Vol. 20: #1 • TIdbits Sweetens Things Up with SUGAR • (12-31-2023) Tidbits of Coachella Valley by Tidbits of Coachella Valley

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TIDBITS SWEETENS THINGS UP WITH

by Kathy Wolfe

This week Tidbits has some sweet facts about sugar, a compound that occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates. It's also contained in an array of tasty morsels that are all too tempting for most of us this holiday time of year! SUGAR SOURCES

• There are two sources of sugar; sugar beets and sugar cane. Sugar cane is a perennial grass that requires a frost-free climate with a lot of rainfall, since it takes about 660 gallons of water for every 2.2 pounds of sugar produced. Cane plants grow to a height of ten to 20 feet. During harvest, the cane is cut just above root level, allowing new sprouts to grow for another harvest in ten to 12 months. It’s one of the world’s oldest crops, with the country of New Guinea domesticating sugar cane since around 3000 B.C. • Brazil is the number one producer of sugar cane in the world, originally brought to that country by the Portuguese. By 1540, there were more than 800 Sugar: Turn to page 3

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Proteins known as antigens are on the surface of some red blood cells. Type A blood has the A antigen, while Type B has the B antigen, Type AB has both, but Type O has neither. A third type of antigen known as the Rh factor determines whether your blood type is positive or negative. If the protein is present, the type is positive; if not, it’s negative.

your body

TRIVIA NEWSFRONT

1. Saccharum officinarum is the scientific name for ___________. 2. What sweet treat was always present on the desk of President Ronald Reagan?

Vol. XX Issue No. 1

"Beautifully and wonderfully made" One in a series

BLOOD

I just blew the sugar off my doughnut. Dieting is so hard!

• The most common blood type in the U.S. is O positive, while AB negative is the least common. Blood type can be dependent on ethnicity with more African Americans and Asians having Type B positive than Caucasians and Hispanics. In Japan, the most common blood type is A positive.

3. How many calories are in one teaspoon of sugar?

Itʼs the crucial component of our bodyʼs system that virtually keeps us alive! If you don’t know 4. What is the energy drink with the highest amount much about your blood but would like a few basic of sugar, with 126% of the daily recommended facts, youʼve come to the right place. This week intake? weʼll look at some details about this vital fluid that gives us life itself. 5. “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go • It’s a wise idea to know your blood type in order to monitor your health. Yet more Americans • About eight percent of your body weight is down” is a song in what movie? know their horoscope sign than their blood type! accounted for by blood, approximately 1.325 (Answers on page 16) PROOF ADVERTISING gallons of it. About 55 percent of the blood • Research indicates that blood type affects composed of plasma, the liquid part of the Mon., July 24, 2023 5:00isp.m.. risk of disease. People with Types A, B, and al Changes DUE: CLIP AND SAVE blood in which blood cells are suspended. Four AB blood seem to have an increased risk of carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices  Hours percent is red blood cells, those cells that carry coronary heart disease, with Type A having your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues, and a 24 percent higher risk of heart attack. Type transport carbon dioxide and waste products 60-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 AB people have a significantly higher risk of away from those tissues. Hemoglobin is the stroke. A, B, and AB also have a higher risk of iron-containing protein in the red blood cells blood clots as well as pancreatic cancer. Type “Every cookie is a sugar cookie. A Mike Pendley Construction that carries the oxygen, and gives blood its red 2 diabetes seems more prevalent in those with 16thwithout pg, BW, 6x is a cracker.” -cookie sugar color. Type A and B. JulyGulman 30, 2023 • Vol. 19 - No. 31 Gary One ounce of blood contains 150 billion red • A neurological study revealed that people An• artificial sweetener that is 300 times blood cells, with 2.4 trillion in one pint. Each cell with Type AB have a high degree of risk for sweeter than 7sugar is about microns in size, about one-millionth cognitive impairment and memory problems, of a meter. The body is busy manufacturing 17 while Type O had the smallest risk. million red blood cells every second, primarily • High blood pressure results in too much force in the spongy marrow of the bones. I do it ALL. against the walls of the arteries.  No job too • Just one percent of blood is white blood cells, small. those that help fight infection, heal wounds, and Anthony Hopkins Since12/31/37 2002 support the immune system by attacking invaders. Morris Chestnut 1/1/69 Curbless Shower Specialist ADVERTISING PROOF Platelets comprise four percent of the blood, Vanities • Countertops ADVERTISING PROOF 1.• Sugar cane Cuba Gooding, Jr. 5:00 1/2/68 Final Changes DUE: p.m.. much smaller cells than red and white cells. Custom Showers • Tile Work Eli Manning 1/3/81 Final Changes DUE: Monday, 10/16/23 5:00 p.m.. They in clumps to help control 2. Jelly beansgroup together Creative Design Please review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices  Hours bleeding when a break occurs in a vessel. Patty Loveless 1/4/57 Lighting • Storage • Dry Wall 3. 16 • There are 60,000 Contact miles ofyour blood vessels in your  Bradley Cooper 1/5/75 Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. Move Plumbing • MORE! 4. Rockstar body, vessels that include veins, arteries, and SUPERIOR Rowan Atkinson 1/6/55 Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 HOME FREE Estimates • Affordable Prices capillaries. So what’s the difference? Arteries IMPROVEMENTS CO. 5. Mary Poppins EST. 2002 Call carry blood away from the heart, while veins Call Mike Mike TODAY! TODAY!  General Contractors carry blood back toward your O.R.D. heart. The tiny Quality Quality Workmanship Workmanship SuperiorHomeImprovementsCo.com Property of capillaries, with a diameter smaller than that1/12 of pg., Full Color AdVenture Media, Inc. October 22, 2023 • Volume 19: #43 a human hair, connect arteries and veins. • The aorta is the main artery in the body, carrying blood from the left side of the heart to the rest FREE of Coachella Valley The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read of the body. Its diameter is about 0.8 inches. Phone: 760.320.0997 Fax: 760.320.1630 valleybits@msn.com • There are four main blood types – A, B, AB, All Rights Reserved 1. GEOGRAPHY: In which city is A)and O. What determines your blood type? B)

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the Brandenburg Gate located? 2. TELEVISION: Which 1990s TV If you think that your garden bin isCloojust show catapulted actorcompost George fortothefame? growing season, think again! You can ney 3. MOVIES: department compost all year longWhich by using a resealable bag store is featured in the 1947 holiday for your food waste, vegetable film, “Miracle on coffee 34th grounds, Street”? peelings, etc. Put them kind in the of bag legislative and stick it 4. LEGAL: What body is bicameral? in your freezer. 5. FOOD & DRINK: What is the main ingredient in guacamole? 6. LITERATURE: In “The Night Before Christmas” poem, how many reindeer does Santa Claus have? 7. CHEMISTRY: Which chemical element’s symbol is C? 8. HISTORY: Who is the first female chancellor of Germany? 9. MUSIC: Which female French singer had a hit song with “La Vie en Rose”? 10. SCIENCE: When did the Krakatoa volcano have its last major eruption? Answers (Trivia Test answers page 16) 1. Berlin, Germany. 2. “ER.” 3. Macy’s.

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Sugar (from page one)

Brazilian sugar mills in operation. India is the second-largest. The U.S. is in tenth place, with the majority of production coming from Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Hawaii.

• During his 1492 voyage, Christopher Columbus gathered sugar cane samples in the Canary Islands and carried them to other areas of his journeys. The first sugar cane harvest took place in 1501 in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. By the 1520s, there were sugar mills in Jamaica and Cuba. • Sugar beets, a root crop, thrive in cooler climates, and have a growing season of about five months, providing for about 20 percent of the world’s consumption. These beets are not the ordinary beets you usually see in the grocery store. They are much larger with a single sugar beet weighing as much as five pounds. The U.S. is a major producer of sugar beets, with farms in Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. • Sugar cane crops require 51 percent more land to produce the same amount of sugar as a sugar beet farm. SUGAR PRODUCTION

the two. Lactose, the sugar found in milk, is a teaspoons of sugar. disaccharide made from the bonding of glucose • In order to be called “sugar-free,” one serving and another simple sugar, galactose. Maltose is of a food must contain less than 0.5 grams of formed during the germination of grains, and is sugars, both natural and added. Reduced sugar converted into malt. foods have at least 25 percent less sugar than by SUGAR CONSUMPTION the regular version of the product. • The American Heart Association’s recommendation for sugar intake in adult women • Drink one 12 oz. can of soda every day, and you will add enough sugar to your diet to increase the 1. W is 24 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar per odds of developing heart disease by more than day. That’s over and above naturally-occurring s 30%. Those who drink 2.5 cans of soda a day are sugar. For an adult male, the amount is 36 three times more likely to experience depression m grams (9 teaspoons) per day. Compare that to and anxiety than those who drink less. the current average consumption of upwards of s 30 teaspoons of sugar per day. CONSUMPTION CAUTIONS • The United States is the largest consumer of • Excess sugar has been linked to cancer, and negatively affects its survival rates. Too much 2. W sugar in the world. How has that consumption sugar has also been tied to memory deficiency varied over the decades? Two hundred years t Sugar: Turn to page 15 ago, an American ate about 2 lbs. of sugar a f year. In 1970, the amount was 123 lbs.

• How about today? That quantity is 152 lbs. in a year, about 6 cups a week. In 1822, the average American consumed about 45 grams of sugar every five days. (That’s the amount in one of today’s 12 oz. sodas). Ninety years later, that figure had skyrocketed to 765 grams every five days, more than ten times the recommended intake.

• The number one source of added sugar in a • During the sugar refining process, molasses is person’s diet is beverages, with soft drinks removed. The sugar cane or beets are crushed responsible for the majority. The average to extract the juice, which is boiled down to American drinks 53 gallons of soft drinks a form sugar crystals. The thick brown syrup year. Just one 12-oz. can of Coke contains 10 known as molasses is left as a by-product after teaspoons of sugar, more than 80 percent of the ADVERTISING PROOF the crystals have been removed from the juice. ADVERTISING PROOF daily recommended intake. You can consume Mon.,10/4/21 Final Changes DUE: 5:00 p.m.. • When it comes to foods, there are two types of twop.m.. frosted Pop Tarts and a Twinkie and be Final Changes DUE: 5:00 se reviewsugar carefully. Doubleand check:  Phone Number(s) Spelling  Prices  Hours – natural added. Natural sugarsare e review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices taking inHours less sugar than that. ADVERTISING PROOF just what you’d think, naturally-occurring, in Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. ADVERTISING PROOF Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. foods suchDUE: as fruits, some vegetables, and milk. nal Changes 5:00 Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: p.m.. 760-320-1630 al Changes DUE: Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com 5:00 Fax: p.m.. 760-320-1630 Sugar was such a rare luxury during 16th cen• Fructose and glucose occur naturally in fruits Prices  ew carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling Hours w carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices  tury HoursLondon that only the wealthy elite could and plant juices. Both are monosaccharides, afford to buy it. A mere teaspoon of the sweet act your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. t your Tidbits representative with changes or corrections. or simple sugars. immediately When fructose and glucose product sold for the equivalent of seven dollars. LDR Construction : 760-320-0997 email:Svcs. valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 molecules are bonded, it produces a compound 1/16 pg. 4C 26x disc. LDR Construction Svcs. sugar, or disaccharide. Sucrose, which is our • It’s recommended that added sugars should not 1/16 pg. 4C 26x disc. common sugar, March 18, 2018 Vol.table 14 - No. 12 is the combination of exceed ten percent of a person’s daily calorie intake. Research indicates that worldwide, people consume more than 500 calories a day from sugar.

Enjoy Enjoy the the Outdoors Outdoors

• Sugar content is listed on food packaging in grams, but how does that measure out? A gram of sugar is equal to ¼ teaspoon, so that 4 grams equals one teaspoon. This means that a Starbucks grande ice flavored drink contains 7

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Brown sugar is Phone:valleybits@msn.com 760.320.0997 Fax: 760.320.1630 crystralline sucrose that has valleybits@msn.com All Rights Reservedwith molasses, been combined All Rights Reserved which gives it the color and rich flavor. Powdered sugar is granulated sugar that has simply been pulverized to a fine powder.

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Vol. XX Issue No. 1

rible PMI premiums could be $1,000 or more per year buried in your monthly payment.

Everyday CHEAPSKATE

By Lucie Winborne

* In 1837, Thomas Saverland took Caroline Newton to court for biting off part of his nose after he forcibly kissed her at a party. * The original Xbox had sound snippets of real space missions. * Korean college students once launched a protest against the amount of air in potato chip bags by building a raft out of them and sailing it across a river. * When Michael Orchard broke into his neighbor’s burning home to rescue their dog, his heart was in the right place but his timing wasn’t: The house fire was merely his LSD-induced hallucination. * A chunk of frozen cow manure was the first-ever puck used in a hockey game. * The word “thug” comes from 1350s India and the Hindi word “thag,” which means “deceiver” or “thief” or “swindler.” * Ten thousand light years away from Earth, a huge cloud 1,000 times larger than our solar system’s diameter contains enough alcohol to fill 400 trillion pints. To drink it all, everyone on Earth would have to drink 300,000 pints each day for 1 billion years. * A violin known as “the Blackbird,” carved entirely from stone, produces sound comparable to traditional wooden violins. * Research has shown that people born in September, October and November are more likely to live 100 years or longer. * French performer Michel Lotito, aka “Monsieur Mangetout,” or “Mr. Eat All,” could hardly be accused of being a picky eater, having earned a Guinness World Record for strangest diet. His gastronomic feats included downing bicycles, razor blades and even an entire airplane. * Much like humans, chimpanzees use strategic high ground for reconnaissance on rival groups during “chimp warfare.” *** Thought for the Day: “Every day the clock resets. Your wins don’t matter. Your failures don’t matter. Don’t stress on what was, fight for what could be.” -- Sean Higgins (c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

CLIP AND SAVE

by Mary Hunt

8 Ways to Jump-start the New Year Feeling a little sluggish about now? Well, Everyday perk up, my frugal friend! Here are eight ways to get a jump on 2024. CHEAPSKATE ®

by Get Mary your Hunt credit reports. AnnualNo. 1: creditreport.com offers the most reader-friendly format, and your personal credit reports from each of the big three credit reporting agencies are free, once every 12 months. You can order online at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228. You can also purchase your credit score for a small fee. Check your reports carefully to make sure all the information is true and correct. Caution: As you go through the process, remember that by federal law you are entitled to your free credit reports. You will be offered lots of purchase opportunities, but just keep saying no to work your way through the process! This will not cost you a penny.

No. 2: Call your insurance companies. If you have homeowners, renters and/or automobile insurance, call those companies this month. Ask if you qualify for any additional discounts. Perhaps your youthful drivers now qualify for good-grades discounts, or you’ve moved to a new zip code. Prod the agent to help you discover how to reduce your premiums. Consider taking this even further by calling several competing companies to get their quotes. Should you find a lower quote, but you are happy with your current company, ask if they will match the quotes you just received from its competitor. You may be pleasantly surprised! And if not, consider making the move. No. 3: Investigate PMI. If you bought your home with less than 20% down, you are probably paying a lot for the dreaded private mortgage insurance (PMI), not to be confused with mortgage insurance, which is not even closely related to PMI. Once your equity reaches 20% of the current market value, you should be able to dump your PMI. Call your lender to find out. Those hor-

No. 4: Find a free checking account. Many credit unions offer free checking with few, if any, conditions or limitations. If you’re paying for access to your own money, change banks. If you are comfortable with online banking, go to bankrate.com and search “free checking account.” Prepare to be surprised by how many choices you have. No. 5: Open a savings account. If you don’t have one, get one. Find a bank or credit union with low minimum requirements. Or refer to No. 4 above. You can also open an online savings account that is fee-free. No. 6: Consider refinancing your mortgage. Call your current lender to inquire about refinancing. But before you make the move, compare the total payback, not just the monthly payment, with what you have already. Granted, as I write, mortgage rates are extraordinarily high. So consider this a suggestion that will at least get you thinking about how your current mortgage situation compares with what is currently available. Rates do drop, and they could start doing that again in 2024. And when they do, you’ll be ready to make that inquiry. No. 7: List assets and liabilities. This is known as one’s net worth and it is simply the amount of money you would have left if you sold everything you own and paid off everything that you owe. Think of this as an academic exercise -- no emotion, no guilt or angst. Simply list everything you own (assets) and everything you owe (liabilities). Next, assign a realistic dollar value to each entry. Subtract your liabilities (debts) from your assets to determine your net worth. Write down that number, even if it is negative. Determine that one year from today you will do this same exercise and then compare. No. 8: Clean up your devices. Your computer needs to be cleaned out and tuned up regularly. If it’s sluggish and behaving badly, you can be sure your cache is jam-packed with extraneous files, your hard drive is fragmented, and your entire system is in desperate need of a good cleanup. Check online for housekeeping instructions for your specific device. * * * This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.” COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM

Week of December 31, 2023

“Z” IS FOR

Tidbits of Coachella Valley

Page 5

• By the time he died in 1988, Zamboni ice machines were in use worldwide. For his contributions to improving ice rinks, Frank J. Zamboni has been inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

• Road & Track magazine determined that the machine’s top speed was 9.7 mph, and that the machine would go from 0 to 9 miles per hour in 93.5 seconds flat.

• In 2000, the Zamboni was immortalized as an authentic Monopoly board game token in the NHL version of the game.

ZAMBONI You’ve seen them at Olympic skating events, hockey games and skating rinks as they creep across the ice with about the same beauty and glamor as a railroad boxcar. But what do you know about how these curious and cumbersome machines came about, and how they somehow work to keep ice rink surfaces smooth and shiny? You're about to find out. • Raised in Idaho, Frank Zamboni headed to California to seek his fortune. A skilled mechanic, he designed refrigerator units to keep milk in local dairies chilled. Then he provided railroads with blocks of ice to keep produce fresh during shipping. But by the 1930s, refrigeration technology was improving so fast that the use of block ice was becoming obsolete, and Frank needed a new line of work. • Because he had a warehouse full of refrigeration equipment and mechanical know-how, he decided to build a skating rink next to his ice plant. When he was finished he had a 20,000 square foot facility and enough room to hold 800 skaters. His new ice rink was an immediate hit and it soon became a popular recreation spot.

• In 2001, a Zamboni was driven from St. John’s, Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada across to Victoria, B.C. on the west coast. At about nine mph (14 km/hr), the 4,500 mile (7,242 km) journey took four months.

• When a longtime Zamboni machine operator in the Midwest passed away, his funeral procession was led by a Zamboni machine. □ CLIP AND SAVE

Zamboni Facts

• Before Zambonis were invented, it took several men more than an hour to resurface a standard size ice rink. • There are currently about 11,000 Zamboni machines in use around the world. • During the 2002 winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City, 20 Zambonis were shipped to the Utah site and put to constant use to keep the rinks in top shape to meet Olympic standards. • A Zamboni travels an average of three miles during each hockey game, covering about 2,000 miles per year.

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• Frank was making money again, but he dreaded the gruelling, ongoing task of resurfacing the ice. To smooth the rink’s surface, a farm tractor towing a planing device would be slowly driven across the rink, scraping off the chips and gouges. After the shavings were manually swept up, water needed to be sprayed on and squeegeed to provide a smooth new surface. The process took hours on end. • He decided he needed to design a machine to perform this tedious task. It took him ten years to come up with a functional model, which was finally completed in 1949. • When renowned skater Sonja Henie saw it while practicing at his ice rink, she insisted on buying one to bring along with her traveling ice show. Once this was arranged, people everywhere were now able to watch Frank’s invention in action and marvel at its results. Ice rinks all over the country were soon ordering their own. • Frank wanted to name his firm the Paramount Engineering Company, but that name was taken, so he decided to use his own name instead. • In the early days of the Zamboni, the inability of tires to get decent traction on the ice was a constant problem. Frank solved the dilemma by having tire casings re-treated with a mixture of rubber and crushed walnut shells. In the mid-1960s, the invention of steel-studded tires solved the problem for good. • Frank Zamboni also invented the “Grasshopper,” a machine to roll up artificial turf; the “Black Widow,” used to fill in dirt on top of cemetery vaults; the “Astro Zamboni,” designed to vacuum water from Astro-turf; and the “Vault Carrier,” built to lift and carry heavy cement burial vaults.

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So I came home and moved it to a lower shelf.

by Dana Jackson King Features News Syndicate

Q: Is the acclaimed series “Homicide” available streamname anywhere? I’ve looked 1. Whattois another for powdered sugar? on all the major ones like Netflix and Amazon What find product used to distill rum? and2.can’t it. --is K.S.

nated on “Cheers” before the character moved to Is he related to Oscar Isaac? -- W.W. is so hard! 2. What sweet treat was always present on the desk of Seattle and got his own series. But there’s no Niles, President Ronald Reagan? A: No, they’re not related. Their last Martin or Daphne. John Mahoney passed ofaway 3. HowSadly, many calories are in one teaspoon sugar?from names differ by one letter. Jason Isaacs is also a throat cancer in 2018. David Hyde Pierce and Jane Brit, while Oscar Isaac (of “Star Wars” fame) grew 4. What is the energy drink with the highest amount Leeves are both alive and well, but their characters, up in Miami. of sugar, with 126% of the daily recommended Blue-eyed Isaacs is sporting what look to Niles and Daphne, are not a part of the new cast. intake? Pierce recently told the Los Angeles Times that he be brown contact lenses and black frames to play had other projects the works and that 5. several “Just a spoonful of sugarinhelps the medicine go he Cary Grant in the limited series “Archie,” which The show “never really wanted to go back” to “Frasier.” He you can stream on BritBox. MON., OCT.gets 9 its title down” is a song in what movie? further explained that he “loved every moment” of from Grant’s birth name, Archibald Alec Leach. It Please review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Pri doing the original series, but that he wanted to do chronicles his life in Hollywood, where he meets and marries actress Dyan Cannonwith (“Heaven Can Contact your Tidbits representative immediately changes or corre other things. Wait”). Those things include co-starring in the Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760You might recognize Isaacs from his other lovely HBO series “Julia,” where he plays famed chef Julia Child’s husband, Paul, opposite Sarah credits, including Lucius Malfoy from the “Harry Lancashire’s titular character. He’s also starring Potter” movies, Colin Ayres from “The West Wing” in Stephen Sondheim’s new Off-Broadway musical and Capt. Lorca in “Star Trek: Discovery.” ADVERTISING * * PROOF “Here We Are.” cookie is a sugar cookie. A Carl Moore* Locksmithing “Every Final Changes DUE: 5:00 p.m.. Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExIf Frasier gets renewed for another season, Business Card • BW • 26x disc. carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices  Hours cookie without sugar is a cracker.” -- Please review or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia perhaps Pierce and Leeves will pop in for a guest tra@gmail.com, Oct. 15, 2023 Vol. 19 No. 42 Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. Gary appearance likeGulman Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith) and PeriOffice: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 An artificial sweetener that is 300 times Gilpin (Roz) did this year. (c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc. sweeter than sugar *** Q: I’m enjoying the new series about CLIP AND SAVE Car y Grant. Jason Isaacs, the actor who plays CARL MOORE him when he’s older, looks so much like him.

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A: NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” isn’t available to stream yet, but according to an article on TVLine.com, that could change soon. The series aired in the 1990s and starred Yaphet Kotto, Richard Belzer, Melissa Leo and Andre Braugher. Braugher recently passed away at the age of 61 after battling lung cancer. His untimely death has fans inquiring why “Homicide,” the sugar is crystalline sucrose that has showBrown that launched his career, isn’t been combined with molasses, which available to stream gives it the color and rich flavor. Powdered anywhere. sugar is granulated sugar that has been In addition pulverized to a fine powder. Andre Braugher to its incredible (“Homicide: Life on the Street”) acting, “Homicide” was known for its dramatic montages set to music. Securing the rights to air these songs, instead of dubbing them in with other music, has been a huge goal of NBC and Universal. It’ll be well worth the wait once the show can be seen and heard as it originally aired. *** Q: Why isn’t the actor who played Niles in the new “Frasier” reboot? Is he going to show up anytime soon? -- K.J.

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A: Unfortunately, the new “Frasier” series,

which is streaming exclusively on Paramount+, is missing a few memorable supporting characters. Kelsey Grammer is, of course, reprising his iconic comedy character of Frasier Crane, which he origi12/31 New Year’s Eve

24/7

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If you think that your garden compost bin is just for the growing season, think again! You can all year long by using a resealable bag 1.compost Wonka 1. (PG) Split ................................ (PG-13) for your food waste,Chalamet, coffee grounds, vegetable Timothée Gustave James McAvoy, Taylor-Joy Die peelings, etc. Put Anya them in the bag and stick it Hunger Games: The (PG-13) Ballad 2. 2. Rings ............................... in The your freezer.

of Songbirds & Snakes Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe (PG-13) Zegler, Tom Blyth 3. A Dog’sRachel Purpose ..................(PG) 3. The and the Heron Josh Gad,Boy Dennis Quaid Santoki, Masaki Suda 4. (PG-13) HiddenSoma Figures ....................(PG) 4. Godzilla Minus One Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer Minami Hamabe, (PG-13) 5. (PG-13) La La Land .................... Ryunosuke Kamiki Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone 5. Trolls Band Together 6. (PG) Resident Evil: The Final Anna Kendrick, Justin Chapter ...................................... (R) Timberlake Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen 6. Wish 7. (PG) SingAriana .......................................(PG) DeBose, Chris Pine animated 7. Napoleon 8. (R) Lion ................................ Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa(PG-13) Kirby Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman 8. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé 9. The Between .. (PG-13) (NR) Space Beyoncé, Blue IvyUs Carter Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield 9. Poor Things Emma Stone,ofMark Ruffalo 10.(R) xXx: Return Xander 10. The Shift Cage .................................... (PG-13) Polaha, Neal Vin(PG-13) Diesel,Kristoffer Donnie Yen

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Week of December 31, 2023

Good Recipes from

Jerk Pork Chops with Pineapple We love this shortcut Jamaican jerk -made with thick, juicy pork and succulent grilled fruit. Try our jerk rub on chicken pieces or salmon steaks too. 1 baby pineapple or 1/2 regular pineapple 1 lime 2 tablespoons jerk seasoning (see note) 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 pork loin chops, 3/4 inch thick (about 8 ounces each with bone) Lime wedges and cilantro sprigs for garnish 1. With sharp knife, cut pineapple lengthwise through crown to stem end in 4 wedges, leaving on leafy crown. 2. From lime, grate 1/2 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. In small bowl, mix lime peel and juice with jerk seasoning and oil. Rub both sides of pork chops with jerk mixture. 3. Place pork chops on hot grill rack over medium heat; cook 10 to 12 minutes, turning chops over once, until browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside. While chops are cooking, add pineapple wedges, cut sides down, to same grill; cook 5 minutes, turning wedges over once. Transfer chops and pineapple to same platter. Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs. Makes 4 servings.  Each serving: About 400 calories, 22g

total fat (7g saturated), 41g protein, 8g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 11 mg cholesterol, 535mg sodium. Note: Seasoning mixes vary among manufacturers, especially with regard to salt content. Add salt to taste if necessary.

Banana Cream Pie 1 (9-inch) homemade, frozen or refrigerated pie shell Custard: 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch Pinch salt 3 cups whole milk 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 ripe medium bananas

Tip: Keeping Nuts Fresh Have nuts leftover from holiday entertaining? Don’t just stick them in the back of a cupboard. Because nuts contain a high percentage of oil, they can become rancid. You can store opened containers at room temperature for up to a month. But after that, place nuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to six months or in the freezer for up to a year. To freshen any type of nuts before you eat (or cook with them), toast on a baking sheet in a 350 F oven for 10 minutes, or place nuts in a small bowl and microwave on High for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. * * * For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/reci finder/.

Homemade Whipped Cream: 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1. Bake pie shell as directed. Cool. 2. Meanwhile, prepare Custard: In 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. With wire whisk, beat in milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool 10 minutes.

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(Solution on page 16) FindTheTwinsTreesC0412 [Converted].pdf

Donald Duck

12/3/2007

7:58:10 PM

by Walt Disney

Crossword Answers on page 16

NEST HEADS

By John Allen C

CMY

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“In business as in life, we practice the Golden Rule” News content in the Tidbit s® Paper is provided by both Tidbits Media, Inc. and other news sources con sidered to be reliable, but the accuracy of all information published cannot be guaranteed. Tidbits® of Coachella Valley does not accept political advertising or news matter of any nature submitted for publication. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising from any business, individual or group for any reason deemed inappropriate or not in the Publisher’s best interest. Published news matter and advertising content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher or of AdVenture Media, Inc. Tidbits® of Coachella Valley is not an adjudicated publication and therefore cannot accept official legal notices for publication. All copy, photos and graphic illustrations submitted for advertising publication are subject to publisher’s prior approval. We do not offer mail subscription service. So there.

Week of December 31, 2023

Tidbits of Coachella Valley

Page 9

NEXT WEEK in

Cody’s

TIDBITS ADMIRES

SAPPHIRES

Corner

Dog Talk with Uncle Matty By Matthew Margolis Creators News Service

Party Animal

3. The Weekly “Brain Breaker”

For some, New Year’s Eve is a quiet affair: a night in with a little nosh, some cuddling on the couch and a sip of something sparkling at the magic hour. For everyone else, New Year’s Eve is a party -- a big one. The question, to you party people, is: Should your dog get an invite? If your dog survived Christmas without an emergency trip to the vet or a gastrointestinal crisis, congratulations. You obviously took care to keep him away from the buffet and out of the garbage. But for all the festivities of Christmas, New Year’s Eve is the ultimate celebration for many. The music is loud, the hours are late, the party is on. If you are not hosting, leave your dog at home. Even the most social of dogs would rather be home in familiar surroundings than in a strange place full of strange people behaving strangely. But what if the party’s at your place? Home might not be so sweet for your dog if you are hosting that big New Year’s Eve bash. If your dog is shy or skittish or very young or very old, consider asking a friend, relative or neighbor to let your dog sleep over that night. He doesn’t need the stress. If you’re hosting and you’re convinced that your dog is game for the party of the year, take care to consider his needs in planning your blowout. --Is he microchipped, and is the chip connected to your current contact information? Party people coming and going through front doors and back gates could get sloppy, and stressed dogs run. That’s what they do. Make sure your dog, should he become lost, can easily be returned to you. Current tags and a microchip are key. --Does your dog have access to a quiet, peaceful retreat within your home? If your dog typically sleeps in your bedroom, and that room going to be a coatroom for the night, then set him up in another room, a room that won’t be available to revelers. Put his bed or blanket, his favorite toys and a water bowl in this temporary space, and introduce him to his new setup beforehand. --Exercise your dog the day of the party. A

12/31 New Year's Eve Print Your Answers Here:

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Wuzzles solution Page 16

Tidbits® Word Search

"Sweet Subjects" M

M T

M C

U W E

W W C

N M

D M



www.WordSearchMaker.com

� BEET BEETSUGAR SUGAR � CANDY CANDY � CARBOHYDRATE CARBOHYDRATE � CELLULOSE CELLULOSE � DEXTROSE DEXTRIN � DEXTRIN DEXTROSE � FRUCTOSE FRUCTOSE � GALACTOSE

(CryptoQuip Solution on page 14)

Cody's Corner: Turn to Page 10

●



� GLUCOSE GLUCOSE � GLYCOGEN GLYCOGEN � MOLASSES MOLASSES � SODA POP SACCHARIN � SACCHARIN SODAPOP � SUCROSE SUCROSECANE � SUGAR � SUGARCANE SWEETENER

SWEETENER16) GALACTOSE (Word (Word Search Search solution solution page page 16)

● Mega Maze solution Page 14

Page 10

SENIOR NEWS LINE by Matilda Charles

Don’t Give Up Staying Healthy, Staying

This is not the world we grew up in, or Home

even the world we knew for most of our lives. If my informal poll of and acquaintances I’ve been laxfriends lately in terms of my health.is correct, don’tI haven’t like it much. The current state I admit it.we While been at music concerts of the world has taken an emotional, physical among thousands of people or riding packed and social toll Ion us.been This going isn’t the retirement we subway cars, have to stores during planned. Here's what I'm hearing: the daytime when the aisles are full. This is especially true during the holiday shopping season. it gets--us into trouIt’s timeWe’re for metoo to trusting stop thatand -- again and start ble when we fall for scams bombarding us via staying home, again. phone, email and the internet, and resulting in identity Respiratory theft and loss of our money. syncytial virus (also known as RSV) is on the rise where I live, and likely The pandemic locked many of us away, elsewhere. and some of us haven’t completely surfaced yet becauseIt of fear thata lingering Covid was only few months agomay thatexist, the as well as the annual flu and RSV (respiratory CDC was advising pediatricians to keep the syncytial virus) thisshot winter. feelgive seculsion is the standard RSV theySome usually children safest way to avoid it all. and save it for the babies that were most vulnerable because supplies were limited. That does And there’s the television not bode well for getting a handle news. on the Some spreadof us have And started only watching firstvulnerfive minof RSV. it’s certainly not an the illness utes to catch the weather and then turn to a differable seniors want to experience.

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Tidbits of Coachella Valley

Vol. XX

Issue No. 1

Please Double check: Phone(from Number(s)  Spelling Cody’sCorner page 9) ent channel review to avoid allcarefully. the political mudslinging and reports of uncontrolled crime, some of which good, solid workout will tire your dog and help him is alarmingly occuringyour in ourTidbits own local representative areas. to feel relaxed Contact immediately withthechanges o and content even amid chaos. Channels that show reruns of retro programs that --Keep candles out of tail’s reach. Office: 760-320-0997 valleybits@msn.com depict values that have been lost today are get- email: --Keep party snacks, especially sweets, outFax ting a lot of our attention now. of snout’s reach. --And don’t let anyone get your dog drunk. No, we don’t like it much, and some of us It’s not as fun as the frat boys say, and you might wonder if we’re sliding into depression. end up Double spending more time tending to your sick  Please review carefully. check: Phone Number(s)  Spelling dog than to your guests. Contact your Tidbits representative changes But there are ways to regain some of what c/o Melanie Thomas Remember, you’re the party with animal. He’s or co Property of immediately we’ve lost, and a trip to our physician might be the760-320-0997 Office: email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 7 the actual animal -- and probably the only member AdVenture Media, Inc. BZ BW 26x best first step. Go, and tell him or her what’s go- of your circle who’s hoping not to get an invite. October Vol. 19Year! - No. 41 ing on with you. A simple blood test might point to 8, 2023Happy New a change in diet that could help how you feel. Woof!

ADVERTISING PROOF Final Changes DUE: MON., Nov. 6 5: 12: Bgreen, Inc.

* * * of Property Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” AdVenture Inc. Margolis is the Reconnect with friendships that matter co-author of 18 books about dogs,Media, a behaviorist, a popular Bgreen, Inc. (even if it’s on the phone), ask if the library deliv- 760.320.0997 radio and television guest, and the host of the PBS series Phone: 760.320.1630 c/o Melanie Ashe Fax: ers books, become a pet foster parent, look for “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Read all of Uncle Matty’s columns BZ atvalleybits@msn.com BW 26x www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com. senior exercise videos on YouTube, etc.

into religious broadcasts and attending our respective churches and synagogs for comfort and hope. But by all means, don’t give up.

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* * * Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@gmail.com. Please review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling

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Contact your TidbitsVisit representative immediately with changes or us at: PruneMaster.us

The Art of

DESIGN by Joseph Publillones

Design Destination: Vicenza No, let’s not confuse Vicenza with Venezia. The latter is a beautiful, world-renowned Italian waterfront town, and Vicenza is the quiet and refined hometown of the architect of all architects, Andrea Palladio. In the northeastern lands of the Veneto region, about a 30-minute train ride from Venice, lies the lesser-known, less touristy town of Vicenza. An interesting thing is that this town is a place of convergence, where Byzantine-influenced Venetian architecture meets the pure and simple classical designs of the master Palladio. For those willing to go to the road less traveled, an architectural education awaits in Vicenza. Vicenza is filled with beautiful piazzas, galleries, churches and Renaissance palaces. In each of these categories, you will surely find Palladio’s hand and vision shaping the landscape and urban envelope. What is remarkable about Palladio is his economy of means to design grand architecture. He was quite the master of buildings constructed with bricks and plaster made to emulate ancient buildings constructed of stone and marble. He was as adept in designing a small infill townhouse, Casa Cogollo, as he was in designing the elegant and majestic Palazzo Chiericati and Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, where the Palladio Museum is housed. Architects and architecture aficionados will always associate Palladio’s work with the five grand rural villas that dot the Venetian flatlands: the Villa La Rotonda, Villa Malcontenta, Villa Emo, Villa Barbaro and Villa Cornaro. These villas are living lessons in proportion, scale and geometry.

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Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: However, in the city of Vicenza, at the Basilica Palladiana, the lessons are about preservation and reuse. It is in this work where he takes older Venetian fabrics on a side of a piazza and wraps Property of them in a marble veil of his iconic arch flanked by AdVenture Media, Inc. rectangular topped with Double a copper check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling Please openings reviewand carefully. roof for a monumental gesture. To this day, the combination of the arch and rectangular openContact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes o ings is referred to as a Palladian window, whether Phone: 760.320.0997 Fax: 760.320.1630 glazed or open. valleybits@msn.com Office:to 760-320-0997 Fax Needless say, Palladio’s last work, email: valleybits@msn.com All Rights Reserved Teatro Olimpico, was a masterwork -- an indoor amphitheater carved out amid a cluster of medieval buildings reminiscent of Roman times. This work shows off the High Renaissance architecture featuring the feeling of the outdoors -- a theme that continues to this day in theater design. The stage Property of set behind the arches is the work of AdVenture Media, Inc. Vicente Scamozzi and is a highlight for those who love interior design. Vicenza flourished as a city trading in gold. Today, it is one of Italy’s most industrial areas, home to great furniture manufacturers such Phone: 760.320.0997 Fax: 760.320.1630 as Mattei, Trabaldo, Prodital and SIvalleybits@msn.com TIA. These companies take pride in the production and manufacturing of All Rights Reserved the highest-quality goods and partake in the Made In Vicenza workshops put together by the Vicenza Chamber of Commerce. If you’re looking for a place to stay, right across from the Teatro Olimpico is the G Boutique Hotel, which is theatrical from the moment you walk in past the heavy velvet drapes. The G no doubt stands for “glam.” Sparkling chandeliers and silver candleholders shine against the chic blacklacquered walls of the lobby. A long communal table for 24 is the designated breakfast and dining area. Rooms are taupe and well appointed. I wouldn’t stay anywhere else! Yesterday was a bit of a strange * * *

PonderBits

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida. His website is www.josephpubillones. com. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Copyright creators.com

day. First I found a hat full of money. Then I was chased by an angry man with a guitar.

Thinking back on it, my reply to the wedding invite, "maybe next time," wasn't the correct response.

Week of December 31, 2023

YOUR

SOCIAL SECURITY by Tom Margenau

Medicare and the ‘Temporarily Rich’ Before I write today’s column, there are two important and seemingly unrelated observations I must make. No. 1: Regular readers of this column know that I don’t like to write about Medicare. Why? Because I’m a Social Security expert, but not much of a Medicare expert. No. 2: It seems like there are a lot of rich (or temporarily rich) baby boomers out there. Why? Very often it’s because they are selling off property they own and suddenly have a huge influx of cash. This observation is based on the unusually high number of emails I’m getting from senior citizens telling me about their newfound financial gains. And why they are emailing me is how I bring the two points I made together. Here is one such email I just got today. “My wife and I are in our 70s. We sold some property last year and we ended up with about a million dollars in capital gains, which we duly reported to the IRS. Now the Social Security Administration has sent us a letter telling us our Social Security benefits are being dramatically cut next year. Why in the world are they cutting our benefits? I thought that once we are over our full retirement age, we can make as much money as we want without any reduction in our benefits.” There is a little part of me that wants to respond to folks like these and say something like: “Hey, you got a million dollars and you’re griping? I sure wish I had your problems!” But here was how I actually replied to this particular couple: First of all, you are mixing an apple with an orange. The apple is the Social Security law that says, as you correctly pointed out, that once you reach your full retirement age, there is no earnings penalty. You can work and earn as much money as you want and your benefits will not be affected. But the orange is a totally different law. It’s a Medicare rule, not a Social Security rule. And in a nutshell, that law says that rich people pay more for Medicare. So, what’s happened in your case is that your Medicare premium is going up in 2024. And because that premium is deducted from your Social Security checks, your net benefit went down. I hope you don’t think I’m splitting hairs here. But it’s important that you understand your Social Security benefits have NOT decreased. You are still getting exactly the amount you are due. But again, your Medicare premium did increase -and probably temporarily. As I said, I don’t like talking about Medicare. But I’ve got to do it here to help you further understand what’s going on. There are two main parts to Medicare. Hospital coverage, or Part A, is free once you reach age 65. (You paid for Part A with the Medicare tax deducted from your paychecks while you were working.) The other main part of the program, called “doctor’s insurance,” or Part B, is paid for by a monthly premium usually deducted from someone’s Social Security check. And even though people always complain about the amount of that premium, $174.70 in 2024, it actually pays for only 25% of the cost of running the program. The tax-

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payers pick up the other 75%. In other words, senior citizens get quite a subsidy from the government and the taxpayers when it comes to paying for Part B Medicare. So, for years, many people argued that senior citizens should pay a bigger share of the Part B costs. As you might guess, there was a lot of political hemming and hawing on that issue. But eventually, in the early 2000s, President George W. Bush and Congress reached a compromise. They decided that at least wealthy Americans should pay more for their Medicare. How much more depends on a number of factors and on whether you file an individual or joint tax return. To keep things simple, I’ll list the cutoff points for folks filing joint returns -- because most of the emails I get come from couples. The income referred to here is your “modified adjusted gross income,” or MAGI. (Google that if you want to learn more about what MAGI is). --If your MAGI is $206,000 or less, your premium is $174.70. --If your MAGI is between $206,000 and $258,000, your premium is $244.60. --If your MAGI is between $258,000 and $322,000, your premium is $349.40. --If your MAGI is between $322,000 and $386,000, your premium is $454.20. --If your MAGI is between $386,000 and $750,000, your premium is $559.00. --If your MAGI is more than $750,000, your premium is $594.00. Where things get messy and cause the most confusion is for people who are “temporarily” rich. And again, here we are usually talking about folks who sold some land or cashed in some investments. And then it gets messier still because of the tax years involved. Here is an excerpt from something I found on the SSA’s website. “To determine your 2023 income-related

1. The book of Nahum is in the a) Old Testament b) New Testament c) Neither 2. Who was King of Judea at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem? a) Solomon b) Herod c) Nebudchadnezzar d) Balak 3. What animals were present at Jesus' birth? a) Camels b) Goats c) Sheep d) No mention of animals 4. From Genesis 37, who dreamed that the sun, moon and stars had bowed to him? a) David b) Abraham c) Benjamin d) Joseph 5. From Esther 7, who met his own death on the gallows he had built for another man? a) Ahab b) Haman c) Elijah d) Elijah 6. From Numbers 11, what personal assistant of Moses became jealous of Eldad and Medad? a) Isaac b) Caleb c) Joshua d) Amalek Sharpen your understanding of scripture with Wilson Casey's latest book, "Test Your Bible Knowledge," now available in stores and online.

monthly adjustment amounts, we use your most recent federal tax return the IRS provides to us. Generally, this information is from a tax return filed in 2022 for tax year 2021. Sometimes, the IRS only provides information from a return filed in 2021 for tax year 2020. If we use the 2020 tax year data, and you filed a return for tax year 2021 or did not need to file a tax return for tax year 2021, call us or visit any local Social Security office. We’ll update our records.” And this is where things start to get too messy for me to understand or to explain to you. If you want more information, at least I can steer you in the right direction. First, you should do a Google search under this heading: “Premiums: rules for higher-income beneficiaries.” This leads you to an SSA publication that not only explains the rules (and maybe better than I did in this column), but it also gives you your appeal rights if you disagree with the premium increase. And it also tells you that your premium will go back down once your tax returns no longer reflect any big capital gains. A second good source of information is a Medicare expert. They are called SHIPs. That stands for State Health Insurance Program (counselor). To find the SHIP nearest you, go to www. shiphelp.org. * * * If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called “Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security.” The other is “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.” You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

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M.D.

Estrace Cream Is Safe to Use in Woman Who Had Melanoma

attention to diet, the body has difficulty absorbing iron. Iron deficiency is very frequently found in people with RLS, and iron deficiency makes RLS worse. The diagnosis of iron deficiency needs to be made carefully because most people with RLS and iron deficiency do not have anemia. A ferritin level, rather than a blood count test, is the best initial test. If he does have iron deficiency, then treatment with iron supplementation can sometimes dramatically improve those nighttime symptoms.

Vol. XX

Issue No. 1

VETERANS  POST  by Freddie Groves

Veteran Suicides

Operation S.A.V.E. is a Department of Veterans Affairs training program designed to prevent suicide in veterans. While the program is geared * * * for suicide-prevention coordinators, there are Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual questions, but will incorporate them in the column points that can be helpful for family and friends of whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourveterans who might be at risk. GoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 70-year-old The initials themselves outline parts of the woman who has been using Estrace vaginal (c) 2023 North America Synd., Inc. program: All Rights Reserved cream weekly for several years. I am in ex- Signs of suicide cellent health, work out daily, run half-mara- Asking about suicide thons and have my own business. I take 10 - Validating feelings CLIP AND SAVE mg of atorvastatin daily. Ten years ago, I had - Encouraging help and expediting treatmelanoma removed from my arm. ment My concern is the use of Estrace. My Those who work or live with veterans can gynecologist recommended that I use it after help stop many veteran suicides. Here are some a Pap smear, but my primary care physician must-have resources: is not of the same mind. I would appreciate -- Go online and study the program that your opinion on this. My mother had breast is given to VA suicide prevention coordinators. cancer in her 80s, my sister had uterine canGoogle this title: Operation S.A.V.E.: VA Suicide cer, and my brother passed away from blad1-15-24 Prevention Gatekeeper Training. der cancer. -- C.S. -- Google “veteran suicide” and look for the PDF titled “Department of Veterans Affairs OperaANSWER: As far as the safety of using tion SAVE Suicide Prevention.” As you scroll, don’t estradiol (Estrace), the bioidentical hormone miss the Myths and Misinformation section, as to major natural estrogen, I am definitely of the well as the S.A.V.E steps. same opinion as your gynecologist. When used -- Go to www.mentalhealth.va.gov and topically, it works on the vulva and the lining of click “Suicide Prevention.” You’ll find a full menu the vagina, keeping the tissue healthy. of choices, including warning signs and resources. Without estrogen, the tissues that line the The official guesstimate of the number of female perineum can become atrophic (thinned), veteran suicides is 22 per day. As more people and predisposing a woman to discomfort, infections groups read the “Suicide Data Report,” they evenand incontinence. The Pap smear may have retually come to the conclusion that the number is sulted in a finding that was suggestive of vaginal low, for many reasons: Not all states participated atrophy (increased neutrophils). Without treatin the survey and didn’t provide numbers. Informament, the labia can even fuse together. tion in some cases was provided by funeral homes MON., DEC. 11 With long-term use, the estrogen levels in (who got their information from family members) the body are only slightly higher in women Pleasewho review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spellingand  Prices Hours not bythe VA. Information from states with use topical estrogen compared to those who do large veteran populations wasn’t used. Information Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. not, so the absorption into the body is minimal. wasn’t current, and so on. In other words, the probOffice: email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 The only case where I get concerned is 760-320-0997 lem might be even worse. with someone who has a personal history of an For more immediate help for yourself or estrogen-sensitive tumor, such as endometrial someone you know, dial 988 and press 1. Or you cancer and some breast cancers. In those cases, can chat online at www.veteranscrisisline.net. Property of I discuss options with both the patient and their J Arthur Law Firm Or send a text message to 838255 for free support. AdVenture Media, Inc. oncologist. 12th pg 4C 13x * * * *** Dec. 17, 2023 Vol. 19 - No. 5` Freddy Groves regrets that he cannot personDEAR DR. ROACH: Are you aware of ally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them any correlation between celiac disease and into his column whenever possible. Send email to columPhone: 760.320.0997 Fax: 760.320.1630 nreply2@gmail.com. restless legs syndrome (RLS)? My 72-yearvalleybits@msn.com old husband has had RLS for decades. He (c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc. All Rights Reserved currently takes gabapentin and pramipexole, but still has symptoms. Plus, he has periodic ● Wills limb movement disorder (PLMD), which oc● Trusts curs while he’s asleep. He isn’t aware of it, ● Power of Attorney but it can keep me awake; we sleep in sepa● Healthcare Directives rate beds when it gets bad. -- C.S. and Living Wills

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ANSWER: The terminology can be conUpdate your existing fusing. Most people with RLS have periodic limb Estate Planning movements of sleep (PLMS), which sound very Documents! similar to your husband’s symptom. Arthur, Esq. “Don’t die without it!” Joshua Attorney at Law  PLMD is a separate sleep issue that doesn’t include other RLS features, such as an uncomfortable sensation in the legs while they’re 777 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way at rest that causes an urge to move them. A perSuite 200 son with RLS often has PLMS, but doesn’t have Palm Springs, CA PLMD. Tel: (760) 201-3215 There is an increased risk of RLS among Please review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices  Hours Email: josh@jarthurlaw.com people with celiac disease. Most authorities tie Web: www.JArthurLaw.com these two together through iron deficiency. Un- your Tidbits representative Contact immediately with changes or corrections.  Licensed in California and Florida less celiac disease is managed with meticulous Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630

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-- by Jim Miller

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will email you with instructions for providing more details, including information about the deceased, a copy of your ID, and a copy of the deceased’s death certificate.

Snapchat: To delete this account, simply login to the account and click “Delete My Account” and follow the prompts.

YouTube and/or Google: To close these accounts, simply go to Support.Google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590 and fill out their form and upload scans of the death certificate and your ID.

Tumblr: Send an email to Support@tumblr. com requesting to remove the account of the deceased person with their Tumblr username, proof of their death, and proof of your relationship to the deceased.

How to Close Social Media Accounts of a Deceased Loved One Pinterest: DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: My wife passed away a few months ago and her social media accounts are still active. I need to know how to go about canceling these accounts. Is there a right way to do this? -- Sad Spouse Dear Sad: I’m very sorry for your loss, but this is a smart move on your behalf and one that often gets overlooked. Social media is part of many people’s daily lives, but when a person passes away their dormant accounts can become vulnerable to scammers who can hack into them and even steal your deceased loved one’s identity.

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To remove a Pinterest account, email Care@pinterest.com with the deceased user’s account username, proof of death and proof of relationship to the deceased. LinkedIn: To remove a deceased person’s LinkedIn profile, submit a request at LinkedIn.com/help/linkedin/ask/ts-rdmlp. You’ll need to provide the name and URL to the profile; the relationship you have to the deceased; the email address; date of passing; and link to an obituary.

If your wife had social media through a company not listed here, go to that company’s website for information on how to delete the account.

* * *

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.

Here’s a run-down of how you can cancel or change many different social media accounts after a loved one dies. Facebook: If your wife used Facebook, you can either “memorialize” or “delete” her account. A memorialized account serves as a place where family and friends can share memories to celebrate the deceased person’s life, with the word “Remembering” shown next to the deceased person’s name. Once an account is memorialized, content the person shared is still visible on Facebook to the audience it was originally shared with, however, the user’s profile will not show up in public spaces such as people you may know, ads or birthday reminders. To memorialize your wife’s profile simply go to Facebook.com/help/contact/234739086860192. Or, if you’d rather have her account removed, go to Facebook. com/help/contact/228813257197480. To memorialize her account requires proof of death (via death certificate, obituary or memorial card), but if you wish to delete the account, you’ll also need to verify that you’re an immediate family member, legal representative or executor, unless you’re the legacy contact on her account. Instagram: The policy on a deceased users’ Instagram account is the similar to Facebook’s, which owns Instagram. You can either memorialize or remove the account at Help.Instagram.com/264154560391256. But just like with Facebook, you’ll need to provide proof of death and relationship to the deceased. X (formally Twitter): To deactivate an X account, go to Help.Twitter.com and type in “How to contact X about a deceased family member’s account” in the search bar and follow the prompts. After you submit your request, X

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Vol. XX

Issue No. 1

round and has a partial lid. What can you tell me about the maker, age and value of my ashtray?

ANTIQUE -- OR -JUNQUE

The Sascha Brastoff Studio was located in California.

by Anne McCollam Creators News Service

Original Portrait Was Painted in 1537 Q: Can you tell me anything about this painting of a woman? It is 23-by-19 inches, and is on a ver y heavy corkwood surface. She is wearing a necklace with what looks like a family crest on it. The painting is not signed. I would appreciate any information you can provide on who she is, who the artist was and when it was painted. A: Your have a reproduction of a portrait

of Jane Seymour by the Renaissance artist Hans Holbein. The original painting is oil on a wood panel that was painted in 1537. It hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Seymour was the third wife The picture is a reproduction of an of King of original Renaissance painting. England Henry the VIII. The letters are Greek and say, “IHS,” which signifies the name of Jesus. Holbein painted portraits of the king of England and his court. He was born in Germany and his father, Hans Holbein the Elder, was his teacher. There are many reproductions of this portrait, but most are not valuable. Yours was made in the 20th century and would probably have a value of $25 to $50. * * * Q: I have enclosed the mark that is on the back of a metal ashtray that was given to me. The ashtray is decorated with ornate gold and turquoise hand-painted medallions. It is

A: Your “Sascha B”-signed ashtray was

designed by the multitalented artist and designer, Sascha Brastoff. He opened his studio in West Los Angeles in 1953. Objects that were signed “Sascha B” were decorated by staff artists. Those signed “Sascha Brastoff” were personally crafted by him and are more desired by collectors, therefore commanding higher prices. As a young man, Brastoff was encouraged by his immigrant parents to pursue a career in art. He eventually studied at the Case Western Reserve School of Art in Cleveland. He was also a dancer, sculptor, jewelry designer and Hollywood costume designer. His LA studio produced earthenware, decorative enameled metal pieces and fine china. When he retired in 1963, Gerald Schwartz took over the supervision of the business until 1973. The letter “H” is a model number, and the letter “R” in a circle signifies a registered trademark. Your enameled metal ashtray is circa 1963 and would probably fetch $25 to $50 in an antiques shop. * * * Antiques expert and columnist Anne McCollam has since retired and no longer receives inquiries nor answers reader letters. Due to the popularity of her column, this publication will continue to reprint previous columns of interest to our readers. To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

FILLER PAGE 2 2Q08 - WEEK 19 MAY 4 - MAY 10

GO FIGURE SOLUTION

PRESENTS TRIVIA NEWSFRONT™ by by Kara Kara Kovalchik Kovalchik && Sandy Sandy Wood Wood

Letters sent to farm dwellers about horses that stop and refuse to keep walking: balk mail

Whatever happened to our sexual relations? AIVIRT

I don't know. I don't think we even got a Christmas card from them TRIVIA this year.

NEWSFRONT SREWSNA TNANSWERS ORFSWEN

Puzzle Solutions

* On Jan. 1, 2011, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) debuted on television. The “Queen of All Media” had previously described her vision for the network as one that “inspires our viewers and makes them want to be who they are on their best day.” On Jan. 2, 1919, locksmith and politician Anton Drexler founded the German Workers’ Party, the forerunner of the Nazi Party, in Munich, Germany, from a group that met regularly to discuss political matters. Among other things, the party advocated for nationalism and extreme antisemitism. On Jan. 3, 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X after he failed to recant 41 parts of his Ninety-Five Theses, which started the Protestant Reformation. The pope had called the offending statements heretical, scandalous and offensive to pious ears, though he did not specify exactly which ones fell under that category. On Jan. 4, 1957, the Hamilton Electric 500 watch made its public debut. It was the first timepiece to never need winding (though it did need frequent battery replacement) and came in “modern” asymmetrical designs to reflect its revolutionary technology. Production ended 12 years later with the advanced technology of quartz movements that rendered the “watch of the future” obsolete. On Jan. 5, 1992, a landslide that occurred near San Francisco killed 33 people and caused the Golden Gate Bridge to close. Heavy rain in the amount of nearly half of the city’s average annual precipitation had fallen continuously for 36 hours On Jan. 6, 2000, a severe flu outbreak in the United Kingdom caused National Health Service hospitals to be stretched to their limits, leaving many forced to cancel all non-emergency surgeries and facing intensive care bed shortages. The outbreak was blamed on a low rate of flu vaccinations. On Jan. 7, 1927, the first transatlantic telephone service was established. A three-minute call between New York and London cost about $45, which would translate to roughly $550 today.

1. Who had a #1 hit in 1961 with the sardonic “Mother-in-Law”? 2. According to the proverb, what is “the mother of invention”? 3. What was the real first name of AfricanAmerican comedienne Moms Mabley? 4. What film actor wanted to Throw Momma from the Train in 1987?

1. Ernie eK-Doe oD-K einrE .1 2. necessity ytissecen .2 3. Loretta atteroL .3 4. Danny otiVDeVito eD ynnaD .4 5. Candy renthLightner giL ydnaC .5

EALWAYS ERF SYAFREE WLA ALWAYS FUN N UF SYAW LA

™ ci

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Week of December 31, 2023

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Page 15

Sugar from page 3

Western Air Cooling and Heating and a drop in cognitive processes, as well as Golf Caddy - Prem. Position a significant chance of developing Type 2 Oct. 22, 2023 Vol. 19 - No. 43 diabetes. • Sugar overload can produce mood changes including irritability and anxiety because of the cycle of blood sugar spikes and drops. Alertness we are not is lowered and fatigue can actually increase. comfortable until you are.

• While pure cranberry juice has many health benefits, 12 oz. of sweetened cranberry juice contains 11 teaspoons of added sugar. And an energy drink gives you more than energy…it also gives you 10 teaspoons of sugar in a 12-oz. can.

GET READY NEW FOR

• To dodge listing sugar as the first ingredient WINTER! WINTER! on a food’s label, manufacturers use different Upon arrival at your names, such as high-fructose corn syrup. This home, our tecnicians ADVERTISING PROOF chemically-manufactured sweetener is made use a time-tested, Changes DUE:exhaustive 5:00 p.m.. from corn syrup and is about 55% Final fructose, Please review carefully. Double check:  Phone Number(s)  Spelling  Prices  Hours Property of which requires your body to take more steps to 24-point checklist! AdVenture Media, Inc. Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. break down into energy. WINTER PARTING FACT

Office: 760-320-0997

• A Czech gentleman named Jakob Christof Rad was the director of a sugar refinery in 1841 when he produced the world’s first sugar cube by pulverizing sugar, lightly steaming it, and reforming it into teaspoon-sized blocks. He was granted a patent for the process in 1843. 

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Thumb Bridge

STAN SMITH’S TENNIS CLASS

Getting to a good position at the top of the swing is an orchestration of many different parts. Controlling the club’s movement and top position relies mostly on the hands and arms. Many top female players seem to have a beautiful support of the club, which can be seen temporarily in their transition to swing forward. Since it may be hard to see this illustration normally, I’ve used more of a player’s point of view without the right hand involved.

Correct Position

Incorrect Position

Unfortunately, a lot of beginning and intermediate women players struggle with getting their left hand in a proper position when they bow the left wrist too much. By suggesting they get the “thumb under the grip” at the top, it helps to orient the hand into a much better position. The thumb acts as a bridge to support the club and provides effortless “strength” as well. Don’t let the thumb be on the side of the grip by the top ADVERTISING position since it can overly closePROOF the clubface in Finalthe Changes 5:00 p.m.. swing. DUE:

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JasonJenkins Jenkinswas wasaa 16-year 16-year member member of of the the Jim McLean Golf Jason Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changesTop or 100 corrections. School teaching staff.and He was was one of of GOLF GOLF Magazine’s School teaching staff one Magazine’s Teacher Nominees Nominees 1999-2010. 1999-2010 and has been named one the Teacher He Fax: was named one of theofGolf Office: 760-320-0997 760-320-1630 Golf Digest Top Teachers in California. Jason teaches at GOLFTEC Digest Top Teachers in California in 2011. CENTER Indio. at Contact him at jjenkins@golftec.com ContactinJason 760-485-2452 or devgolfinstr@gmail.com

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doctor today and he said my sugar h.

me ICE,and moved it to a lower shelf.

Vol. XX

Tidbits of Coachella Valley

Page 16

Issue No. 1

THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENROLL I visited the doctor today and he said my sugar I visited the doctor today and he said my sugar was too high. was too high. So I came home and moved it to a lower shelf. So I came home and moved it to a lower shelf.

1. What is another name for powdered sugar? 1. What is another name for powdered sugar? 2. What product is used to distill rum? 2. What product is used to distill rum?

1. Saccharum officinarum is the scientific name for 1. Saccharum officinarum is the scientific name for ___________. ___________. 2. What sweet treat was always present on the desk of 2. What sweet treat was always present on the desk of President Ronald Reagan? President Ronald Reagan? 3. How many calories are in one teaspoon of sugar? 3. How many calories are in one teaspoon of sugar? 4. What is the energy drink with the highest amount 4. What is the energy drink with the highest amount of sugar, with 126% of the daily recommended of sugar, with 126% of the daily recommended intake? intake? 5. “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go 5. “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” is a song in what movie? down” is a song in what movie?

“Every cookie is a sugar cookie. A “Every cookie is a sugar cookie. A cookie without sugar is a cracker.” -cookie without sugar is a cracker.” -Gary Gulman Gary Gulman

Brown sugar is crystalline sucrose that has Brown sugar is crystalline sucrose that has been combined with molasses, which been combined with molasses, which gives it the color and rich flavor. Powdered gives it the color and rich flavor. Powdered sugar is granulatedofficinarum sugar that has beenscientific name for 1. Saccharum is the sugar is granulated sugar that has been pulverized to a fine powder. ___________. pulverized to a1.fine powder. GEOGRAPHY: In which city is 1. GEOGRAPHY: In which city is

I just blew the sugar off my doughnut. Dieting I just blew the sugar off my doughnut. Dieting is so hard! is so hard!

NAHCSRCIA NAHCSRCIA

An artificial sweetener that is 300 times An artificial sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than sugar sweeter than sugar

Anthony Hopkins 12/31/37 Anthony Hopkins 12/31/37 Morris Chestnut 1/1/69 Morris Chestnut 1/1/69 1. Sugar cane Cuba Gooding, Jr. 1/2/68 1. Sugar cane Cuba Gooding, Jr. 1/2/68 Eli Manning 1/3/81 Jelly beans Dieting I just blew the sugar off my2. Eli Manning 1/3/81 2.doughnut. Jelly beans Patty Loveless 1/4/57 is so hard! 3. 16 Patty Loveless 1/4/57 3. 16 Bradley Cooper 1/5/75 Bradley Cooper 1/5/75 4. Rockstar Rowan Atkinson 1/6/55 4. Rockstar Rowan Atkinson 1/6/55

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© 2023 2022King Features Synd., Inc. for the growing season, think again! You can compost all year long by using a resealable bag for your food waste, coffee grounds, vegetable peelings, etc. Put them in the bag and stick it

1st Quarter 2024 Week 01