Better Business Bureau: Using lay-away plans

Written by Howard Schwartz, Better Business Bureau
Friday, 20 November 2009 06:29

As a growing number of families struggle to prevent sliding further into debt, retailers are trying to help them with a payment option from days gone by: layaway plans.

Layaways enable consumers to gradually pre-pay for an item with interest-free installments. Once it is paid off, they can take it home.

Connecticut Better Business Bureau President Paulette Scarpetti says these plans help consumers avoid being crushed by credit card interest rates while at the same time, aid retailers keep their holiday inventory moving.

Earth Talk: Going 'green' when you travel

Written by the Editors of E Magazine
Thursday, 19 November 2009 05:25

Dear EarthTalk: I’m a travel agent and our firm has several clients wanting to go with green vendors, including for travel (airline or rental car) and lodging. Our company is supportive so would like to know which airlines, hotels and car rental agencies are going affordably green? —Carol Biggar, via e-mail

Just like every other industry, going green has become a mantra among airlines, car rental companies and even hotel chains. The fuel crunch of a few years ago forced all the airlines into belt-tightening mode and the results-lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions-are good news for the environment.

Notes from the Institution: The Facebook addiction

Written by Alexis Ehrlich
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 05:49

Last Monday evening, as I normally do when I want to take a break between studying biology and taking global notes, I clicked on my Facebook account, only to find it did not exist anymore. A feeling I had never experience overwhelmed me. I kept clicking and still there was nothing. A realization that was hard to even imagine came to mind. I had lost my entire Facebook network — 679 friends, at last count, had disappeared into cyberspace. The feeling was a mixture of disbelief and panic.

Money Management: Smart holiday shopping tips

Written by Mark Zampino, Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 06:08

The holidays are an exciting time, but they can also be an expensive one. Many people have tightened their belts during the last year because of the troubled economy, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss the joy of giving presents to loved ones or indulging in fun celebrations.

The Connecticut Society of CPAs advises that there are some smart steps you can take to ensure that you are a savvy shopper even during what can be a costly season of the year.

Looking Back: GOP landslide, Democrats revolt

Written by Tom Belote
Monday, 16 November 2009 06:02

Republicans made a clean sweep in town as a record number of voters cast their ballots in the presidential and congressional races, the Nov. 8, 1984 Press reported.

Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale 8,512 to 3,206 and John Rowland unseated incumbent congressman William Ractchford 6,895 to 4,464. “What can you say when it’s such a shellacking?” asked a chagrined Norman Craig, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee.

Keg parties were becoming so frequent that Capt. Richard Bellagamba issued a warning to parents and partiers that there could be civil and criminal consequences for the adults who permit underage drinking in their homes.

Editorial: Marriage equality

Written by Macklin Reid, Press Staff
Sunday, 15 November 2009 06:52

Connecticut’s “marriage equality law” has been in practice one year, today. Over that year, 33 same-sex couples were married in Ridgefield.

With Connecticut among only six states with such enlightened laws, about three-quarters of those couples came from out-of-state to have Connecticut sanctify as marriage a relationship their home states would not so honor.

Many states have citizens who want to marry but can’t under their more restrictive laws. Progress on this may be halting, but history is on the side of equality. So are generational attitudes. Opinions vary widely by individual, and there are certainly still prejudices — and epithets, and jokes —but younger people are more tolerant, less judgmental.

Congressman Himes: Health Reform Bill is an important, historic first step

Written by Congressman Jim Himes
Saturday, 14 November 2009 06:27

Last weekend, the US House of Representatives passed the HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which will allow us to join every other civilized nation on the planet in offering each of our citizens decent, affordable healthcare.

The House stood against the exploding costs of health care which annually devastate business, non-profit and government budgets. It stood for basic humanity, voting, for example, to prohibit insurance companies from ever cancelling a family’s policy because mom gets breast cancer, or a child is diagnosed as autistic.

I was proud to be one of the “yes” votes on this legislation, but my decision was not an easy one.

Youth to Youth encourages a drug-free life, but needs help

Written by Colleen Keating
Friday, 13 November 2009 06:46

Youth to Youth began in Columbus, Ohio in 1982 after a young boy was hit and killed by a drunk driver. This amazing program has spread to the East and West Coasts and touched the hearts of an estimated 300,000 teens.

Youth to Youth International is a program that harnessed the powerful influence of peer pressure and turned it into a positive message encouraging middle and high school students to live a drug-free life.

Every summer, teens gather at Rhode Island, Ohio or California college campuses to take part in a life-changing four days at the Youth to Youth Conferences. Kids listen to speakers and participate in different workshops that encourage kids to think, to act and to change the world. Teens make friends from across the country and form life-long bonds with some of the greatest kids they will ever meet.

Notes from the Institution: Voter apathy

Written by Monica Schechter
Thursday, 12 November 2009 06:13

All Ridgefield High School seniors are required to take at least one semester of government and politics. Although I expected learning about current events to be practical, debating key issues to be fun, and understanding America’s past, present, and future to be important, I did not expect government and politics to be so eye opening or relevant to my too busy, high school oriented life.

Last week I learned that only 45% of eligible Americans, aged 18 to 24, are registered to vote. That is less than half of all young Americans. And of that 44%, only 20% actually vote in midterm elections and only 50 percent in presidential elections. This means that only nine of every 100 eligible voters in that age group will have voted in the Nov. 3 local elections.

The Berlin Wall: My car had a visa but I didn't

Written by Barry Finch
Wednesday, 11 November 2009 06:18

Listening to NPR this morning I learned that today is the anniversary of the fall of The Wall that separated East and West Berlin.

In September of 1989 I journeyed to Hamburg, West Germany, to see a friend and visit The Wall that President Ronald Reagan demanded: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Tonight I plan to watch a PBS premiere entitled : “How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin” that tells the story of “How the Fab Four’s influence in the USSR may have helped bring down the Soviet system.”

So today it seems uncertain as to who had more influence on the elimination of one of greatest impediments to human rights the world has ever witnessed. Was it Ronald Reagan or the Beatles?