News & Articles

Dear Readers: Today’s SOUND OFF is about America’s educational system. - Heloise

“Dear Heloise: As schoolchildren go back to their desks and books, I’m reminded of how difficult it is to teach a curriculum today. In other countries, children are taught to respect their teachers. I don’t see it here in the U.S. We’ve taken away all authority from our teachers, blamed them if a student fails in class and made teaching an unattractive profession. 

“Currently, we are facing a teacher shortage in some areas of the country, especially in poor districts. Some of the worst shortages are in subjects such as special ed, math and computer science.
“What can districts do to attract better teachers? They can improve pay and benefits, offer additional autonomy, and provide support and mentoring in their school districts. Perhaps the most important part, however, is parental support. They need to get behind the teacher and adopt a ‘zero tolerance for bad grades and bad behavior’ from their children, and that starts in kindergarten.” - Karen in Wisconsin

FAST FACTS

Dear Readers: Getting married soon? Make sure to consider these financial issues:

• Discuss and agree on how many children to have, where to live, how finances will be handled and career choices.

• Have your wills done.

• Make sure your future spouse is on all banking and investment documents.

- Heloise

NEW SCAM ALERT

Dear Heloise: There is a new scam involving an email that goes to someone and says:
“This is to inform you that your request on: 09/06/2019 2:07:11 p.m. to remove your account from (name of your internet carrier) server has been approved and will initiate in one hour from the exact time you open this message. Regards.
“ignore this message to continue with email removal or
“If this deactivation was not requested by you
“Please reply us.”
You can tell by the way it’s written that it’s bogus. This is a way for a scammer to get you to click on a site that will enable them to access your computer to gain information on you. Go ahead and ignore it, but DON’T click on the address you are given. - Norah Y., Providence, R.I.

POLARIZED PLUG

Dear Readers: Have you ever wondered why most electrical plugs have one blade that is wider than the other? This is called a polarized plug, and it’s a safety feature to lower the chance of electrical shock.
The plug will go into an outlet only one way. Don’t force it to fit another way. - Heloise

Thanks for unsubscribing!

Dear Heloise: I noticed I was receiving a LOT OF EMAILS for contests, lotteries, products and services, and debt-consolidation loans - things that I don’t need or won’t use.
I thought, “I’ll spend some time and click that UNSUBSCRIBE button on the bottom of each of the emails and clean out my inbox.”
Bad idea. For these companies that send the bogus and so-called spam emails, unsubscribing only confirms that your email is valid and able to receive their communications. - Martha P. in San Diego
Martha, how right you are. Your internet carrier should have instructions on how to block and filter spam from a particular email address and website. This will send unwanted emails directly to trash. Check it out. - Heloise
P.S. Legitimate businesses usually will honor your request to remove your email address from their files.

STUFF IT

Dear Heloise: I store my expensive purses and luxury handbags stuffed with butcher paper so they will keep their shape. Do you have any other hints for storage? - Jennifer J. in Houston
Jennifer, before storing the bag, empty it completely, and remove any dust or loose particles from it. Don’t stuff the bag with newspaper; the print could rub off inside the bag. 
Store the stuffed bag in a dust bag (a soft, natural-fiber bag - many luxury brands come with dust bags) in its original box. Don’t let one bag touch another; this can cause wear and discoloration.
Don’t hang the bags by their handles, as it can change the shape of the handles. - Heloise
P.S. Keep your proof of purchase and all tags and receipts for the bag - this ups its resale value.
However, the most important thing is to use your bag and enjoy it. It wasn’t made to sit on your shelf!

READER’S ‘SEMI’ SEMANTICS

Dear Heloise: Regarding your discussion of the meaning of “biweekly”: The prefix “bi” means “two,” as in bicycle (two-wheeled) or bicentennial (2 x 100 equals 200).
Therefore, “biweekly” is every two weeks. Twice a week would be semiweekly, where “semi” means half. - Lisa M., Hagerstown, Md.

(c)2019 by King Features Syndicate Inc.