Stuff to Blog About and More: In the News, July 23, 2008

Mourning Golden Girl Estelle Getty

Attention all cable TV rerun lovers.
Estelle Getty, the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84. Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, was said to have been under 5 feet and under 100 pounds.

Born Estelle Scher to Polish immigrants in New York, Getty fell in love with theater when she saw a vaudeville show at age 4. She was a perennial award nominee for The Golden Girls, which ran for seven seasons, from 1985-1992. She won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work as Sophia Petrillo

..........................
Plastic bags getting tossed in LA.

The city of Los Angeles announced it will ban all plastic bags from retail stores as of July 1, 2010, following similar anti-pollution regulations already enforced in San Francisco. After July 2010, all store customers must provide their own bags or purchase bags made of paper or other biogradable material from the store for 25 cents .

.......................
The most dangerous times for heart attack
According to Time, for all kinds of cardiovascular emergency - including sudden cardiac death, rupture or aneurysm of the aorta, pulmonary embolism and stroke - are the morning and during the last phase of sleep. A group from Harvard estimated this risk and evaluated that on average, the extra risk of having a myocardial infarction, or heart attack, between 6 a.m. and noon is about 40%.

.......................
Rhode Island Man Scores Highest Blood Alcohol Level

Rhode Island police say they arrested a man whose blood alcohol level was 0.491 percent — the highest ever recorded in Rhode Island for someone who wasn't dead. According to the state’s health department, a person with a blood alcohol count of .3 is said to be in a “stupor”, .4 is “comatose” and .5 is considered to be fatal.

The man crashed into a road sign was tested as having a blood-alcohol level six times the legal limit . He was released on personal recognizance after a bail hearing and will face another hearing Friday on charges of drunken driving and resisting arrest.

Amazon.com Widgets

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.