July 2015 | Howard County Beacon

The Howard County

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In a joint interview with the Beacon, Madachy and Sowers were asked when the Howard County 20-year Master Plan for the Aging Population would be ready to be put into action.

The plan, which came to prominence last year with a series of forums and hearings, was touted at the time as “a comprehensive planning process to design the types of services, programs and facilities [needed] to address the future needs” of local older adults.

According to the county website, it was set for release last January.

Madachy, who had been on the job only 10 days at the time of the interview, said she had read the plan and that it was based on data from surveys, focus groups and internal discussions. “I think it will be a major

JULY 2015

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PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MYERS

A blueprint for the future

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More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard County

New leaders to focus on aging

By Robert Friedman Demographics, unlike statistics, don’t lie.

In Howard County, more than one out of every five residents will be over 65 in two decades.

In the meantime, two members of the club are helping the county plan for the rest. Phyllis Madachy, 69, is the new director of the Howard County Department of Citizen Services, and Starr Sowers, 65, has been named to head the county’s Office on Aging, which is part of the department.

Appointed to their positions recently by County Executive Allan Kittleman, each has devoted several decades to public service in the county. Madachy is a former director of the Office on Aging, while Sowers has worked there for the past 30 years.

As of the 2010 census, just over 10 percent of county residents were 65 or over.

But that figure is expected to reach 17.5 percent in 2025 and 21.6 percent in 2035.

“It’s imperative that we meet the needs of seniors in Howard County, a growing and increasingly diverse population,” Kittleman said when making the appointments. He promised a “more dynamic and proactive approach to working for and with seniors across the county.”

Among other things, Kittleman is considering making the Office on Aging a cabinet-level department. That decision is expected later in the year. Madachy said she supports “new directions” to deliver services to the county’s aging.

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A cool respite in New Hampshire’s White Mountains; plus, how credit card use overseas has changed page 23

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Phyllis Madachy (left) is the new director of the Howard County Department of Citizen Services. Starr Sowers was recently named the head of the county’s Office on Aging, which reports to Madachy. Together, they are tackling such issues as economic security, caregiver education and fitness in the rapidly aging county.

initiative,” she said. “I don’t know what that means yet, but I know the County Executive is very interested in it.”

A preliminary presentation of the plan last December noted, among other things, that: • transportation and living in their home independently are top concerns for the county’s seniors, • “strategies to maintain independence are key, but not many [residents] have clear plans yet,” • many older adults “have the mindset of ‘we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,’” and • “community supports need to be put in place before the wave of older boomers hits — demand for services will come, but not until the last minute.”

The plan is expected to include alterna-

tive scenarios for older adults; include demographic and socio/economic data; compile a resource portfolio covering community-based planning and study initiatives, and produce a 20-year blueprint and action plan covering services, programs and facilities for the county’s aging population.

Transportation options Advocates have proposed expanded and free public transportation for county seniors. Paul Verchinski of the Howard County Citizens Association has proposed that Neighbor Ride — a low-cost volunteer transportation service for those 60 or older — be expanded, and that the HATS See NEW LEADERS, page 13

A variety of shows are on tap this summer on local stages; plus, a play pictures “Peanuts” characters as teens page 26

TECHNOLOGY 3 k Thought-controlled robotic arm k Virtual dressing rooms FITNESS & HEALTH 6 k Blood test may diagnose depression k Fighting cancer with extra oxygen THE SENIOR CONNECTION 15 k Newsletter for Howard County seniors LAW & MONEY k ETFs vs. mutual funds k Five infomercial tricks

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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Do we save too much?

Just a few years ago, before the Great Recession hit, economists were reporting a “negative savings rate” among Americans. That meant many of us were spending even more than we earned each year.

How could that be? At the time, hard as it may be to remember now, the rising stock market and booming housing prices gave many Americans such a sense of wealth and optimism about the future that they felt comfortable spending everything they earned and borrowing to spend yet more.

(Sort of like the federal government.)

The result was that, not only were we not saving for a rainy day, we were borrowing against or spending what little rainy day fund we already had, believing it

would never be needed.

So when the recession had the gall to rain on our parade — causing stock prices to fall by half, slashing value from houses so that millions of homeowners were “underwater” on their mortgages, throwing millions out of work and keeping young people from finding employment — there was little to cushion the blow.

The Great Recession officially ended five years ago, believe it or not. But we are still clawing our way out of it. Most of us are doing better, some are doing great, but many are still just hanging on, waiting for their turn.

So what’s happening with our national savings rate today? Well, it’s actually pretty

BEACON BITS

June 24+

FREE ENGLISH CLASSES

City of Hope Church will offer free English classes for speakers of other languages on Wednesdays June 24 through Aug. 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Classes will cover conversational English for beginner, intermediate and advanced English speakers. Students may enroll any Wednesday at 7 p.m. throughout the eight-week program. Classes will take place at City of Hope Church in the lower level of the Stonehouse Community Center in the Long Reach Village Center at 8775 Cloudleap Court in Columbia. To learn more, contact Stephanie Aldrich at mcneillsj1@gmail.com.

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• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei • Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King

strong. About 5.5 percent.

Those of us who lived through 9/11 also That’s good, right? No? have a taste of how quickly things can Well, I guess some economists are change for the worse. never satisfied. The latest Holding onto savings doesword is that our failure as n’t mean we have lost faith. It consumers to spend our risdoesn’t mean we don’t think ing incomes more generously we can trust in the future. is responsible for the tepid naOn the contrary, I think it ture of the recovery. shows exactly the opposite: It We’re described as “sitting takes faith in the future to on our money,” having the hold back some of today’s gall to exhibit “newfound prulargesse to invest in that fudence,” and exhibiting a ture. “deep psychological trauma” We know we are strong, FROM THE that keeps us from spending that we can bounce back PUBLISHER our hard-earned dollars as from adversity. But we also

By Stuart P. Rosenthal freely as we used to. Even know it’s wise to keep some millennials have become cauresources in reserve. It’s tious spenders, having been shaped by how a sensible family acts. It’s how a sensihigh student debt, a dearth of jobs and low ble country acts. pay.

So if you’ve been saving a bit more lateThe result of all this, it appears, is a slow ly, I say pat yourself on the back. It might economic recovery, fewer new jobs and — lead to a somewhat slower national recovoh, the pain — rising savings. ery overall, and that is sort of a shame.

Excuse me, but I find it difficult to be But in the long run — especially given upset that American consumers have how much longer most of us will live than learned an important lesson from the reces- any generation before us — its seems to sion (and from the banking crisis, the hous- me to be a smart move and a sound philosing crisis, the national debt crisis, etc.). ophy.

In fact, I’m rather in shock and awe that If you disagree, or even if you don’t, Americans of all ages have developed at least please write and share your thoughts. Opinsome of the self-restraint and appreciation for ions don’t need to be saved for a rainy day! savings that once characterized the Greatest Generation — those who lived through the Great Depression and were never quite able to shake the feeling that the best of times could come crashing down in a day.

Letters to the editor Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

BEACON BITS

July 1+

SUNSET SERENADES

The summer’s outdoor concerts for the month of July sponsored by Recreation & Parks will begin on Wednesday, July 1 with a concert by the Chuggalug pop-rock band, followed by Rainbow Rock, a children’s band on Wednesday, July 8. The jazz fusion group Slick Hampton follows on Wednesday, July 15, classic rock Shotgun Shack on July 22, and the E&B and soul group Jenee on July 29. All concerts begin at 7 p.m. and refreshments are available for purchase. The park is located at 10000 Rte. 108, Ellicott City. For more information, call (410) 313-4635 or visithowardcountymd.gov/summerconcerts.htm.

• Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Art Director ........................................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ........Doug Hallock, ................................................ Steve Levin, Jill Joseph • Editorial Assistant ........................Rebekah Sewell

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915 (410) 248-9101 • Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.com Submissions: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial and advertising is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 31 for classified advertising details.

Please mail or email all submissions. © Copyright 2015 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

July 10+

PLEIN AIR PAINT-OUT

Everyone is invited to participate or just walk around viewing Ellicott City’s annual gathering of street artists during the annual “paint out” along the streets and roads of Ellicott City on Friday, July 10 through Sunday, July 12. The sponsor, Howard County Arts Council, will host an exhibition of the paintings at a reception for the artists on Monday, July 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at its headquarters and gallery, 8510 High Ridge Rd., Ellicott City. On Saturday, July 11, author Gary Pendleton will be available to autograph his book, 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic, during a gathering in the gallery at 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.hocoarts.org or call (410) 313-2787.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

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Technology &

Innovations Man controls robotic arm with his thoughts TBy Alicia Chang A man paralyzed by gunshot more than a decade ago can shake hands, drink beer, and play “rock, paper, scissors’’ by controlling a robotic arm with his thoughts, researchers reported.

Two years ago, doctors in California implanted a pair of tiny chips into the brain of Erik Sorto that decoded his thoughts to move the free-standing robotic arm. The 34-year-old has been working with researchers and occupational therapists to practice and fine-tune his movements.

It’s the latest attempt at creating mindcontrolled prosthetics to help disabled people gain more independence. In the last decade, several people outfitted with brain implants have used their minds to control a computer cursor or steer prosthetic limbs.

The work was published recently in the journal Science.

Training the brain required Doctors at the University of Southern California implanted small chips into Sorto’s brain during a five-hour surgery in 2013. The sensors recorded the electrical activity of about 100 brain cells as Sorto imagined reaching and grasping.

Researchers asked Sorto to think about what he wanted to do instead of breaking down the steps of the movements, said principal investigator Richard Andersen at the California Institute of Technology.

After weeks of imagining movements, Sorto trained with Caltech scientists and therapists at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center to move the robotic

BEACON BITS

July 27

ALL ABOUT BLOGGING

Howard Community College is offering a one-day course on building a better blog on Monday, July 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Gateway Campus, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. Fee is $60. To learn more about the course, call (443) 518-1700 or visit howardcc.edu/ConEd.

arm, starting with a handshake and graduating to more complicated tasks. The sensors relayed their signals to the arm, bypassing Sorto’s damaged spinal cord.

Scientists have long strived to make robotic arms produce movements that are as natural as possible. Previous research targeted a region of the brain known as the motor cortex, which controls movement.

The new work zeroed in on a different area of the brain — the posterior parietal cortex — that’s involved in the planning of movements. The hope is that this strategy will lead to smoother motions.

It’s unclear whether the new approach is better because no side-by-side comparisons have been made yet, but it gives researchers a potential new target in the brain.

In 2012, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips. In another instance, a quadriplegic man in Pennsylvania used a robotic arm to give a high-five and stroke his girlfriend’s hand.

Sorto has a caregiver at home, but he goes to the rehab center several times a week to practice using the robotic arm.

Since suffering a gunshot wound 13 years

ago, he longed to drink a beer without help.

The first time he tried with the prosthetic arm, he was so excited that he lost his concentration and caused the arm to spill the drink. On the second try, he directed the arm to pick up the bottle and bring it to his mouth where he sipped through a straw.

The beer tasted “like a little piece of heaven,’’ Sorto said.

What the future holds Despite progress in the last decade, hurdles remain before brain-controlled prosthetics can help paralyzed people in their daily lives.

Experts said computer programs must run faster to interpret brain signals, and the brain implants must be more durable.

Currently, wire connections run from a patient’s brain to outside the skull, increasing the risk of infections. Future systems need to be wireless and contained within the body like pacemakers, experts J. Andrew Pruszynski of Western University in Canada and Jorn Diedrichsen of University College London wrote in an accompanying editorial.

— AP

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Smart mirrors help boost clothing sales

By Anne D’Innocenzio Imagine a fitting room with a “smart’’ mirror that suggests jeans to go with the red shirt you brought in. It snaps a video so you can compare the image side-by-side with other colorful shirts you try on. It might even show you how the shirt will fit without you having to undress.

A handful of primarily upscale retailers, including Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, are testing versions of this high-tech fitting room. And experts say the masses will be able to try these innovations at more stores in the next few years as the technology gets cheaper.

Luring shoppers to stores This trend is a way stores aim to catch up to online rivals like Amazon.com, which are able to gather information on which items shoppers browse, and use that info to recommend other products.

The new technology enables physical stores to collect much of the same data as online retailers. It raises privacy questions, but executives say customers are offered a choice, and the data is protected.

Stores are tapping into the significant role the often-forgotten fitting room can play in purchase decisions. While 36 percent of store browsers wind up buying something, 71 percent of shoppers who try

on clothes in the fitting room become buyers, according to Paco Underhill, a retail consultant.

Yet the typical fitting room isn’t always inviting: Only about 28 percent of shoppers even walk into a dressing room of a typical clothing chain, Underhill said. “The dressing room experience in many places has been close to miserable. There’s bad lighting. They’re dirty. And they have poor service.’’

Some companies are working to change that impression. Later this year, Big Space, a technology company, plans to test at an undisclosed clothing chain a new mirror that recognizes the gender of a customer and makes recommendations based on that. Customers also will be able to request or purchase the items directly from the mirror and have them shipped.

Mirror, mirror on the wall Other technologies already are being tested in stores. In recent years, Bloomingdale’s and Top Shop, among other stores, have tested technology that enable shoppers to see how they look in an outfit without trying it on.

The patented MemoryMirror, from a Palo Alto, California-based company called MemoMi, is one of the most advanced in this so-called virtual dressing — a feature

that’s expected to be tested in U.S. stores later this year. The mirror is outfitted with sensors, setting off motion-triggered changes of clothing. MemoryMirror uses pixel technology that captures even small details, such as a wrinkle on a skirt as it moves.

Even for those actually trying on items, the mirror doubles as a video camera, capturing a 360 degree view of what an outfit looks like and making side-by-side comparisons. Shoppers can replay the video and share it with friends Earlier this year, Neiman Marcus rolled out the MemoryMirror outside fitting rooms in three of its locations — Walnut Creek, Calif., San Francisco and the Dallas suburb of Willow Bend. It is considering activating the “virtual dressing’’ feature.

John Koryl, president of Neiman Marcus stores and online, said the mirror allows the retailer for the first time to have specific information regarding who tried on the dress and bought it. He said shoppers must register for a unique account with their email address in order to use the mirror’s features. Any data collected on the mirror’s usage is anonymous and aggregated, he said.

eBay Enterprise, which specializes in providing retail technology and service, also has fitting-room technology that some stores are testing.

Designer Rebecca Minkoff’s first two stores in New York and San Francisco are testing the new fitting room technology that uses radio frequency identification that embeds data in clothing tags. It will be rolling out the technology when it opens stores in Chicago and Los Angeles later this year, said CEO Uri Minkoff.

It works this way: a touch screen allows the customer to flip through a catalog and indicate which items he or she wants in the dressing room. The customer inputs their cellphone number and the sales clerk texts when the fitting room is ready. When the shopper walks in the dressing area, the mirror recognizes the items and displays the different clothing on the screen.

Minkoff said the two stores testing this technology are selling the clothing two and a half times faster than expected, and shoppers are increasing the number of items they buy by 30 percent. “We are creating dressing room therapy,’’ said Uri Minkoff.

EBay Enterprise is also working with Nordstrom, helping the company under-

More fitting room tech A division of online seller eBay called

See DRESSING ROOM, page 5

Howard County’s Only Life Care Retirement Community.

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More digital elements in stores Here are three other high-tech trends that some shoppers will see in retail stores this year:

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❏ Fall Prevention Study (see ad on page 12) ❏ Breast Cancer Drug Study (see article on page 12)

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EN E P O US s y rda pm HO u t Sa - 2

INTERGENERATIONAL SKETCHING CLASS

A new drawing course is being offered for members of the Ellicott City 50+ Center, with an option to enroll a child age 8 or older to join the class. Basic sketching concepts will be offered for levels ranging from beginner to intermediate. The class will meet every Monday in July from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the center, 9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. Fee is $31 for four classes. To enroll or for more information, call the center at (410) 313-1421.

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It works this way: Products like

It works this way: Technology allows shoppers to see themselves in outfits without having to try them on.

The technology allows shoppers to add items like coats and accessories, and change colors and materials.

Salvador Nissi Vilcovsky, CEO of MemoMi, says shoppers will see the company’s virtual dressing technology in some U.S. stores in the next few months, and noted a variety of stores from luxury brands to mid-level departments stores are interested.

— AP

July 6+

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Magic carpets

Virtual dressing

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It works this way: Pick up a shoe and information pops up about the color and designer.

Who’s doing it? Start-ups like Perch Interactive Inc. use projection light and motion sensors. It detects when a product is being picked up. Perch then monitors the interactions and sends that information to the retailer.

Perch says it has worked with several accessories brands like Kate Spade who have tested the technology. Jeans maker Levi Strauss is testing the Perch technology on a few of the jeans maker’s essentials, like the trucker’s jacket and the 501 jacket in one store in San Francisco and one in New York City.

shoes are tagged with Radio Frequency Identification, and when shoppers step on a carpet, information pops up on a screen, including available sizes and colors.

Who’s doing it? Uggs is testing the technology from tech firm Demandware at its Ugg Tysons Galleria store, McLean, Virginia, and its parent store Deckers in San Francisco.

long as they are aware of what is happening to them and have control of their data.”

But some customers are embracing it.

Wendy DeWald, of San Francisco, spent $1,000 on her first trip to the Rebecca Minkoff store; she’s returned a few more times. She doesn’t mind sharing some of her personal data to get a better experience.

“I’m pretty blown away,’’ she said. “It’s a toy in the dressing room. It enhances the — AP experience.’’

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stand how the technology performs on a larger scale. Nordstrom uses the mirrors

“We will listen to the customer as they use the mirror and see what changes make sense to improve the experience,’’ said Nordstrom’s spokesman Dan Evans.

The new technology has some consumer advocates concerned. “One assumes that the mirror is not looking back at me unless you are in a fairytale,’’ said Nuala O’Connor, president & CEO of the nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology. “People love new technology — as

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From page 4

in some fitting rooms in Seattle and in San Jose, Calif., but they work a little differently: Shoppers are equipped with bar code scanning devices so they’re able to see what’s in stock in the dressing area.

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Dressing room

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Technology & Innovations

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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Health Fitness &

LETHAL LISTERIA This food-borne illness affects older adults and those with low immunity most CANNED GOOD Canned fruits and veggies can be at least as nutritious as fresh ones MUGGED BY DRUGS Many drugs can deplete essential vitamins and minerals, affecting your mood REDUCE CANCER RISK A healthy lifestyle can play a big role in preventing many kinds of cancer

New blood test may diagnose depression

By Marla Paul The first blood test to diagnose major depression in adults has been developed by scientists at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. — a breakthrough approach that provides the first objective, scientific diagnosis for depression. The test identifies depression by measuring the levels of nine RNA blood markers. RNA molecules are the messengers that interpret the DNA genetic code and carry out its instructions.

The blood test also predicts who will benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy based on some of the markers. This could provide the opportunity for more effective, individualized therapy for people with depression.

In addition, the test showed the biological effects of cognitive behavioral therapy — the first measurable, blood-based evidence of that therapy’s success. The levels of markers changed in patients who had the therapy for 18 weeks and were no longer depressed.

“This clearly indicates that you can have a blood-based laboratory test for depression, providing a scientific diagnosis in the same way someone is diagnosed with high blood pressure or high cholesterol,” said Eva Redei, who developed the test and is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Fein-

berg School of Medicine.

“This test brings mental health diagnosis into the 21st century and offers the first personalized medicine approach to people suffering from depression,” she said.

Redei is co-lead author of the study, published in Translational Psychiatry. Redei previously developed a blood test that diagnosed depression in adolescents. Most of the markers she identified in the adult depression panel are different from those in depressed adolescents.

Long search for simple lab test The search for a biological diagnostic test for major depression has been ongoing for decades. The current method of diagnosing depression is subjective and based on non-specific symptoms such as poor mood, fatigue and change in appetite — all of which can apply to a large number of mental or physical problems.

A diagnosis also relies on the patient’s ability to report his symptoms and the physician’s ability to interpret them. But depressed patients frequently underreport or inadequately describe their symptoms.

“Mental health has been where medicine was 100 years ago, when physicians diagnosed illnesses or disorders based on symptoms,” said co-lead author David Mohr, Ph.D., a professor of Preventive

Medicine and director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Feinberg. “This study brings us much closer to having laboratory tests that can be used in diagnosis and treatment selection.”

The new blood test will allow physicians for the first time to use lab tests to determine what treatments will be most useful for individual patients.

“Currently, we know drug therapy is effective, but not for everybody, and psychotherapy is effective, but not for everybody,” Mohr said. “We know combined therapies are more effective than either alone, but maybe by combining therapies we’re using a scattershot approach. Having a blood test would allow us to better target treatment to individuals.”

Major depressive disorder affects 6.7 percent of the U.S. adult population in a year, a number that is rising. There is a two-to 40- month delay in diagnosis, and the longer the delay, the more difficult it is to treat depression.

An estimated 12.5 percent of patients in primary care have major depression, but only about half of those cases are diagnosed. A biologically based test has the potential to provide a more timely and accurate diagnosis.

79, who’d been independently diagnosed as depressed in a clinical interview, and 32 nondepressed controls in the same age range.

Some of the patients had been on long-term antidepressants but were still depressed.

The patients, from Northwestern general internal medicine clinics, also were participating in a previously reported study comparing the effectiveness of face-to-face and telephone-administered cognitive behavioral therapy.

At baseline before the therapy, scientists found nine RNA blood markers with levels significantly different in the depressed patients from those of controls. These markers were able to diagnose depression.

After 18 weeks of therapy (face-to-face and telephone), the changed levels of certain markers could differentiate patients who had responded positively and were no longer depressed (based on a clinical interview and patients’ self-reported symptoms) from patients who remained depressed.

This is the first biological indicator of the success of cognitive behavioral therapy, the study authors said.

In addition, the blood test predicts who will benefit from the cognitive behavioral therapy based on a distinct pattern or fingerprint of the levels of the nine marker

How the study worked The study included 32 patients, ages 21 to

See DEPRESSION TEST, page 7

Extra oxygen may boost tumor-fighters

By Lauran Neergaard A provocative study in mice suggests something as simple as breathing in extra oxygen might give immune cells a boost in attacking cancer.

The immune system often can spot and destroy abnormal cells before they grow into cancer. But when tumors manage to take root, they put up defenses to block new immune attacks. The study takes aim at one of those shields.

With the extra oxygen, “you remove the brake pedal” that cancer can put on tumorfighting immune cells, said Michail Sitkovsky, director of the New England Inflammation and Tissue Protection Institute at Northeastern University, who led the work.

A simple, low-cost treatment Here’s what happens: Tumors can grow

so rapidly that they outpace their blood supply, creating a low-oxygen environment.

The lack of oxygen in turn spurs cancer cells to produce a molecule called adenosine, which essentially puts nearby tumor fighters called T cells and natural killer cells to sleep, explained pharmacologist Edwin Jackson of the University of Pittsburgh, who co-authored the study.

Lots of research is under way to develop drugs that could block the adenosine effect. But Sitkovsky’s team wondered if just getting more oxygen to an oxygenstarved tumor could strip away that defense.

So they put mice with different kinds of lung tumors inside chambers that mimic what’s called supplemental oxygen therapy. Air is about 21 percent oxygen, but hospitals can give patients concentrations of

40 percent to 60 percent oxygen through face masks to treat various disorders.

The extra oxygen changed the tumor’s environment so that immune cells could get inside and do their jobs, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Combination therapy best Tumors shrank more in the high-oxygen group, especially when the researchers combined the oxygen with injections of extra tumor-fighting T cells, what’s called immunotherapy.

Extra oxygen had no effect in mice genetically engineered to lack those immune cells.

Immunotherapy is a hot field in cancer research, as scientists try to figure out how to spur the body’s own ability to fight tumors.

The study is exciting, said immunologist Susanna Greer of the American Cancer Society, who wasn’t involved with the research and cautioned that it must be tested in people.

“If this works, there is the potential that what they’re doing could very easily synergize with other cancer immunotherapies that we know work,” she said.

“The beauty is that oxygen per se is so welltolerated,” added Dr. Holger Eltzschig, an anesthesiologist at the University of Colorado in Denver, who studies low-oxygen effects and also wasn’t involved in this study.

He said the data was compelling enough to start testing the approach by adding supplemental oxygen to certain cancer therapies.

— AP

Depression test From page 6 levels at baseline in patients who recover from depression as a result of the therapy.

The blood levels of these markers did not show this pattern in the patients who did not improve with the therapy.

“This distinction could be used in the future to predict who would respond to the therapy,” Redei said.

Clues to recurrence The blood concentration of three of the nine RNA markers remained different in depressed patients and non-depressed controls, even if the depressed patients achieved remission from depression after the therapy. This appears to indicate a vulnerability to depression.

“These three markers move us towards the ultimate goal of identifying predisposition to depression, even in the absence of a current depressive episode,” said Redei,

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

also the David Lawrence Stein Research Professor of Psychiatric Diseases Affecting Children and Adolescents.

“Being aware of people who are more susceptible to recurring depression allows us to monitor them more closely,” Mohr noted. “They can consider a maintenance dose of antidepressants or continued psychotherapy to diminish the severity of a future episode or prolong the intervals between episodes.”

Next, Redei plans to test the results in a larger population. She also wants to see if the test can differentiate between major depression and bipolar depression.

Marla Paul works at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

From WhatDoctorsKnow, a magazine devoted to information on health issues from physicians, major hospitals and clinics, universities and healthcare agencies across the U.S. Online at www.whatdoctorsknow.com. © 2015 Whatdoctorsknow.com Distributed By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

NEW FITNESS ROOM

Seniors are invited to check out the new Fitness Center at the Ellicott City 50+ Center and purchase a monthly pass to the equipment at an introductory rate of $10 per month for a county resident, $15 per month for a non-resident. All participants must be age 50 or over and a member of a Howard County Senior Center. For more details, call (410) 313-1400.

June 27

WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE CLASS

July 23

STROKE SUPPORT GROUP

Women ages 16 and up will learn and practice physical and psychological strategies and techniques for dealing with violent situations on Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Howard County General Hospital Wellness Pavilion, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. Fee is $50. For more information, call (410) 740-7601.

The July meeting of the Howard County General Hospital Stroke Support Group is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Bolduc Family Outpatient Center, 5755 Cedar Ln., Columbia. For registration or more information, call (410) 740-7601.

BEACON BITS

July 21+

AQUA ZUMBA CLASS

Take a vacation without leaving your community.

Just add water to cardio-conditioning and body-tightening for a Zumba experience in a lowimpact pool setting. Eight-week Aqua Zumba classes begin Tuesday, July 21 and Thursday, July 23 from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. at the Roger Carter Community Center, 3000 Milltown Rd., Ellicott City. Fee is $80. For more details, call (410) 313-2764.

July 9

LEARN CPR

Two evening classes in CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) techniques covering adults, children and infants will be offered by Howard County General Hospital on Thursday, July 9 and repeated on Tuesday, July 21. Fee is $55. The courses are scheduled from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on both dates at the hospital’s Wellness Center Medical Pavilion, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. For more information, call (410) 740-7601.

July 24

DIABETES EDUCATION WORKSHOP

At a free diabetes management and education session, learn about what diabetes is, the importance of checking blood sugar levels, meal planning, exercise and many more guidelines. The class will be held at East Columbia 50+ Center, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia on Wednesday, June 24 at noon. For more information, call (410) 3137680.

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Food-borne listeria illnesses can be deadly

By Mary Clare Jalonick Large food recalls have forced consumers to throw away hummus and ice cream that may be contaminated with the same potentially deadly bacteria — listeria.

In April, tainted Blue Bell ice cream products were linked to eight listeria illnesses in Kansas and Texas. Three of those who contracted the illness died. Blue Bell has recalled more than two dozen of its products.

Sabra Dipping Co. recently announced a recall of 30,000 cases of its Classic Hummus due to possible listeria contamination, though no illnesses have been linked to that recall.

Here’s a look at the listeria bacteria, and answers to questions that consumers may have:

What is listeria?

Listeria is a hardy bacteria found in soil and water that can be carried by animals.

It is often found in processed meats because it can contaminate a processing facility and stay there for a long period of time, and it can grow in the cold temperature of a refrigerator.

It is also commonly found in unpasteurized cheeses and unpasteurized milk, and it is sometimes found in other foods as well. For example, listeria in cantaloupes was linked to 30 deaths in a 2011 outbreak.

What are the symptoms?

When a person contracts the disease, it can cause fever, muscle aches, gastrointestinal symptoms and even death.

Am I at risk?

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Listeria generally affects older adults, people with compromised immune systems and pregnant women. It can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and serious illness or death in newborn babies. Healthy, younger adults and most children can usually consume listeria with no ill effects or mild illness.

What was recalled?

Blue Bell ice cream recalled several products made on production lines in Texas and Oklahoma after the ice cream was linked to eight illnesses, including three deaths, in Texas and Kansas.

The nationwide Sabra hummus recall came after a product sample collected by Michigan agriculture officials tested positive for listeria; there are no known illnesses related to that recall. A Sabra spokeswoman said the hummus was manufactured at its plant in Richmond, Va. How did this happen?

State and federal inspectors are still investigating the ice cream outbreak and have not released a cause. In past outbreaks, contamination has often been the result of dirty equipment or unsanitary conditions in a plant.

I think I may have one of these products in my home. What do I do?

The government’s motto is “when in doubt, throw it out.” If you throw something away that you think might be tainted,

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LONGWOOD GARDENS TOUR

The Department of Recreation & Parks is offering a bus tour to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Penn. on Tuesday, June 23, leaving at 6:30 a.m. and returning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets at $95 per person include walking tour of the garden and lunch. Call (410) 313-7271 or visit www.howardcountymed.gov/rap.

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place it in a closed plastic bag in a sealed trash can to prevent animals or other people from eating it. The ice cream can have a shelf life of up to two years.

How can I protect against listeria?

In the case of the ice cream and hummus recalls, there is nothing you can do to prevent it — just throw away the food if you learn it has been recalled.

Surfaces that come into contact with food should always been cleaned with hot, soapy water.

With fruit, scrubbing is never a bad idea, but it may not rid produce of all contaminants. In the case of the cantaloupe, the listeria likely hid on the fruit’s thick, rough skin. Health officials think people may have been sickened when people cut into their cantaloupes, bringing listeria on the outside of the fruit to the inside.

The government says the listeria bacteria can be killed by heating food to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or until it is steaming hot just before serving it.

Why is listeria so deadly?

Listeria is less well-known than other pathogens, like salmonella and E. coli, which cause many more illnesses in tainted food every year. But one in five people who get sick from listeria can die. The people who get sick from listeria are often already weaker and more vulnerable to disease.

— AP

Julu 8

CRUISE THE CHOPTANK

A trip on the river in turn-of-the century paddlewheel vessel awaits Howard County residents and guests on an outing sponsored by Parks & Recreation on Wednesday, July 8. Home port is Hurley, Md. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m., with a bonus fresh produce stop on the way back. Fee is $85 per person, and youngsters age 8 and older welcome.

More information is available at www.howardcountymd.gov/rap or call (410) 3137271.

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9

Canned foods at least as nutritious as fresh

By Kathleen Zelman, R.D Canned foods — fruits, vegetables and beans — are the ultimate convenience foods — nutritious, available year-round, and economical. Yet surveys show they’re misunderstood and not considered healthful choices.

Historically, canning was developed to preserve summer’s bounty and extend food availability all year long to prevent seasonal starvation. The canning process locks in nutrients when food is at its ultimate freshness.

As a result, canned foods contain the same important nutrients as — and sometimes even more than — fresh foods, and they can help you fit more fruits, vegetables and seafood into your diet, at a lower cost.

Despite these facts, many consumers desire fresh over canned foods, although it doesn’t always make nutritional — or seasonal — sense.

“Fresh produce can lose lots of nutrients, especially during the winter when it travels hundreds or thousands of miles to get to your grocer, where it then sits on the shelf until you buy it,” said Elizabeth Ward, R.D., the author of My Plate for Moms.

“Fresh local produce is impossible to come by in many parts of the country during winter, so relying on canned foods is a practical solution to have nutritious products year-round,” she said.

Some fresh vegetables, such as spinach and green beans, lose up to 75 percent of their vitamin C within seven days of harvest. Yet canned fruits and vegetables are packed at peak ripeness to deliver the same consistent taste year round.

Further, canned foods are environmentally friendly because the metal used in containers is the most recycled material in the U.S.

Low-cost nutrition A 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences showed that canned fruits and vegetables provide important essential nutrients, like vitamin C, often at a lower cost per nutrient than fresh, frozen or dried forms.

And a study that analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that including canned fruits and vegetables in children’s diets improved overall diet quality.

“Children who ate canned fruits and vegetables ate 22 percent more vegetables, 14 percent more fruit, and had better diet quality and increased nutrient intake,” said study co-author Marjorie Freedman.

Some nutrients are even higher in canned foods. Lycopene, the antioxidant in tomatoes, increases in bioavailability when heated, making it more potent in canned tomatoes than in fresh tomatoes. Canned pumpkin has less water than fresh, thereby increasing the concentration of vitamin A. Concerned about salt or sugar? While canned foods can be high in sodium, the leading sources of sodium in the American diet are not canned foods (nor is canned fruit among the top sources of added sugar), according to USDA data.

You can avoid extra sodium and sugar in canned foods by choosing those labeled “no-salt” and “no-sugar added.” Rinsing also can help reduce salt and sugar significantly.

Canned foods are the perfect addition to your favorite casseroles, soups, and salads.

Not only do they help provide out-of-season fruits and vegetable for pennies on the dollar, but using canned foods saves preparation time by skipping the cleaning, chopping and cooking.

Ward believes using canned vegetables — especially vegetables that take time to prepare, such as artichokes — can simplify cooking.

Nothing lasts forever, even canned foods in your pantry; most are good for about one year. Check the “best by” date.

A possible concern Bisphenol A (BPA) is a structural com-

ponent used to coat the interior of food cans, to prevent contamination and safeguard the food from microbes. While there have been many concerns regarding the safety of BPA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently states that BPA is safe at current levels used in food containers and packaging; however, there is an ongoing safety review of scientific evidence.

In the meantime, the FDA is conducting

in-depth studies to clarify uncertainties about BPA. If you’re concerned, you can choose aseptic pouches and glass jars, which do not contain BPA. Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com. © 2015 Belvoir Media Group Distributed

By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS

July 20

WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY

Medical professionals from the Johns Hopkins Center for Bariatric Surgery will address questions about bariatric surgery in a free program on Monday, July 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Howard County Hospital Wellness Center Medical Pavilion, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. For more information, call (410) 550-0409 or register online at Hopkinsmedicine.org/jhbmc/bariatrics.

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Vitamins that boost mood; drugs to avoid What makes one person depressed and another happy?

Certain conditions are commonly associated with depression, including hypothyroidism, Crohn’s disease or colitis, migraines, diabetes, chronic infections and cancer. Lifestyles such as drinking alcohol and smoking are also correlated.

But perhaps the biggest source of all is what I call “drug mugging.” In my book Drug Muggers, I describe how certain prescription and OTC drugs “mug” you of vital nutrients that you need to produce “happy” brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Today I’ll teach you what popular drugs lead to depression just by the mere fact they mug you of essential vitamins. No amount of

Zoloft can replenish the stolen nutrients.

Mood chemicals in your brain There are three primary neurotransmitters in your brain, serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine.

Serotonin is involved in emotion and mood control. Did you know that 95 percent of your serotonin is in your gastrointestinal tract, not your brain? Noradrenaline, also known as “norepinephrine,” is involved in your “fight or flight” response. Dopamine is part of your inborn reward system, which allows you to feel passion and pleasure.

These three neurotransmitters are made in the body every second, and they depend on adequate levels of B vitamins, which you can get from eating right and keeping

your gut healthy. Here are the Bs to know: eggs, fish and bread. But you can’t eat Thiamine or B1 — A thiamine deficiency enough to make adequate levels of serocontributes to a decrease in tonin and dopamine. serotonin, which can lead to deBy improving the producpression and anxiety, as well as tion and function of serotonin weight gain, according to a and dopamine, you can restudy published in the journal duce the severity of certain Neurology. Drug muggers of thitypes of seizures, neuropathamine include antivirals, oral ic pain and Parkinson’s discontraceptives and hormone reease. Drug muggers are corplacement, raw oysters, ticosteroids, oral contracepantacids and antibiotics. tives (estrogens), loop diuretNiacin or B3 — Tryptoics and antibiotics.

DEAR phan is metabolized in your Folate or B9 — This is foPHARMACIST brain into 5-HTP (5-Hydroxlate, not folic acid, by the way.

By Suzy Cohen ytryptophan) and goes on to Up to 70 percent of depressed form serotonin and dopamine. people have a genetic “perYou need niacin for this biochemical reac- sonality” such that they have what’s called tion to occur. Acid blockers, antacids, an “MTHFR” polymorphism or what we cholestyramine and loop diuretics are drug call a SNP (pronounced “snip”). This situamuggers of niacin. Just so you know, sero- tion compromises your body’s ability to tonin is broken down at night to form mela- turn folate from your foods into L-methyltonin, which makes you sleepy. folate, which you need to make neuroPantothenic acid — This B vitamin transmitters, especially your passion hormakes for healthy adrenal glands; it’s often mone dopamine. Drug muggers of folate low in people with hypoglycemia. (Blood include metformin, fluoxetine, warfarin, sugar abnormalities cause mood swings.) oral contraceptives and high doses of You need this B vitamin to make nora- niacin. drenaline as well as your memory moleThis information is opinion only. It is not cule acetylcholine. Deficiencies in vitamin intended to treat, cure or diagnose your conB-5 are tied to decreased alertness, fa- dition. Consult with your doctor before using tigue, memory problems and depression. any new drug or supplement.

Acid blockers, cholestyramine and antibiSuzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist otics are drug muggers. and the author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist Pyridoxine or B6 — Pyridoxine is and Real Solutions from Head to Toe. To found primarily in beans, legumes, meat, contact her, visit www.SuzyCohen.com.

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11

Cancer risk is largely due to our choices Q: Can lifestyle really make much cosinolates are exposed to an enzyme stored difference in cancer risk? Doesn’t can- elsewhere in the plant that converts these incer really come down mostactive compounds to isothioly to heredity and luck? cyanate compounds, which A: A healthy lifestyle can’t studies suggest may reduce prevent all cancer, but it makes cancer risk. a big difference. Healthy eating The latest research shows habits combined with regular that you can get high amounts physical activity and a healthy of these protective compounds weight can prevent about 1 in 3 if you blanch the vegetables of the most common U.S. canfirst. Blanching is a quick dip cers. in boiling water, followed imBy adding avoidance of tomediately by cooling. bacco and sun damage, today’s NUTRITION You can also preserve both research says we could cut the WISE nutrients and the enzyme neednumber of cancers occurring By Karen Collins, ed to form protective isothioin the United States every year MS, RD, CDM cyanates if you steam broccoli nearly in half. for three or four minutes (just Only about 5 to 10 percent of all cancers until crisp-tender) or microwave for less are thought to be caused by an inherited than one minute. “cancer gene.” If you have a close relative Boiling broccoli or other cruciferous veg(mother, father, sister or brother) who has had cancer, or if you carry a cancer gene, it’s important to get periodic screenings on a schedule recommended by your healthcare provider.

Even with a strong family history of a particular cancer, eating habits and lifestyle choices can influence whether canINTRODUCING cer actually develops. Some people may inherit genes that make them especially sensitive to the effects of lifestyle choices.

etables is not the optimal method, unless you’ll be consuming the cooking liquid (as in soup). Boiling leaches out the vegetables’ water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and folate, as well as many of the glucosinolate compounds, which are water-soluble, too.

Moreover, too much exposure to high temperatures destroys the enzyme that converts the inactive glucosinolates to active compounds.

Serving broccoli raw is an excellent option, since it retains these nutrients and the enzyme that forms isothiocyanate compounds. Before serving on a relish tray or salad, quickly blanching and cooling allows you to get even a bit more of

these compounds.

When you want cooked broccoli, steaming or very brief microwaving are excellent choices.

The American Institute for Cancer Research offers a Nutrition Hotline, 1-800-8438114, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This free service allows you to ask questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. A registered dietitian will return your call, usually within three business days.

Courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research. Questions for this column may be sent to “Nutrition Wise,” 1759 R St., NW, Washington, DC 20009. Collins cannot respond to questions personally.

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Treat Mom or Dad to a spa day

How to improve your “luck” As for luck, it’s true that whenever cells divide and reproduce, there’s potential for mutations (damaged DNA) that can possibly lead to cancer.

However, the body has mechanisms to repair DNA and cause abnormal cells to selfdestruct. Nutrients and phytochemicals (natural compounds in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and other plant foods) provide important support for those processes. Moreover, genes can be activated and deactivated (like switching on or off their ability to send signals), and the way we live influences that.

By limiting unhealthy foods and avoiding tobacco smoke, excess alcohol, too much sun, or exposure to high levels of certain chemicals, you help reduce chances of damage to genes.

Through healthy food and drink choices, combined with physical activity and a healthy weight, you provide protective influences both at the stage of initial cell damage (which starts the cancer process) and throughout stages that follow, reducing potential of any damaged cells to multiply and ever develop into a clinical cancer.

Q: Is broccoli more nutritious raw than when cooked?

A: Actually, raw broccoli is not necessaril more healthful than cooked. Broccoli is part of the cruciferous vegetable family and a great food to include in your diet either raw or lightly cooked.

Cruciferous vegetables provide many nutrients, but their unique contribution is a group of compounds called glucosinolates.

When we chew or chop these vegetables, glu-

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Health Studies Page

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Breast cancer study looks at gene mutation Army of Women — an initiative that partners volunteers with researchers to enable research into the causes of breast cancer — needs women throughout the United States who have HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer to take part in a study of the experimental drug neratinib.

HER2 stands for human epidermal

growth factor receptor 2, a gene that can play a role in the development of breast cancer.

Neratinib works by attaching itself to the HER2 receptor. It was initially developed for and studied in women with HER2positive metastatic breast cancer. However, laboratory and early studies suggest it may also be effective in the small group of

women whose tumors have a specific type of HER2 mutation but test HER2-negative on current tumor tests.

The purpose of this study is to see whether neratinib is effective in treating HER2-negative metastatic tumors that have this specific HER2 mutation.

Genetic testing first The first part of the study is a preliminary screening. During this part of the study, your tumor tissue will be tested to see if it has the HER2 mutation the researchers are looking for. If your tumor has the mutation, you will be given more information about the main research study, which is investigating the effectiveness of neratinib.

If you sign up for this study — “A Phase II Study of Neratnib in Metastatic HER2 Non-amplified but HER2 Mutant Breast Cancer” — a research coordinator will send a consent form to you, and: • ask you to obtain medical records from your doctor’s office, • send the records to the research team at no cost to you, and • evaluate your overall health based on medical records provided by your doctor’s office.

Based on this information, the research coordinator will determine if you are eligible to have your tumor tissue (either from a new biopsy or previous biopsies) tested for HER2.

It will take three to four weeks for you and your research study doctor to learn whether your tumor has the specific HER2 mutation the researchers are studying. If it does, your research study doctor will give you more in-

formation about the research study so that you can decide if you want to enroll.

If your tumor does not have this HER2 mutation, you will not be eligible for the main research study. However, information about your medical history and tumor characteristics, as well as any samples collected up to this point, might still be analyzed as part of this study.

The study is being conducted by Dr. Cynthia Ma at Washington University in St. Louis. If your tumor is found to have the HER2 mutation the researchers are studying and you are eligible and interested in receiving neratinib through the trial, you will be referred for treatment to the cancer center nearest you that is participating in the study.

Who can participate You can join the study if you match all of these main categories: • You are a women with confirmed stage IV breast cancer that is HER2-negative.

• You do not have a history of heart problems.

• You do not require oxygen.

• You do not have abnormal liver or kidney function.

• You are able to participate in activities without significant restriction.

These are only the preliminary eligibility criteria. The research team will ask you additional questions to be sure that this study is a right fit for you.

To find out more, call (310) 828-0060 or email studies@armyofwomen.org. For more information on Army of Women, visit www.armyofwomen.org.

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Seeking Men and Women The University of Maryland & Veterans Affairs of Baltimore are conducting a research study to better understand balance & prevent falls as we age.

With your participation you will receive: • Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

New leaders From page 1 (Howard Area Transit System), which provides transportation services to low income, elderly and disabled residents, should be made available free for all seniors between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays and all weekend.

Madachy said such policy changes would not be in her department’s purview.

“This is an issue that is broader than can be solved by us,” she said. “It would have to be a decision involving the Department of Transportation,” among other agencies.

She added that the county bus service has several “fixed routes for senior destinations.”

Building awareness On another subject, Sowers said one of her priorities would be “to develop a market plan” so that seniors are more aware of the Office on Aging’s services and programs.

Senior advocates have said that many of the county seniors who need help don’t know where to find it, even if it is available.

Angie Boyter, a past president of the Howard County Citizens Association and a recent appointee to the local government’s Commission on Aging, noted that at a recent dinner she attended with several seniors, she mentioned the MAP (Maryland Access Point) website that lists resources the state offers to the elderly and those with disabilities. “No one knew about it,” she said.

Sowers said her agency will be “looking into direct mailing” to make as many seniors as possible aware of services currently available. She also plans to increase drop-off points for the new, 25,000 edition of the county’s hardcopy Resource Guide, available at libraries, retirement communities and public buildings.

Shoring up economic security Sowers also noted that, despite the county’s reputation for high average incomes, an American Community Survey found that at least 12.5 percent of the county’s 65+ population have incomes at 200 percent or less of the poverty level.

“Economic security for many of Howard County’s older adults is at risk,” she said, announcing new programs for elders in the coming year. These include: • expansion of the “loan closet,” which lends out donated medical equipment for county residents, • an Economic Security Initiative “to improve the financial outlook for thousands of struggling older adults,” helping them get “personal assessments and connect to services,” • a newly renovated and expanded Ellicott City 50+ Fitness Center, • new weekday walks around the county, and • an education program to help caregivers better handle the challenges they face.

Sowers’ previous roles in the Office on Aging included being manager of the Health and Wellness Division, where she oversaw the 50+ EXPO and WomenFest, and managing Senior Center Operations, with oversight of eight senior centers and three Senior Center Plus centers. She has a master of social work degree from the University of Maryland.

Madachy has worked for the Howard County government for nearly 20 years. She was the county’s deputy chief administrative officer from 2007 to 2009, and served as project director for Opting for Independence, a project to help seniors age in place.

She also serves as president of Neighbor Ride’s board of directors and as secretary for the Howard County Arts Council Board.

“This is my biggest challenge yet,” said Madachy of her appointment to head the

Department of Citizens Services, which in addition to the Office of Aging, also oversees the Office of Children’s Services, the Office of Consumer Affairs, as well as providing services for those with disabilities

13

and the homeless.

Madachy acknowledged that both she and Sowers have their work cut out for them. “We’ll be working together to get people helping people,” she said.

BEACON BITS

July 14

NOSTALGIC AMERICAN TREASURES TOUR The Department of Parks & Recreation is planning a day trip to

Oak, Pa., on Tuesday, July 14 for the guided tram tour of nostalgic American treasures collected in a three-acre indoor facility housing animated store window displays, model airplanes and other memorable collectibles. The bus leaves at 8 a.m. and returns at 6 p.m., and a buffet luncheon on site is included in the $125 fee. Children should be 10 or older. For more information, call (410) 313-7271 or go to www.howardcountymd.gov/rap.

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Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

The

Senior

NEWS and EVENTS from the Howard County Office on Aging

Connection

Department of Citizen Services

A Message from

Volume 5, No. 7 • July 2015

Be Part of the 2015

Starr P. Sowers Administrator, Howard County Office on Aging

I

am honored to have been appointed as the new Administrator of the Office on Aging by County Executive Allan Kittleman. I have worked for the Office on Aging for 29 years as manager of both the Health and Wellness and Senior Center Divisions and I am committed to the mission of meeting the needs of the older adults of Howard County.

In recent years, my commitment to the health and welfare of the county’s older adults has been evident as we identified, expanded and implemented a broad array of innovative programs and resources targeted to the adult population, including the 50+EXPO and WomenFest. The funding, development, and implementation of these programs has involved ongoing collaboration with other county agencies as well as other organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, UMBC, Veterans Affairs, National Council on Aging, and the medical and business communities within Howard County.

Howard County’s older adult population is now the sixth largest in Maryland, and boasts one of the fastest growing older populations and the largest concentration of Baby Boomers. To meet the growing need for our services, we will need to develop new community partnerships, consider fee-for-service models, identify grant funding, and look at new ways to deliver programs and services.

I feel fortunate to have the full support of County Executive Allan Kittleman, and the Director of the Department of Citizen Services, Phyllis Madachy, behind me, as well as a strong and creative team of program managers within the Office on Aging who will help move us forward.

Whether or not the Office on Aging becomes a separate county department will not be determined for several months, but there is no question that aging issues are a priority for the new county administration. I am very excited to lead the Office on Aging with a County Executive who is so committed to meeting the needs of the aging population, and a staff whose wealth of knowledge, commitment and dedication is unparalleled.

I have loved working for the Office on Aging, and I truly enjoy meeting and interacting with older adults throughout Howard County on a daily basis. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support that I have received since the appointment was announced, and I want to say thank you.

With your continuing support, the best is yet to come!

New $1 Admission to Benefit the Vivian L. Reid Community Fund Plans are coming together for the 17th annual 50+EXPO, the premier event for older adults in Howard County, presented by the Howard County Office on Aging. It will be held Friday, October 16, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road in Columbia.

New this year is a $1 admission fee for all attendees over 18 years of age. The fee will benefit the Vivian L. Reid Community Fund, a community assistance fund started by Reid, the Office on Aging’s first administrator, and renamed in 1995 to honor her memory. The fund provides emergency financial assistance to older adults and adults with disabilities in Howard County whose essential needs are not covered

by Medicare and Medical Assistance. The most frequent requests include help with utility bills, eviction prevention, or dental and medical expenses such as eyeglasses or pharmaceuticals not covered by a prescription drug plan.

The EXPO admission fee will bolster the reserves of the Vivian Reid Fund to help meet the increasing requests for assistance. In 2014, the Reid Fund served 371 individuals and spent $44,560. Through April 30, 2015, the Fund had already served 184 individuals and spent over $21,900, an increase of more than 35 percent over the same period in 2014. The average amount of assistance per client is $100 ($200 for dental). More often than not, these funds are the difference between food and heat or between rent and medications.

The 50+EXPO includes many free benefits for attendees, including a comprehensive health fair with many vital screenings offered at no cost, as well as flu shots and flu mist administered onsite free of charge.

All day entertainment and two free performances by the ever popular Capitol Steps at noon and 2:00 p.m. round out the day’s activities.

For vendors and sponsors, the 50+EXPO is a great marketing opportunity to reach area older adults and Baby Boomers. Howard County residents 65 and older will account for 17.5 percent of the county’s population by 2025 and 21.6 percent in 2035. According to the latest American Community Survey (2013), the median household income of this segment population is $70,137. Last year’s event drew more than 4,000 attendees.

For more information about becoming a vendor or sponsor, visit www.howardcountyaging.org/50plusexpo or contact Event Coordinator, Lisa Coster, at 410-442-3734 (voice/relay) or email lbcoster@costercommunications.com.

The Senior Connection

16

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Boost Your Summer Activity Levels Here are ways to enjoy warm weather activities in a safe and supportive environment

I

t’s summertime and the living is easy in Howard County – but don’t take it too easy! To maintain your health during the hot summer months, make regular physical activity a part of your daily routine along with plenty of time to kick back and relax. Whether your activity is for fun or fitness, remember that heat and sun can be dangerous for older adults, so be sure to take proper precautions.

Here are some tips from the American Heart Association (www.heart.org) to make sure you have a fun, safe summer:

HYDRATE! Drink plenty of water before, during and after physical activity to avoid dehydration. For low-calorie flavor, add your favorite fruits such as melon, oranges and berries, or cucumber or mint to a pitcher of water and chill for two hours.

PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM THE SUN! Wear wide-brimmed hats, always apply water-resistant sunscreen with at least SPF 15 and reapply sunscreen every 2 hours.

PRACTICE HEAT SAFETY! Avoid intense activities between noon and 3 p.m. when the sun is at its strongest.

DRESS FOR THE HEAT! Wear lightweight, light- colored clothing, choose light, breathable fabrics such as cotton, and wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.

HEAD INDOORS WHEN IT’S TOO HOT! When the heat gets too unbearable, try indoor activities like walking, swimming, or yoga at your local 50+ Center, recreation or community center.

Looking for some indoor activities to beat the heat? Cushioned walking tracks at the Glenwood and North Laurel 50+ Centers provide air-conditioned comfort for your daily stroll. Find a walking buddy and use a pedometer to track your progress.

Glenwood and North Laurel also offer a variety of workout options in their fitness rooms. Or, check out Ellicott City’s new state-of-the-art 50+ fitness center and take advantage of the low introductory rates of just $10 a month for county residents age 50 and up. The center is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 410-313-0727 for details.

When it comes to getting the physical activity you need each week, it’s important to pick activities you enjoy that match your abilities.

Silver Dolphins participants, Carol and Richard Bozyk, benefit from aquatic exercise at the Roger Carter Recreation Center pool.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), regular physical activity can still be safe and beneficial even if you have physical limitations which impact your normal daily activities, such as climbing stairs or walking. Members of the Ellicott City Senior Plus program enjoy a monthly outing to swim at the Roger Carter Rec Center. Some participants – who’ve dubbed themselves the Silver Dolphins – say it’s been 30 years since they’ve been in a pool, but with staff on hand to provide encouragement and assistance as needed, many now enjoy the water independently.

Peer support can make the difference between trying out and sticking with an activity. Cycle2Health is a case in point. The non-competitive, volunteer-led cycling group offers daytime rides for new, returning or experienced riders, with a no-rider left behind policy. Rides are categorized as casual, with shorter distances and less hilly terrain to advanced, with longer, more challenging routes.

Many include lunch or rest stops for social interaction as well. Visit www.howardcountyaging.org/Cycle2Health for more information and a list of upcoming events.

The Senior Connection is published monthly by the Howard County Department of Citizen Services and the Office on Aging.

This publication is available in alternate formats upon request.

To join our subscriber list, email seniorconnection@howardcountymd.gov Howard County Office on Aging, 6751 Columbia Gateway Dr., Columbia, MD 21046 410-313-6410 (VOICE/RELAY) • www.howardcountyaging.org Find us on

Jack McWatters, and his wife, Sharon, enjoy a tandem ride at the Cycle2Health Kickoff in May. Jack is a Ride Leader for the program.

www.Facebook.com/HoCoCitizen

Kim Higdon Henry, Senior Connection Editor kahenry@howardcountymd.gov Advertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Howard County Office on Aging or by the publisher.

The Senior Connection

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

H

17

MAP Introduces Riding High with your Feet on the Ground! the OTHER Talk SENIOR DAY AT THE FAIR Starting the Conversation About Health, Legal, Financial and End-of-Life Issues Howard County Fair 2015

ave you had the “talk” with your children? No, not that talk, but rather the conversation you and your family should have regarding your personal health, legal, and financial matters, as well as end-of-life decisions. Discussing options with those you love and making choices now will affect your quality of life later, ensuring the best possible outcome for everyone involved.

Throughout the aging process, you may face mental and/or physical challenges. Part of aging with dignity is knowing that you have some control over them. Honoring choices, maintaining independence and preserving dignity are very personal decisions, which should be shared and understood by those in your suppport system, whether family, friends or others.

Many people — especially parents and their children — are reluctant to discuss issues surrounding their health, money, insurance, wills, estates, and end-of-life decision. However, it is critically important to do so, and the Office on Aging can help.

The “Other” Talk, offered at Howard County’s 50+ Centers, can help you understand how to initiate the conversation. For more information, contact Emily LeClercq or Jill Kamenetz at Maryland Access Point 410-313-5980 (voice/relay).

FREE ADMISSION for ADULTS 62+

Tuesday, August 11 • 10 am - 3 pm Visit the Activities Building for Fun Things to Do: • Entertainment and Exhibits • Healthy Aging Programs and Services • Bingo, Games and Prizes • Demonstrations

DON’T MISS SENIOR DAY AT THE FAIR!

Aging and Disability Resource Center for Howard County Residents

www.howardcountymd.gov/aging

Join SeniorsTogether for one or both of these upcoming programs!

Thriving After Living Well Are You a Living Well or Living Well with Diabetes Graduate? !"#"$%&'!&'()%&*+(,-%&!.&/!$,&+%(0'+&12'+&'+23&.(*202'('%4&-,!$56 !!"*54(!*'!-'.-,-.4&0!)#*/#$((! !!1$$%!56&00$'/$(7($%!'$8!/*&0(! !!*,$#5*1$!($%9&5:(!

!!(6&#$!(455$(($( !!/&-'!&..-+*'&0!)$$#!(4))*#% !!#$56&#/$!1*+,&+*'!

Possibilities Fair for Low-Vision Seniors Recommended for low vision and blind adults age 55+ !!"#$$!%#&'()*#%&+*'!)#*,-.$.! !!)#$2#$/-(%#&+*'!#$34-#$.!

!!($&+'/!-(!0-1-%$. !!"&-#!&.1-((-*'!"$$!&))0-$(!

Tuesday, July 14 • 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Thursday, August 20 • 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

North Laurel 50+ Center

Blind Industries & Services of Maryland (BISM)

9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel 20723

To register, contact Karen Hull 410-313-7466 (VOICE/RELAY) • khull@howardcountymd.gov

3345 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21227

To register, contact Elaine Widom 410-313-7353 (VOICE/RELAY) • ewidom@howardcountymd.gov

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 14

www.howardcountyaging.org/seniorstogether If you need this information in an alternate format, or accommodations to attend, contact Maryland Access Point (MAP) at 410-313-5980 or map@howardcountymd.gov

18

The Senior Connection

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

July 2015 Calendar of Events Don’t miss these exciting programs and services at one of the dynamic Howard County Office on Aging 50+ Centers near you!

Bain Center Tues., July 14 • 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — OMEGA PHI PSI: CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Glenwood 50+ Center

Meet the fraternity; enjoy live music, lunch, entertainment, and a chance to win door prizes. Register by July 7: 410-313-7213

Friday, July 10 • 11:30 a.m. — CRAB CAKE LUNCHEON

Wed., July 15 • 7 to 8:30 p.m. — MEDICARE 101

Enjoy a homemade crab cakes lunch while listening to fantastic music by Love Story. $15/person; carryout available. RSVP to 410-313-5440.

Learn how Medicare Parts A (hospital), B (medical) and D (prescription drugs) work, the benefits, and when to make decisions related to your coverage. Sponsored by SHIP. Register at 410-313-7391.

Wed., July 22 • 11:30 a.m. — FOREIGN FILM: THE IMITATION GAME Join us for a catered lunch and a foreign film discussion led by Professor Sharon Unger. $13/person. Register by July 15 to 410-313-7213.

Wed., July 22 • 7 to 8:30 p.m. — MEDICARE 102 Learn about Medicare Part C/Health Plans and Medicare Supplement Policies (Medigap Plans), and how to protect yourself from health care fraud. Sponsored by SHIP. Register at 410-313-7391.

Thursday, July 23 • Noon — WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? July is National Hot Dog Month! Join us for some hot dog history, trivia and a doggone good lunch with all the fixins.’ Sign up by July 16.

East Columbia 50+ Center Wed., July 1 – August 19 • Noon — “SEVEN UP” SERIES Enjoy a series of eight documentaries that followed the lives of 14 British children every seven years since 1964. FREE!

Monday, July 13 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — WHITE HOUSE BROADCAST Watch the live streaming broadcast of the Conference on Aging from the White House, then share in the conversation. FREE! 410-313-7680

Wed., July 23 • 9:30 a.m. to noon — CHRISTMAS IN JULY SWAP Donate 4-5 new or “like new” accessories or gifts before 7/23, and then return to swap them at Christmas in July. 410-313-7680

Elkridge 50+ Center Wed., July 8 • 10 a.m. to noon — ZENTANGLE ART CLASS

Wed., July 15 • 10 a.m. — CIVIL WAR SERIES: LINCOLN’S TRAIN Author Dan Toomey provides an in-depth look at the funeral train that carried the president’s body. FREE!

Friday, July 24 • 10 a.m. — MOUNT VERNON PLACE Baltimore’s go-to guy is back with an in-depth presentation on Mount Vernon Place. FREE! Details: 410-313-5440.

Thursday, June 18, 10:30 a.m. — ESSENTIAL OILS 101 Discover the beauty and intrigue of essential oils in this introductory class

by Karen Schembari. 410-313-5440.

North Laurel 50+ Center Wed., July 1 • 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — CRAB CAKES & ROOT BEER Live music by Ellis Woodward; donations accepted to benefit Baltimore community rebuilding programs. RSVP to 410-313-0380 by June 24.

Monday, July 13 • 1 to 2 p.m. — BROADWAY: THE BRITISH INVASION Follow the evolution of Broadway’s rich history through discussion, live music and song. FREE! Register at 410-313-0380.

Tuesdays thru August 4 • 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. — INTRO TO DANCE Learn the basics of salsa, tango, rumba, samba, waltz etc. No experience needed. $52/6 sessions. For class schedule or to register: 410-313-0380.

TO REGISTER FOR ANY OF THESE EVENTS or for additional information, call the number listed, the Center, or Maryland Relay 711. To request a sign language interpreter or other accommodations to participate, call 410-313-5980 one week in advance.

Enjoy a relaxing activity that stimulates your brain with creativity.

FREE! Register at 410-313-5192

FOR A FULL LISTING OF EVENTS happening in our 50+ Centers this month, visit our website:

Friday, July 10 • 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. — ICE CREAM SOCIAL

www.howardcountyaging.org/50pluscenters

Wear your red, white and blue; test your patriotic knowledge in our Independence Day trivia contest; enjoy a fresh salad bar and ice cream sundaes. $5 plus lunch donation. RSVP at 410-3131-5192

Tuesday, July 21 • 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. — PATAPSCO VALLEY HISTORY Retired Park Ranger Ed Johnson shares interesting facts about the Patapsco River Valley, Elkridge, Ellicott City & more. FREE. 410-313-5192

Ellicott City 50+ Center Wed., July 8 • 10 a.m. — GENEALOGY: DEATH CERTIFICATES A death certificate is an official vital statistic mandated by law.

Learn more about these records, what you can find out with them and where to get them. FREE! Details at 410-313-1400.

Wed., July 22 • 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. — NUTRITION TIPS WITH RONA Nutritionist Rona Martiyan, RDN, LDN, will share nutrition tips and answer questions in our new Fitness Center. FREE! 410-313-1400

HOWARD COUNTY 50+ CENTERS Bain Center ................................5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia .........410-313-7213 East Columbia 50+ Center .........6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia ...........410-313-7680 Elkridge 50+ Center ...................6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge...........410-313-5192 Ellicott City 50+ Center ..............9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City ............410-313-1400 Glenwood 50+ Center ................2400 Route 97, Cooksville ....................410-313-5440 Longwood 50+ Center ...............6150 Foreland Garth, Columbia ............410-313-7217 North Laurel 50+ Center ............9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd., Laurel .........410-313-0380

SENIOR CENTER PLUS SITES Ellicott City Senior Center Plus .......410-313-1425 Glenwood Senior Center Plus .........410-313-5442 North Laurel Senior Center Plus......410-313-7218

Friday, July 31 • 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. • BINGO BRUNCH Join this bingo brunch, sponsored by the Ellicott City 50+ Council. $4/person; details at 410-313-1400.

www.howardcountyaging.org/50pluscenters

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Money Law &

19

ETFS OR MUTUAL FUNDS? Both stock and exchange-traded funds have been on a winning streak, but which is the better choice depends on fees and your investment style INFOMERCIAL TRICKS Products in infomercials may look enticing, but be sure you understand shipping and handling fees, payment plans and trial periods before you buy anything

Investment guru offers his take on stocks

By Anne Kates Smith Russ Koesterich is Global Chief Investment Strategist at BlackRock, an investment firm with $4.8 trillion under management. Here are excerpts from Kiplinger’s recent interview with him.

Kiplinger: How much life is left in this bull market?

Koesterich: We’re definitely in the late innings. Stocks can go higher, particularly overseas, but that is likely to happen with a lot more volatility. I think the bull market will celebrate its seventh anniversary next March, and the next bear market can be pushed out to later in 2016 or 2017.

But the risk will go up as the Federal Reserve Board continues to normalize monetary policy and investors lose this pillar of easy money propping up financial assets.

Q: When do you expect the Fed to raise rates, and what will the impact be on stocks?

A: The Fed will start to nudge rates higher in the fall. That won’t be the end of the world; the Fed will move at a slow and measured pace, and it’s starting from a

very low rate.

But at the margin, a rate hike will change the environment, and that will be felt in greater volatility than we’ve seen in recent years. The odds of a correction — a pullback of at least 10 percent — go up the closer we get to liftoff.

Q: Are stocks overpriced?

A: Valuations are stretched — not obscenely stretched, but a bit above average.

With low inflation and low interest rates, you’d expect valuations to be high. U.S. stocks are also expensive compared with those in markets outside the U.S. Whether you call stocks fully valued or just think prices are stretched, you’ve got to have more modest expectations for annual returns over the next five years — probably in the low- to mid-single-digit percentages, including dividends.

Q: Should investors take some money off the table?

A: In this environment, it’s perfectly reasonable to have more cash on hand. I’m reluctant to recommend that people do that, though, because they already have a lot of

cash on hand. The problem is that this has become a semi-permanent position for many people who never came back after the 2007-09 bear market. Holding a lot of cash yielding zero is a hard way to save for retirement.

Q: Where do you see opportunity for investors?

A: We came into the year talking about international diversification; most Americans simply have too much invested in the U.S. Prices in Japan are reasonable, and stock gains there have been driven by earnings growth, not by investors paying more for those earnings, as has been occurring here and in Europe. We still see opportunities in Europe, but investors should look for a fund that hedges out all or most of the currency risk. [See related story below.]

People got frightened away from emerging markets. But Asian markets in particular are reasonably priced, and there have been promising structural reforms in China, India and Mexico.

It scares people even more to think about places like Bangladesh, Vietnam and sub-Saharan Africa, but these parts of the world will grow quickly over the next 10 years. People shouldn’t abandon emerging markets as an asset class; exercise caution, not abstinence.

Q: What still looks good in the U.S.?

A: Look for companies that will benefit from a stronger economic environment.

We like technology companies, where we’re seeing some strong growth.

Pockets of tech — small-company biotech stocks or social media companies — are very frothy. But a lot of what I call old tech — hardware, semiconductor and software makers — is reasonably valued, given how profitable many of these companies are. We even like some of the beatenup energy companies, particularly the large integrated companies that offer a decent dividend yield.

Lastly, we like some of the large, global investment banks. There’s a noticeable diSee STOCKS, page 20

Worldwide funds that hedge currency risk

By Stan Choe Here’s a trick question: Are Spanish stocks up or down this year?

For someone sitting in a Barcelona cafe, the answer is obviously up. Spanish stocks have climbed 10.9 percent in euros. But for someone counting in U.S. dollars, each of those euros is worth less than at the start of the year, so the same MSCI Spain index is down 1.7 percent in dollar terms.

Such is the conundrum for U.S. investors looking at markets around the world. The dollar’s value has climbed against the Argentine peso, the New Zealand dollar and almost everything in between. It hit its highest level against the euro last month in more than a dozen years. That has eroded returns for U.S. investors with foreign stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A growing number of funds have been trying to blunt this effect. They’re called currency-hedged funds, and they’re suddenly some of the industry’s most popular investments. Proponents say they allow investors to focus on just the stocks they

want to buy — Japanese, European or otherwise — and largely ignore currency movements, which can be unpredictable.

That’s particularly attractive now as investors make their stock portfolios less U.S.-heavy and take advantage of cheaper stock valuations in other parts of the world.

last month. It raked in $2.6 billion, and its assets have grown to more than $11 billion since its birth less than four years ago.

Before jumping on this trend, investors should keep in mind that currency-hedged funds won’t always be on top and aren’t for everyone.

What to consider Two popular funds Consider the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity fund. It’s an ETF that invests in more than 100 European stocks, but it also invests in futures contracts to limit the effect of shifting currency values.

It has returned 21 percent this year, more than double the 8 percent return of the average European stock mutual fund.

Investors plugged $5 billion into the fund in April. Only one other fund attracted more, according to Morningstar.

Another currency-hedged fund, the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF, which invests in more than 900 stocks from 21 developed economies, also ranked among the most popular funds

When hedged funds shine: The appeal of currency-hedged funds is obvious when looking at returns over the last year.

Consider two offerings from iShares that are nearly identical except for one thing.

Both track the MSCI Japan index, but one hedges to reduce the effect of the dollar’s movements against the yen.

The hedged ETF has returned 41.1 percent over the last year, versus 21.1 percent for the unhedged one. The difference is due to the fact that the yen has dropped against the dollar, due in part to the diverging paths the U.S. and Japanese economies have taken.

The U.S. economy has strengthened enough that the Federal Reserve has

ended its bond-buying stimulus program.

Most economists expect the Fed to raise short-term interest rates later this year.

The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, is pushing stimulus to try to invigorate its economy. The European Central Bank has taken a similar position, which has sent the euro down against the dollar.

Many expect the dollar to continue to rise, which would favor currency-hedged funds. Investors should bear in mind that the dollar tends to move in cycles that can last years. The dollar’s big move higher against the euro began only last summer.

Against the yen, it started at the end of 2012.

Why some stick with unhedged funds: Holding unhedged funds can improve diversification for a portfolio, said Fran Kinniry, a principal in Vanguard’s investment strategy group.

But he suggests going unhedged only with stock funds. With bonds, the big swings in currencies can overwhelm the See HEDGED FUNDS, page 20

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

BEACON BITS

Stocks

Aug. 8+

NOTARY CLASSSES

From page 19

Topics including fraud prevention and record keeping will be dis-

chotomy between these companies and traditional lenders, who are struggling; it’s hard to make money when rates are this low.

On the flip side, we’ve seen a surge in mergers and acquisitions and currency trading; companies that have those operations have benefitted.

Q: What advice do you have for fixed-income investors?

A: Investors looking for yield should cast a wide net. Income-dependent investors face a difficult choice: Accept less income or take more risk. You don’t want to take more risk now by buying long maturity Treasury bonds, so you have to go further afield, with dividend-paying stocks — although in the U.S. they’re expensive, so I’d suggest a global or international dividend fund.

Tax-exempt municipal bonds are attractive relative to taxable alternatives. Aggressive investors can consider a bit of

cussed in a one-day course for prospective and present public notaries on Saturday, Aug. 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is offered by Howard Community College at its Laurel Center, 312 Marshall Ave., Laurel. A second course dealing with performing notarial duties will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Laurel Center. There is a $50 fee for each class. For more information, call (443) 518-1700 or visit howardcc.edu/ConEd.

Sol Levinson & Bros. Funeral Services, PA A 5560 Sterrett Place, Suite 204 Columbia, MD 21044 Restricted - Operating out of Sol Levinson & Bros., Inc., Pikesville, MD

410-730-7230

From page 19

Pre ree-Planning Available le howardcounty@sollevinson.com y@sollllevins levinson com levin

Hedged funds

www.sollevinson.com ww ww sol solle

relatively small, steady returns of those funds. Stocks, which are volatile on their own and have bigger expected returns than bonds, can more easily absorb currency movements.

In the end, many investors agree that forecasting where currencies are heading is difficult.

Consider a seemingly innocuous Thursday earlier this year. The Swiss National Bank shocked markets on Jan. 15, when it abandoned its minimum exchange rate of 1.20 Swiss francs to the euro. The Swiss franc spiked by about a third against the dollar within minutes, driving home how volatile and unpredictable currency trading can be.

high-yield bonds. More-esoteric bond substitutes include preferred stocks and master limited partnerships.

Q: Do recent wage hikes portend a dangerous rise in inflation?

A: It may be a bit higher, but honestly, a little bit of inflation is not a bad thing. It’s a sign of a stronger economy, and it allows companies to raise prices. If inflation goes to 2 percent and stays there, that’s the sweet spot for the market.

Q: What’s the biggest risk investors face now?

A: The U.S. economy is not at risk of recession, but it may disappoint by not growing as much as people expect. It may be that the economy continues to trudge along at a 2 percent growth rate, and the earnings growth that investors have been expecting just doesn’t materialize. It’s a prosaic risk, but one we should all be aware of.

All contents copyright 2015 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

If the dollar starts to weaken against the euro and other currencies, as it did from 2001 until 2008, investors would do better to hold unhedged funds. Now that the euro has already dropped more than 20 percent against the dollar over the last year, how much more can it fall?

“If you want to be hedged, these funds are perfectly fine,” said Patricia Oey, a senior analyst at Morningstar. “But if you wanted the big exciting gains, that easy money has passed.”

Over the really long term, say 20 years, it may not matter much anyway. Conventional wisdom says that changes in currency values eventually wash out. That means the more important question for long-term investors is likely whether a fund is wellrun and low-cost, rather than whether it hedges.

— AP

BEACON BITS

July 15+

ALL ABOUT MEDICARE “Medicare 101” will be the topic of a presentation on Wednesday,

July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Florence Bain Senior Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. Presented by the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and the Howard County Office on Aging, topics will cover the basic offerings of the Medicare 101 program. A second program, “Medicare 102” — focusing on additional solutions when Medicare isn’t enough — will be held at the same time and location on Wednesday, July 22. For more information or to register, call (410) 740-7810.

July 16

ELVIS AND THE ANDREW SISTERS A bus trip to Mercersburg, Pa.’s Star Theater is scheduled for

Thursday, July 16 for a matinee performance of Elvis and Andrew Sisters music.

Sponsored by the Department of Parks & Recreation, the bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 6:30 p.m. Fee of $99 includes pre-matinee buffet. Go to www.howardcountymd.gov/rap or call (410) 313-7271 for more details.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

21

Are ETFs or mutual funds better? Depends The last five years have been very good the long run, it is very difficult for manfor diversified common-stock portfolios agers to outperform low-cost mutual funds with mutual funds and exsuch as Vanguard’s Total change-traded funds (ETFs).

Stock Market Index Fund AdThe annual costs for both miral Shares (VTSAX) or its types of fund have never been Total Stock Market ETF lower. This has certainly (ARCA:VTI). Both have exmade it easier for investors to pense ratios of 0.05 percent (if have excellent results. you meet minimum investI can’t forecast the future, ment requirements), so but I believe it is prudent you’re starting out almost 1 (even for retirees) to maintain percent ahead of managed a significant percentage of funds.

THE SAVINGS one’s portfolio in common GAME I suggest that investors stocks, rebalancing regularly. By Elliot Raphaelson compare the past perform(I like to rebalance annually.) ance of their managed acMost investors will be better off with the counts to the long-term performance of majority of their stock investments in index mutual funds or ETFs under considindex funds, mutual funds or ETFs. eration. The websites of all the major mutual funds have historical data you can acWhy index funds tend to win cess easily.

Readers who have managed accounts For example, the performance of Vanwith annual fees of 1 percent or more often guard’s VTSAX follows: ask me if it would be better to buy low-cost Last year: 12.3 percent index mutual funds or ETFs from one of Last three years: 16.39 percent the leading mutual fund companies or Last five years: 14.76 percent from a discount broker.

Last ten years: 8.55 percent I never tell readers that paying 1 percent The advent of ETFs has made it easier or more annually for actively managed for investors to invest in diversified portfofunds is a mistake. But I point out that, in lios at low annual fees. For example, the

average ETF expense ratio of Vanguard’s 67 ETFs is 0.13 percent. The industry’s average is 0.55 percent.

If you are interested in a specific index ETF, such as the S&P 500 index, it is easy for you to make a selection. If all other fees are the same, select the ETF with the lowest annual expense ratio.

What’s better for you depends

when you are selecting either a mutual fund or an ETF. For example, if you are purchasing an ETF, are you incurring a brokerage fee for each transaction? Is there a bid-ask spread for each transaction?

If you are purchasing a mutual fund, is there a sales commission, or “load,” either front end or back end? Many good no-load mutual funds are available.

Although expense ratios are very important, there are other fees you to consider

See ETFs, page 22

BEACON BITS

July 23

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The Mummers Museum in Philadelphia is the destination of this Parks & Recreation bus trip on Thursday, July 23. Exhibits include costumes, oral histories and other memorabilia connected to the history of mummery, including one that teaches how to strut. The bus leaves at 8:30 a.m. and returns at 4:30 p.m. Lunch and a concert are included in the fee of $79. Call (410) 313-7271 or go to www.howardcountymd.gov/rap for more information.

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Don’t fall for these five infomercial tricks

By Joseph Pisani Infomercials that sell shampoos, zit creams and the latest weight loss gadgets can be hard to turn away from. But before you pick up that phone, you should know that the “low, low prices” and “easy monthly payments” advertised are not always what you’ll pay.

“There are many problems with infomercials,” said Edgar Dworsky, the editor of consumer resource guide ConsumerWorld.org. “Not all of them are misleading, but many are.”

Leaving aside whether the miracle products really work as well as advertised (some do, but always check out online reviews at Amazon.com or elsewhere), you have to be careful and aware that the $19.95 price touted often will wind up being a lot more.

One popular tactic: adding high processing and handling fees.

The company behind the Snuggie, Perfect Bacon Bowl and other “As Seen on TV” products agreed to pay $8 million in March to settle charges that it deceived customers. The Federal Trade Commission said costumers were led to believe they would be getting two $19.95 products for less than $10 each, but actually paid $35.85 when a processing and handling fee was added. Allstar Marketing Group said it always believed it followed the law and said that it has made changes to make costs easier to understand.

Still, bad players are out there. Here’s what to look out for: 1. Stealth subscriptions Get real close to the TV and read the fine print: Some marketers will automatically put customers on a subscription plan.

That means customers will be charged periodically to ship products. This is espe-

cially common from those hawking face creams, hair conditioners and other beauty products.

In the infomercial, a warning is often written in tiny print under the price, said Dworsky, who also edits MousePrint.org, which exposes the fine print in advertising.

2. Easy payments — that add up Break out the calculator: Expensive gadgets are sometimes broken up into “easy payments” that makes the product seem cheaper. They might say, for example, that you’ll pay $39.95 in four easy payments, adding up to $160.

3. Buy one get one (not) free Freebies can be far from free. A “free second item” can sometimes come with high processing fees. Before making a purchase, customers should call and ask the company what the total charges will be, including shipping, handling and fees, said Dworsky.

4. Upsell! Upsell! Upsell!

If you buy a product online or through the phone, you may be pushed to buy extra products you don’t need. If you fall for it, you’ll also likely pay extra processing, handling and shipping costs, pushing your bill even higher.

5. “Trial” period — for a price!

Be aware that free trials aren’t forever (and sometimes trials aren’t even free).

Ask what the cost will be if you decide to keep the product.

“The price shown is often just the price of trying the product,” said Dworsky. “If you want to keep it, a much higher price is charged.”

You should also be very clear on what you have to do if you decide to return the product. Who pays for return shipping, by when does it have to be returned, and how difficult will it be?

— AP

ETFs

mission costs each month, as well as a spread between the bid and ask price, which means a mutual fund would be more cost-effective.

On the other hand, if you plan on using techniques such as stop losses, investing on margin, limit orders, or investing a smaller amount than you could with a mutual fund, then an ETF could be more advantageous.

Many investors avoid making their own

selections and pay a manager an annual fee equal to 1 or 2 percent of assets invested.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to outperform low-cost index funds or ETFs on a longterm basis. I hope your advisor has been outperforming the well-known indexes. I suggest you make the comparison yourself.

Fortunately, the growth of the ETF industry has led to lower overall costs for investors, and this has put pressure on mu-

tual funds to maintain lower fund costs as well. It has made it easier for investors to have a wide selection of alternatives for index funds and other funds at lower costs.

And in the long run, minimizing costs is crucial to superior investment results.

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions and comments at elliotraph@gmail.com. © 2015 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Under some circumstances, a mutual fund will be better for you than an ETF with the same annual expense ratio. For example, if you are investing each month, reinvesting all dividends and capital gains, using dollar-cost averaging can be more advantageous. If your alternative is an ETF, that would incur com-

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Travel

23

Leisure &

Travelers to Europe need to use credit cards embedded with a chip that enhances security. See story on page 25.

A cool respite in N.H.’s White Mountains

PHOTO COURTESY OF OMNI MOUNT WASHINGTON HOTEL

there’s a sign every five miles or so warning that unlucky drivers can experience a moose meander. Game officials warn that when these 1,500-pound animals are upset, their back hairs stand up straight.

There are bears, too. A flyer announces, “You’re in bear country. If you find yourself close to a bear, talk to it in a calm voice and slowly back away.”

Welcome to “the whites” — the White Mountains. Since the 1800s, people have swarmed to this mountain landscape to escape the summer heat. In the cold months, winter sports enthusiasts descend. The wild terrain, rippling streams and clean air rejuvenate.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of these, saying, “The good of going into the mountains is that life is reconsidered.” Poet Robert Frost had his “mountain interval” in the tiny town of Franconia, N.H. from 1915 to 1920. He roamed the woods and, sitting on his farmhouse porch, became a “fugitive from the world.” He went to these mountains “to fix myself,” he wrote.

Whether it’s fishing for horn pout, enjoying a cool sprinkle under a waterfall, chugging up a mountain on a cogwheel train, or sipping Chardonnay on the longest veranda in New England, it’s all here in the Granite State — “friendly, laid back and peaceful,” as the clerk at Fosters Crossroads General Store in the tiny village of Carroll puts it.

Towns, trails and more

The sprawling 113-year-old Omni Mount Washington Hotel is the only hotel in the U.S. with its own ZIP code. It has a 906-foot veranda, and the hotel’s Great Hall has 23-foothigh ceilings.

In poking around New Hampshire in the coming months, visitors are likely to happen upon some political hoopla. New Hampshire is front and center these days as U.S. Presidential candidates pop into towns to woo voters, as the state is the second to hold a primary next

© JON BILOUS

By Glenda Booth When my ears started popping, I realized I was gently ascending, easing up into New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Rounding a curve, my eyes started popping too, as gigantic granite cliffs and rocky bulges suddenly protruded from the mountainside.

A region of dramatic peaks and passes, the White Mountains cover one quarter of the Granite State and are home to the east coast’s highest point — Mount Washington (6,288 feet). The area is known as the “Swiss Alps of the Americas.”

At almost 800,000 acres, White Mountains National Forest is a vast expanse of rugged terrain, clear streams, forests, ravines, over 100 waterfalls and “notches” — New Hampshire-speak for mountain passes. Cascades (translation: waterfalls) tumble down over bulging boulders. An old Yankee proverb: “The crop that grows best here is rocks.”

It’s also moose country. It seems like

One of New Hampshire’s 54 covered bridges, the Albany Covered Bridge, spans a quiet creek in the White Mountain National Forest.

year (Feb. 9). The village of Dixville Notch is famous because people vote at the stroke of midnight on Election Day. The maple museum at Rocks Estate features the history and crafting of maple syrup in a working sugarhouse, as well as a virtual tour of the sugaring process. Not virtual is a syrup tasting complemented by the traditional sour pickle.

Franconia is best known for its “notch,” but tucked away one mile off the interstate is “The Frost Place” — Robert Frost’s homestead and now a center for poetry and the arts on the National Register of Historic Places. You can see a video about his life and explore the home, a small museum, and a nature trail with Frost’s poems posted on plaques along the way.

The town of Jackson has an iconic, red covered bridge, right out of a storybook.

For materialistic adventures, North Conway booms with tax-free shopping at hundreds of outlets. More relaxing is the Conway Scenic Railroad, offering several excursions powered by a 1921 steam engine.

At the Littleton Diner, a target of candidates, locals’ conversations about moose sightings, moose-car crashes and back porch black bear visits might be more in-

teresting than candidates’ pitches.

In the spot on the map called Carroll on Route 3, Fosters Crossroads General Store hawks a little bit of anything and everything, from Skittles to skillets, plus moose hats, plates and bowls and moose ear candy. The front porch is often loaded with firewood and geraniums. It’s a good place to get a fishing license.

The Appalachian Trail, which snakes along on the mountains’ spine, is popular in summer and fall for both day and longer hikes. Do your research on the strenuousness of the trails, assemble appropriate gear and supplies, and choose your hike. Staff at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Information Center at Crawford Notch, in a former train depot built in 1891 and restored in 1985, give information and tips.

Geologically speaking, the White Mountains represent 400 million years of change, explains a film in Franconia Notch State Park’s Flume Gorge Visitor Center.

Here you can learn about glacial erratics and potholes, pesky black flies of May and June, and summer’s delicate pink lady slippers, the state’s wildflower.

See NEW HAMPSHIRE, page 24

24

Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

New Hampshire From page 23 And for another lesson in New Hampshire-speak, explore the flume, a narrow gorge with flowing water. A gravel path takes you to 90-foot granite walls, tumbling waterfalls, fern-covered ground, a covered bridge and more.

Chugging up and down Mountains are there to be conquered, of course, and today’s version of a “conquest” is a climb via cog railroad or vehicle.

Built in 1866 and dubbed “Railway to the Moon” by its skeptics, the Mount Washington Cog Railroad (www.thecog.com) is powered by 600 horsepower engines that push the coach up at three miles an hour and pull it down at six. At the steepest grade, the front seats are 40 feet higher than the back seats.

In the hour-long trip, riders can see ravines, wildflowers, evidence of snow avalanches, cairns and a few gutsy hikers.

The crooked Krummolz dwarf balsam and black spruce are shaped by the mountain’s harsh wind and ice. Lucky riders might see ravens, bobcats, weasels, foxes or the varying hare.

P.T. Barnum called the 360-degree views from the top, “The second greatest show on earth!” Visitors go from short-sleeve, balmy weather at the foot to the chilly, windy summit at 6,288 feet, shrouded in

clouds 70 percent of the time.

Here it can snow any day of the year.

The mountaintop gets 175 to 250 inches of snow a year, and the weather changes quickly. The highest wind speed recorded here was 231 mph on April 12, 1934.

Best sellers at the summit’s restaurant are clam chowder and chili. While thawing out inside, visitors can tour the Extreme Weather Museum or try the snowcat simulator. Visit www.mountwashington.org.

You’ve seen the bumper stickers: “This car climbed Mount Washington.” Some do take the white-knuckle drive, weather permitting (www.MtWashingtonAutoRoad.com). The Mount Washington Stage Line, a van, is another option (http://mtwashingtonautoroad.com/guided-tours).

A grand hotel Once, up to 50 trains a day took vacationers to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods, a “queen” in the Golden Era of Grand Hotels, from the late 1800s to the 1920s.

Wealthy tourists descended for the summer — with their entourage of servants, nannies and tutors — to hobnob, take high tea, and spruce up in formal dinner attire.

The hotel sits in a “bowl” at 1,000 feet, encircled by high mountains. From a distance, it rises like a white castle topped with cherry red roofs.

It is famous as the site of the 1944 Bret-

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

ton Woods Conference, where 700 delegates from 44 nations set the gold standard, which tied world currency to the U.S. dollar. They also created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, efforts to help Japan and Europe rebuild. The hotel was secure then because people could get there easily only by train.

On the National Register of Historic Places, its founder spared no expense when it opened in 1902. Then, each room had electricity and running water, services unheard of at the time.

The hotel has a grand lobby, Tiffany glass, hand plaster and lamp chords covered in silky fabric. Rooms recall a bygone era with tall ceilings and windows you can open. Corner rooms have gas fireplaces.

The resort also has 65 town homes, the Bretton Arms Inn (with 34 rooms geared to couples), and the Lodge, a more modest motel of 50 reasonably-priced rooms, with access to all the amenities.

What’s to do here? The ski lift is free in summer (until Columbus Day) up to the Latitude 44 Restaurant with terrific views.

There’s 27 holes of golf, red clay tennis courts, three swimming pools, archery, horseback rides, hiking, ATV rides up a mountain, indoor climbing walls, fly fishing catch-and-release on the Anamoosic river, casting clinics, horse and carriage rides, a spa and, in summer, nightly entertainment.

Rooms start at $179 a night. For more information, see www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington or call (603) 278-1000.

If you go The White Mountains are popular in summer because temperatures are usually in the low 80s. Mount Washington’s cog railroad is huffing and puffing daily, and ski lifts offer top-of-the-mountain views.

On the other hand, the mountains turn crimson and gold starting mid-September and traffic dies down.

Winter is snowy but popular for winter sports, from skiing to dog sled rides. Many resorts make their own snow as well.

The nearest airport is in Manchester, a two-hour drive. Southwest Airlines has several flights that start at $94 each way from BWI. Boston is 2.5 hours away. The Concord bus runs from Boston’s Logan Airport and South Station to several New Hampshire towns (www.concordcoachlines.com).

In addition to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel, North Conway has many chain motels.

Or find a B&B at http://www.nhbba.com.

For visitor information: • White Mountains Visitors Bureau, www.visitwhitemountains.com White Mountain National Forest, www.fs.usda.gov/whitemountain • Jackson, N.H. Chamber of Commerce, www.jacksonnh.com

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

25

Some advice if using credit cards abroad

By Ed Perkins If you’re heading outside of the United States this summer, get your plastic ready.

And if you haven’t been out of the country recently, you’ll find some changes — some to your benefit, some not so good.

The longstanding basic “rule” remains valid: Put your big charges on a credit card, and use an ATM (debit) card for the local cash you need. Even with the fees, you lose less on foreign exchange using plastic than by exchanging currency.

But some details have changed.

New chip-based cards Most of the developed world outside the U.S. has already switched to “EMV” cards that use an embedded chip to contain account information, while issuers in the U.S. have stuck with the magnetic stripe until recently.

Chip-card issuers outside the U.S. have also adopted a system that requires users to enter a PIN (personal identification number) rather than sign their name when using the card. Almost everybody considers the chip-and-PIN system to be more secure than the old stripe-and-signature system.

Most U.S. credit card issuers plan to switch to chip-enabled or “EMV” cards by October of this year, but your bank may not issue a new card in time for your trip.

Many travel-oriented cards are now available with chips, and rather than wait for your bank to issue a new card, you can request an updated chip card. Your bank may not accommodate you, but you can certainly ask.

Most U.S. card issuers have opted for a hybrid chip-and-signature system rather than chip-and-PIN, which, the experts say, is less secure than PIN cards. As a result, you may encounter compatibility problems even with a chip card.

Apparently, the most serious problems occur when your only payment option is an unattended vending system. For the most part, your older signature credit card, stripe or chip, and magnetic-stripe ATM card will be accepted anywhere you interact with a salesperson.

And in my recent overseas trips, I found most automated vending systems accepted my chip and stripe signature credit cards, and most bank ATMs accepted stripe debit cards.

Only a few U.S. cards are chip-and-PIN. Among them, says CreditCardForum.com, are some credit cards from Barclays, Wells Fargo and Synchrony, along with a few debit cards.

Recently, when a reader tried to buy a ticket online, the Norwegian Railway website refused his credit card because of “inadequate security” on U.S. cards. Instead, he had to use PayPal. I have no idea how widespread this problem is, but if you aren’t already signed up, PayPal can be useful when you run into credit card problems as well as for sending money. PayPal does, however, add a foreign exchange surcharge of about 2.5 percent.

Avoiding surcharges You’ve probably noticed that more and more credit cards feature either no foreign transaction fee or a fee of only 1 percent to cover conversion costs by the MasterCard and Visa networks. If you don’t already have such a card, check with the various card comparison websites for a card that best meets your needs.

Most large airports I’ve visited in Europe lately have replaced ATMs operated by legitimate banks, such as Barclays, Deutsche Bank, or PNB, with ATMs operated by foreign exchange companies. They

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prominently feature signs claiming “no withdrawal fee,” but instead they hit you with a really bad exchange rate — as bad as you get at the nearby exchange counter.

Before you plan to use an airport ATM, check with your system’s online ATM locator to find ATMs operated by legitimate commercial banks, even if they’re outside the main terminal.

Banks really hate to give consumers a good deal. So the Global ATM Network, which previously allowed Bank of America

account holders to get foreign currency in much of the world with neither a fee nor an exchange surcharge, now charges a 3 percent conversion fee.

And that means you’re better off with a debit card from one of the banks that absorb some or all foreign ATM transaction fees, including Ally Bank, USAA, several investment firm checking accounts, several online banks, and many small banks and credit unions. © 2015 Tribune Content Services

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Style Arts &

Familiar “Peanuts” characters get new names and transform into teens in Dog Sees God.

Variety of shows on tap on local stages

Into the Woods Toby Orenstein, who runs the dinner theater in Columbia and will co-direct (with Mark Minnick) the far-out fairy-tale musical, said the play will be presented exactly as written.

This issue has arisen — to a degree — because of some criticism of the recent Disney Company film version. Some critics said that while highly entertaining, the movie — featuring among others, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp — did not fully include the tragic elements in the story.

The last local staging of the play, a 2012 production by Center Stage in Baltimore, was considered by Washington Post drama critic Peter Marks a “disappointingly clawless revival” because of “too-delicate treatment” of some of the more dark funny business in the play. But Orenstein said the claws, fangs and other parts of the Big Bad Wolf, and other characters, will be intact for the upcoming production.

Part of the deal for putting on the play, she said, is that we have to do what the script tells us. We can’t do what we want to change the script.

The play, she said, is “really about life, loving one another, appreciating what you have, and being careful what you wish for.”

Many see that last point about wishing and getting as key to the book by James Lapine and the songs of Stephen Sondheim.

In the First Act, a baker and his wife join several of their Grimm Brothers acquaintances — Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack (of the beanstalk) and Rapunzel, as well as a niceenough witch, considering her occupation, and a couple of outwardly charming princes — as they go through some tough times in the woods, but come out more or less getting what they wished for.

In the Second Act, however, See SUMMER SHOWS, page 29 Twin brothers who’ve grown up apart cross paths with hilarious results in William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, a zany play about mistaken identity. Here, Matthew Ancarrow and Robby Rose, who play the twins, are shown on the “set” of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company production — at the outdoor ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City.

PHOTO BY TERESA CASTRACANE

By Robert Friedman It’s summer theater time in Howard County, which means that audiences may be led Into the Woods, glide along to The Baltimore Waltz and get caught up in The Comedy of Errors.

Into the Woods, the now-classic musical

by Stephen Sondheim, will relate its notso-happily-ever-after fairy tales at Toby’s Dinner Theater July 9 through Sept. 6.

The Rep Stage opens its 2015-2016 season with The Baltimore Waltz, a by turns farcical-comic-tragic play. It plays Aug. 26 to Sept. 13 at Howard County Community College’s Studio Theater.

And local playgoers have until July 19 to be drawn into the Bard’s high-and-low Comedy of Errors, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s production that opened June 12 among the outdoor ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

27

Play pictures ‘Peanuts’ characters as teens

By Dan Collins Unless you’ve been living under the pile of rocks Charlie Brown accumulates every Halloween, you’re probably familiar with (and a fan of) Charles M. Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip. Not just because it was funny, but because it was the first cartoon to explore adult themes — human relationships, unrequited love, friendship and ennui — featuring children who could spout Biblical scripture and embrace concepts like psychiatric therapy.

“Peanuts,” which debuted in 1950, became a world-wide phenomenon and continues to run in syndication today. With iconic characters that folks from Trenton to Timbuktu can immediately recognize and identify with, “Peanuts” provides fertile ground for award-winning writer Burt V. Royal’s play, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

The play, now running at Spotlighters Theatre through June 28, examines serious issues many young people face today — such as “bullying, drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity,” as the theater’s detailed program explains. And it does so reimagining Schulz’s Peanuts’ characters as teenagers (their names carefully altered to avoid copyright infringement).

Dark, modern humor Sean Dynan portrays “CB” (wink, wink) who first appears sitting on the stage floor writing to his pen pal about the passing of his dog (a beagle, of course) who, in a rabid fit, killed his oft-companion, a little yellow bird. It’s clear from this opening moment that this play will not be all nostalgiaand Dolly Madison-cakes-fueled whimsy.

Not to say there isn’t humor. A conversation CB has with his sister (who is never named, other than “CB’s sister”) explores her quest for identity — from holy-rollerBaptist to black-lipsticked-Goth. “Will you just choose an identity and stick with it?!”

CB asks. The joke comes full circle by

play’s end as Parker Bailey Steven (CB’s sibling) asks her brother the same question when he struggles with his sexual identity.

In another comic twist, we are introduced to CB’s friend, Matt (Dennis Binseel), whose lunchtime diatribe about the public health hazards of eating with one’s mouth open are particularly amusing when we learn that Matt as a child once “trailed a cloud of dirt” wherever he went. But as Beethoven (Reed DeLisle), Royal’s take on the piano-playing Schroeder, comes to brutally learn, do not call him “Pig Pen.”

April Airriona Jones and Melanie Glickman round out the cast as Marcy and Tricia (perhaps short for Patricia, as in Patty of the peppermint variety?) who have trouble accepting the budding gay romance between CB and Beethoven. Their intolerance, brought to full boil by Matt, is another key theme in Royal’s play.

Both Jones and Glickman clearly have fun in their alcohol-fueled roles, though their uproarious laughter sometimes made their dialogue difficult to follow.

Adolescent angst Exploring bullying It is this brutality, the cruelty of bullying to be precise, that is a major theme in this play.

We learn that, ironically enough, CB himself participated in Beethoven’s bullying. Actor Sean Dynan is exemplary as he runs the gamut of emotions from guilt to defensive anger to regret to love as he and DeLisle’s Beethoven come to a mutual understanding and a sharing that is definitely beyond anything Mr. Schulz likely ever imagined.

Adam Michael Abruzzo plays Van, who seems to have more in common with a drugloving Shaggy from “Scooby-Do” than Linus Van Pelt. Van’s childhood blanket has literally gone up in weedy smoke. While Schulz’s Linus was perhaps the most cerebral of all the characters, Van is mostly hedonistic, in search of a good laugh, a good buzz, and other pleasures only CB’s sister can provide.

Beyond Van’s comic relief, Autumn Rocha offers some humorous irony in her portrayal as Van’s sister, also never named, though her “Psychiatric Help, 5 cents please” sign is a clear give-away. Serving jail time for having too much fun with fire, Van’s sister harbors a long-time crush on CB and offers him a scarf she knit for him.

Perhaps he stole away her heart while she was pulling away that football.

Rocha’s part is brief but highly entertaining, as she exclaims, “You forgot your scarf, you blockhead!” while CB departs the stage.

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Not that it matters, as what is key to Royal’s play is not so much the characters in and of themselves, but the issues they symbolize (CB’s sister’s ongoing metamorphosis from “butterfly to platypus,” representative of the changes endemic to young adult life), and the challenges they face (the adolescent need for acceptance being so painfully powerful it may move some to suicide).

Fortunately, Dog Sees God does not become “gimmicky,” though it is clearly a didactic play — one where the lesson is more important than characters or plot. Director Fuzz Roark embraces this through having a cast conversation with the audience after every performance (typically a feature of only one performance of each Spotlighters’

production).

As the program details, “The theatre has requested local professionals in bullying, homophobia, substance abuse provide materials and resources for these discussions.” The program itself includes eight pages of information about these issues, including “suicide warning tips,” suicide facts and statistics, crisis hotline phone numbers, and more.

But Dog Sees God never feels like a lecture or a 1980s “after school special” where the message is woefully heavyhanded. The passionate, energetic cast delivers an engaging, powerful performance that makes the 90-minute play time fly by.

Kudos to director Fuzz Roark and stage manager Ben Kinder for their clever use of a minimalist stage to create a myriad of scenes, ranging from a cafeteria to a prison visitation room to the iconic brick wall Charlie Brown and his pals so often visited to contemplate life’s vagaries.

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead continues throughout the month of June at Spotlighters Theatre, 817 Saint Paul St. in downtown Baltimore. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for those 60+, and $16 for students and military. To learn more or to buy tickets, visit www.spotlighters.org or call (410) 752-1225.

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J U L Y 2 0 1 5 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Fonda, Tomlin star in new Netflix series

By Lynn Elber Age rarely catches a break in pop culture. But when Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin lend their outsized talents to a sitcom, expect something far removed from old-lady clichés and self-negating punch lines.

“Grace and Frankie,” the 13-episode Netflix comedy that debuted in May with the two longtime friends in the title roles, is striving to be funny, honest and, to use Fonda’s description, “really fierce.”

As might be expected from actresses who are also activists, the series has points to make about older women — who, the 77-year-old Fonda pointedly notes, are an increasing part of the population.

“Grace and Frankie” represents “a chance to blow away the stereotypes and give a poignant but also fresh and new and hopeful image of older women,” she said.

It’s an opportunity that Tomlin, 75, said she’d come close to when she played Reba McEntire’s mother in 2012’s “Malibu Country,” but the comedy was short-lived.

Older actors for older audience Once Fonda and Tomlin were on board, it easy to cast the rest of the show of the

show with older actors, according to Marta Kauffman, the show’s creator and writer.

Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen play Fonda’s and Tomlin’s husbands.

“I think that all four of them were really looking forward to a steady gig as the most important people in a show,” Kauffman said. “There aren’t a lot of shows where...the four leads are all of this age. I think that was exciting. I know it certainly was to Jane and Lily. I believe there was an element of that for Sam and Martin, too.”

Kauffman, who also created the TV show “Friends,” said that Netflix has no reservations about targeting an older audience for “Grace and Frankie.”

“What you have here is an opportunity to target a marginalized audience. Nobody targets a show for people over 50; no one.

[But] the baby boomers who are over 50 are the largest segment of our population.

(Netflix) saw this as an opportunity to reach out as a new audience for them,” she said.

Tomlin and Fonda were happy to talk about aging and their roles.

With the Netflix series, said Tomlin, “I knew Jane would be politically in the right place and want to do what I hoped would

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get done: Getting to the bottom of an older woman’s relationship to herself, to her friends, to the culture.”

Adds the ever-glamorous and fit Fonda: “What do you do when your body starts to weaken but you still feel young? How do you deal with problems with adult children? With grandchildren?”

She contributes a political fillip to the equation: “And older women tend to be more radical. And why not?”

That opens the door for Tomlin, who can’t suppress her wonderfully mischievous streak. “What about the Red Hat ladies?” she says, referring to the Red Hat Society that encourages women of all ages to pursue, among other things, fun and freedom.

“And the Gray Panthers?” Fonda said, parrying with the social justice group.

A 35-year friendship The women’s relationship, formed during the making of the 1980 movie 9 to 5, is cited as important and rewarding by both.

Not so with their sitcom characters Grace (Fonda) and Frankie (Tomlin), who have barely tolerated each other over the years despite the closeness of their lawpartner spouses.

When those husbands, played by Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen, announce that they’re in love and want to marry, the

spurned wives share shock and then the bumpy quest — sometimes comic, sometimes touching — for new lives.

Fonda says her character echoes her in some respects. Grace was compelled to settle down with the “right man” and then allowed her spouse to define her, said the thrice-married and divorced Fonda (who at one point observes that most of her male friends are feminists, but “not my ex-husbands”).

“That’s an important issue to get into for women, because I’m not the only one that’s tied myself in pretzels so I wouldn’t be alone,” she said.

Fonda and Tomlin said they are boosters as well as pals, showing up to support each other’s causes, including fighting violence against women and aiding adolescents. Both express a fervent desire to protect animals and the environment and espouse the value of sisterhood for women young and old.

In conversation, they show how it works. Fonda compares Tomlin at one point to “this wild, free spirit floating in the cosmos ....I watch her on the set and she just comes up with things from left field.

That’s her charm and her brilliance.”

“Oh, stop it,” Tomlin said.

“I’m too anal,” continued a self-chastising Fonda.

“No, you’re not. You’re so good,” her friend replied.

— AP

Summer shows From page 26 when the characters return to the woods, things really fall apart: the princes prove unfaithful to Cinderella and Rapunzel, the witch loses her powers, and the giant wife of the giant that Jack killed takes revenge and spills blood all over the place.

The show was written in the mid-1980s, when the AIDS epidemic was at its peak, most prominently on Broadway. A prevailing belief is that the somewhat twisted tragedy was written as a response to the crisis. Asked about this, Sondheim has just said: “We never meant this to be specific.”

He also has noted: “All fairy tales are parables about steps to maturity. The final step is when you become responsible for the people around you.

The play’s musical coda, “No One is Alone,” is, said Sondheim, the play’s main message: we are all connected.

Toby’s Dinner Theatre is located at 5900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia. Ticket prices range from $53 to $58 and include an all-you-can-eat brunch or dinner buffet.

Call (410) 730-8311 or see www.tobysdinnertheatre.com for more information and tickets. [Return coupon on page B-7 for chance at free tickets.]

The Baltimore Waltz The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel opens the new season for Rep Stage, which is billed as the Year of the Woman. The company will present works by four American female playwrights.

The Vogel play revolves around the European odyssey of a sister and brother in search of romance and a cure for the sister’s terminal illness. That happens to be the fictitious Acquired Toilet Disease (ATD) she contracted by using the bathrooms at the elementary school where she teaches.

A short resume: Knowing her life is nearing its end, Anna (the sister) is driven by a lust that compels her to have casual sex with as many men as possible during their travels — a passion shared by her gay brother. Assisting the pair is the mysterious Third Man, a reference to the classic suspense film to which Vogel frequent-

ly alludes in detail.

The New York Times called the Obie (Off Broadway)-winning work, which previewed 25 years ago, a crazy-quilt patchwork of hyperventilating language, erotic jokes, movie kitsch that spins before the audience in Viennese waltz time, replete with a dizzying fall.

The play will be performed at the Studio Theatre at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia.

General admission is $40; $38 for those 60 and over. See www.repstage.org or call (443) 518-1500 for tickets or more information.

Now for Shakespeare in the park: The Comedy of Errors is about as farcical as the Bard ever got, when he planted two sets of separated twins in the same town to confuse everyone around them, including themselves.

Here’s the start of the plot: Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse, is condemned to death in Ephesus for violating the ban against travel between the two rival cities.

As he is led to his execution, he tells the Ephesian Duke, Solinus, that he has come to Syracuse in search of his wife and one of his twin sons, who were separated from him 25 years ago in a shipwreck.

The other twin, who grew up with Egeon, is also traveling the world in search of the missing half of their family.

The twins are identical, and each has an identical twin slave named Dromio.

As the plot unfolds, mistaken identities abound, as do the puns, the word play, the demonic possessions, and assorted other wild and woolly happenings under the stars at Patapsco Park. (The performances are postponed if it rains.)

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, while moving its indoor presentations earlier in the year to Baltimore, still mounts its summer performances outdoors in the picturesque Ellicott City locale.

Performances are Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. Tickets are $38 for adults on Fridays and Saturdays; $29 on Thursdays. Those 65 and over pay $29 for all performances, students 19 to 25 pay $15, and admission is

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Across 1. Show disdain 6. The state dance of South Carolina 10. Enthusiastic 14. Superhero quality 15. Bill Clinton’s home town 16. Baptism, basically 17. Ice show locale 18. Staple of basic cable 19. Exuberance 20. Temporary architecture 23. Brand with motto “The Racer’s Edge” 24. ___ good example 25. Reply to a captain 26. ___ Na Na 29. Dead doornail divider 31. “Science ___ way of thinking more than a body of knowledge” (Carl Sagan) 33. Front half at a California coast 40. Actress Jessica 41. Be a judge on Iron Chef 42. Walked the golf course 43. Johnny B Goode, for example 48. Bob Gibson’s 1.12 in 1968 is the best in the past 100 years 49. Big bird, extinct about 600 years 50. Kim West, ___ Kardashian 51. 2, on a digital phone 54. Little demons 57. Ingredient in soap 59. Backpacker magazine’s “Best city to raise an outdoor kid” 65. Cartoon dog or busdriver 66. Pigeon-___ 67. Completely empty spaces 68. Just ___ (Nike slogan) 69. Elizabeth I’s mother 70. Elizabeth Arden ingredient 71. Elizabeth Taylor collected them 72. Understands the joke 73. Musical pauses

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Down 1. Not just Jacuzzis 2. Mrs. Dithers in “Blondie” 3. John Irving’s A Prayer for ___ Meany 4. Wards (off) 5. Never-ending pattern 6. “A jolly good fellow”, sometimes 7. Talk radio employees 8. Newton’s inspiration, maybe 9. ___ discrimination (subject of the Affordable Care Act) 10. Carpet layer’s calculation 11. Fancy home in 12 Down 12. It surrounds Vatican City 13. Able to sink in water 21. Niche in a church 22. Deodorize a dog 26. Practice pugilism 27. Chopper 28. House of Cards was originally ___ show” 30. Like Goldilocks, near the end 32. Uninvited picnic guests 34. Prepare shoofly pie 35. Musical talent 36. The H or O in H2O 37. By mass, the most common element on Earth 38. Win count of the 2008 Detroit Lions 39. The end of the (flat) earth 44. Dry as dust 45. Conventioneer’s accessory 46. Relax on a La-Z-Boy 47. Brief visit to Atlanta, perhaps 51. Buckingham Palace, for the queen 52. Wrinkle reducer 53. Adorable infant 55. Lying facedown 56. Old Spice quality 58. Clear the blackboard 60. Quantity of love 61. Praiseful poems 62. Tries to appear innocent 63. Simon and Garfunkel creation 64. Canoe contraptions

Answers on page 29.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U L Y 2 0 1 5

CLASSIFIEDS The Beacon prints classified advertising under the following headings: Business & Employment Opportunities; Caregivers; Computer Services; Entertainment; For Sale; For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free; Health; Home/ Handyman Services; Miscellaneous; Personals; Personal Services; Vacation Opportunities; and Wanted. For submission guidelines and deadlines, see the box on the right.

CAVEAT EMPTOR! The Beacon does not knowingly accept obscene, offensive, harmful, or fraudulent advertising. However, we do not investigate any advertisers or their products and cannot accept responsibility for the integrity of either. Respondents to classified advertising should always use caution and their best judgment.

EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally accept advertising in violation of federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap in connection with employment or the sale or rental of real estate.

Caregivers KIND, DEPENDABLE, EXPERIENCED caregiver for live-out care or live-in care for a flat rate. Hygiene care, Meal preparation, Housekeeping, Errands, Appointments, Medication reminders. Call 301-490-1146.

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Financial Services TAXES, ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, eldercare. CPA 38 years, reasonable rates. Call 410-653-3363.

Health MOBILE EYE EXAMS – Comprehensive and/or low vision eye exams provided to Baltimore seniors with limited mobility. Visit www.HomeEyeOD.com or call 443-802-9920 for more information.

Home/Handyman Services BALTIMORE’S BEST JUNK REMOVAL – Clean Outs: Whole House, Emergency, Attics/Basements. Furniture and Junk Removal, Yard Waste Removal, General Hauling, Construction Debris Removal. Free estimates.

10% Senior Discount. Licensed, Bonded and Insured. Call Jesse, 443-379-HAUL (4285).

SANFORD & SON HAULING & RECYCLING. Trash + Junk removal, house & estate cleanouts, garage + basement cleanouts. Demolition – Shed, deck fence + pool removal. Licensed + insured. Free estimates over the phone. Call 7 days a week, 7 am to 7 pm. 410-746-5090.

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Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

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Personal Services LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN – FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational.

Grammatical. Private lessons. Reasonable Rates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

Wanted WE BUY JEWELRY, SILVER, GOLD, AND COSTUME. Coins, Paper Money Too. Watches, Clocks, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

OLD AND NEW, WE BUY STERLING SILVER FLATWARE, Tea Sets, Single Pieces of Silver, Large pieces of Silver Plate. Attic, Basement or Garage. Call Greg, 717-658-7954. You have something to SELL, we are looking to BUY.

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FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a serious capable buyer. I am very well educated [law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the antique business] and have the finances and wherewithal to handle virtually any situation. If you have a special item, collection or important estate I would like to hear from you. I pay great prices for great things in all categories from oriental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, from silver and gold to classic cars.

If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phony promises or messy consignments. References gladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834. Thank you.

BUYING MILITARY MEMORABILIA WW2, WW1, Civil War uniforms, weapons, photos and items associated with US, German, Japanese or items of other Military History. DAVE, 240-4640958.

COLLECTOR BUYING MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, weapons, rifles, shot guns, knives, swords, bayonets, web gear, uniforms, etc. from all wars and countries. Large quantities are okay. Will pay top prices for my personal collection. Discreet consultations. Call Fred, 301-910-0783.

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July - november 2015

UPCOMING SUPPORT FOR THE CAREGIVER SEMINARS at Brooke Grove retirement village

As experts in senior care and memory support, Brooke Grove Retirement Village is pleased to offer free monthly seminars on topics related to caring for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. All seminars will be held at Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, located at 18131 Slade School Road on the Brooke Grove Retirement Village Campus. Please register with Toni Davis at 301-388-7209 or tdavis@bgf.org.

“Communicating for someone with memory loss” July 14, 2-3 p.m.

Learn how to effectively communicate your loved one’s information to medical a d professionals, home care staff and FR community members. FREE. Register by July 12.

1

“The language of dementia” August 18, 2-3 p.m.

Hear about helpful strategies for reducing misunderstandings and frustration when communicating with a person with dementia. FREE. Register by August 16.

“When is it time to ask for help?”

October 13, 2-3 p.m.

Explore the many ways to find the support you need when caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. FREE. Register by October 11.

Independent living

assisted living

“Managing caregiver stress” September 22, 2-3 p.m.

Learn to identify and manage your stressors as a caregiver to someone with es Alzheimer’s h me or dementia. FREE. Register by b September 20.

“Becoming an Alzheimer’s whisperer: A loving and gentle approach to challenging behaviors” November 10, 2-3 p.m.

Discover the link between brain damage and specific challenging behaviors—and interventions to manage them with love.

FREE. Register by November 8.

rehabilitation

long-term care

memory support

18100 Slade School Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860 • 301-260-2320 or 301-924-2811 • www.bgf.org