| Scam Jam 2007 held
By Karen WilliamsonKARENW@CULLMANTIMES.COMExperts agree shredding mail, paying bills and viewing bank statements online, picking up new check orders at the bank and mailing bills at the post office are ways to stop identity theft.If people take those steps, they will have reduced their risk for identity theft considerably, according to Federal Trade Commission attorney Paul Davis from Atlanta who was one of the experts at the 2007 Scam Jam Wednesday at City Hall."That right there will eliminate a certain percentage of identity theft," he said.Paying bills online requires the use of anti-virus software and firewalls on personal computers, and both have to be updated regularly, he said.Davis recommends contacting one of the three consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — every four months to request a free credit report."Federal law allows you to get free copies of each one every year," he said.That way people will know quickly if there is a problem.
Warhol sculptures fake - museum
MORE than 100 sculptures attributed to Andy Warhol are fakes that were created three years after he died, according to a report by Stockholm's National Museum of Modern Art. Some 105 'Brillo boxes' - inspired by the cardboard boxes holding cleaning products by US firm Brillo - that were attributed to Warhol were in fact constructed in 1990 for an exhibition in St Petersburg, it said. "The boxes from 1990 should be seen as copies/exhibition material, which was the reason for their construction,'' the museum said after an investigation into the authenticity of the boxes."These boxes are not authorised by the artist and should be removed from the official list of Andy Warhol's Brillo boxes.'' The museum - which said it had six of the fake works - compared the sculptures with other boxes created in 1968 with Warhol's permission, and concluded they were created three years after the American artist's 1987 death.
Child Protective Services: Problems, Reforms and More Problems
Rafael Sierra smiles as he watches the face of his girlfriend, Maria Martinez, with their newborn son. It's a July afternoon and sunlight pours into their hospital room at Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena. It's the couple's second son in as many years. Rafael hasn't slept in almost two days, too anxious from the delivery. He sits by a window to fall asleep. Maria rests in the hospital bed, holding her baby. She's glad the big day is over and her son was born without complications. During the last couple months, Maria had checked in at Bayshore several times for intense stomach pains. She had been a little worried. But now, Maria can relax. Rafael had left the couple's first son at his mother and stepfather's house, though he would rather have his boy with him. The relationship between Rafael and his mother has deteriorated in recent years, especially since he started dating Maria, who, at 26, was almost eight years younger than Rafael.
Christmas shoppers use different means for payment
What�s in your wallet? The chances are better these days that it�s not a paper check.
According to the National Retail Federation, almost 40 percent of shoppers will rely on their debit/check cards to make purchases this holiday season while around 30 percent will be using credit cards and 25 percent paying with cash. Only about five percent will write personal checks at the cash register.
Whatever the choice may be, financial counselors, financial institutions, retailers and even shoppers agree that the debit card has become the most common method of payment.
However, Terry Zeltinger, president of United Community Bank, said there is not a �one size fits all� when it comes to paying for purchases.
�Every individual has a different set of circumstances and preferences for the method of payment that fits their situation,� Zeltinger said.
Housing crunch
FARMINGTON — Families are struggling to find and afford homes in Farmington and San Juan County. Their housing woes aren't limited by class. People making the median income can't afford a median-priced home in Farmington, the 2006 City of Farmington Housing Affordability report states. To make matters more difficult for local home buyers, prices continue to rise in 2007 despite a nationwide housing market downturn. From the 2006 median of about $170,000 to the January-through-August 2007 median of $189,000, prices increased by 10 percent, according to San Juan County Board of Realtors statistics. The consequences can be intimidating, as middle class families defer saving for retirement or making vehicle repairs to pay their house payment. They also can be tragic.
Atmos Energy Corporation Purchases a License under the Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. Patents
LOS ANGELES, BUSINESS WIRE -- Atmos Energy Corporation, the country's largest natural gas-only distributor, (NYSE:ATO) headquartered in Dallas, has purchased a license under the patent portfolio held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. and licensed through its affiliate, NNOVIA Replacement Battery for Quickcapture A2D
B&H Photo-Video-$119.95
');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>A2D, L.P. The nonexclusive license covers services offered by Atmos in the "Energy and Utility Services" Field of Use, including customer service provided via automated systems and live agents. Other terms of the license were not disclosed. The patents held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. cover a wide range of interactive technology including automated forms of: customer service, securities trading, prescription refill services, merchandising, prepaid services, telephone conferences, registration, home shopping, as well as functions involved in securing information from databases by telephone, interactive cable transactions, and various other uses of toll free and local numbers.
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