: My beautiful, smart, well-educated granddaughter went to study a foreign language in a (very) foreign country.

While there, she “fell in love” with one of the native men and married him

there so his family could attend. to welcome the stranger.

Now they’re going to come visit me so The next word is “as.” He’s not “as” edushe can introduce him to me. I’m very cated, etc. as she is, so what to tell people? I upset. He’s not only a differguess you would find it easier ent race, a different religion, to tell people if there were at and a different culture, but least the word “more” involved, he’s not even as educated as as in he’s “more” educated (a she is or as accomplished doctor at least), “more” talentor anything else. ed (a celebrity perhaps?), I‘m embarrassed by the “more” prosperous (maybe a whole thing, and I don’t millionaire?). In your mind, the know how to act with them “more” would make him equal or what to tell people. even if you look at his race, eth— Molly nicity, culture or nationality as SOLUTIONS Dear Molly: inferior to yours.

By Helen Oxenberg, There are three important So what to tell people? Tell MSW, ACSW words here: The first is “act.” them you’re thrilled that your Act like the loving grandmothgranddaughter married someer you say you are, which means accept one she really loves and who really loves her. and respect your granddaughter’s choice The reality is that although people may be cuand hope that you will find it in your heart rious, they don’t really care.

Since you really care about your granddaughter’s happiness, accept this as a done deal and sincerely give them your blessing.

Dear Solutions: What do you do with a wife who seems to enjoy picking fights all the time over unimportant things — mostly when you’re trying to fall asleep?

— Ed Dear Ed: The first thing you do is recognize that they’re actually important things because they’re making you pay attention to her!

Wake up, Ed. She’s trying to get your attention.

Stop dreaming that she enjoys picking fights, and try to find out what’s really bothering her in this marriage. After you find out, and you discuss it with her, and you try to change what’s wrong — then you can go back to sleep. © Helen Oxenberg, 2014. Questions to be considered for this column may be sent to: The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915. You may also email the author at helox72@comcast.net. To inquire about reprint rights, call (609) 655-3684.

BEACON BITS

Jan. 5+

BACK TO CLASS AT CATONSVILLE SENIOR CENTER

Catonsville Senior Center kicks off its new year with classes beginning on Jan. 5. There will be an array of offerings from creative arts to fitness to computers and more. Call (410) 887-0900 or visit www.catonsvilleseniorcenter.webs.com for a complete schedule. The Center is located at 501 N. Rolling Rd.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION

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B-2

Housing Options | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

CCRCs pair housing with health benefits

By Pat Mertz Esswein and Sandra Block When Barbara Zorn’s husband passed away, she found it too difficult to continue to maintain her house in Bel Air on her own. More important, she realized that she needed to be around other people.

“We had enjoyed traveling and taking advantage of the social scene in Baltimore, such as concerts at the Meyerhoff,” said Zorn, 76, the former executive director of the Maryland Association of CPAs. “It was the right time to create a new network for myself.”

Zorn decided to move into a continuing

care retirement community. Such communities, known as CCRCs, provide independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care (or in some cases just independent living and skilled nursing) on the same campus, typically in exchange for a sizable up-front fee and monthly payments. The idea is that residents will have a place to live for the rest of their lives, with access to healthcare as they need it.

Zorn chose Oak Crest, an Erickson Living community in Parkville. She moved in nearly five years ago and has become an

active resident, serving as president of the Resident Advisory Council, co-chair of the iPad Users Group, and host and contributor for the in-house television station.

“Oak Crest has fulfilled my desire to be active,” said Zorn. “Each day, there are dozens of activities, events and trips from which to choose, and I’ve made numerous friends from all walks of life.”

An avid walker, Zorn has also found that Oak Crest’s offering of health and wellness programs, along with its secure 87acre campus, enhances her fitness regimen. “I feel good because of it,” she said.

Varied locations, populations

MAKE A CALCULATED MOVE to Charlestown or Oak Crest. + When choosing a retirement W community, you need all the facts. You’re searching for the most value, in every sense of the word. At Charlestown and Oak Crest, PREDICTABLE you can count on exceptional MONTHLY BILL value throughout our campus.

Enjoy maintenance-free living, financial stability, and endless fi opportunities to stay social, active, and healthy. +

ONE

FIND MORE FACTS Visit EricksonLiving.com/facts or call 410-941-4948.

10383641

To entice residents who might otherwise stay at home, many CCRCs offer country club-like amenities, including dining rooms, fitness facilities and plenty of activities. They also offer safety backups, such as monitoring systems that let security guards know whether a resident has fallen or is otherwise unable to move around their apartment.

As CCRCs have caught on as a senior living option, they have often been built “on golf courses and mountaintops in the middle of nowhere,” said Andrew Carle, executive-in-residence and founder of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va. More recently, however, CCRCs have developed in the heart of communities, such as in city centers and populous suburbs. They are also now looking to attract niche or affinity groups, so CCRCs may be universitybased, focused on the arts, or geared toward the lesbian-gay-transgender population.

During the recession, demand for entrance to CCRCs fell as people had trouble selling their homes and freeing up equity for the entrance fee. But with increased consumer confidence and improvements in the housing market, demand is rising

again, said Beth Burnham Mace, chief economist of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry, based in Annapolis, Md.

Living at Oak Crest Upon moving to Oak Crest, residents pay a one-time refundable entrance deposit that is returned to residents when they move out or is passed on to their heirs.

Based on the apartment home’s floor plan, special features and location, the refundable entrance deposit at Oak Crest ranges from $85,000 to $550,000.

Residents also pay a monthly service package that is fixed for the entire calendar year, offering predictably of expenses.

The monthly package includes flexible dining plans, maintenance and repairs, heating/air conditioning, scheduled shuttle service, 24-hour security and emergency first response, fitness center, swimming pool and more. Based on the type of apartment home, the monthly service package ranges from $1,490 to $2,800.

Prospective residents of CCRCs often don’t tour the healthcare facility. “They should, but they think, I’m glad it’s there, but I hope to God I won’t need it,” said Larry Minnix, president of LeadingAge.com, a membership organization for aging-services nonprofits.

Vetting the nursing home is a key par t of shopping for a CCRC. Use the Nursing Home Comparison tool at www.medicare.gov, which rates facilities based on various criteria and lets you compare up to three facilities at a time.

Note the total number of licensed-nurse staff-hours devoted to each resident per day.

The more, the better, especially for registered nurses. When you take the tour, look for positive interaction between staff memSee CCRCS, page B-3

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

CCRCS From page B-2 bers, as well as between staff and residents.

CCRCs: the fine print Don’t let the bucolic grounds and pool at a CCRC distract you from investigating the finances and the quality of healthcare.

Here’s what to consider: 1. Type of contract. There are four general types of CCRC agreements, but not every community offers every option.

Communities with life care contracts, also known as Type A plans, typically provide unlimited access to assisted living or long-term care, with only modest increases in monthly fees.

For this security, you’ll pay a substantial fee up front. For the first quarter of 2014, the average entrance fee for those choosing such plans was $284,373, which includes the cost of the home, according to the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry.

With modified, or Type B, plans, resi-

dents pay a lower entrance fee than for a life care contract, but that may include only a specified number of days of assisted living or skilled nursing care, or leave you responsible for a percentage of healthcare costs.

Fee-for-service, or Type C, plans usually charge lower entry and monthly fees than A and B plans, but the fees don’t include the cost of any assisted living or skilled nursing care. Unless you have long-term care insurance, you’ll pay the full market rate for those services should you need them.

The median annual rate for a semiprivate room in a nursing home in Maryland is currently about $98,370, according to the Genworth 2014 Cost of Care survey. The median annual cost for assisted living is $40,800.

With rental contracts, residents pay no entrance fee, but monthly fees are usually higher than those for Type A and Type B contracts. If you need assisted living or skilled nursing care, you cover the full cost.

Finally, some CCRCs allow residents to buy their units and pay monthly service fees plus the cost of any care.

2. Terms of the refund. Most CCRC

Selected area CCRCs Augsburg Village, Baltimore, (410) 486-4573, www.augsburg.org.

Blakehurst Retirement Community, Towson, (410) 870-7817, www.blakehurstlcs.com.

Broadmead, Cockeysville, (410) 527-1900,www.broadmead.org.

Charlestown Retirement Community, Catonsville, (410) 737-8830, www.ericksonliving.com.

Fairhaven, Sykesville, (410) 7958801, www.fairhavenccrc.org.

Glen Meadows Retirement Community, Glen Arm, (410) 319-5000, www.glenmeadows.org.

Maryland Masonic Homes, Cock-

eysville, (410) 527-1111, www.mdma sonichomes.org.

Mercy Ridge, Timonium, 1-800-6576268, www.mercyridge.com.

North Oaks, Pikesville, (410) 415.9053, www.northoakslcs.com.

Oak Crest Retirement Community, Parkville, (410) 665-2222, www.erickson living.com.

Pickersgill Retirement Community, Towson, (410) 825-7423, pickersgillretire ment.org.

Roland Park Place, Baltimore, (410) 243-5700. www.rolandparkplace.org.

Vantage House, Columbia, (410) 964-5454, vantagehouse.org.

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

contracts allow a full refund of entry fees if you move or die during the first two to four years of residency, said Brad Breeding, author of What’s the Deal With Retirement Communities? (People Tested Publications). The percentage of the fee that’s refundable will gradually decline until you’re

B-3

no longer eligible for a refund.

Some contracts guarantee you or your heirs a refund of 50 percent to 100 percent of the entrance fee no matter how long you live in the community. In exchange, you’ll See CCRCS, page B-5

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Housing Options | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Why consider a housing referral service?

By Carol Sorgen Arlene Scherr had been looking for a residential community for her mother for five years.

“Every time I asked for help, though, I just got a piece of paper with a list of communities,” said the Owings Mills resident.

Until, that is, Scherr was referred to Paula Sotir of Care Patrol.

“Paula not only gave me a list of communities that she had already narrowed down as being a good fit for my mom,” said Scherr, “but she also took us on tours so we could

see for ourselves which would work best.”

Even after Scherr and her mother made a selection, Sotir’s involvement with the family didn’t end. She was able to offer assistance with obtaining veterans’ benefits, hiring movers and more.

“The service she provides is remarkable,” said Scherr. “She’s still a resource for us now. Whenever I have a question or need something, I call Paula first.”

Sorting out the options Care Patrol is one of a number of hous-

ing referral or placement services that are available to help seniors, and/or their family members, with navigating the maze of options when it comes to deciding whether to remain at home, with or without assistance, or choosing to move, whether to an independent living, assisted living or memory care community.

Sotir, a trained nurse and a certified senior advisor (CSA), is a franchise owner with Care Patrol, a placement service that began in 1988 and has been available in Maryland for the past three years.

This type of service is free to clients; the residential communities to which clients eventually move pay services such as Care Patrol a referral fee.

The first step in the process, said Sotir, is for her to meet with clients to get an idea of their needs. Then she narrows down a list of potential communities, and accompanies the clients on a tour.

Sotir said she doesn’t recommend a community until she has checked safety surveys and staffing patterns, in addition to facilities, services and amenities. “We just want to do the right thing by our clients,” said Sotir.

Getting the full picture Oasis Senior Advisors brings something new to referral services, said Tierra Foster, CSA. The company, established last

year, is headquartered in Columbia and also has a franchise in Towson.

Oasis keeps a database with photos and information about individual communities, and advisors bring their iPads to families to share this information visually instead of just providing a written list.

“We cover everything from communities with a buy-in [i.e., entrance fee] to residential care,” said Foster. “Our biggest value is that we know the community. We have visited every community we suggest.”

Some families get in touch when they’re just beginning to think about the process; others may have a rush need. There is no fee for families; Oasis receives a fee from the communities to which she refers.

Perhaps the largest referral service in the country (and now in Canada) is A Place for Mom, which has more than 20,000 partners, from home healthcare agencies to senior apartments to residential group homes.

The company has more than 300 senior living advisors across the country, so if you need help with a family member who lives in another town or state, there will be someone available to help you long-distance, according to community relations advisor Jeanne McMahon.

McMahon works closely with social See HOUSING REFERRAL, page B-5

Senior Apartments LIVE WELL FOR LESS Roland View Towers

!"#$%!&'$()&*+,-.//$+0 Services & Amenities: Most Affordable Memory Care Program in Catonsville Dedicated Memory Care Unit Short-Term Respite Care Available Social, Educational and Recreational Activities Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy In-House Delicious, Well-Balanced Meals & Snacks Gorgeous Scenic Views in Home-like Setting Contact us Today to Schedule a Tour or Visit us Next Saturday for our Open House!

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

• One- and Two-Bedroom as well as Efficiencies • Rents from $447-$751* Utilities Included!

• 24/7 on-site Maintenance and Reception Desk • Beauty/Barber Shop on premises • Bus Trips and Social Events and many more amenities!

• Only 2 blocks from Hampden’s ‘The Avenue’

Mention the Beacon for First Month’s Rent FREE!

Spectacular View

For your personal tour contact Arthur or Laura Ruby at

410-889-8255 St Mary’s Roland View Towers 3838/3939 Roland Ave • Baltimore, MD 21211

www.rolandviewtowers.com *All residents must meet specific income guidelines.

Rooftop Restaurant

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

Housing referral From page B-4 workers who care for elderly individuals and their families. “This is a stressful time in a family’s life,” she said. “It’s emotional and overwhelming, and we are here to help them figure it all out. We find the needle in the haystack for them.”

While referral services generally have a list of vetted communities they recommend, most will assist clients who want to consider additional options as well. In such a case, if the client ends up moving to a community with whom the referral

CCRCs From page B-3 pay a higher entrance fee.

3. Tax deduction. The percentage of your fees that covers healthcare is a deductible medical expense. The CCRC should tell you how much of its fees are allocated for medical costs, said Twila Midwood, an enrolled agent in Rockledge, Fla. If you’re 65 or older, you may deduct unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income.

You must itemize on your tax return to claim this deduction.

4. Long-term-care insurance. A fullservice CCRC offers many of the same benefits as a long-term care insurance policy, so if you already have the insurance, you may

service does not have a prior arrangement for payment, the community will often end up paying the service a referral fee anyway.

When working with a referral service, be sure you feel confident they are representing your best interests.

For more information: Care Patrol, www.carepatrol.com, (410) 844-0800 Oasis Senior Advisors, www.oasissenioradvisors.com, (443) 538-4515 A Place for Mom, www.aplaceformom. com, (240) 455-5835

be better off choosing a modified or fee-forservice contract. If you do opt for a full-service contract, however, don’t necessarily drop your LTC coverage. Your CCRC contract may not cover all of your healthcare costs.

5. Financial stability. Ask for the CCRC’s audited financial statements, and review them with an accountant or financial adviser versed in retirement communities.

The CCRC should be able to cover expenses out of operating income. Also look at the CCRC’s occupancy: Debt-rating agencies prefer a rate of 90 percent or more.

Ask the CCRC what provisions it has to assist residents who run out of money. Many have a benevolent fund for that purpose. © 2014, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. With additional reporting by Carol Sorgen.

B-5

ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

Heartlands at Ellicott City 410-461-9494 3004 North Ridge Road Ellicott City, MD 21043 Situated on 48 beautifully landscaped acres, Heartlands Senior Living Village at Ellicott City is a full-service, resort-style senior living community offering spacious and elegantly furnished independent living with multiple apartment options, including cottage/duplex living and assisted living apartments with kitchenettes, as well as outpatient rehabilitation services and respite/short stays – all in one location.

Our many exceptional services and amenities include restaurant-style dining, a wide range of social and recreational activities, indoor pool, fitness center, well-stocked library, 24-hour staff, full-service beauty salon/barber shop, game room, wireless Internet, comfortable sitting areas, weekly outings, laundry, and housekeeping. Heartlands has been providing service to families in the area for over 27 years.

Call us for a complimentary lunch and personal tour.

INDEPENDENT SENIOR LIVING

Weinberg Senior Living 410-753-3976 Weinberg Senior Living provides quality, affordable apartments for people 62-plus and those younger than 62 with disabilities. Our communities have been designed from the ground up to meet the needs of our residents and provide them the opportunity to live an active and social lifestyle. Our communities feature amenities such as libraries, community rooms and dining areas where residents may enjoy meals, group activities and visits with friends and family. Additionally, our communities offer a variety of floor plan designs, services and programs that support Weinberg Senior Living’s mission to help people age in place, gracefully.

Our staff members are friendly, supportive, professional and eager to assist residents. More than just employees, they enjoy what they do and take pride in the communities where they work.

INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY

Williamsburg Homes 410-997-8800 5485 Harper’s Farm Road Columbia, MD 21044 www.williamsburgllc.com

Call today to arrange a tour and complimentary lunch!

(410) 580-1400

Woodholme Gardens

Assisted Living & Memory Care

A Compass Pointe Healthcare System Community

Osprey Landing offers a variety of rancher and two-story detached home plans, from 1500 to 2500 square feet, with first floor master suites, up to 4 bedrooms, two-car garages, gourmet kitchens and options for expansion space, and more. Grand Opening prices are from the mid $300’s.

Skippers will appreciate the opportunity to lease a boat slip in the private community marina, and all residents enjoy the year-round splendor of Marley Creek. Hike or ride your bike on our nature trail.

Launch your kayak, fish or cast your reel from our community pier.

The choices for an active lifestyle are numerous!

Easily reached from Baltimore and points north and east via Routes 2 and 100, Osprey Landing is close to everything and everywhere you want to be.

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

How to choose the best walk-in bathtub Dear Savvy Senior: I’m interested in getting a walk-in

bathtub for my wife that’s easy for her to get into and out of. Can you offer

any consumer tips?

— Need Help Dear Need: A walk-in bathtub is a great option for seniors with mobility problems who have trouble getting in and out of a traditional tub. But with so many options available today, choosing one can be challenging.

Here are a few tips that can help.

Walk-in bathtubs are specialty products that have a watertight, hinged door built into the side of the tub that provides a much lower threshold to step over (usually 3 to 7 inches) versus a standard tub that’s around 15 inches.

In addition to the low threshold, most walk-in tubs also have a built-in seat, grab bars, anti-slip floors and a handheld showerhead. Many higher-end models also offer therapeutic spa-like features that are great for seniors with arthritis and other ailments.

The kind of walk-in tub you choose will

Be our guest and enjoy winter like never before

at Atrium Village Come in and take the chill off every Thursday through March at our

TASTE AND TOUR THURSDAYS We’ll be offering a light lunch and a brief tour of our community.

Seating is limited, so be sure to RSVP

RETIRE YOUR SNOW SHOVEL THIS WINTER AND START LIVING LIFE! SIGN A LEASE BY MARCH 31ST, 2015 AND WE’LL HELP YOU CLEAN OUT YOUR CLUTTER WITH THE GIFT OF 20 HOURS ASSISTANCE FROM A SKILLED DOWNSIZING ORGANIZER.

888-840-2214

I N DEPE N DE N T L I V I NG A SSIST ED L I V I NG M E MORY C A R E 4730 AT R I U M COU RT OW I NGS M I L L S, M D 21117 W W W. SE N IOR L I F E S T Y L E .COM

Gracious retirement living with no expensive buy-in, just a simple lease.

depend on the size and layout of your bathroom, your wife’s needs and preferences, and your budget. Prices for a good walk-in tub typically run between $3,000 and $10,000 installed.

What to look for Quality check: The best walk-in bathtubs on the market today are made in the USA. Also, make sure the company you choose has a lifetime “leak-proof” door seal warranty and lengthy warranties on both the tub and the operating system.

Tub size: While walk-in bathtubs vary in shape and size, most models have high-walls (three feet or higher), are 26 to 32 inches wide, and will fit into the same 60-inch long space as your standard tub without having to reconfigure the room. If the walk-in tub doesn’t quite fit your old bathtub space, extension kits are available to ensure a good fit.

Door options: Most walk-in tubs have an inward opening door, but if your wife uses a wheelchair or is a large person, an outward opening door may be a better option because they’re easier to enter and exit. But be aware that swing-out doors require more bathroom space.

One other style to consider is the “rising-wall” bathtub made by Kohler, which sits about two feet off the ground and has a side panel that slides up and down.

These tubs can be entered from a seated position, which makes it a nice option for wheelchair users.

Tub type: Most companies offer several different types of walk-in tubs. The most basic type is a soaker tub, or you can get a therapeutic tub that offers either whirlpool water jets or bubble massage air jets, or a combination of the two.

Fast fill and drain: One drawback to using a walk-in bathtub is that the bather must sit in the tub as it fills and also as it drains, which can make for a chilly experience. To help with this, choose a tub that has fast-filling faucets and pump-assisted drainage systems, which significantly speed up the process.

Where to shop: While there are many companies that make, sell and install walk-in bathtubs, some of the best in the industry are Safe Step (www.safesteptub.com, 1-800346-6616), Premier (www.premiercarebathing.com, 1-800-934-7614), American Standard (www.americanstandard.com, 1866-423-0800) and Jacuzzi (www.jacuzzi.com, 1-800-288-4002). Many big box retailers like Lowes, Home Depot and Sears sell walk-in bathtubs too.

Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover walk-in bathtubs, but many companies offer financing with monthly payment plans.

To get started, contact a few companies that will send a local dealer to your home to assess your bathroom and give you product options and estimates for free.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

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FREE HOUSING AND OTHER INFORMATION For free information from advertisers in this special section, check off those that interest you and mail this entire page to the Beacon. Please do not request info if you are not interested.

All replies will be entered into a random drawing to win Tickets to Annie at the Hippodrome Theatre.

HOUSING COMMUNITIES ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Alta Regency Crest . . . . . . . .B8 Atrium Village . . . . . .B6 and B9 Charlestown . . . . . . .B2 and B9 Christ Church Harbor Apts . . .B4 Ednor Apts . . . . . . . . . . . . .B11 Heartlands at Ellicott City . . .B5 Meadows of Reisterstown . . .B3 Memorial Apts. . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Oak Crest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 Park Heights Place . . . . . . .B11 Park View at Ashland Terrace . . . . . . . . . .B10 Park View at Catonsville . . .B10 Park View at Dundalk . . . . .B10 Park View at Fullerton . . . . .B10 Park View at Randallstown . .B10

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Park View at Rosedale . . . . .B10 Park View at Taylor . . . . . . .B10 Park View at Towson . . . . . .B10 Park View at Woodlawn . . . .B10 Shangri-La Senior Living .B4 & B9 St. Mary’s Roland View . . . . .B4 Weinberg Senior Living . . . . . .B5 Weinberg Gardens . . . . . . . .B12 Weinberg House . . . . . . . . . .B12 Weinberg Manhattan Park . . .B12 Weinberg Manor East/West .B12 Weinberg Manor South . . . . .B12 Weinberg Park Assisted Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B12 ❑ Weinberg Place . . . . . . . . . .B12 ❑ Weinberg Terrace . . . . . . . . .B12 ❑ Weinberg Village Community .B12

❑ Weinberg Woods . . . . . . . . .B12 ❑ Westminster House Apts . . . .B8 ❑ Willamsburg Homes . . . . . . . . . .B5 and B11 ❑ Woodholme Gardens . . . . . . .B5

HOME BUYERS ❑ Golden Real Estate . . . . . . . .B3

HOME CARE SERVICE ❑ Guardian Health Systems . . . .B3

HOME IMPROVEMENT ❑ Blake & Sons Waterproofing . .B6

MOVE ASSISTANCE ❑ Care Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 ❑ Easy Movers . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2

Check the boxes you’re interested in and return this entire coupon to: The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227.

You may also include the free info coupon found on page 5.

One entry per household please.

Name __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________________E-mail_______________________________________________ City _______________________________________________________ State ______________________ Zip ____________________ Phone (day) _______________________________________________ (eve) ________________________________________________ BB 1/15

Please provide your telephone number and e-mail address so we may contact you promptly if you win the drawing.

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

What to know if you rent out your home

By Melissa Rayworth Cynthia Kent and her husband, John, didn’t set out to be landlords, but career choices made it necessary.

“We have rented out our home in Florida for nine years because we move all over with the military,” said Kent, who recently relocated her family from Nevada to Alabama for yet another posting.

Some people become accidental landlords because of a job change or difficulty selling a house. Others find they need to rent out the home of an elderly parent who

has moved into a care facility.

More than 3 million owner-occupied homes were converted to rental properties between 2007 and 2011, according to a 2013 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Here is some advice for those taking on this challenging new role:

Finding the right tenant A credit check and legal background check can help you find reliable, honest tenants, said real-estate agent Gail Carpen-

ter of Northwood Realty in Pittsburgh.

“Sometimes a credit check alone” will rule out an applicant, she said.

Personal references can be useful if the applicant is local and you have mutual acquaintances. Otherwise, be wary.

“Do not take ‘personal’ references too seriously,” said New York City condo owner Sharon Lynch, who rented her home to tenants while spending a year in California. “Anyone can get a friend to write something nice about them.”

Lynch suggests using an online directory to search for an applicant’s current address and get contact information for their neighbors. Then talk to them.

“Not only can these people tell you if your applicants are good neighbors, but they can also supply you with the landlord’s contact information,” she said, “just in case your potential tenant is faking you out, pretending a friend was his or her landlord.”

Meet applicants in person and really talk with them, Carpenter said.

And request a rent that doesn’t price good applicants out of the market. You might earn more over time with a slightly lower rent, she said, because “that can help you keep your property occupied, versus asking for the moon and then it sits there vacant.”

your home thoroughly and “make the property as safe as it can be,” Carpenter said.

You may also want to tackle any looming home improvement jobs now, rather than leave your tenant to handle (or ignore) them when they become larger problems.

If you plan to return to the home eventually, it can be practical to drop the rent slightly and fill one room with belongings you’re leaving behind, rather than paying for a storage space. Put a new lock on that door and take the key with you.

Document condition in detail “It helps to take pictures of the house inside and out,” Kent said, to document its condition and cleanliness.

Don’t skip anything, and don’t assume one panoramic shot of each room will do. If you’re leaving furniture, also photograph the condition and cleanliness of each piece.

When Lynch returned to find her tenant had damaged the kitchen countertop, such “before” photos were key in being able to use the tenant’s security deposit to help pay for repairs.

When your tenant arrives to inspect the home before moving in, Kent said, “have tenants sign a document of the pictures, showing the condition at move-in.”

That walk-through inspection is vital for

Prep the house See RENTING, page B-9

Once you’ve found your tenant, clean

Starting at $1,585

APARTMENT HOMES FOR ACTIVE ADULTS 62 OR BETTER Regency Crest is an extraordinarily carefree community because of the convenient lifestyle enjoyed by those who live here. We go the extra mile to provide our residents with distinctive amenities and service that cannot be found in ordinary active adult communities.

COMMUNITY AMENITIES • Beautiful club room with theatre and demonstration kitchen • Salon • Indoor saltwater pool • Yoga studio & classes • Bingo, and many more planned activities • Movie theatre & Billiards room • Business center – 24 hours • Incredible courtyard and meditation garden with koi pond and gazebo • Guest suites

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PLANNED ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WATER AEROBICS, RESIDENT MIXERS, COOKING CLASSES, ZUMBA, MOVIE NIGHTS, BBQ’S AND MANY MORE!

3305 Oak West Drive Ellicott City, MD 21043

855.446.1131 www.RegencySeniorApartments.com

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

Renting

tree removed than worry about the outcome of a storm.

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

B-9

INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY

From page B-8 both parties. “Always be present for the move-in and move-out inspections,” said Babette Maxwell, who has rented her home to tenants several times during her husband’s Navy career and founded Military Spouse magazine to advise other military families about challenges like this one.

Also, Maxwell suggests, “Provide your renter with a baggie of ‘approved’ nails, screws, picture hangers.” And if you “have specific [cleaning] products you want used on your counters, cabinets, floors,” she said, “list them in the lease.”

As you negotiate the lease, don’t forget to have a detailed discussion about outdoor space, too. Will you or the tenant pay for lawn cutting? Who will keep up with pulling weeds and trimming bushes? Is the tenant permitted to plant flowers and do other gardening?

You may want to do an outdoor cleanup before you leave, and then have the tenant agree to maintain that level of neatness.

Scan the property for any trees that could fall on the house and assess their health. Better to pay now to have a sick

Plan ahead If there are repairs or upgrades that you promise your tenant, set a schedule in your personal calendar for completing them in the weeks after they move in.

Kent also recommends leaving a “welcome binder that stays with the house, with local information, cleaning requirements and other details.”

Make sure your tenant knows how to contact you and how to handle problems that might arise. Have a reputable contractor or other professional on-call in case something needs to be repaired, said Carpenter.

“A lot of landlords grumble about getting a call in the middle of the night,” she said, but things will inevitably happen.

Then, stay in touch. If you won’t be living close enough to check on the property yourself, arrange for a friend or hire a property manager to do so.

Being a landlord “isn’t just signing the lease and disappearing,” Carpenter said. A tenant will respect you and your property more if you remain involved.

— AP

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

JCS PROVIDES CAREER SERVICES Jewish Community Services’ Career Services helps local employ-

ers with recruitment activities and finding qualified employees who meet the specific needs of their business, at no cost to employers. Career Services also provides professional outplacement services for displaced workers. To list a position with JCS Career Services and to learn more about services for employers, call (410) 466-9200 or visit www.jcsbaltimore.org/employers.

Ongoing

DONATE HOUSEHOLD GOODS Main Street Housing develops quality affordable rental housing for individuals and families with psychiatric disabilities. It is looking

for donations of vacuums, brooms, small tables, lamps, snow shovels, rakes, lawn mowers and trimmers, washers/dryers. Visit www.mainstreethousing.org or call (410) 646-7840 (ext. 22).

ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

Oak Crest 410-877-6624 8820 Walther Boulevard Parkville, MD 21234 www.ericksonliving.com One bedroom apartment homes available NOW! The perfect space for retirement at Oak Crest.

Due to overwhelming demand for maintenance-free retirement, Oak Crest is 99% sold out! Luckily, we have a few units available for immediate reservation. OUR BEST VALUE! The Brighton — our best-selling one-bedroom apartment home — is available in extremely limited quantities. Reserving a Brighton means you’ll also enjoy access to hundreds of on-campus amenities and services exclusive to Oak Crest. Don’t delay! With this unprecedented demand, NOW may be your last chance to reserve a Brighton. Only TWO Brightons left! Call 410-877-6624 TODAY to schedule your tour.

ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

Shangri-La Senior Living of Catonsville 410-744-8433 6348 Frederick Road, Catonsville, MD 21228 www.ShangrilaSeniorLiving.com At Shangri-La Senior Living of Catonsville (previously Paradise Assisted Living), we combine comfortable living with compassionate, yet affordable care. From our comfortable interiors to our smiling residents and exceptional staff, there is an aura of warmth and caring that set us apart. Shangri-La of Catonsville offers three levels of assisted living care to our residents. In addition, we are happy to provide: spacious, private, and semi-private rooms; delicious meals and snacks with special diet requests available; daily assistance with bathing, dressing, and management of medications; daily offerings of social, educational and recreational activities; weekly religious services offered; housekeeping and laundry services; regular wellness visits by a licensed nurse; emergency call system with secured environment; hospice services; and respite, short stay care.

INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY

Atrium Village 888-840-2214

Charlestown 410-988-4070

4730 Atrium Court Owings Mills, MD 21117

715 Maiden Choice Lane Catonsville, MD 21228 www.ericksonliving.com

Atrium Village is conveniently located on the Northwest side of Baltimore, just minutes from shopping, restaurants and entertainment. Our community offers a variety of lifestyle options to meet your needs, whether it’s independent living, assisted living, or memory care. Take advantage of our resort-style atmosphere and enjoy fine dining, stimulating programs, and diverse entertainment. Our dedicated staff will provide you with the best care 24 hours a day, while our unique Quiet Care and emergency response system will keep you healthy and safe. We take care of your housekeeping, laundry and transportation so that you can spend your free time doing the things you love to do.

Come unretire at Atrium Village.

What makes Charlestown different? Year after year, Charlestown continues to be Baltimore’s first choice for retirement living. Bigger is better. The 110-acre campus is home to a wealth of activities and amenities, including six restaurants. Yet, it retains the warmth of a small town. A charming location. Residents are surrounded by nature trails, mature trees, and stunning views of the historic Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. The value of experience. For 31 years, Charlestown has provided financial security with their Refundable Entrance Deposit* and Home for Life promise. Learn more. Call 410-988-4070 for your brochure, or schedule a visit. *Carefully read the Residence and Care Agreement for the conditions that must be satisfied before the Provider is required to pay the Entrance Deposit Refund.

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Coping with clutter and hoarder disorder

By Stephanie Watson Many of us have trouble parting with our possessions — even when we no longer need them. I have a collection of greeting cards I’ve been storing since childhood and will probably never look at again. My husband owns a few pieces of clothing older than our 17-year marriage.

Yet some people take their keepsakes to the extreme, holding onto decades’ worth of receipts, newspapers and other seemingly useless items. They have hoarding disorder — a mental health condition characterized by a compulsive need to acquire and keep possessions, even when they’re not needed.

Exactly when a “pack rat” crosses the line into true hoarding has to do with “the intensity with which they’re saving, and the difficulty getting rid of things,” said Dr. Jessica Rasmussen, an instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School and assistant in psychology at Harvard-affiliated

Massachusetts General Hospital.

A wave of TV shows like “Hoarders” and “Hoarding: Buried Alive” has publicized the rarest and most extreme form of hoarding — homes filled floor-to-ceiling with piles of boxes, books, knick-knacks, and rat- and bug-infested garbage. Severe hoarders can accumulate so much that they render their living spaces unusable and dangerous.

Why do people hoard?

Anywhere from 2 to 6 percent of adults have hoarding disorder. The condition tends to run in families, although a specific “hoarding gene” hasn’t yet been found. Women seem to hoard more than men, but that gender distinction still needs to be proven.

People hoard for many reasons, said Dr. Gail Steketee, a leading hoarding researcher who is dean and professor at the Boston University School of Social Work.

One reason is sentimental attachment.

“There is some specific association to an object, or an object is seen to represent a person’s identity in some important way.”

For example, a woman who views herself as a cook might hold on to every conceivable kitchen implement, to the point where her kitchen becomes too cluttered to use.

In other cases, people feel a sentimental attachment to certain possessions — like a shell they found on their first trip to the beach. They fear that if they throw away the object, they’ll lose the memory or experience.

And there are people who see the usefulness in everything, even in items many of us would regard as junk, like an old nail or a broken shoelace.

The dangers of hoarding As piles of hoarded items grow, dust can collect on them, leading to COPD and other respiratory issues. Those piles can

also block hallways and stairways, hampering mobility — especially for older adults who already struggle to get around.

“If the person has arthritis and is having trouble navigating the house, they can be at greater risk for falling,” Rasmussen said.

Clutter can contribute to other health hazards as well, including bug and rodent infestations and fire hazards.

Hoarding also takes an emotional toll on families and friends. “Sometimes people are frustrated and want to know, ‘Why can’t my loved one just throw this away?’”

Rasmussen said.

Often it’s a family member who finally makes the call for help, either because the person who is hoarding doesn’t recognize the problem or isn’t comfortable talking about it.

“There is a lot of shame people have, a lot of embarrassment,” said Rasmussen.

“There’s still a lot of stigma around it.”

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Though families fed up with hoarding might be tempted to get a dumpster and start cleaning house like they do in the hoarding TV shows, a full-scale cleanup can be emotionally distressing for the hoarder.

Instead, experts recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help the person better understand why he or she is hoarding, and to improve decision making, organizational and problem-solving skills.

CBT can be done one-on-one with a therapist, or in a group or workshop setting.

It’s helpful to find a therapist who’s trained in hoarding, Steketee suggests. You can find a database of providers in your area by visiting the International OCD Foundation’s website, http://iocdf.org/finding-a-therapist/.

Steketee co-authored the book Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding, which also can help hoarders dig out from the clutter.

Help for pack rats Even many of us who aren’t true hoarders could do with a little downsizing, said Rasmussen. She suggests setting aside time on a regular basis — 20 or 30 minutes — to go through and clean out your stuff.

To simplify the process, sort items into one of three categories: • I’m definitely going to keep this item.

• I’m definitely going to throw away or give away this item.

• I’m not sure.

Then follow through.

“If you have a keep pile, everything should have a home or a place,” Rasmussen said. Get rid of the discard pile as soon as possible. With the unsure pile, ask yourself some simple questions like: • Do I really need this?

• Am I going to use this?

• How often have I used this?

• Could I get something like this again if I need it?

See CLUTTER, page B-11

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

B-11

Heated driveways: Goodbye to shoveling?

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Tell them you saw it in the Beacon!

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Once you have an organizational system in place and can distinguish between what you need and what you want, you’ll have

an easier time cleaning house and won’t feel as overwhelmed, Rasmussen said. — Harvard Women’s Health Watch Š 2014. President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved Distributed By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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From page B-10

Although heated driveways unquestionably qualify as luxury items, Morris said there are so many ways to design and build them that they don’t have to be costprohibitive. Prices range from, say, $6,000 for a small driveway that’s about 30 feet long to the $50,000 that Geier paid for his

is

Clutter

just enough of the driveway to drive their car out.

Despite his peace of mind last winter, Geier, who is selling his house, said he doesn’t think he’ll put a heated driveway in his new home given the cost and other issues, like having to still shovel walkways and sidewalks.

But you never know. “We haven’t been through winter in our new home yet,� he said. — AP

Expensive to install

th

“It’s becoming more and more popular because of an aging population of boomers who are just tired of shoveling,� said Bryan Morris, director of sales for Warmzone, a Utah-based company that designs and supplies radiant heat systems. “We sell a great deal to whoever gets snow.�

David Veron, who owns the Veron Co., a landscape and design business in Massa-

200-foot-long driveway.

The cost of electricity is also a factor.

Again, it depends on the size of the driveway, although Morris said that heating a small driveway for the duration of a typical six-hour storm could cost as little as $13.

A driveway heated by electricity is also cheaper than one heated by hydronics, or hot water systems. The choice often depends on the house’s heating system, Morris said.

And many homeowners, he said, heat

$2

Rising popularity

chusetts, sees the popularity of heated driveways as part of a larger trend: Homeowners are trying to build outdoor spaces they can use year-round.

In addition to driveways, his customers are heating walkways that lead to amenities such as hot tubs and fire pits. “It’s nice to sit around those in the winter,� Veron said. “But if you have to shovel first, it’s too much of a chore.�

Morris said the uptick in business started last winter: “People were calling us saying, `I can’t keep up.�‘ Installing heated driveways generally entails ripping up the existing driveway and laying down snow-melting cables and mats, which can then be covered with asphalt, concrete or pavers, Morris said.

You can zone a driveway so that one part of it is heated and another isn’t. And heated driveways can be programmed to turn on automatically when the temperature drops to a certain level.

W ith

By Diana Marszalek While the rest of the neighborhood was digging out, Alex Geier had little problem leaving his house around 7:30 a.m. each morning last winter, no matter how much snow had piled up during the night.

No, Geier didn’t pay some kid to shovel at the crack of dawn, and he didn’t hire a private plow service.

He and his family were able to navigate even snowy mornings with relative ease thanks to a heated driveway, which melts snow as soon as it hits. “It’s a classic example how you can’t put a price tag on peace of mind,� said Illinois resident Geier, who put in the (pricy) heated driveway when his house was built in 2005.

As posh as it sounds, a whole lot of people are looking into heated driveways after last year’s unusually harsh winter in much of the country.

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Say you saw it in the Beacon

Money Law &

15

INVEST IN HEALTHCARE Healthcare funds have done well in recent years. Can they stay on top?

LESS TAXING INHERITANCE Maryland’s estate tax exemption to rise, but inheritance taxes still bite FIX RETIREMENT FINANCES Pay off your mortgage and credit cards to ensure more retirement assets

Investors face risks with Chinese stocks

By Paul Wiseman and Marcy Gordon Something about the deal smelled fishy.

China Marine Food Group Ltd., a Chinese company then on the New York Stock Exchange, spent $27 million in January 2010 to acquire a firm whose main asset was “algae-based drink know-how.” The weird thing: Three months earlier, the beverage formula had been valued below $8,800.

But when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tried to review the deal, it got nowhere. The company’s Chinese accounting firm refused to provide documents.

And the SEC has been stymied since.

And China Marine? Its share price topped $8 in 2010. It’s now around 12 cents.

The case represents a cautionary tale for investors eager to invest in Chinese companies on American exchanges. Chinese companies like Alibaba, whose initial public offering this year set a record high, operate under lax standards compared with other stocks on U.S. exchanges. That means higher risks for investors.

Worries about the risks of Chinese stocks also emerged from a recent Associated Press investigation of Tianhe Chemi-

•

cals Group Ltd. When that Chinese company went public in June, the U.S. investment banking powerhouse Morgan Stanley helped it raise $654 million from foreign investors. But Tianhe’s stock has lost 39 percent since allegations emerged that it had exaggerated the value of its business.

“The protections that are often taken for granted are just not there [with Chinese companies],” said Joseph Carcello, an accounting professor at the University of Tennessee.

More than 100 Chinese companies were suspended or kicked off U.S. exchanges in 2011 and 2012, most of them for failing to file timely financial reports.

These companies, including China Marine, had exploited a legal loophole so they could merge with American shell companies. By doing so, they elude much of the SEC oversight that comes from selling shares on U.S. markets for the first time.

About two dozen of these companies have also been hit with SEC fraud or accounting charges. Yet the investigations have stalled because the companies’ audit papers are in China — beyond the SEC’s reach.

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Trade as holding companies There are currently about 100 Chinese companies trading on the NYSE and the Nasdaq Stock Market.

China restricts foreign investment in some businesses. To bypass that hurdle, Alibaba and many other Chinese companies deploy a structure called a “variable interest entity” or VIE. It works like this: The company listed on the U.S. exchange isn’t the actual Chinese company. Rather, it’s a holding company, typically based in a tax haven like the Cayman Islands. Foreign investors have no say in the company’s management.

As a result, Chinese managers can restructure a company in ways that threaten investors. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, for instance, spun off Alibaba’s payment service into a company he controlled without telling Yahoo, a major investor in Alibaba.

The VIEs are also legally dubious in China. In 2011, a Chinese panel rejected a contract between Taiwan-based GigaMedia and a Chinese gambling business that GigaMedia thought it controlled through a VIE. The manager of the gambling business had seized documents required to operate in

China. And GigaMedia could do nothing.

In 2012, China’s Supreme People’s Court threw out contracts a Hong Kong businesswoman had used to dodge Chinese rules to invest in a Chinese bank. It cited agreements that “conceal illegal intentions.”

Beijing could invoke similar reasoning to one day ban all VIEs, potentially imposing huge losses on American and other foreign investors, analysts say.

China bars U.S. inspectors from audits done by Chinese accounting firms — in order, it says, to protect its state secrets.

This means most Chinese stocks on U.S. exchanges don’t comply with American law.

“It’s a very serious problem,” said James Doty, chairman of the Public Company Oversight Accounting Board.

Why China bars auditors Experts say Beijing likely fears the documents would confirm suspicions that Chinese companies are delinquent on loans from state-owned banks or are involved in corruption. Its stance has hobbled U.S. investigations of stock fraud.

See CHINESE STOCKS, page 16

16

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Can healthcare stock funds stay on top?

By Stan Choe Stocks don’t come with guarantees, but healthcare stocks have held up better than others during past downturns. People get sick regardless of the economy’s strength, after all, and an aging population around the world means more demand for prescription drugs and hospital care.

Healthcare stock funds have returned an average of 19.1 percent annually over the last five years, more than any of the other 101 fund categories tracked by Morningstar.

The strong returns are luring more dollars: Investors put more into healthcare funds last month than they pulled out, contrary to the trend for stock funds in general.

But it’s important to keep in mind that conditions are much different for the sec-

Last year, we saved

tor than they were five years ago. Here’s a look at some questions to consider before buying a healthcare fund.

Are healthcare stock funds really safer investments?

Everything is relative, but they have been in the past.

“We’re investing in demand for health, and that comes in drugs, devices and hospital services,” said Jean Hynes, manager of the Vanguard Healthcare fund (VGHCX), whose $40.9 billion in assets makes it the largest fund in the category by far. Demand for those tends to be more stable than it is for, say, electronics or other non-essentials.

Many of the big pharmaceutical companies and insurers in the sector also pay dividends, which can help offer a smoother

This year, the goal is

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ride. Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Merck are the three largest healthcare stocks in the S&P 500, and all have a higher dividend yield than the index.

What should I look for in a healthcare stock fund?

Even within the healthcare sector, some types of stocks are safer than others. On the more volatile end are biotechnology stocks, which can be boom-or-bust investments depending on how much excitement their drugs under development are generating.

Puma Biotechnology, for example, has more than doubled this year, but that includes some extreme swings. This summer, it posted a one-day loss of 25.3 percent and a one-day gain of 295.4 percent.

Investors hoping for a smoother ride should look for funds with a smaller percentage of their assets in biotechnology stocks, said Eddie Yoon. He manages the

Fidelity Select Healthcare Portfolio fund (FSPHX), which has a four-star rating from Morningstar. Yoon has been paring back on biotech stocks.

Why did healthcare stock funds do so well over the last five years?

Healthcare funds were available at bargain prices five years ago. That’s when Congress was debating how to reform the healthcare system, and some investors worried that new regulations could hurt profits.

Pharmaceutical stocks were hurt by worries about a slowdown in government approvals for new drugs, and a raft of patent expirations.

“Fast forward to now, and we have a system where we at least understand what the system is going to look like,” Hynes said.

“Companies have gotten through the patent

Chinese stocks

istrative law judge agreed and barred the firms from auditing U.S.-traded companies.

The accounting oversight board is pursuing a deal with China to obtain the audits, an effort that Doty has made a high priority.

Without a deal, more Chinese companies could be forced off U.S. markets. And more investors would be burned.

Many analysts doubt it will come to that.

Chinese companies want access to American capital. And American investment firms and stock exchanges want the fees they earn when Chinese stocks list on U.S. exchanges.

In the meantime, the stocks trade on American markets without offering investors the protections they’re supposed to enjoy.

For now, warns Dartmouth University finance professor Anant Sundaram, Chinese stocks aren’t safe: “I would not invest in those stocks,” he said.

—AP

From page 15 Consider the China Marine case.

Shares in the snack and beverage firm began trading on U.S. markets in 2007.

U.S. investigators grew suspicious over China Marine’s $27 million purchase of most of a company that was built around a drink formula it had bought a year earlier for just $8,776.

Had China Marine’s accounting firm reviewed the deal? If so, had it determined the value of the acquisition?

Problem was, the accounting firm wouldn’t turn over the papers. And China Marine’s stock price plunged.

Two years ago, the SEC sued the China affiliates of the Big Five accounting firms, saying U.S. law required them to provide the documents. In January, an SEC admin-

See HEALTHCARE STOCK, page 17

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

17

Good news for heirs about estate taxes

By Sandra Block It’s not unusual for states to claim that they’re terrific places to live. But increasingly, states are trying to get out the message that they’re also great places to die.

In 2015, four states will increase the amount that’s exempt from state estate taxes, reducing or eliminating the tax that heirs will have to pay.

Maryland raises exemption On Jan. 1, Maryland’s exemption will increase to $1.5 million from $1 million, Tennessee’s estate tax exemption will jump to $5 million from $2 million, and Minnesota’s exemption will rise to $1.4 million from $1.2 million. On April 1, 2015, New York’s estate tax exemption will increase to $3.125 million from $2.062 million.

More relief is on the way. Maryland and New York will increase their thresholds every year until 2019, when they’ll match the federal exemption (currently $5.34 million). Tennessee’s estate tax will disappear in 2016. Minnesota’s exemption will rise in $200,000 annual increments until it reaches $2 million in 2018.

Lawmakers in states with estate and inheritance taxes are concerned that well-off retirees will vote with their feet, depriving those states of much-needed income tax revenue, said Scott Grenier, a certified financial

Healthcare stock From page 16 cliffs in a way that was very predictable, and we are in a new and exciting product cycle.”

The Affordable Care Act has meant more people have health insurance, which analysts expect will lead to higher demand for healthcare. That means investors are willing to pay higher prices for the sector: Healthcare stocks in the S&P 500 trade at 20 times their earnings per share over the prior 12 months. Five years ago, they had a price-earnings ratio of 12.

So the next five years will be just as good, right?

Unlike five years ago, healthcare stocks are no longer cheap. Many are close to

planner for Baird’s Private Wealth Management group, in Milwaukee. Taxes are one of the most common reasons retirees relocate to another state, Grenier said.

It’s not hard to understand why. Hawaii and Delaware have estate tax exemptions that match the federal level. But 14 states and Washington, D.C., have lower thresholds, with maximum tax rates ranging from 12 percent to 19 percent. New Jersey’s estate tax threshold is just $675,000, which could affect heirs of even relatively modest estates.

But beware inheritance tax Seven states have an inheritance tax, with maximum rates ranging from 9.5 percent to 18 percent. Unlike an estate tax, which is levied on an estate before it’s distributed, an inheritance tax is typically paid by the beneficiaries. Maryland and New Jersey have both estate and inheritance taxes.

If you live in a state that still has an estate or inheritance tax and you don’t want to move, talk to an estate-planning professional about other tax-saving strategies.

Connecticut is the only state that imposes a gift tax while you’re still alive, but in the remaining states you can take advantage of gifts during your lifetime to reduce the size of your estate.

If you already have an estate plan, make sure it’s regularly updated to reflect revitheir average price-earnings ratios over the last few decades.

Biotechnology stocks in particular can look expensive, as demand for their strong potential growth has inflated price-earnings ratios.

But prospects for companies’ earnings look better today than five years ago, Hynes said. Long-term trends are encouraging for the sector.

Demand for healthcare tends to spike once a person gets past the age of 70. A similar leap occurs when someone enters the middle class. Both trends are occurring around the world, as the Baby Boom generation enters retirement and developing economies in China and India vault millions into the middle class.

— AP

sions in your state’s law. More changes are likely as states try to make their jurisdictions more attractive to retiring baby boomers. For example, legislation has been

introduced in New Jersey to phase out the state’s estate tax over a five-year period. © 2014 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

18

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JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Preparation can ease retirement finances

By Elliot Raphaelson Recent studies have shown that many prospective retirees have insufficient assets or sources of income for a comfortable retirement. A lot of factors play into this problem. I’ll discuss major ones below, and suggest ways to alleviate them.

Mortgage debt. More people than ever before are entering retirement with a significant mortgage. If you have a number of years left in your working career, you might benefit from refinancing your mortgage to a shorter term, say, 15 years rather than 30. Or you might make more or larger payments toward principal.

These steps can help you significantly reduce or eliminate the outstanding balance by the time you reach retirement. If

you’re on the verge of retiring, you might consider downsizing your home to reduce or eliminate mortgage costs.

Credit card debt. Retirees are also facing higher credit card debt than ever. I recommend taking steps to retire all credit card debt before you retire. If you are not paying your bill in full each month, use a different credit card for new purchases, and pay it in full monthly.

To deal with outstanding balances, initiate a plan to eliminate all credit card debt before you retire. If you are paying a high annual fee on outstanding balances, consider switching to accounts with lower annual rates.

Insufficient retirement assets. Make sure that your 401(k) contributions are high enough to ensure maximum employer

matching. If you haven’t been making a maximum contribution, cut down on unnecessary expenditures so you can increase your contribution. Make additional IRA contributions.

Poor investment returns and high commissions. Do not keep large investments in vehicles with low returns or management fees exceeding 1 percent each year.

You should not have significant investments in money-market instruments, certificates of deposit, or Treasury bills earning less than 1 percent.

Invest in diversified stock and bond noload mutual funds and/or exchange-traded-funds with low expense ratios. Consider Vanguard, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and discount brokerage firms.

Inappropriate investment mix. When you retire, you will want a portfolio that is consistent with your retirement objectives.

It is likely that you will need some consistent income and inflation protection?

Determine how much recurring income you need from your retirement accounts, and you should be in a better position to determine what percentage of bonds you need in your portfolio, as well as the mix of common stocks. If you don’t have expertise yourself, you may initially need the services of a fee-only financial planner.

College expenses. The cost of colleges

has increased dramatically, and many students expect significant financial support from parents. Help your children choose schools they can afford, and encourage them to get scholarships and other aid.

Let them know ahead of time that, because you are planning for retirement, they should not depend on you to pay their college loans.

Premature retirement. If you possibly can, retire later than you might otherwise intend. There are several advantages. You have more time to accumulate retirement funds. Your mortgage and credit-card debt will be smaller. You can postpone taking Social Security, which will increase the size of your benefit.

Conversely, if you retire prior to 65, you will not yet be eligible for Medicare, and your healthcare costs will likely be more than you anticipate.

Poor budgeting and planning. It is important for both spouses to agree on retirement objectives. For example, how important is travel? How expensive are your planned retirement activities?

If you plan in advance, you will know what your expenses will be in retirement. This will make it much easier for you to make other decisions, such as when and where to retire, and how much of an asset base you will need. ©2014 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Travel

19

Leisure &

Ducks march daily through the lobby of Memphis’s historic Peabody Hotel.

Memphis — Elvis’ legacy and much more Music put Memphis on the map — blues, country, rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll and soul.

A mid-city statue honors “Father of the Blues” W.C. Handy, who fused Mississippi Delta gospel and cotton-field songs in the early 20th century with lyrics that lament everyday struggles, tempered with hope for a better tomorrow.

Memphians love to recall the day in 1954 when a six-foot, 19-year-old, sideburned, Crown Electric Company truck driver dropped in at Sun Studio, where anyone could record anything for $3.95. In his soft country accent, he asked to record a birthday song for his mother.

Sun’s owner, Sam Phillips, was instantly wowed by Presley’s rocking rendition of “That’s Allright Mama,” which mixed country and blues, a sound Phillips had never before heard.

“It’s not black, it’s not white, it’s not pop, it’s not country,” Sam told his friend, disc jockey Dewey Phillips, who played it on his popular WHBQ radio show, “Red, Hot and Blue.” Call-in requests to replay it flooded in. Elvis Aaron Presley was on his way.

© NATALIA BRATSLAVSKY | DREAMSTIME.COM

By Glenda C. Booth Some teenage fantasies never die. For those who were teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On” and millions got “All Shook Up”

by Elvis Presley’s pioneering gyrations and velvety vocals. Swoon.

Making the pilgrimage to Elvis Presley’s Memphis environs verges on a religious rite for many. After all, he was “The King.” Here, you can marinate in all that was Elvis as well as the broader Memphis musical mystique, the influences on him, and the forces that spawned other famous musicians.

It’s also a city of contrasts. Memphis offers the sweetness of the South — friendly, gentle people, and luscious cuisine like creamy banana pudding — against the dark backdrop of racism and slavery.

Many black musicians rose to their fame in Memphis, but Memphis is also the town where Martin Luther King was assassinated.

Memphis offers highs and lows, the stars who made it and stars who didn’t; the thrill of Elvis’s amazing rise to stardom alongside glimpses of his inner turmoil and untimely end.

Along famous Beale Street A city with spirit Memphis is perched on the banks of the Mississippi, a temperamental river, languid or roiling. And its famous music is infused with those elements as well. As bluegrass musician Marty Stuart put it, “Memphis is a hard core Mississippi River town.

There’s a lot of spirit in that town.”

That spirit seeps out of every crevice.

The town’s most famous thoroughfare, Beale Street, has clung to its historic, intertwined sacred and profane character.

The dreams of many aspiring musicians began there.

When a young man named Riley King performed in Memphis in the 1940s, he became known as the “Beale Street Blues Boy,” which was transformed to B.B. King. © STEVE KINGSMAN | DREAMSTIME.COM

The living room of Elvis Pressley’s Graceland features a 15-foot-long sofa and stained glass peacocks. The white-columned mansion is the second-most visited home in America after the White House.

Blues singers — from B.B. King, with his own nightclub, to Muddy Waters to Bobby “Blue” Bland — got their start on Beale Street, Memphis’s most famous thoroughfare.

B.B. King’s Blues Club is still a popular, live- music nightspot that serves “lipsmackin’ ribs” and “Southern comfort food.” Blues singers Muddy Waters, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Rufus Thomas, Memphis Minnie and many others started on Beale Street. Today it’s a seven-block entertainment district and host to an annual blues fest, next to be held May 1 to 3, 2015.

The Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, at 191 Beale St., traces the region’s musical evolution from southern cotton fields to contemporary performers. A 12-minute video reviews 60 years of “the Memphis sound.” There’s a 1946 Wurlitzer juke box; Ike Turner’s first piano, a black upright; Jerry Lee Lewis’s stage attire; Isaac Hayes’s mink coat; a Whitney Houston gown; and Elton John’s heart-shaped, baby blue eyeglasses.

Another video pulls your teenage heartstrings: Elvis’s first performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1956, which Sullivan partly censored. Viewers saw Elvis only above the waist, blocked from watching those famous, jackhammer gyrations that unhinged millions of screaming fans.

The STAX Museum of American Soul Music, which claims to be the only {solely) soul museum in the world, traces the history of gospel music and the blues. Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and “Try a Little Tenderness” provide a soft, background soundtrack. With racial school segregation the norm, Stax Records

launched 1960s stars both black and white, like Redding, Hayes and Booker T and the MGs. Sam Phillips’s Sun Studio, which Elvis put on the map as the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, is a modest three-room building. “If music were a religion, then Memphis would be Jerusalem and Sun Studio its most sacred shrine,” say promoters.

When Elvis showed up, he said, “I don’t sound like nobody.” Phillips had instantly discovered a unique, new talent who could belt out uptempo rockabilly with gutwrenching rhythms, croon sensual comeons, and mix country, gospel and blues all into one. His sounds could be raw, emotive, wailing, tender or electric, and range over two octaves, Phillips recognized.

Phillips also recorded blues singers like B. B. King, Howlin Wolf and Rufus Thomas.

At Sun, Carl Perkins recorded “Blue Suede Shoes”; Johnny Cash, “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I’ll Walk the Line”; Roy Orbison, “Ooby Dooby”; and Jerry Lee Lewis, “Great Balls of Fire.”

Visitors can feel the vibes in the broadcasting booth and by caressing the actual microphone that Elvis poured his soul into.

Elvis’s Graceland “Graceland was the perfect expression of Elvis’s universe because it existed closest to his roots,” his wife, Priscilla, once explained.

See MEMPHIS, page 20

20

Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Memphis From page 19 The 14-acre estate, bought for $102,500 in 1957, symbolizes the instant catapult of Elvis from near poverty to instant fortune.

The two-story, white-columned mansion, which hosts 3,000 visitors a day, is the second most visited home in the U.S. after the White House.

Japan’s President Junichiro Koizumi, an Elvis fan, had Graceland on his bucket list.

When former U.S. President George W. Bush in 2006 escorted him there, Koizumi sang, “Wise men say, only fools rush in.”

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

En route on Air Force One, they dined on Elvis’s favorite food — grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

Describing Graceland, Priscilla also said, “Elvis never did anything halfway.”

Floor-to-ceiling, stained glass peacocks greet visitors upon entry. The living room has a white, 15-foot sofa. The pool room’s walls and ceiling are swathed in 350 yards of fabric. The Jungle Room, laden with Polynesian décor, has images of monkeys, tigers and cougars plus furry furniture and green shag on the floor and ceiling. “’Bring it on!’ he wanted his rooms to say,” wrote Pamela Clarke Keogh, a biographer.

The Trophy Room showcases his gold records, flamboyant jump suits spangled with sequins and appliqué, his Army uniform, a video of his 1967 wedding, wedding clothes, the movie script for “Jailhouse Rock,” and a tender telegram to his beloved mom, Gladys.

A Graceland visit is a journey through the twists and turns of the “explosion in Memphis that changed the world.” Visitors’ awe of the material trappings is tempered by the fact that Elvis was found here in his bathroom, unconscious. His lifestyle caught up with him, some say.

Behind the mansion, at his grave in the Meditation Garden, an eternal flame burns near a quotation in German: “Life is fleeting, but you will remain in our hearts.”

Beyond the mansion, Graceland has a crammed, hyper-commercial side, with shops hawking every conceivable Elvis souvenir and trinket.

You can also visit an Elvis car museum, which includes a 1960 pink jeep and a 1955 pink Fleetwood Cadillac with white sidewall tires, and tour the Lisa Marie — his custom-

made, Convair 88 jet with suede and velvet sofas, brass faucets from Spain, and goldplated seat belts, named for his daughter.

Memories of MLK The Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, is a must visit. It’s a mostly unchanged 1960s motel with turquoise doors. On its balcony, in 1968, civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King was gunned down at age 39 when James Earl Ray fired a high-powered rifle from a rooming house across the street.

Exhibits tell the story of five centuries of civil rights struggle, from slavery, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, to King’s death.

Videos recount the sanitation workers’ strike that brought Dr. King to Memphis, the Freedom Riders, Selma’s Bloody Sunday, and the 1963 March on Washington.

Seeing room 306, where King stayed, is certain to stir the emotions.

See MEMPHIS, page 21

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

CCBC DAY TRIPS Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) will host a variety

of day trips in 2015. Possible excursions include the Philadelphia Flower Show, Monticello, National Air and Space Museum and more. For more information or a brochure, call (443) 840-1717 or visit www.ccbcmd.edu/travel.

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together

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

Memphis From page 20 For a picker-upper, try the Peabody Hotel lobby for the famous “Peabody ducks.” With regal pomp and circumstance, the “Duck Master” introduces the permanent “residents” and “marches” mallard ducks to the lobby’s Romanesque fountain at 11 a.m. daily. At 5 p.m., he “directs” them back to their rooftop “room.”

Oprah, Larry King and Jordan’s Queen

Noor have been honorary duck masters.

“The hardest part is getting them into the elevator,” quipped a recent duck master.

Memphis is music and more. When 19year-old Elvis exploded with “That’s Alright Mama” in Sun Studio, the legend began.

Today, the legend not only lives, it looms.

If you go The historic Peabody Hotel has hosted every U.S. president since Harry Truman.

The public spaces have marble columns

Winter events in Memphis Graceland will be festooned inside and out at Christmas with hundreds of blue lights lining the driveway and spotlighting some original Presley decorations — a lifesized nativity scene, Santa and his sleigh and more. Visit www.graceland.com /events/christmas.aspx.

Elvis “turns 80” on Jan. 8 and Graceland will throw a celebration from Jan. 7 to 10, 2015. Festivities include conversations with co-stars, musicians and others who worked with Elvis, and a dance party with a disc jockey spinning Elvis dance tunes.

Fans can attend a birthday cake-cutting

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

and burnished woodwork. The hotel is themed around the Peabody ducks — duck soap, toilet paper and mints. For January, prices are $230 and up. For details and reservations, call (901) 529-4000 or visit www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody.

For Elvis nostalgia, try the Heartbreak Hotel near Graceland. There are four suites inspired by The King’s life. On your second honeymoon? Try the “Burning Love” suite and the heart-shaped pool. Room prices range from $115 to $650/night. Call (877) 777-0606 or visit www.graceland.com/visit /heartbreakhotel.aspx.

Hush puppies seem ubiquitous in Mem-

21

phis, but the city is truly famous for its barbeque. Memphians would never “spoil” their BBQ with vinegar, like those rascal North Carolinians. Instead, chefs specialize in a dry rub, tomato-based sauce.

At the One and Only, http://oneandonlybbq.com, (901) 751-3615, try the hickory smoked chicken, ribs or pulled pork, and the twice-baked potato salad. The luscious, light banana pudding with whipped cream is to die for. Another option is Central BBQ, at (901) 672-7760, http://cbqmemphis.com/.

The lowest roundtrip price for a midJanuary flight from BWI to Memphis is $196 on US Airways.

ceremony and top the weekend off with a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra performing “chart-topping hits that remind you why Elvis is and always will be the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Visit www.graceland.com/events/birthday.aspx.

From Jan. 20-24, blues musicians from around the world will compete when the Blues Foundation hosts what they tout as the world’s largest gathering of blues acts.

All the gigs are throughout Beale Street.

For details, visit www.blues.org/international-blues-challenge/2015-internationalblues-challenge.

Talking on the phone can be easy again. You have our word.

If you, or a loved one, have difficulty hearing over the phone, Maryland Relay is committed to keeping you connected with services such as Captioned Telephone. Using voice recognition technology, a Captioned Telephone Operator makes it possible for you to receive on-screen captions of what your caller says, as you listen.

Plus! You may qualify for a free Captioned Telephone,* amplified phone or other assistive device through the Maryland Accessible Telecommunications program.

Captioned Telephone t Word-for-word captions t Easy-to-read display t Simple to use Just dial 7-1-1 to make a Relay call.

Visit mdrelay.org to learn more.

800-552-7724 (Voice/TTY) 443-453-5970 (VP)

*Available to qualified applicants with traditional landline service only.

22

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

2014.22, DECK SCENE WITH TUG BOATS, MDHS

Style Arts &

Jacob Glushakow painted scenes of everyday life in mid-20th century Baltimore.

Exploring images of a vanished Baltimore

2014.22, JACOB GLUSHAKOW (1914-2000). SELF-PORTRAIT

A self portrait of Glushakow, who was born at sea fleeing Ukraine before World War I and immigrated to Baltimore.

eling from Bremen, Germany, to Philadelphia. The family, after fleeing Ukraine just days before the outbreak of World War I, settled in East Baltimore where Glushakow was raised with his 10 brothers and sisters at Eden and Baltimore Streets.

The young Glushakow graduated from City College in 1933 and attended the Maryland Institute of Art and the Art Students League in New York. But in interviews throughout his career, he also credited much of his art education to his visits to the fine arts department of the Enoch Pratt Central Library.

Until the end of his life, in 2000 at the age of 86, Glushakow sketched and painted more than 1,000 works of his hometown. He lived in Mount Washington, painting in a rustic barn-studio, and also taught art for many years at the Jewish Community Center.

Paintings of everyday life In his detailed and vibrant compositions, often painted with electric turquoises, saturated oranges and rusty browns, Glushakow honored the importance of the day-to-day activities and settings of everyday folks — from people sitting in a park, to workmen lounging at the harbor, to the interior of a tailor’s shop or a neighborhood junk store.

When asked about his work in one interview, he described his powerfully rendered images as “emotion recollected in tranquil-

2014.81, SIDEWALK MARKET. EAST LOMBARD STREET, MDHS

By Carol Sorgen Jacob Glushakow painted everyday Baltimore — its people, its neighborhoods, the harbor, the markets and, perhaps most significantly and poignantly, its vanishing urban landscape.

Now the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) is exploring bygone Baltimore through its new exhibition, “Images of a Vanished Baltimore: The Art of Jacob Glushakow.”

The eldest child of Russian Jewish immigrants, Jacob Glushakow was born at sea in 1914 on the ship Brandenburg, trav-

Baltimore artist Jacob Glushakow painted scenes of everyday life, such as this sidewalk market on East Lombard Street.

ity,” quoting poet William Wordsworth.

“He made the commonplace scenes and objects of life tell stories,” said MdHS chief curator Alexandra Deutsch. He focused especially on East Baltimore, where he had grown up, as well as Druid Hill Park and Reservoir Hill.

Upon Glushakow’s death, former Sunpapers art critic John Dorsey said, “Glushakow’s art was realist but also symbolic. He found nobility in the ordinary as-

pects of the city, and by extension in the ordinary life as well.”

“Jacob’s dream was to have his paintings at the Maryland Historical Society,” remarked his sister, Helen Glushakow, who is one of the family members responsible for donating approximately 50 paintings and hundreds of drawings and sketches to the museum. About 40 of his landSee PAINTER, page 24

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 — JANUARY 2015

23

Collectibles bring holiday memories to life

Always adding Most of the decorative items Hooper looks forward to seeing year after year — and sharing with the many guests the couple host — are 50 to 70 years old. They range from family ornaments to objects, whether brand-new or just new to them, bought anywhere from eBay to antique shops to Christmas fairs.

“You used to be able to find vintage ornaments, lights and other collectibles for just a few dollars,” said Hooper. Now, though, because the Internet has opened the world of collectibles to everyone, and consumers are more educated, bargains are hard to find, Hooper lamented. “Sometimes it was more fun just to stumble across something in a shop.”

Still, Hooper and Dziwulski continue their search for new additions to their increasingly difficult to store collection.

They even made a quick getaway at the beginning of December to do the “preChristmas circuit,” hitting Adamstown and Bethlehem, Pa., New York City and Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia. “Seeing all the lights and hunting for new items gets us charged up!” said Hooper.

They have also joined the Golden Glow of Christmas Past, a club for collectors of antique Christmas items like vintage Santas, reindeer, antique ornaments and Christmas lighting, and attended the organization’s annual convention in July. This year’s theme was the anniversary of Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer (happy 75 years to Rudolph the character, and 50 years to the ever-popular television special).

The convention “was a week of people just like us…actually, maybe even worse!” laughed Hooper.

Because Hooper and Dziwulski’s 2-yearold grandson is a regular visitor, the couple decided to “scale down” their decorating this year to keep tiny hands from wreaking havoc. Last year’s 14-foot tree has been traded for a manageable tabletop version this year, and the Christmas garden that filled the living room last year is now a more modest arrangement.

But the tree is still laden with vintage bubble lights, and the glass-fronted dining room cabinets reflect several of Hooper’s collecting passions. These include items reminiscent of Baltimore, such as the cardboard Christmas garden houses made by the local Dill Co., as well as the handmade sparkling mica-covered houses made and sold by Baltimore City firemen, who used the proceeds to set up the Christmas gardens that so many firehouses once displayed.

PHOTO BY CAROL SORGEN

By Carol Sorgen If the holidays bring out the kid in us, they also tend to bring out the collector.

Just ask Tom Hooper. “Christmas has a special place in my heart,” he said. Not to mention throughout the spacious downtown condominium he shares with his husband and collecting partner-in-crime, David Dziwulski.

The collecting bug bit Hooper when he was still a kid. “I’d always help my uncle decorate my grandmother’s house, and I just loved it,” he recalled, adding that one year he was so anxious for Christmas to arrive that he put up a little tree in July just to see the decorations (much to his mother’s dismay)!

Hooper was a bit of a “pack rat” even as a child, so many of his Christmas-related objects are cherished mementoes from his own childhood, like the nativity scene that his parents bought as newlyweds in the 1940s.

Diane Moskowitz shows off some of her collection of Chanukah menorahs. She owns 15 menorahs in a variety of shapes and styles.

See COLLECTIBLES, page 25

Champagne will be POPPIN with MARY on New Year's Eve! Feb 13 - Mar 1, 2015

Tickets are now on sale!

Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Toby’s!

Dinner, show, dancing, a DJ, cabaret, champagne toast at midnight, hats and noisemakers at your table, more dancing, breakfast buffet and revelry all evening!

Call the Box Office for more information.

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24

Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Painter From page 22 scapes and portraits are on display in the current exhibition, which runs until March.

“This gift offers us so many opportunities to interpret life in 20th-century Baltimore,” said Deutsch. “His art provides

glimpses of the everyday, but it tells big stories about this city’s history. His work puts the viewer on the ground in Baltimore as it looked in the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.”

A lost cityscape captured According to MdHS president Burt Kummerow, much of early Baltimore ar-

BEACON BITS

Dec. 24+

HOLIDAY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Beans and Bread Center ensures that those affected by poverty

and homelessness have the skills and resources to achieve their full potential.

Meal servers are needed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Client resource volunteers are also needed Monday to Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. and donations are needed of adult warm clothing and accessories, hygiene items, casseroles, lunch bags, coffee, pastries and canned goods. For more information, visit www.vincentbaltimore.org/programs or call (410) 732-1892 (ext. 111).

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

chitecture has disappeared over the years to neglect and wrecking balls.

“An amazing collection of large, impressive 18th and early 19th century buildings — marvels in their own day and built in a port that traded with the world — fell prey to a restless society that was more interested in moving forward than preservation,” he said.

“We are indebted to the intrepid artists who have left a record of vanished America both in paintings and photographs,” he added.

“During the years after World War II, when the early brick fabric of Baltimore’s downtown was becoming rubble at a rapid rate, Mr. Glushakow recorded everyday scenes on street corners and row house blocks in center city. The dozens of paintings that are on display in our galleries add an engaging slice of life...for a look at a more recent past that many of us will remember,” Kummerow said.

While Deutsch acknowledges the power

of Glushakow’s cityscapes, especially as they depict both urban decay (“he brought an artist’s eye to the ugliness of neighborhood decline”) and urban renewal, she finds his portraits — for which he is less wellknown — especially intimate and emotional.

“They’re really quite extraordinary,” she said, citing several portraits painted throughout the artist’s life, as well as portraits of his mother: an early — and lifelong — champion of his artwork.

Deutsch and Kummerow are both excited about the significant enhancement to the museum’s 20th century holdings that the Glushakow collection brings.

“We’re shifting our collecting emphasis to the 20th and 21st centuries in order to be more comprehensive,” said Deutsch.

She suggests that in the future she would like to pair Glushakow’s work with that of 20th century photographers to compare how the different media approach the subject of Baltimore’s changes over time.

Though Glushakow’s paintings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington, Deutsch does not believe he has gotten the attention he merits.

“He’s a very significant artist,” she said.

“In the canon of Baltimore’s 20th century artists, he is not that well-known, and he is somewhat stereotyped by his subject matter. I hope, through the attention we will be able to give his work, he will be thought of in a much more meaningful way.”

The Maryland Historical Society is located at 201 W. Monument St. The museum and library are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday (museum only).

Adult admission is $9 ($7 for seniors).

Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month. For more information, call (410) 685-3750 or visit www.mdhs.org.

BEACON BITS

Jan.

CAREGIVER BENEFITS & RESOURCES

Learn about caregiver benefits and resources available in Baltimore City at this seminar that will be held in all city senior centers in January. It will be presented by Rebecca Bradley, who works with the Division of Aging and CARE Services. Call (410) 3962273 for more information.

Ongoing

DEATHTRAP AT EVERYMAN

This popular comedythriller tells the story of a struggling writer’s deadly plot to steal a screenplay from a former student.

Deathtrap runs through Sunday, Jan. 11 at Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St. Tickets range from $32 to $60; times vary. For more information, call (410) 752-2208 or log on to www.everymantheatre.org.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

Collectibles From page 23 Also taking pride of place are items relating to another of Hooper’s great loves — the city’s sadly missed department stores, such as Hutzler’s and Hochschild Kohn.

Hooper acknowledged that it’s a lot of work to get their home ready for the holidays (last year he started in August!), but that’s not going to change his collecting ways…at least not anytime soon.

Chanukah collections While Chanukah is not a holiday that lends itself to decorating in the same way that Christmas does, that doesn’t stop those who celebrate it from creating their own Chanukah-related collections of menorahs and/or dreidels — the two items most associated with the eight-day Festival of Lights.

In New York City, for example, David Moore’s collection of 120 menorahs (which translates into approximately 5,000 candles

Classifieds from p. 27 Wanted VINYL RECORDS WANTED 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.

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.

FROM PAGE 26

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD A M I G R E V U K N E L F P I S A R N M I D D O D O R B E G I S P S T Y T H E E A R A B S E R B H E S S

O P T I M A L N E O N S

B E L F T O R G E O B N I E R B D O O Z E

U T A H O F O N E F R E E

M A Y E O F V R I O S K T H E A G O F C R U C R D A Y E O E F R A

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over the holiday) is believed to be one of the largest private collections of these Jewish candelabra. (The Jewish Museum in New York claims that its 1,022 Chanukah lamps is the largest collection in the world.)

A bit closer to home, Diane Moskowitz has a more modest collection — about 15 menorahs — and now, since she is running out of space, a newer collection of about a half dozen dreidels.

The Chanukah menorah is a ninebranched candelabrum lit during the holiday.

On each night of Chanukah an additional candle is lit. The ninth holder, called the shamash (“helper” or “servant”), is for a candle used to light all the other candles. The menorah is among the most widely produced articles of Jewish ceremonial art.

Also associated with Chanukah is the dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, that children customarily play with during the holiday. The dreidel is a Jewish variation of the teetotum, a gambling toy found in many European cultures.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

According to Jewish tradition, when the Jews were hiding from the Romans, who forbade the study of the Torah (Biblical law), the dreidel toy came into use. Legend has it that whenever teachers heard soldiers approaching, they would instruct their students to hide their books and play with their dreidels until the soldiers left, so they could once again study in peace.

Moskowitz began collecting menorahs when her oldest daughter started Hebrew school.

“I saw one at a Chanukah fair at school and at first didn’t [think to] get it,” the retired math, science and music teacher said.

But she couldn’t get it out of her mind and went back for it. Today, the simple but elegant wooden menorah sits on the fireplace mantel in her Timonium condominium.

There is no theme to Moskowitz’s col-

25

lecting. She travels frequently and looks for something that stands out.

“It has to hit me,” she said. “I have to say, ‘I have to have it.’” Some are made of glass, some of metal, and probably the most precious one, of clay, made by her late son when he was a child.

Moskowitz likes the artistic appeal of the menorahs (and of the newer dreidel collection). “No two are similar in shape,” she said, “and they vary in style from traditional to contemporary.”

While Moskowitz has “put the brakes on” when it comes to collecting more menorahs, she is happy that she has as many as she does. With four children, 11 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, when they come for Chanukah celebrations, “everyone gets to pick one!”

Tell them you saw it in the Beacon!

26

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Crossword Puzzle

Puzzle Page

Daily crosswords can be found on our website: www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus

So Fine 1

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by Stephen Sherr 4

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1. Ole buddy 6. Bottom of England 9. Fine ___ (as spelled out by this puzzle’s theme clues) 13. Gun the engines 14. LAX conjecture 15. Free State athlete 16. Prepared to be knighted 17. Organize bricks 18. Spam distribution tool 19. A 22. California beach 24. Carnival city 25. Are we there ___?

26. Prince Valiant’s son 27. Winner of five 2012 Oscars 30. Three-handed card game 32. R 37. Lysol target 38. Item in Mae West’s closet 39. Pakistani language 40. T 45. ___-Dee delivery service 46. Color choice at the linen store 47. Morse code click 48. Swine shrine 50. Synonym for sphere 52. Where vinegar merged with oil 54. S 58. Lots of Lebanese 59. Valuable rock 60. Defeat 64. Balkan native 65. “The”, spoken with an affected German accent 66. Food submerged in oil 67. Company that emerged with oil 68. Election conclusion 69. Doctor repellent 1. Boat measured in cubits

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Across

BB1/15

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Scrabble answers on p. 25.

29

33

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2. Minority of college students since 1980 3. Impressive ending 4. Bodies of water 5. Best case 6. Part of the Batsuit 7. Its mostly made of Mormons 8. Local elected official 9. Prefix for sphere 10. All gassed up 11. Tot’s transport 12. Kerplam!

18. Bring to mind 20. Driver’s shout 21. Herring and smelt 22. Lion’s ladies 23. How to calculate Fido’s age 26. ___ of kangaroos (more than one) 28. Asian desert 29. “Party ___” 31. Stuck in ___ 33. Slow flow 34. The third label 35. Come out of denial 36. Song by Peaches and Herb 41. Bright lights 42. Gilda Radner’s Lisa Loopner character, for example 43. Killer whale 44. “Beware the ___ patient man” (John Dryden) 48. Pile of 20’s 49. Blind mice count 51. ___ cruise 53. Take over illegitimately 55. Decreases 56. Effective word in advertising 57. Like moose, it is its own plural 61. 15%, often 62. The 1st state 63. Poetic tribute

Answers on page 25.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2015

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.

Events FREE RANDALLSTOWN BIBLE STUDES – What does the Bible really teach about the Trinity? Where’s hell? God’s name is important to life everlasting. John 17:3, Psalms 83:18. Call Ben, 410-286-1357.

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Say you saw it in the Beacon

For Rent/Sale Real Estate NEWLY-RENOVATED LOVELY one-bedroom apartment in private home. Ground floor, private entrance, washer/dryer. Quiet neighborhood in Pikesville. $800. If interested, please call 410-653-2594.

BELAIR ROAD AREA – Large, clean, private bedroom + bath for rent in safe neighborhood.

Microwave and refrigerator provided. Reasonable. 410-485-1702.

For Sale BOOKS, THOUSANDS, for the collector and reader, all ages and subjects. Antique Depot, historic Ellicott City, Booth 119, 3rd floor.

2 GOLF SETS AND BAG, right hand, entire sets in excellent condition, 6 golf balls included.

All for $50 each set. 410-529-7117.

PARKWOOD CEMETERY – Taylor Avenue – Poplar Lot 831 – Site 2. Also includes one burial vault and one opening and closing of grave site – value $6,685. Sell for $3,300 or best offer, 410-529-1191.

MEADOWRIDGE MEMORIAL PARK – 1 double lot for sale in Garden of Remembrance.

Vault included. Retail $7,200 will sell for $4,000. Call Alice, 443-851-3681.

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/Handyman Services SANFORD & SON HAULING & RECYCLING. 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.

HANDYMAN AND HONEY-DO SERVICE – Small jobs are my specialty. Prices by the hour, day or job. MHIC # 95672, Fully Insured. Dave, 443-514-8583.

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 Home/Handyman Services

Personal Services

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, 443-379HAUL (4285).

SPECIAL K SERVICES – Need someone to run your errands or do your grocery shopping?

Reasonable pricing. Call Kenya @ 410-541-6448.

Miscellaneous PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT ON CLUTTER – Looking for participants. Do you struggle with clutter? I am a photographer looking for people who are willing to have their cluttered or messy living spaces anonymously photographed. Compensation provided. Call 571-331-9316 or visit everittclarkphotography.com for more information.

Personal Services LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN – FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational.

Grammatical. Private lessons. Reasonable Rates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

Wanted WE BUY OLD AND NEW JEWELRY, Coins, Silver and Gold, Paper Money Too. Watches, Clocks and Parts, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling Silver Flatware, Tea Sets, Single Pieces of Silver, Large pieces of Silver Plates, Fountain Pens, Lighters, Tools, Cameras, Art Work. Toys From Trains to Hotwheels to Star Wars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEWELRY – pocket and wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, train sets and accessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-655-0412.

Classified Cont. on p. 25

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE Clinical Research Studies

Alzheimer’s Disease Study . . .11 Brain Imaging Study . . . . . . . .10 Dementia Study . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Diabetes Research Study . . . . . .9 Elderly Falls Study . . . . . . . . . .9 HYPNOS Diabetic Sleep Study .10 Infuenza Vaccine Study . . . . . . .9 Parkinson’s Disease Study . . . .9

Financial Services

Bennett Senior Services . . . . .17 Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled . . .16 Golden Real Estate . . . . . . . . .B3 JSR Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Medicare Savings Program . . .12 Salvation Army . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Funeral Services

Holly Hill Memorial Gardens . . .25 Sterling Ashton Schwab Witzke Funeral Home . . . . .21

Hearing Services

Clarity & Comfort Hearing Center . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Hearing & Speech Agency . . . . .4 Maryland Relay . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Home Health Care

Guardian Health Systems . . . . .B3 Options for Senior America . . . .13

Housing

Alta Regency . . . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Atrium Village . . . . . . .B6 & B9 Benet House . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Blake & Sons Waterproofing . .B6 Charlestown . . . . . . . . .B2 & B9 Christ Church Harbor Apts . . .B4 Ednor Apartments . . . . . . . . .B11 Heartlands at Ellicott City . . .B5 Liberty Village . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Meadows of Reisterstown . . .B3 Memorial Apartments . . . . . . .B8 New Shiloh Village . . . . . . . . .18 Oak Crest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 Park Heights Place . . . . . . . .B11 Park View Apartments . . . . .B10 Shangri-La Assisted Living . . . . .B4 & B9 St. Elizabeth’s Apts . . . . . . . . .15 St. Mary’s Roland View Towers . . . . . . . . . . . .B4 Wayland Village . . . . . . . . . . .18 Weinberg Senior Living .B5 & B12 Westminster House Apts . . . .B8 Williamsburg Homes . .B5 & B11 Woodholme Gardens . . . . . . . .B5

27

Housing Referral Service

Senior Placement Service/ Care Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2

Legal Services

Frank, Frank & Scherr Law Firm . . . . . . .15

Medical/Health

Dr. Richard Rosenblatt, DPM . . .7 Dr. Stuart Goldman, DPM . . . .6 Health Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Ideal Health Chiropractic . . . .12 Low Vision Specialists of Maryland & Virginia . . . . . . .8 Mishpacha Dental . . . . . . . . . . .5 NeurExpand Brain Center . . . .13 Progressive Rehab Services . . .3 Smart Pain Management . . . . . .7

Movers

Easy Movers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2

Pharmacies

CVS Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Rite Aid Pharmacy . . . . . . . . .14 Walgreen’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Retail

Shelf Genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Sleep Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation

Bluepoint Nursing & Rehabilitation . . . . . . . . . . .4 Communicare Health . . . . . . .10 Holly Hill Nursing & Rehabilitation . . . . . . . . . . .8 Manor Care Health Services . . .6 Northwest Nursing & Rehabilitation . . . . . . . . . . .4

Theatres/ Entertainment

Chesapeake Shakespeare . . . .23 Columbia Orchestra . . . . . . . .22 Radio Flea Market . . . . . . . . . .22 Toby’s Dinner Theatre . . . . . .23

Tour & Travel

Chesapeake Travelers . . . . . . .21 Eyre Bus, Tour & Travel . . . . .20

Utility Services

BGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Fuel Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Volunteers

Baltimore City RSVP . . . . . . . .8

28

JANUARY 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

“To you, it’s the perfect lift chair. To me, it’s the best sleep chair I’ve ever had.”

— J. Fitzgerald, VA

Remote Controls for Heat, Massage, Recline and Lift

Separate Heat and Massage Controls!

Our Perfect Sleep Chair is just the chair to do it all. It’s a chair, true – the finest of lift chairs – but this chair is so much more! It’s designed to provide total comfort and relaxation not found in other chairs. It can’t be beat for comfortable, long-term sitting, TV viewing, relaxed reclining and – yes!

– peaceful sleep. Our chair’s recline technology allows you to pause the chair in an infinite number off positions, including the Trendelenburg position and the zero gravity position where your body experiences a minimum of internal and external stresses. You’ll love This lift chair the other benefits, too: It helps with puts you safely on your feet!

correct spinal alignment, promotes back pressure relief, and encourages better posture to prevent back and muscle pain.

And there’s more! The overstuffed, oversized biscuit style back and unique seat design will cradle you in comfort.

Generously filled, wide armrests provide enhanced arm support when sitting or reclining. The high and low heat settings along with the dozens of massage settings, can provide a soothing relaxation you might get at a spa – just imagine getting all that in a lift chair! Weight capacity 375 lbs. Shipping charge includes white glove delivery.

Professionals will deliver the chair to the exact spot in your home where you want it, unpack it, inspect it, test it, position it, and even carry the packaging away! Includes one year service warranty. Your choice of fabrics and colors – Call now!

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Please mention code 59824 when ordering.

46362

We’ve all had nights when we just can’t lie down in bed and sleep, whether it’s from heartburn, cardiac problems, hip or back aches – could be a variety of reasons. Those are the nights we’d give anything for a comfortable chair to sleep in, one that reclines to exactly the right degree, raises feet and legs to precisely the desired level, supports the head and shoulders properly, operates easily even in the dead of night, and sends a hopeful sleeper right off to dreamland.

Sit up, lie down — and anywhere in between!

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