With Your Family in Mind

Gail Pinsker, a long-time Santa Clarita Valley resident and education advocate, has been named community liaison officer for the Wm. S. Hart Union High School District.  The appointment was approved by the district Governing Board at its Wednesday evening meeting and is effective immediately.
Pinsker replaces Pat Willett, who has held the position since it was created nine years ago, and who recently retired. 

Every child deserves to have a safe, loving and permanent home.  With 129,000 children currently in foster care and many unable to return to their families of origin, Children’s Bureau is seeking caring families to consider adoption of older children and large sibling sets.  The agency is holding a monthly information meeting for those interested in learning more on Thursday night, October 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Six Flags Magic Mountain Administrative Offices located at 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia.  Call 661-272-9996 to R.S.V.P. to receive directions and to have a drive-on pass to the property.

The City of Santa Clarita’s annual Cowboy Festival was recognized with three prestigious awards from the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) during their Pinnacle Awards Ceremony last week. The Cowboy Festival received a Gold Award for Best Promotional Brochure, a Silver Award for Best Event Website and a Bronze Award for Best Commemorative Poster.

It can be quite overwhelming trying to figure out the answers to all of your problems at once.  Decide today that you are going to handle life’s problems a day at a time.  Stay focused on today.  Tomorrow certainly has its own issues; however, if you spend today worrying about tomorrow, then the productivity of today will be affected. 

There’s an old idea—set forth by Plato at the end of his Republic—that each person enters the world called.  In the Myth of Er, Plato tells us that each soul is given a unique soul-companion before we are born.  As well, the soul of each of us selects a particular image, or pattern, that we intend to live out on earth.  In the process of arrival, however, we forget all that took place. 

Many people become confused when they try to use a Power of Attorney to prove to Social Security they can handle the affairs of someone who is receiving this benefit.  Social Security will not recognize this document.  Social Security law says you can represent an individual and take care of his or her Social Security business only if a doctor or some other medical professional will sign a statement indicating the person is mentally incapable of handling his or her own Social Security affairs.  The Social Security Administration will appoint you to be what they call a “representative payee”—if you complete an application form with them and get the signed statement from a physician.  

On a Thursday evening marked by generosity and filled with gratitude, Child & Family Center Foundation honored its 2010 Guardians of Hope campaign charter members with a thank you event recognizing their special commitment to the children and families of the Santa Clarita Valley.

This year’s inaugural Guardians of Hope campaign raised $129,000 in pledges and gifts from a range of community members.

Currently more then five million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease and 78 million baby boomers are at risk unless we find a way to change the course of this disease.  The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research.  
On October 19, Summerhill Villa will be hosting “Summerhill Soiree” to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. 

Have you ever tried to lose weight, quit smoking, spend less, refrain from drinking, stop gambling, or say “no” to drugs?  Have you ever attempted to transform a feeling, improve a relationship, modify your point of view, or alter your circumstances?  Have you ever promised to stop cheating, control your anger, or to stop tolerating a bad situation, only to find yourself apologizing or making excuses yet again?

One of the greatest fears of elderly Americans is that they may require nursing home care.  This not only means a great loss of personal autonomy, but also a tremendous financial price.  Depending on location and level of care, nursing homes cost between $45,000 and $160,000 per year.
Most people end up paying for nursing home care out of their savings until they run out.  Then they can qualify for Medi-Cal to pick up the cost.  However, with careful planning, whether in advance or in response to an unanticipated need for care, you can protect your estate for your spouse or children.

For those of you who follow my monthly columns, you know that most of my topics are related to family law practice and procedure.  This month however, the topic is one, which transcends family law practice.  Legal papers submitted to the court are, and should be, drafted by attorneys.  In civil cases, perhaps the most important document is the initial complaint.  While it is certainly true that legal theories change over time, factual events should not.

Betty Ferguson Foundation (BFF) Mes Amies womens’ group will be winding down after the Woman Of Honor (WOH) Dinner with a little fun and games night at the next gathering on September 21 at 7 p.m.

It’s a common saying - “A picture says a thousand words!”  You can talk about your car accident all day, but you’ve got to take photos of any and all vehicle damage to make your point.  Describing a horrific accident is fine, but showing an insurance adjuster you’re unrecognizable, now totaled vehicle goes much further to persuading an adjuster to pay more than a minimal offer.

If you are watching television at all these days, you are undoubtedly seeing commercials for auto insurance.  Virtually all of the commercials promote one thing, price.  Naturally, we all want the lowest rates possible.  But is auto insurance really a commodity?  In other words, are all insurance plans and their companies the same?  Will you discover a difference in benefits when you evaluate them?
When shopping for insurance, in addition to price, make sure you compare similar values.  Always ask for identical deductibles and coverage limits. 

When I think of the things that make life good, I think about family and friends, stimulating conversations, travel, music, art, books, mountains, beaches, good health, and children.  Oh yes, there is also a swim with my grandson, playing dress-up with one granddaughter, and a nap with another.  I can’t leave out sharing time with a gathering of people my husband and I hold dear.  There is also having a nice meal, or capturing a special moment with my special guy. 

His father was awakened around 1 a.m. by the dog barking at a neighbor coming home.  He got up to quiet the dog and walked past his son’s room.  He saw his son, lying on his back, foaming at the mouth, a syringe lay next to him, left over brown junk still in it.  It took only half the dose to cause the overdose.  
This is real.  Kids are either dying or damaging themselves permanently to satisfy the overwhelming craving for dope that takes hold of their minds once they are addicted.  Every drug user swears they will never shoot-up.  But veteran addicts know that it is only a matter of time: anyone who keeps using will eventually use a needle. 

City Reports Up To 40 percent Reduction in Daily Traffic at Busy Intersection. The Cross Valley Connector continues to reduce traffic volumes in the vicinity of one of the City’s major intersections –Bouquet Canyon Road at Soledad – with a corresponding reduction in traffic accidents as well.
The City uses its state-of-the-art ITS or Intelligent Transportation System to track traffic flow at major intersections where the infrastructure has been installed.  One component of the ITS includes fixed detectors embedded in the pavement that allows the City’s traffic engineers to track traffic counts in real time.

If you are over age 65 and preparing to move to another state — or even to another county — you will need to make sure your Medicare plan will still be in effect after you move.  Whether your policy will still be valid depends in part on whether you have original Medicare or Medicare Advantage.  If you have original Medicare, moving should not affect your benefits.  However, if you have a Medigap policy as well, you will need to check with your insurer.