August 2018
Volume 6 • Issue 7
New survey shows consumers putting digital identities at risk BY SENIOR TIMES
Young mall walker reaches 1,000 miles
Page 3
Take a peek in local artists’ studios
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King of Kings to build church in Southridge Page 9
save the date
RiverFest 2018 Sept. 8 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Columbia Park, Kennewick
Data breaches exposing personal information to hackers and identity thieves are becoming commonplace. These breaches affect millions of people: Equifax, 147 million; Target, 110 million; Uber, 57 million; Home Depot, 53 million; and the list goes on. Experts say very few of us haven’t been affected. And while identity thieves are busy sharing and selling personal information online, a new state survey from AARP shows Washington consumers are falling further behind in the battle to protect their identities. AARP highlighted the new report, “Up for Grabs,” at a recent “Taking Charge of Your Digital Identity” event in Kennewick. A capacity crowd of more nearly 350 people attended and heard from consumer protection experts with AARP, Microsoft, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, BECU and Social Security Administration. According to the survey of Washington online users 18 years and older, a lack of awareness and knowledge of online dangers may be contributing to increased dangers for Washington consumers. However, many others admit they have just given up. Sixty percent of those surveyed said that given the number of data breaches that have occurred over the past five years, they feel that no matter what they do, it is inevitable that criminals will use their stolen identity to exploit their credit at some point. “With data breaches constantly in the news, keeping your personal information safe may seem like a difficult task,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “There are simple steps you can take to better protect yourself from identity theft.” uAARP, Page 15
Al Nihart, owner of Nihart Clock Repair in West Richland, has been servicing and fixing antique clocks for more than six decades.
West Richland clock repairman continues to see uptick in workload nothing to do with watch repair work, his dad — who owned Nihart Watch & Clock — preferred not to work on Al Nihart took apart his first clock clocks. before the age of 10. Like his father, “But people would call him out to oil Nihart was a mechanic at heart. up their clocks or do service calls. When But that’s where their similarities end. I was about 12 or 13, I went with him. “He was a watch repairman, and I (Dad) said, ‘Go ahead and do this repair,’ hate watches,” Nihart said. “You don’t and after a while, it got to be when fix a watch. You open it up and take out someone called and wanted their clock a broken or rusty part and put in another serviced, my mom would drive me out one. I didn’t want to just swap parts. A to do it. I had a two-step stool and I’d clock repairman has to fix the parts. It’s climb up to see in the clock and I’d oil much more challenging than a watch.” them up,” Nihart recalled. And though Nihart, 71, wanted uCLOCKS, Page 2
BY JESSICA HOEFER for Senior Times
Forecast for August still hot but here’s how to keep power bill down, stay cool BY SENIOR TIMES
Brace yourself, Tri-Cities: August temperatures are expected to be above normal. We already know July was hot. Ten days reached at least 100 degrees, and 23 days exceeded 90 degrees. The highest temperature recorded was 107 on Friday, July 13, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton. No rain fell during the month. The outlook for August calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation, according to the weather service. The normal high for the Tri-Cities area during August is 90 degrees and the normal low is 56 degrees, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Cen-
ter. The 30-year normal precipitation is 0.27 inches. And until cooler weather is the norm, Tri-Citians can expect their electricity usage and bills to rise. Benton PUD officials urge customers to save energy to lessen the impact on their next bill. “High temperatures can add stress to the electric system from the point of power generation, through transmission and distribution lines, to the end user — our customers. We are fortunate to have the Bonneville Power Administration hydro system and specifically the four lower Snake River dams as the backbone of our power supply,” said Chad Bartram, Benton PUD general manager, in a news release. uHEAT, Page 10
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