Pinellas County School Board Takes Notice

And the fence is fixed!

Thanks to anyone that called or emailed to help get the fence fixed and thanks to the PCSB for fixing the fence. A gold star goes to all that helped.

Don’t Let Thieves Steal Your Identity

Don’t Let Thieves Steal Your Identity

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(ARA) – In the last five years, more than 27 million Americans have had their identity stolen and, experts predict, more than 50 million Americans will fall victim to identity theft in the next five years.

Colorado professor Anita Jantz is one of those unfortunate enough to have had their identity stolen. While searching online for a fixed rate mortgage, Jantz provided her Social Security number to two or three companies she felt could offer her a good rate. Months later, when applying for the mortgage, a loan officer reviewed her credit report and shared shocking news.

“In addition to my current mortgage, two more were recently added. After further investigation, I also discovered three additional mortgages. In total it was almost $1 million of loans,” Jantz says.

Jantz spent months filing police reports and making dozens of phone calls then signed up with ID Watchdog, an identity theft monitoring service.

“We need to understand that prevention isn’t a feasible concept now,” says Justin Yurek, president of ID Watchdog. “If a thief wants your identity, they’ll get it. No matter how careful you are they could hack into a database, they could physically steal a laptop, there is no guarantee.”

Even when consumers frequently check their credit reports they can become victims because 70 percent of identity theft crimes have nothing to do with credit reports. “A thief could steal your wallet with your driver’s license in it and commit a crime, open a P.O. Box, get a cell phone, put utilities in your name. That has nothing to do with credit,” says Yurek.

According to the United States Federal Trade Commission, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country. It cost businesses and consumers more than $56 billion in 2005 and most people do not discover their information has been stolen until 12 months after a thief first uses it. Worse, fewer than one in 700 identity theft crimes lead to a conviction.

Despite that, taking preventative measures is still worth the time. The FTC recommends taking the following steps to minimize your chances of having your identity stolen.

* Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information before discarding them.

* Do not carry your Social Security card with you and do not write your Social Security number on checks.

* Do not click on links in unsolicited e-mails. If an e-mail appears to be from your financial institution asking for personal information, go to the organization’s official Web site and/or call to ask if the e-mail is from them.

* Computer, credit card and banking passwords should not be obvious. Avoid using your mother’s maiden name, any part of your Social Security number or your date of birth as your password.

* Stop the pre-approved credit card offers. Calling (888) 5 OPT OUT removes your name from the marketing mailing lists of all three credit agencies.

Since there is currently no foolproof way to guarantee your identity won’t be stolen, stay alert for signs that someone may be using your identity.

* If you fail to receive bills or other mail on time or as expected, call the sender directly. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed the mailing address.

* You begin receiving credit cards you did not apply for.

* You have been denied credit or are receiving less favorable credit terms — a higher interest rate or lower credit limit than you’ve received in the past.

* You begin receiving calls from debt collection agencies or businesses regarding merchandise you did not purchase.

FTC statistics show that once a consumer becomes a victim of identity theft, the average time spent repairing the problem is between 400 and 600 hours. Companies like ID Watchdog can save time and hassle by offering identity theft monitoring and prevention.

The services scrutinize customer information and guarantee that if thieves slip something past, the company will fix any problems the customer experiences and help them regain and retain their identity.

“ID Watchdog doesn’t just look at reports from three credit bureaus, we monitor thousands of databases because only 30 percent of identity theft victims get hit in ways that show up on credit reports,” Yurek says. The service also educates consumers about how their personal information — name, date of birth, Social Security number, phone number and address — show up in databases all over the world, information most consumers just don’t have access to.

Further information on identity theft can be obtained from the FTC online at www.ftc.gov and a free trial of the ID Watchdog service is available at idwatchdog.com or by calling (866) 416-0783.

Courtesy ARAcontent

Take control of your credit by checking your score and seeing where you stand. You can also make sue that the information on file is correct and up to date. For more information visit:

Monitor Your FICO® Score & Equifax Credit Report

May 2008 Meeting

The May 2008 meeting will be held at 7:00PM on the Wednesday the 14th at the Progressive Management Office. It is located at 4151 Woodlands Parkway just past Target in the office center.

Please plan to attend if you can. It is the 1st meeting with our new board members and we can see how they are going to work together for us, the homeowners.

Here is a map if you are not familiar with the location.

Pinellas County Healthcard

Great news for Pinellas County residents.

The county has begun a program that offer prescription discounts to its residents. The discount may be up to 20% according to the county. This is a great help to those that do not have insurance or that need a non-covered drug.

They say “The cards may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income or existing health coverage and are accepted at many of the county’s pharmacies. A national network of more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies also will honor the NACo prescription discount card.”

For more information visit the county site – Pinellas County Human Services

Also, please pass this on to anyone that you think may benefit from the cost savings on prescription drugs covered by the program.

Get Ready For Summer

Save up to 50% on Summer Essentials at drugstore.com. Offer ends 06.20.08.

Tips for Green Summer Pest Control

(ARA) – Living green doesn’t mean yielding your yard to birds, bugs and critters that can be both a nuisance and a health hazard. It’s possible to keep unwanted animal guests away from your gardens, landscaping, lawn and outdoor living areas without contributing to the groundwater contamination associated with many chemical pesticides.

With drought conditions expected to persist in many areas of the country, the issue of groundwater contamination is drawing plenty of attention. Many communities are moving to curb products – including pesticides and fertilizers – known to cause groundwater contamination. When it comes to protecting your property from common summer pests, non-lethal, all-natural methods that rely on sound, sight, taste deterrents and roost inhibitors not only protect the environment, they’re more effective as well.

“Green pest-control measures actually work better than lethal alternatives,” says Mona Zemsky, a technician and pest control expert with Bird-X, a company that specializes in products that help convince critters to take up residence elsewhere. “Killing birds and other nuisance animals is a losing proposition; you just create a vacuum that other animals will move into.”

So what green methods are most effective in ridding your landscape of unwelcome birds and animals? Here are some top options:

Scent/Taste

Another way to thwart pests is to convince them that an area is no longer safe or a good food source. For geese and birds, GooseChase and BirdShield use a food-grade derivative of concord grapes. Sprayed on grass and feeding areas, they safely and humanely make the spots unpalatable to birds and animals. The line of organic Scoot products use taste aversion – in the form of hot sauce and castor oil – to drive off pests like deer, squirrels and ground moles

Sound

Sonic and ultrasonic devices can drive off small rodents like mice, squirrels and raccoons, and common nuisance birds such as sparrows, crows and pigeons. Since ultrasonic devices are inaudible to humans, they don’t contribute to noise pollution. Sonic machines that project actual predator calls can also be effectiveA variety of devices are available that target specific pests. For example, Transonic PROtargets small animals and insects, and the Yard Gard can dissuade even deer. Effective bird-specific devices include the BirdXPeller PRO and the Ultrason X.

Sight

Farmers have used scarecrows for hundreds of years. Visual deterrents can be very effective in convincing many pests, birds especially, that an area is unsafe. The concept of the scarecrow has evolved, with devices – both low- and high-tech – that incorporate motion into the visual deterrent. On the low-tech end is an iridescent tape, easily hung outdoors, that unsettles birds with its fluttering motion and flashing colors. From a distance, the tape’s sheen mimics snake skin, further frightening bird invaders. On the high tech end, new devices use lasers to ward off birds. The Bird BLazer zaps harmless green lasers into birds’ roosting areas, creating a light show that most birds find unpleasant.

Roost Inhibitors

Birds will roost, nest, eat and defecate wherever they find an appealing spot, creating a nuisance and a health hazard. Convincing birds that a spot is no longer desirable is the optimum way to get rid of them – and prevent any more from moving in. Roost inhibitors accomplish this in a variety of ways. Some, like Bird-X’s spike strips (made of recycled materials) and a special netting, make it difficult for birds to land. Others, such as gels and liquids, make surfaces feel tacky and unappealing to birds, but cause no damage to the structures they’re applied to.

“These methods are not only green for the environment and human for the animals, they’re benign for humans as well,” Zemsky points out. “You won’t need rubber gloves to use them, they have no warning labels, you don’t need to store them in child-proof places or wonder what they might do to you after decades of exposure.”

To learn more about effective, environmentally safe, non-lethal bird control methods, visit www.Bird-X.com or call (800) 662-5021.

Courtesy of ARAcontent