GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY AND LT. GOVERNOR ANTHONY G. BROWN HIGHLIGHT FORECLOSURE PREVENTION IN MARYLAND

Maryland officially becomes the first state in the nation to close an Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program loan

ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 9, 2011) – Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown today joined members of the Administration, community leaders and local elected officials at the home of Prince George’s County resident Fanny Melvin to encourage homeowners at risk of losing their homes to take advantage of foreclosure prevention programs in Maryland, including the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMA), the MDHOPE Network and available counseling services throughout the state.

“There is no more powerful place in our State than a family’s home,” said Governor O’Malley. “In Maryland, we’ve undertaken an array of reforms and actions to prevent foreclosures. I am pleased that our federal partners, through initiatives like the Emergency Mortgage Assistance program, and our local leaders have joined together to preserve homeownership, the cornerstone of a strong and growing upwardly mobile middle class.”

In April, the O’Malley-Brown Administration announced the launch of the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, a $40 million program to assist homeowners in addressing back mortgage payments. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with the goal of helping homeowners who are facing foreclosure due to job loss or a decrease in wages, including those who lost income due to illness.

Today, the Governor also announced that Maryland is the first state in the nation to close an EMA loan. Fanny Melvin has been approved and Lisa Barnes of Montgomery County is the first homeowner in Maryland approved for a loan through this initiative.

                                          

“Under Governor O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland has taken significant steps to help struggling homeowners because hard-working Marylanders like Fanny Melvin shouldn’t have to worry about losing their homes due to circumstances beyond their control,” said Lt. Governor Brown.  “I hope hearing Fanny’s story will encourage others to take advantage of our Emergency Mortgage Assistance program and all the resources that Maryland has to offer for those at risk of losing their homes.”

The Governor and Lt. Governor have been traveling the state today to highlight housing programs and services available to Marylanders.

Congresswoman Donna Edwards said, “Our economic recovery depends on helping people like Fanny Melvin increase their skills, take care of their families, and stay in their homes. At the federal, state, and local levels we are working to combat the foreclosure rate in Prince George’s County, and I commend Governor O’Malley for his tireless efforts. However, we must to continue to focus like a laser beam on helping families stay in their homes while making critical investments to educate our young people and grow our economy.”

“I have long said that America will survive this storm, but the question is who will have your job, and who will be in your home,” Congressman Elijah Cummings said.  “We have seen the constant and devastating toll that foreclosures can have on our neighbors and on our neighborhoods.  I commend Governor O’Malley for the State’s innovative programs to keep Maryland families in their homes. It is critical that we continue to do anything we can to help our fellow Americans avoid the pain and devastation created by foreclosures.” 

Prince George’s County has been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, and the Administration has taken action to fight on behalf of residents in the County and across the state. To date, over 57,000 homeowners statewide have received foreclosure prevention counseling through the MDHope Network since the crisis began.

"I want to thank Governor O'Malley and Lieutenant Governor Brown for this proactive initiative to address one of the most pressing problems in Prince George's County - foreclosures," said Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. "It is imperative that those who need mortgage assistance seek help and assistance now and not wait until it's too late."

"These are difficult times, but, Maryland has new options which will bring new hope to our Maryland homeowners for our foreclosure prevention resources," said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Raymond Skinner. "I applaud the dedicated housing counselors, underwriters, pro bono attorneys and program coordinators who have provided homeowners with a seamless process to apply for an EMA loan. As a result, today, we are pleased to hear from two very ecstatic homeowners."

Maryland has passed what the Washington Post called some of the most “sweeping” legislation in the country, giving distressed homeowners more time to work out alternatives to foreclosure. In 2010, the Administration successfully fought for legislation to create the Foreclosure Mediation Program to bring mortgage giants to the table with homeowners and give every Maryland family facing foreclosure the legal right to request mediation with foreclosure seeking lenders. Through Chief Judge Robert Bell’s pro-bono project, the State’s foreclosure mitigation strategies have recruited and trained over 1,100 pro-bono attorneys to help Maryland homeowners and assisted nearly 1,000 homeowners. Since 2007, through the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the Administration has recovered over $9 million from financial institutions for consumers who were charged fees that were unlawful or improperly imposed.

Homeowners can get more details on the Administration’s foreclosure prevention initiatives and Maryland’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program by visiting the HOPE website at http://www.mdhope.org%20or/ by calling the HOPE hotline (877) 462-7555 to find a housing counselor in their area for free counseling and assistance.

ANNUAL WALK @ LUNCH SET FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 18TH

In observation of National Employee Health & Fitness Day, Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt has announced that the Wicomico County Executive’s Fitness Council is proud to sponsor the 11th annual Walk @ Lunch on Wednesday, May 18th.

Sharon E. Cooper, Wicomico County Health Department Community Health Educator and the co-chairperson of the event, is encouraging everyone to, “Enjoy a short walk on our new route and then join us for a healthy lunch with dessert and giveaways.” The course will be open from 11:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. and participants can begin at any time during that period.

The event is free and open to the public but participants need to register online at http://www.wicomicohealth.org/ by May 16^th. Walkers may register the day of the event but they will not be guaranteed a free lunch. The walk will take place on a “rain or shine” basis.

The event showcases the ease of including walking as part of one’s workday. Studies show that including at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day can improve or maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Mr. Pollitt pointed out that, “While the Executive’s Fitness Council is organizing this ‘fun, popular’ event, I want to acknowledge our many sponsors. They are: Avery Hall Insurance, CFS Retirement & Tax Solutions, Market Street Inn, First Shore Federal, Frito Lay, PNC Bank, Peninsula Insurance, PRMC, Pepsi Cola, Delmarva Ventures, City Florist, the Wicomico County Board of Education School Nutrition Services and the Wicomico County Health Department.”

Interested participants may call 410-546-5311 for more information.

We're Destroying America, Not The Farmers!

This weekend I spent some time in Downtown Salisbury and was disgusted with the conditions I saw on the River. After taking the above photos I immediately made contact with members of the City Council who in turn contacted the Mayor. Both City Council Members and the Mayor made the trip to this area of the River and immediately called in Public Works to clean it up.

Now, mind you, this consists of paying Public Works over time to come in on the weekend and take care of the problem. There were 7 large dead fish and one dead goose floating in just that area and heaven only knows what might be found elsewhere.

While Delegates, Senators and even the Governor try to pass blame on Famers for the condition of the Chesapeake Bay, come on Folks, the pictures do not lie. No sooner did this get cleaned up, (believe it or not) 20 minutes later there was yet another pile of pollution floating in that area all over again.

The last photo is just one of the reasons why we have such problems and pollution. The Council did their job, the Mayor did his job and Public Works did theirs. Now its time for you to do yours. We must, (as a community) do something to curb this problem.

Do you really want people visiting Salisbury and seeing these conditions. Use this Post to help come up with answers. You know money is tight. Can we get volunteers in pontoon boats to canvas the River on Friday's and Saturday's? Can we get volunteers to help pick up trash on a regular basis, including the Plaza area and well known areas like the last photo?

Give it some thought and lets see what we can do to help make the City of Salisbury something we can all be proud of. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas.

Lord’s Prayer Leaving Salisbury Council?

Since 1958, the Salisbury City Council has begun each legislative session by reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Tonight, that tradition will come to a halt. The council will not recite the prayer and instead observe a “moment of silence”. Is this a positive direction for the new city council?

Eliminating the prayer was originally proposed by newly elected councilwoman Laura Mitchell. The council has been briefed by the city attorney. Three proposals are currently on the table:

• Continue with a tradition of over 52 years.
• Eliminate the Lord’s Prayer and substitute a “moment of silence”.
• Institute a program of having a local clergyman begin each meeting with a non-sectarian prayer.

Because there is no consensus on council, Cohen announced last Monday that she would “err on the side of caution” and begin tonight’s meeting with a “moment of silence”.

Is eliminating the prayer a wise policy? In short – NO. Reciting the prayer is a tradition that is even older than the council saying the “Pledge of Allegiance” (which began a few years after the council started reciting the prayer). No one outside of council appears to be objecting to the prayer. No one has filed a lawsuit against the city for beginning each meeting with the prayer. We are then forced to ask – Why now?

The Wicomico County Council meets in the same chambers as the Salisbury City Council. They begin each meeting by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and with the “Pledge of Allegiance”. They show no signs of eliminating the practice anytime in the near future.

Has there been an outcry from local citizens who are not part of the Judeo-Christian tradition upon which our nation was founded? To the best of our knowledge the answer to that question is no.

Is Cohen uncomfortable leading the prayer? If so, that problem can be easily eliminated by asking another councilmember or a member of the audience to do so. However, it should be noted that Cohen made no objection during her first term on council.

Are Mitchell or councilman Tim Spies somehow offended by reciting the prayer? If so they can stand respectfully, and silently, while the prayer is said.

Arguing that beginning each meeting with the prayer is “unconstitutional” is little more than a red herring. IF someone sues the city, it is likely that a judge would rule that the prayer is unconstitutional. However, there is no reason to bow down before the false god of secularism until a judge forces the city to do so. The council should at least wait until such a suit is filed before deciding to scrap a tradition that appears to be near and dear to many citizens.

Tradition is not a bad thing. Simply because a minority MAY be offended is not sufficient reason to abolish a practice that appears to have served the city well for over 50 years. Should the city end its practice of reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance”? Some Christians refuse to say the pledge because their allegiance is to God and not to a government. Yet, they stand respectfully while others recite the pledge. They are not offended because such a practice is a matter of individual conscience and they respect a nation which upholds our right to worship (or not) as we choose.

Again we ask – Why now? Taking offense at a practice is different than being harmed. It is not the place of government to protect us from being offended. To those who are offended by the tradition of reciting the Lord’s Prayer we simply state that they can either buck up or file suit. To the members of the Salisbury council who wish to abolish a half century old tradition we can only hope that they realize their error before it is too late.

One Year Ago Today

It was one year ago today Governor O'Malley signed the new sex offender bills into law.

It was an emotional roller coaster but the end result was a bitter sweet victory. Convicted Sex Offenders in Maryland will now serve a minimum of 15 years in prison without the chance for parole and no time off for good behavior.

Two Years Ago Today

A Great Way To Get Rid Of Items

The Salisbury Flea Market also enjoyed great crowds this weekend as vendors packed the parking lot with tons of items for sale.

Salisbury Farmers Market Kicks Off With Huge Success

The Salisbury Farmers Market kicked off this weekend with some vendors selling out of everything they had. The early morning crowd was just unbelievable, so I'm told.

If your looking to support local growers, stop in every Saturday until November and enjoy great prices and fresh products. 

Home Values See Biggest Drop Since 2008 In First Quarter, Zillow Says

Number of homeowners under water amounted to 28.4% of single-family homeowners

NEW YORK — U.S. home values fell in the first quarter at the fastest rate since late 2008, real estate data firm Zillow Inc said Monday, suggesting that a bottom will not be seen until 2012 at the earliest.

Zillow said its home value index fell 3 percent in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, and was down 8.2 percent year-over-year.

The number of homeowners under water -- or, those who owe more on the mortgage than their house is currently worth -- amounted to 28.4 percent of single-family homeowners, representing a peak since Zillow began calculating the data in 2009.

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Antiabortion Measures Flooding State Legislatures

By Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles TimesEnergized by Republican gains in the last election and still stinging from the passage of President Obama's healthcare overhaul, conservative lawmakers in statehouses around the country have put forward a torrent of measures aimed at restricting abortion.

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Montgomery Co. Bag Tax -- Coming Soon Statewide?

By Julie Bykowicz, The Sun (Baltimore)This week, Montgomery County approved a 5-cent levy on paper and plastic bags, becoming the first Maryland jurisdiction to institute a "bag tax." But it likely won't be the last. Already state lawmakers are laying the groundwork to expand the tax statewide.

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Senator Proposes "No-Ride List" For Amtrak

Apparently the only way for a terrorist to plant a bomb on any of the thousands and thousands miles of completely unsecured railroad track in this country is to actually be a passenger on a train — specifically an Amtrak train. Thus, Senator Chuck Schumer of NY has figured out a way to keep our entire rail system safe: A "no-ride list."

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Republicans Scramble To Avoid New York Special Election Loss

Republicans in New York may again face defeat in a safe district filled by a special election. The 26th District, formerly represented by “Craigslist Congressman” Christopher Lee, will be electing a new congressman later this month.

Three candidates have substantial support in polling. Republican Jane Corwin, Democrat Kathleen Hochul and Jack Davis, who is running as a Tea Party candidate.

In a late April Sienna poll, Corwin led with 36 percent of the vote to Hochul’s 31 percent. Davis, however, was supported by a significant 23 percent of respondents.

Republicans say that the Tea Party candidate is nothing more than a Democratic plant, chosen as a spoiler to confuse voters.

Corwin released an ad Thursday, calling voters’ attention to Davis’s past as a Democratic candidate for Congress. Corwin says that this puts her competitor in league with opponents of commonly accepted “Tea Party” ideals.

“Davis was a hand-picked candidate of Nancy Pelosi, and said he was proud to help her become speaker,” says the ad. “Davis took thousands of dollars from Barack Obama, and even endorsed his campaign for president.”

Davis ran in the district as a Democrat in 2004 and 2006.

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Ex-CIA Director: White House Should Have 'Kept Mouths Shut'

White House officials should have "kept their mouths shut" about the reported treasure trove of material and intelligence seized from Osama bin Laden's compound during last week's raid, charged former CIA Director James Woolsey during a radio interview.

Woolsey further criticized the Obama administration for entering a debate about whether to release a photo of bin Laden's body, advising the president's representatives to "calm down" with conflicting narratives.

On the issue of the announced seizure of material from bin Laden's house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Woolsey said, "One of the things that I think the PR people in the administration should have kept their mouths shut about was our having collected a large amount of intelligence."

Continued Woolsey, "The story we should have put out is that we tried to get [the material] but we were too rushed and there was a lot there, but we couldn't get it out. And put that out from an unidentified official.

"Because one of the last things you want to do is tell people that you have captured a great amount of material," he said. "I have no idea why they felt they wanted to make that public."

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2012 And The Republican Rescue Fantasy

Talk to enough people around this key primary state and you'll learn two lessons, over and over again.  One is that there is absolutely, positively no unity among Republicans about any presidential candidate or potential candidate; there's no such thing as a frontrunner.  The other is that in the back of their minds, many Republicans are hoping that somewhere, somehow, a superhero candidate will swoop down out of the sky and rescue them from their current lackluster presidential field. 

They know it's a fantasy, but they still hope.

It's not just dissatisfaction with the field -- Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, and Gary Johnson -- that took part in the first GOP debate on Thursday night.  Even if the other would-be candidates -- Mike Huckabee , Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and Donald Trump -- had all been onstage with the others Thursday, there still would have been plenty of unhappiness among South Carolina's political professionals, activists, and ordinary people who just follow politics.  Seeing each candidate as flawed, they focus on the unattainables -- Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio -- who they believe might bring a fresh face and new hope to the GOP.

Of course, each of the unattainables is so new in his job -- governor of New Jersey, chairman of the House Budget Committee, senator from Florida -- that they could not easily drop their responsibilities and run for president, especially since they haven't been building campaigns for months, as most of the other would-be candidates have.  And of course, if any of the unattainables actually ran, the dissatisfied might quickly develop doubts about him, too.  But at least they'd be new doubts, rather than the old, lingering ones about some of the current candidates.

All this has led to intense frustration among Republicans in South Carolina -- and around the country, too.  They believe Barack Obama is eminently beatable, even after the recent triumph of killing Osama bin Laden.  When his bin Laden bounce settles down, it's likely that Obama will return to the mid-40s job approval range.  And yet Republicans are fighting the idea, heard not just in the press but among some of their own colleagues, that a president in the mid-40s can't be defeated.  It doesn't make sense to them.  So they hope for some new way out of the problem.

The one candidate already in the field who is generating excitement as a genuinely new face is Herman Cain, the talk radio host and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza. It's not because Cain is young -- at 65, he is the oldest candidate in the field, aside from Ron Paul -- but because he brings a businessman's credibility to a race dominated by economic issues; has a gift for commonsense talk; and does it all with a little showmanship (along with some startling weaknesses in the area of foreign policy and national security).  After Thursday's debate, when Frank Luntz conducted a focus group discussion for Fox News, Cain was the big winner.


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Senate Dems Get Ready To Spring A Stealth Budget

Congress is required, by law, to pass a budget resolution by April 15 every year. Last year, for the first time in the history of the modern budget process, both the House and Senate failed to even vote on a budget. This year, however, the House Budget Committee, led by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., developed a budget draft, posted it online for public comment and analysis before committee markup, then secured House passage after a wide-open debate that permitted multiple amendments to be offered from the House floor. The Ryan budget, for fiscal 2012, was approved by the full House by the required deadline, and the country has benefited greatly from this open, honest debate.

Things are a bit different in the Senate. The April 15 deadline came and went again this year without any public budget documents from Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D. It has now been 768 days since the Democratic-controlled Senate last passed a budget. That momentous event took place on April 3, 2009, for fiscal 2010. The problem now is not that Senate Democrats do not have a budget proposal for 2012; Conrad spent a full day explaining it to the Democratic caucus last week. The snag is that many of Conrad's Democratic colleagues hate it. They reportedly think it cuts too much spending and doesn't raise taxes enough. And now Conrad is telling the budget panel's ranking Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., that Republicans will have to vote on a committee markup of the document just minutes after he releases it to the public either Monday or Tuesday. Call it the Democratic stealth budget.


More at the Washington Examiner

'Gang Of Six' Desperate To Find Budget Solution

Despite suspicions that the "Gang of Six" is doomed, this bipartisan group of senators looking to mediate the U.S. budget battle could be key to Vice President Joe Biden's long-range deficit-control efforts.

"The rumors of our demise are exaggerated," said one Senate aide familiar with the Group of Six's work.

The Obama administration and Congress are desperately searching for a bipartisan deficit-reduction deal. Getting one would clear the way for critical legislation to increase the U.S. government's borrowing authority.

Washington's failure to increase the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt limit would put the government on the cataclysmic path to a first-ever default on its debt obligations in early August.

Lately, the spotlight has shone on what's being called the "Group of Six Plus One" to save the day: Biden, three senators and three leading members of the House of Representatives.

They carry plenty of political heft and the ability to whip rank-and-file members of Congress into supporting a potential deal to enact a wide range of spending cuts.

But it is the Senate's Group of Six, which is avoiding the limelight, that is seen as having the heavyweight expertise to sort out complicated budget issues, along with the willingness to consider tax increases and popular benefit program cuts needed for a long-term fix of the country's fiscal mess.

"Everybody (in the Senate's Gang of Six) has a sense of urgency and wants to get an agreement soon. Hopefully, they'll work out the remaining issues that need to be addressed and announce a deal," said another aide familiar with the talks.

That is not to say their work is mostly done. "There are a number of remaining issues," the aide added.

A third aide said the six senators were "slogging through the issues one would expect to be difficult, which would be entitlements and revenues."

Without reform, entitlements -- the huge federal retirement and healthcare benefit programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- are on track to escalate government debt inexorably as the U.S. population ages.

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House Panel To Hear Firsthand Accounts Of Crime Along Mexican Border

Skewed reporting on crime along the U.S.-Mexico border will be the focus of a House Homeland Security Committee oversight hearing on Wednesday, according to the presiding lawmaker.

The hearing, entitled “On the Border and In the Line of Fire: U.S. Law Enforcement, Homeland Security and Cartel Violence,” is the second in a series of hearings initiated by Oversight subcommittee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas.)

McCaul wants to hear from high-level federal, state and local law enforcement officials entrenched in dealing with the on-going violence along the U.S. southern border, caused by the powerful Mexican drug cartels.

An aide on the committee told The Hill that Wednesday’s hearing will discuss the discrepancies in official data on the actual rate of violence on the border. Kidnappings and other offenses do not factor into the equation that results in the figures seen by lawmakers.

“This administration is not giving the American people a complete picture of security on our border with Mexico. It is not 'better now than it has ever been' and the data on spillover crimes and violence is deceiving and underreported. Our state and local law enforcement on the front lines need help. Their firsthand accounts will tell the real story of how we are outmanned, overpowered and in danger of losing control of our own communities to narco-terrorists,” McCaul said.

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Obama Birth Certificate Faked In Adobe Illustrator - Official Proof

Jewish Studies Blinded By Muslim Sympathy

It appears that the politicization contagion raging in Middle East studies programs has metastasized to Jewish studies.  Campus Watch  editors report that in March 2011 an open letter was signed by 30 University of California Jewish studies faculty members attempting to rationalize the disruption of a lecture by Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the United States, at the University of California, Irvine, campus in February 2010.

Posted as the “Stand With The Eleven” (the 11 being the offending members of the radical Muslim Student Union charged with misdemeanor conspiracy to disturb a meeting), the letter states:

“As faculty affiliated with Jewish Studies at the University of California, we are deeply distressed by the decision of the District Attorney in Orange County, California, to file criminal charges against Muslim students who disrupted Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s speech on the UC Irvine campus last year.  While we disagree with the students’ decision to disrupt the speech, we do not believe such peaceful protest should give rise to criminal liability.  The individual students and the Muslim Student Union were disciplined for this conduct by the University, including suspending the MSU from functioning as a student organization for a quarter.  This is sufficient punishment.  There is no need for further punitive measures, let alone criminal prosecution and criminal sanctions.”

One might assume that in the interests of a free and open campus, a college administration and faculty would recognize the implicit danger to the academic enterprise when force is employed to prevent a speaker from delivering his lecture.  Despite the claim in the letter, the protest was not peaceful, and the penalties imposed are mild by any reasonable standard.  But what is particularly notable, based on the research of Campus Watch editors, is that the signatories to the letter all share antipathy to the state of Israel.  One is an apologist for Hamas, another supports an Israeli divestment bill, a third refers to Israel as “an apartheid regime,” and a fourth claims the Israel lobby “has the power to silence its critics.”

Moreover, these same professors have averted their gaze from the rising tide of anti-Semitism on campus.  Jewish students reportedly have been subjected to swastikas, anti-Semitic graffiti, and physical and verbal aggression.  Yet campus response has been restrained (arguably nonexistent).   Kenneth Marcus, head of the Anti-Semitism Initiative at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, wrote that the examples cited have “become sadly emblematic of a wave of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incidents that have rippled across the county, nowhere more so than in the ‘Golden State,’ which has become an epicenter for the new Anti-Semitism in America.”

Read more here

Caption This Photo

Michaels Customer Security Alert

Dear Michaels Customer:

Michaels has just learned that it may have been a victim of PIN pad tampering in the Chicago area and that customer credit and debit card information may have been compromised.

In the event that this is a more widespread issue, we are taking the precautionary measure of alerting all of our customers so that they may protect themselves. We recommend immediately contacting your bank and/or credit card company to check for and report any unauthorized charges, as well as seek their advice on how to protect your account in the event that your information has been taken. Additional information is available on the Federal Trade Commission website at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt150.shtm.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may have caused you, and we want you to know that we are working with law enforcement authorities in every way we can to help in the investigation. As always, we thank you for being a Michaels customer.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
John B. Menzer
CEO, Michaels Stores

GOVERNOR O’MALLEY AND LT. GOVERNOR BROWN TO HIGHLIGHT MARYLAND HOUSING INITIATIVES

ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 9, 2011) – TODAY, Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown, joined by members of the Administration, community leaders, local elected officials and others, will highlight rental housing for people with disabilities, foreclosure prevention and affordable housing at events in Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.

Pretrial Hearing Set In Delaware Pediatrician Case

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- A pretrial hearing is set in the case of former Delaware pediatrician Earl Bradley, who is charged with sexually assaulting scores of young patients over more than a decade.

Monday's hearing is expected to involve Bradley's decision to waive his right to a jury trial and have his case decided by the judge.

Jury selection in the case had been scheduled to begin June 1.

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Traditional H.S. Diploma Important If You Want To Join The Armed Forces

Some parents and would-be enlistees question a Pentagon policy about high school diplomas. DOD takes only 10 percent of its recruits from among students with non-traditional degrees. That includes online high schools. Critics say DOD is behind the times, and that many online high schools are superior to brick-and-mortar ones. A Pentagon spokesman says, more than 20 years of data show recruits with traditional degrees are more likely to complete their full, three years of service.

Hiring Freeze Across The Government

A new bill on the House floor would freeze hiring across the government until the national deficit has been knocked out. Representative Tom Marino (R-Pa.) introduced the bill that would freeze federal hiring in all but a few agencies. Among the exemptions would be USPS and federal law enforcement. Marino wants to halt hiring until the budget deficit is under control. Marino's bill is one of at least three similar bills that would affect the federal workforce either by cutting, freezing it or fuloughing it.

Heightened Security Over Osama bin Laden's Death

Osama Bin Laden's death is leading to heightened security at your agency as officials fear possible retaliatory actions. Feds could see more identification checks or more canines in their office buildings. Wendell Shingler, former director of the Federal Protective Service, tells Federal News Radio, feds won't see all of the changes. Some FPS officers may patrol dressed as tourists or visitors.

A Coment Worthy Of A Post

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Cause of Wi-Middle HAZMAT Still Unknown":

I was at Wi Middle all day on Friday. Yes, three 3rd floor teachers went to the med center. Yes, they were very ill. Many other teachers felt quite bad, recognized the symptons as a possible air quality issue and immediately opened the windows. This occurred before 9:30AM. Administration blew it off, plain and simple. In fact, one administrator stated that everything was fine and that the teachers were "just jumping on the bandwagon and saying they felt bad." Yeah right, that's what adult professionals do-- they make up symptoms.

So, why weren't the kids starting to get ill in the morning? That's because the 8th grade students had gone downstairs during 3rd & 4th periods for their related arts classes. The 8th grade teachers stay in their area for their planning time.
Those teachers who became ill were transported to the med center by another staff member, not by an administrator. They didn't care how these teachers were doing. Several staff requested that the fire department be called at this time to check out the building for a possible gas leak. This request was denied. BOE maintenance was called over to check out the situation an hour later and they reported everything was fine. Keep in mind that windows had been open quite a while at this point.
It wasn't until after 1:00 pm, when student became very ill, that the school had to call 911 for this child. After 1:30 we were evacuated. The BOE knew the school was being evacuated before we knew it! Yes, we spent 2 hours outside, and were able to go in just before dismissal to gather belongings and get kids back out to be dismissed. There has been no word from adminisistration since.

To the person who said that there was unprofessionalism among the staff-- really? Things were fairly organized, given the lack of leadership from admin (who stood in a circle with all of the "concerned" officials from the BOE). It was the teachers & staff who kept crowd control for two hours--Even knowing that their school and BOE admin could care less about the health of the staff.

Parents & concerned community members, PLEASE share your outrage over this situation with the Wicomico County Board of Education.

Many Hatchery-Produced Oysters Are Illegally Harvested

The fruit of at least a third of the work done by state agencies to restore the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay is being stolen through illegal harvesting, according to biologists who research its oyster beds. Others say that number is even higher, closer to 80%. The state has invested about $50 million in oyster restoration since 1994.

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$3.1M Renovation Of Old House Of Delegates Chamber Takes It Back To The Victorian Era

Starting this summer, visitors to the State House will be able to transport themselves to the Victorian Era in Annapolis in the old House of Delegates chamber – complete with ornate paintings, luxurious furnishings and intricate carpeting. The long-planned re-creation of the chamber as it appeared in the late 1800s is nearly complete. The newly renovated room, where the House of Delegates met until the current chamber was finished in 1904, has been under construction for about two years.

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Small Maryland Businesses Face Big Challenges

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) - The challenges of maintaining a mom-and-pop store in a big-box age are nothing new, but in an economy that has even giants such as Starbucks and Borders scaling back, keeping a small business alive takes hard work, creativity and sacrifice, local business owners and advisers said.

"You need to be ready to make a commitment," said Sarah Ardinger, who owns The Plum in Hagerstown with her daughter, Jennifer Kane.

"You have to be willing to always put the customer first, even if that means sacrificing your vacation, your doctor's appointment," Kane said. "It's not easy, but it is rewarding."

Alice Growden, a business consultant with the Western Maryland Small Business Development Center, said that since the downturn in the economy, she has been working with more existing businesses in addition to startups.

"They're struggling _ they're challenged _ with the economy and changes in what's happening in the area," she said.

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2 AA Motorcycle Officers Injured In Collision

LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) - Anne Arundel County police say two officers suffered minor injuries in a collision between motorcycles they were riding as part of an escort detail.

Lt. Michael Brothers said the unidentified officers were near the intersection of Route 295 and Interstate 195 when they struck each other about 9 a.m. Sunday. Police did not release details on the escort assignment.

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In Fine Print, Banks Require Struggling Homeowners To Waive Rights

Some banks and others who handle mortgages have been forcing homeowners into a corner: You want a chance at saving your home? Then you’ll have to waive your right to sue.

A few months ago, Bank of America offered Sergio Cortez of Staten Island, N.Y., the help he desperately needed to stay in his home: a break on his mortgage. Like millions of others, he was facing foreclosure. But there was a catch buried in the fine print. Cortez had to waive any possibility of ever suing the bank for anything relating to the loan.

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Hayward: Impressions From The South Carolina Debate

The first debate between Republican presidential contenders was held in South Carolina Thursday night.  Not all of them were in attendance.  Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee were among the declared or likely contestants who didn’t attend.  The attendees were asked for their thoughts on the missing candidates, so we learned that Tim Pawlenty is very fond of Mike Huckabee, while Gary Johnson thinks Sarah Palin spends her time in Alaska crawling around ice floes on her hands and knees.

Donald Trump wasn’t there either, although I was hoping he would make a surprise appearance.  I envisioned a burst of flash powder and a column of gold smoke mixed with glitter, followed by a loud thump and some muffled cursing.  Trump would then stroll onto the stage, adjusting his tie and complaining that nobody had talked about screwing the Chinese yet.  Alas, it didn’t happen.

I doubt any of the candidates would have expected, two weeks ago, that so much of this debate would focus on foreign policy.  The shift in the national discussion after the death of bin Laden probably threw them all off their games - except for Ron Paul, who has been playing the exact same game for a long time, and wants the world to go away as much today as he did last year.  It’s good that all of the contenders found themselves on uncertain ground tonight.  We need to see what they do when the earth moves beneath them.

I thought Herman Cain won the evening, an opinion shared by the Fox News focus group convened immediately afterward.  He’s the most commanding orator of the group, and the one best able to think on his feet.  His weakest answer was the first one, covering foreign policy and the war in Afghanistan.  It was clearly not something he really wanted to talk about, and when some of the energy drains from his performance, the effect is dramatic.

During that exchange, Cain said he would trust “the experts” to advise him on a situation like Afghanistan.  Of course every President will have advice from experts, but right now the public is thinking that a galaxy of “experts” got us $14 trillion in debt… and that’s usually a feeling Cain is deeply in tune with.  In future debates, he should come armed with his own fully-formed opinions on all topics.  That’s hard to do.  So is running for President.

Cain was the best at planting rhetorical lawn darts in the memory of the audience, as when he said of President Obama’s bounce from the killing of Osama bin Laden: “One right decision doth not a great president make.”  When he said the word “outrageous,” I could see it hanging in the air, with hyphens in between the syllables.  He seemed far more prepared to defend the dramatic “Fair Tax” reform plan than Tim Pawlenty was to defend his gubernatorial record.

Cain’s stance on energy policy, and the importance of American energy independence, was a textbook example of how powerful a simple common-sense idea can be, when presented with supreme confidence.


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Arctic Ice Melting Faster Than Once Thought

A recent study says Arctic ice is melting faster than originally thought. What could this mean for coastal countries?

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Black Market In Organ Donations Flourishes In China

Beijing - In China, where a growing demand for organ transplants coupled with a dramatic shortage of donors has fuelled a rampant black market trade, selling your organs for cash is a mouse click away.

An Internet search reveals a website offering kidneys for sale and the contact information of those able to procure them. A young woman, posing for IPS as a migrant worker from Hebei province, calls a man who has advertised on the website, identified as Mr. He.

"I need money," she says over the phone. "Do you want a woman’s kidney?"

Mr. He asks her age. Twenty-five, she replies.

"Of course we want your kidney."

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Beyond Foreclosuregate - It Gets Uglier

The ForeclosureGate scandal poses a threat to Wall Street, the big banks, and the political establishment. If the public ever gets a complete picture of the personal, financial, and legal assault on citizens at their most vulnerable, the outrage will be endless.

Foreclosure practices lift the veil on a broader set of interlocking efforts to exploit those hardest hit by the endless economic hard times, citizens who become financially desperate due medical conditions. A 2007 study found that medical expenses or income losses related to medical crises among bankruptcy filers or family members triggered 62% of bankruptcies. There is no underground conspiracy. The facts are in plain sight.

ForeclosureGate represents the sum total illegal and unethical lending and collections activities during the real estate bubble. It continues today. Law professor and law school dean Christopher L. Peterson describes the contractual language for the sixty million contracts between borrowers and lenders as fictional since the boilerplate language names a universal surrogate as creditor (Mortgage Electronic Registration System), not the actual creditor. Other aspects of ForeclosureGate harmed homeowners but the contractual problems that the lenders created on their own pose the greatest threats.

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Indian River Inlet Bridge Roadway Approach Work Phase II Traffic Pattern Switch Will Occur Before Memorial Day Weekend

Dover -- The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announces that this week George & Lynch, Inc., the contractor on the Indian River Inlet Bridge Roadway Approach and Demolition Contract, is making preparations to change the traffic pattern at the bridge as the contract moves into Phase II.

A change in traffic pattern is expected to occur before Memorial Day weekend. In fact, during the week of May 9-13, the contractor will begin establishing detours and placing signage in anticipation of the traffic switch, which will occur on or about Friday, May 13.

During the next few weeks, the public can expect to see paving operations in the area, as well as intermittent shoulder and lane closures leading up to the traffic switch.

The traffic configuration noted for Phase II will limit vehicles to one lane in each direction over the existing bridge utilizing the SR 1 northbound lanes only. Southbound cyclists will continue to utilize the existing southbound lanes over the bridge while being separated from vehicular traffic. Access for northbound cyclists will remain unchanged along the northbound SR-1 shoulder area. This traffic pattern will remain until the new bridge is opened to traffic in December 2011.

Motorists are reminded that the current speed limit of 35 mph throughout the roadway approach and bridge work zones will remain in effect and is being enforced to protect the safety of workers and the traveling public.

It's Official! Paula Abdul Joins 'X Factor'

She's back!

Fox announced Sunday that former "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul is joining her former co-panelist Simon Cowell on his new singing competition "The X Factor." Abdul will be the fourth judge, alongside Cheryl Cole and L.A. Reid.

“This show would never have been the same without Paula and I can’t believe I am saying this -- I have missed her a lot, and I am thrilled she’s on the show,” said Cowell in a statement.

The two famously bickered on "American Idol" -- with Abdul as the overly sympathetic judge, and Cowell as the caustic one -- before she finally left after season eight. Cowell left "Idol" after season nine to launch "The X Factor," which he produced and judged in the U.K.

"I am excited beyond words to be a part of 'The X Factor,' " Abdul said in a statement. "I couldn't be happier to bring my love for cultivating talent and performance to such a wildly anticipated show. ... I'm also delighted and grateful to be sitting next to Simon again ... but you might want to check back with me in a week or two!"

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Black Lab Found In Parsonsburg: UPDATE

This black lab was just found in Parsonsburg on Broad Street. If this is your Lab or you know the owner please call 443-783-3906. He is very friendly.

UPDATE: A family member noticed the dog and contacted the owner. The owner called about the dog and was able to confirm it was his. It's been a good day all together.

Lost Dog: UPDATE

Hi my dog went missing last night around ten o'clock he was able to get himself off his chain.  his name is mason and he responds to mace as well.  He is a fawn great dane with a green collar and a red tag with our info on it.  So if anyone finds him please contact us at 443-235-6032 I would very much appreciate the help.  We live around the mall area in salisbury md so he was around there but he may have wondered off from that area theres no telling where so please keep an eye out for him so that we can be reunited. i have included some pictures of him. thank you for everyones help ahead of time.

Michael

UPDATE:

Trudi Grosch

We saw him running by some apartments! I was yelling at my husband to look up the number on the blog and I jumped out of the truck. But I got a hold of the owner,and we sat in a parking lot and watched until he arrived, and got him secured. He was so thankful that we found him. We just didn't want him to get hit on that busy road. Thank you Joe Albero for having such a great blog!

Hi everyone thank you all for all your help and support thanks to one in particular whom i never got there names, but told me they had three mastiffs themselves, and who called me to tell me they saw my dog by the Salisbury mall which enabled me to regain my dog. So bottom line i found my dog mace and again thank you for everyone's help, prays, and support.  

 

Michael

Lenin's Journalists

As Israel approaches the sixty-third anniversary of its independence, the Middle East is ablaze in a revolution whose outcome none can accurately predict, and Israel's detractors are increasing their efforts to delegitimize the Jewish State.  Perhaps now more than ever, unity in the pro-Israel community is paramount.  We will not always agree on policy, but organizations who associate themselves with Israel advocacy must shun the most unethical tactics in the public relations' arsenal -- lest we expend resources attacking each other, rather than defending the Jewish State.

In February 2007, activist journalist Bruce Wilson quoted Christians United for Israel (CUFI) founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee as having advocated an attack on Iran in order to bring about Armageddon.  There was one major problem: Hagee never made the statement; in fact it is a fundamental contradiction of his theology.  The quote Wilson attributed to Hagee was written by another activist journalist, Sarah Posner, in her own voice, as part of her (albeit hopelessly inaccurate) characterization of Hagee's views.

Some may be inclined to believe that Wilson simply made an error.  But just a few months before attributing the quote to Hagee, Wilson published a lengthy blog post citing Posner's article, including the paragraph containing her relevant assertion.  Though he may not have been the first to do so, the sequence of events suggests that Wilson knowingly misattributed the quote to Hagee.  Despite this, and the fact that Hagee does not advocate such an attack or seek to speed the "end of days," the quote is widely cited by Hagee's detractors.

Wilson and his ilk ought to be relegated to that dark corner of the internet generally ignored by the open-minded mainstream.  Unfortunately Wilson's assertion was not ignored.  In fact, the Jewish Daily Forward has cited the falsely attributed quote.  Furthermore, J Street has extended "special thanks" to Wilson as well as activist journalists Max Blumenthal and Haim Beliak for their hateful attacks on Christians who support Israel.

The pro-Israel community is certainly not alone in its vulnerability to activist journalism.  Across the board, political commentators and advocacy organizations seem increasingly comfortable with such devious tactics.  But given how often we in the self-described pro-Israel community decry the unfair treatment of the Jewish State by activist journalists, we should be most wary of this phenomenon.

Most Westerners believe that the media's job is to inform; holding that truth, accuracy, and fairness are paramount.  In stark contrast to this, there are those who have adopted Vladimir Lenin's view that the media "is not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, it is also a collective organizer."

Unlike most opinion columnists, activist journalists in the Leninist tradition are less concerned with offering thoughtful insight.  Rather, as the Wilson example shows, they are focused on advancing their cause; journalism, or some distortion thereof, is simply a means to that end.


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Gas Prices Expected To Drop 50 Cents By Summer

Some relief from suffocating gas prices will likely arrive just in time for summer vacation. Expect a drop of nearly 50 cents as early as June, analysts say.

After rocketing up 91 cents since January, including 44 straight days of increases, the national average last week stopped just shy of $4 a gallon and has retreated to under $3.98. A steady decline is expected to follow.

It might not be enough to evoke cheers from people who recall gas stations charging less than $3 a gallon last year. But it would still ease the burden on drivers. And it might help lift consumer spending, which powers about 70 percent of the economy. A 50-cent drop in prices would save U.S. drivers about $189 million a day.

Typically, gas prices peak each spring, then fall into a summertime swoon that can last several weeks. This year's decline should be gradual but steady, said Fred Rozell, the retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service. .

Some drivers might not notice much of a price drop at first, Rozell cautioned. When average gas prices fluctuate nationally, some areas are affected more than others. In cities with many service stations, for instance, prices can be slower to fall. It's even possible prices will rise at some stations in coming days even if they decline nationally.

And after the galloping surge in prices this year, many gas station owners are reluctant to lower prices until they see their competition doing the same, Rozell said.

"It's just the nature of the business," he said. "They're going to try to get the most they can."



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Spread The Stupidity

Only in America ...do
drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people
can buy cigarettes
at the front.

---

Only in America .....do people order
double cheeseburgers, large fries, and
a diet coke.

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Only in America .....do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

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Only in America ......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put
our useless junk in
the garage.

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Only in America ......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

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Only in America .....do they have drive-up
ATM machines with
Braille lettering.

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EVER WONDER....

Why the sun lightens
our hair, but darkens
our skin?

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Why can't women put
on mascara with their mouth closed?

---

Why don't you ever see the headline
'Psychic Wins Lottery'?

---

Why is 'abbreviated'
such a long word?

---

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

---

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor,
and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

---

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

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Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

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Why isn't there
mouse-flavored cat food?

---

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

---

Why do they sterilize
the needle for
lethal injections?

---

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make
the whole plane out
of that stuff?!

---

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

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Why are they called apartments when they
are all stuck together?

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I like this one!!!
If con is the opposite
of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

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If flying is so safe,
why do they call the airport, the terminal?

"When The Armed Forces Join A Union"

Today’s Survey Question

How are you celebrating Mother’s Day?

1 Year Old Dog Needs A Good Home

This beautiful dog needs a good home. He will be 1yr in Sept. and he is not netuered... We are fostering can call me 443-235-0100 anytime.

15 Year Mortgage May Not Be Your Best Bet

If your main goal is to kill off your mortgage quickly while paying as little interest as possible, a 15-year mortgage is tempting. Larger payments knock down your principal at a quicker rate than a traditional 30-year plan, but signing up for such a mortgage might not be the wisest course of action.

A WealthPilgrim post goes over drawbacks of the 15-year mortgages. The loan type limits your financial flexibility, locking up a higher percentage of your budget toward your payments. It may be a smarter move to sign up for a 30-year loan and make extra payments in order to keep plugging away at your principal. That way, if you suffer a financial crisis or would rather divert your funds elsewhere, you've got that option. If you take that route, it's wise to check your loan terms to make sure there's no pre-payment penalty.

If you're trying to pay your mortgage off quickly, what strategy are you using?

from the Consumerist

THE END … Osama Bin Laden

Indian sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik gives finishing touches to a sand sculpture to mark the killing of Usama bin Laden at the golden sea beach at Puri, Orissa, India, Monday, May 2, 2011. Usama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of people, was slain in his luxury hideout in Pakistan early Monday in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade.

from FOXNews

Local Counties Feel Strain Operating New Schools

The AP ran a piece outlining the strain placed on local governments as they struggle to operate and maintain new public schools.  Maryland comptroller Peter Franchot makes specific mention of Charles and Wicomico counties.

"It's not just Charles County and Wicomico which were on the agenda today," Franchot said. "Every jurisdiction is going to take it, have some version of this dilemma."

Franchot recommended that state officials revisit guidelines used to decide school construction needs, noting that St. Charles High School has some particularly snazzy features, such as a swimming pool and observatory.

"Given the tough times, shouldn't we reassess the guidelines so that we're not building expensive, shiny, new schools that people can't operate because they don't have the money?" Franchot said. "And, if that's the case, shouldn't we be looking towards value-engineering redesigns of some of these schools that are on the books, maybe less observatories and less swimming pools and less bells and whistles?"

These are similar to recommendations put forward by Wicomico County councilman Joe Holloway over the past few years.  Each time Wicomico schools superintendent John Fredericksen has dismissed them out of hand.

In Wicomico County the current stock of school buildings is not being adequately maintained while the WCBOE requests new schools.  Perhaps the county’s taxpayers and students would be best served by maintaining and (when necessary) renovating existing schools with an emphasis on basic education.

Happy Mother’s Day

2011 Salisbury Safe Kids Day

The 2011 Salisbury Safe Kids Day was held Saturday at the Mid-Shore YMCA on Schumaker Drive in Salisbury.  It was estimated that over 300 children (about 500 total) attended the event.

The event, sponsored by the Salisbury Jaycees and the Mid-Shore YMCA, featured groups from around Delmarva with an emphasis on providing a safe environment for our children.

PRMC’s trauma unit brought out the “Trauma-roo”, a huge favorite with the younger kids.  Wicomico State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello was present as well.  His office arranged to also have representatives from the US Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, as well as the US Secret Service present.  Parents were provided information about the sex offender registry, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Ident-a-Kid.

Other groups present included the Wicomico County Sheriff’s office, the Maryland State Police, the Salisbury Kennel Club, and Home Depot.

Muslim–Christian Clash Kills 10 in Cairo

CAIRO -- Mobs set two churches on fire in western Cairo during clashes between Muslims and Christians triggered by rumors of an interfaith romance that left 10 dead in some of the worst sectarian violence since the ouster of the president in a popular uprising.

Egypt's prime minister canceled his visit to the Gulf on Sunday, and called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the violence, according to the state news agency.

Saturday night's clashes were sparked by rumors in the low-income neighborhood of Imbaba that a Christian woman married to a Muslim had been abducted and was being held in one of the churches against her will.

The report, which was never confirmed, spurred a mob from the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam to march on the Saint Menas Church. Christians barricaded themselves inside and around the church and the demonstrations turned violent. Gunfire sounded across the neighborhood, and witnesses said people on rooftops fired into the crowd.

Read More …

No Tweeting for Kent County Employees

The Wilmington News-Journal reports that employees of the Kent County County Levy Court (the official name of the county government) has enacted a policy which regulates county employee use of social media both on and off the job:

New provisions would bar workers from posting materials on or off the job that disparage co-workers, disclose confidential information or "reflect unfavorably" on county government, unless rated as a "legitimate matter of public concern." The same proposals also would create a "duty to report inappropriate use of social media by co-workers or supervisors."

Daily Times Endorses “Moment of Silence”

In a Sunday editorial the Daily Times has endorsed ending the Salisbury City Council’s recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at their legislative sessions.  The DT’s editorial board calls for replacing the prayer with a “moment of silence”.

As usual, Susan Parker makes some excellent arguments, including certain impracticalities of using local clergy to offer non-sectarian prayers.  That doesn’t mean that SbyNEWS agrees with her views.  Tune in tomorrow morning for SbyNEWS’s position on this controversial issue.

Five Things to Do When A Company Leaks Your Data

What should yo do if you're a victim of Sony's recent security breaches — or of similar data leaks at other security-challenged-companies? Our clever cousins at Consumer Reports have come up with a set of tips to help you weather the post-hack storm. Top of the list: Accept free credit-monitoring services that the company offers to its customers, but don't count on them to catch everything.

Among the tips offered by Consumer Reports:

1. Accept offers of free credit monitoring services. Don't consider them foolproof, however. And put a note on your calendar to remind you when the free monitoring period ends, so that you aren't automatically charged for continuing such services, which can cost more than $200 a year.

2. Monitor credit and debit card accounts online at least once a week to spot and report any unauthorized credit or debit transactions as quickly as possible.

3. Put a security freeze on your files at the three credit reporting agencies if there is a chance that a data breach includes your Social Security number.

4. Heighten your guard against phishing scams, which are likely to increase in the wake of April's mega breach at Epsilon, an online marketing firm that sends about 40 billion emails annually to customers of major U.S. banks, hotels and other companies such as Krogers, L.L. Bean, Verizon and Walgreens.

5. Change user names and passwords on any accounts you know have been breached.

from the Consumerist