July 2014 | Baltimore Beacon

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Making a move to a new lifestyle

JULY 2014

I N S I D E …

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MYERS

By Carol Sorgen Anyone who has ever packed up a house won’t argue with the fact that moving is considered to be one of life’s leading stressors.

But what happens when you’re not just changing residences, but changing your lifestyle as well? For some Baltimoreans, the stress is just one part of a great adventure.

Jon and Sherry Hyman went from owning a five-bedroom home on three acres in Reisterstown to a townhouse in Canton.

While they had enjoyed the 18 years they spent living in the country, where the nearest grocery store was several miles away, the time came when they no longer needed all that land and all those bedrooms.

“Our daughters left for college and never came back,” said Sherry, 66, who is retired.

When one of their daughters moved to New York, the couple found that they enjoyed not only visiting her, of course, but also the excitement New York had to offer.

“One day we were raking leaves at home — a lot of leaves!” said Jon, who is 65 and a partner in an advertising agency. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Why don’t we start looking for something downtown?’”

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SEE SPECIAL INSERT Housing & Homecare Options following page 12

Charms of urban living Narrowing their search to the neighborhoods of Fells Point, Federal Hill and Canton, the Hymans eventually settled on Canton, and then further refined their choice by eliminating the rehabbed century-old townhomes they initially thought they wanted.

“We decided we needed parking,” they said. So in 2006, the couple bought a newer townhome in a community that had parking available, and have since become dedicated urbanites.

Sherry likes not having to get in the car if she forgets something at the grocery store, and Jon appreciates his “reverse commute” to Towson, which goes against traffic.

When he’s home, Jon can walk to his health club, and he and Sherry have almost two dozen restaurants just steps from their front door. Jon has also become active in various community associations and coalitions.

While Jon grew up in the Liberty Heights neighborhood of Baltimore City, neither he nor Sherry had lived in an urban environment as adults. And while Jon said he occasionally misses the view he had of his country acres, “this is a different kind

Sherry and Jon Hyman traded their large Reisterstown home for a townhouse in Canton, transitioning from suburban to urban living once their children were grown.

Other Baltimore residents have moved across country to live with family or to begin a new phase of life in a new environment.

of life, and one that’s very rewarding.”

Along with the move came much less square footage, “but it’s enough for what we need now,” said Sherry.

For now, the Hymans have no plans — or desire — to make any other move. “I don’t see us living in a retirement community,” said Sherry, “and we’re not going to chase our kids across the country.

“We like that Baltimore is a smaller city, has a diverse population, is easy to navigate, and is on the water,” she added.

“This is where we plan to stay put.”

Moving near family Margarett Smith has spent her entire life in Baltimore, but come November, the 76-year-old retired librarian will be moving

to Texas to be closer to her son, who has lived there for the last 20 years.

Smith has mixed feelings about the move. “I never thought I’d leave Baltimore,” she said, “but it is an adventure.”

Though Smith’s son has been trying to persuade her to move to Texas for a number of years, it wasn’t until several health crises arose — which, fortunately, have been resolved — that Smith accepted the fact that she might at some point need the assistance of her family. She also decided that it was better to make the move now, while she’s in good health, can make her own decisions and, she hopes, enjoy the experience.

A longtime homeowner, Smith moved See MAKING A MOVE, page 21

L E I S U R E & T R AV E L

Visiting Portland, a hip city known for its food, beer, coffee — and roses page 16

FITNESS & HEALTH 3 k 10 top medical breakthroughs k Cool aquatic exercise LAW & MONEY 12 k Good stocks in “frontier” markets k How to invest in the energy boom ARTS & STYLE k Summer theater preview

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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Is everybody happy?

When I was in high school, in the early is, a set of goals or purposes related to our 1970s, the comic strip “Peanuts” was essence or nature. deeply into the “Happiness Philosophers claimed that is...” craze, which, I think, its when we take action toward accreator Charles Schulz may complishing those goals, we have launched. are engaged in living the Day after day, the popular “Good life, “ or at least are purstrip would present another suing our true happiness. answer to the question “what In my first philosophy paper, is happiness?” by providing a on the Nicomachean Ethics of different ending to the phrase, Aristotle, I impishly affixed a “Happiness is...” In the context “Peanuts” comic strip to the of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, cover page. If I remember it one of the most memorable FROM THE correctly, Linus asks Charlie was, “Happiness is a warm PUBLISHER Brown, “What’s your philosopuppy.”

By Stuart P. Rosenthal phy of life?” Charlie thinks for In my first year of college, a moment, then answers with as a dutiful son engaged in “pre-law” stud- a satisfied smile, “Happiness is having three ies, I took a class in political philosophy. things to look forward to and nothing to In it, I was quite surprised to learn that dread.” Linus responds, “I asked for your one of the central questions asked by the philosophy, not a bumper sticker.” early philosophers Aristotle and Plato/ But I actually think Linus wasn’t giving Socrates (and, through them, pursued by Charlie enough credit. In practical terms (if medieval philosophers as well) could be not Aristotelian ones), having things to look phrased as, “What constitutes human hap- forward to is probably one of the defining piness?” characteristics of happy or satisfied people.

Of course, philosophers weren’t seeking The financial writer Andrew Tobias to fill in the blank of a “Happiness is...” car- made the point in one of his books, I don’t toon. Rather, human beings were under- remember which. He said there is no obstood to have a particular “Good” — that jective answer to the question, “who is

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rich?” That’s because the definition of rich isn’t a specific amount of money that applies to everyone. It’s not even a specific, but different, amount for each person.

Rather, people have positive feelings about their wealth if they perceive themselves as “moving up,” financially speaking. If they expect to earn more money next year, or to see their investments grow, they can feel rich, or at least secure, even if they’re currently making bupkis.

But if they see the coming year as likely to diminish their savings or earnings, they can feel poor or financially fragile, even if they are worth millions of dollars.

If Tobias is right, and I think he has really hit on something there, then so is Charlie Brown. Having things to look forward to, and nothing to dread, makes people feel good about their lives.

I think we can expand this concept beyond material goods, and nudge it closer to Aristotle’s, by saying we feel better or happier about our life when we have more power to control it or at least to assert our independence.

Being able to make choices is a human trait. As we expand our independence, we improve our lives. When we lose that ability, or simply have fewer choices to make, we can feel less human, less happy.

We see this throughout our lives. As a child, we are eager to become mobile, to be able to crawl, then walk, then run. As toddlers, we revel in the power to say “no!” and to scamper away from our parents, those tyrants who hem us in.

As teenagers and young adults, we start to decide things for ourselves and take responsibility for our actions. We determine what we will wear, how we spend our day, what our career path will be. And our inde-

pendence expands exponentially when we start to drive and earn our own money.

By the time we reach adulthood, particularly parenthood, we start to realize that having control over our own lives and those of our children is actually a heavy responsibility, even a burden sometimes.

The choices and the responsibilities are ours alone. It can become overwhelming.

As the nest empties and we enter late middle age, one of the main changes that occurs for many of us is not so much loss of control or independence as a limiting of the sphere of our influence.

We may still advise our kids, but the decisions and choices are theirs. We may still be employed, but we are looking towards retirement, when we will have less to do (or less that we “have” to do). Retirement can be liberating, but for some, it can also be stultifying.

Finally, we reach later life, where, if we live long enough and/or experience chronic or disabling conditions, we may see our abilities and choices — the roots of our independence — continuously pared down, sometimes to the nub.

Yes, we all, ultimately, have something to dread. But the key to a happy life, in my book, is continuing to set and pursue worthy goals, within our ability, so that we always have something to look forward to.

There are so many things we can do with our lives. Those choices and abilities change and diminish over time. But if we always strive to do the most we can with what we have, we can still be said to be living the good life.

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 9

SAIL AROUND ANNAPOLIS

July 4

CELEBRATE THE FOURTH!

Enjoy a Bay cruise on a 65-foot luxury custom-built yacht to see lighthouses and enjoy some shopping time in Annapolis on Wednesday, July 9. Price of the trip is $90. For reservations, call Seven Oaks Senior Center at (410) 529-2341.

Commemorate Independence Day with live music and fireworks in the heart of downtown Baltimore. The Ports America Chesapeake Fourth of July Celebration takes place Friday, July 4, from 7 to 10 p.m. Visitors to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor can enjoy music by reggae band Jah Works starting at 4 p.m., followed by the U.S. Naval Academy Band Electric Brigade performing Top 40 music at 7 p.m. Entertainment takes place at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater, located at Pratt and Light Streets. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake kicks off the multicolored fireworks display 9:30 p.m. The holiday fireworks can be viewed from several locations in downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods of Federal Hill, Fell’s Point and Harbor East.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

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Health Fitness &

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GET IN THE SWIM OF THINGS Aquatic aerobic exercise keeps you cool and protects joints EYEING TROUBLE Floaters and flashes are often harmless, but sometimes serve as a warning BONE UP ON BONE LOSS Learn how aging affects bones, and ways you can strengthen yours APPS THAT TRACK MEDS Phone apps can remind you to take pills and help you keep a record

10 innovations will reshape medical care The Cleveland Clinic asked 100 of its top experts — people who focus on patient care every day — to offer insights on which medical breakthroughs are set to reshape healthcare this year. Here are their “top 10” answers: 10. Targeted cancer therapy There’s new hope for people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a cancer responsible for 4,400 American deaths per year. After promising clinical trial results, the first-in-class oral drug ibrutinib is expected to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of CLL. The drug targets malignant cells while sparing a patient’s immune system.

9. Heart risk screened through the gut In 2013, researchers added a new biomarker to the hunt for heart disease: TMAO. Your body produces TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) when your gut bacteria digest choline, which is found in egg yolks, red meat and dairy products.

Choline is thought to promote hardening of the arteries. TMAO provides an accurate screening tool for predicting future risks of heart attack, stroke and death.

8. Personal sedation station Novel, personalized “sedation station” technology will allow healthcare professionals other than anesthesiologists to deliver the light sedation required for lifesaving colonoscopies. The technology could help bring the nationwide cost of this crucial test down by an estimated $1 billion per year.

7. Hope for acute heart failure Heart failure accounts for 55,000 deaths annually in the U.S. There had not been a major treatment breakthrough in two decades — until serelaxin. This synthetic version of a human hormone gained “breakthrough” status from the FDA in 2013. Serelaxin study results reported a 38 percent reduction in death rates after six months in patients with acute heart failure, compared with those who received standard therapy.

6. Fecal transplant restores balance In fecal microbiota transplantation, doctors transfer a liquid suspension made from a healthy person’s fecal matter into a sick person’s colon. The goal is to restore bacterial balance and fight infections and diseases. This approach could become a

primary therapy not only for treating deadly and difficult C. diff infection, but also for inflammatory bowel disease.

5. Decision support for smarter surgery A new anesthesia management system

helps surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and others make smarter decisions in the operating room. The system not only records everything that happens before, during and after surgery, it also has an alert system — inspired by technology

used in jets — that highlights potential problems in real time.

4. Breakthrough for hepatitis C Until 2011, there were no proven mediSee 10 INNOVATIONS, page 4

REAL LEADERSHIP. REAL RESULTS. A PROVEN PUBLIC SERVANT.

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FFor the past 3 ½ years, I have had the privilege of representing one of the most beautifu ul and ex e citing parts of Baltimore County. To T gether,r,r we have made it even better…for all citizens. We W have: Preserved open spaces, protected property rights.

Property tax rate has not risen in 25 years. f nding for Expanded hours for The Senior Center in Hereford, expedited fu the purchase and renovation of a new Hereford Library building and for building of the Cockeysville Community Center..

Wo W rked with law enforcement to make neighborhoods safer.

And we did it with h leaade d rs r hip i and hard r work, rd k but th here r is still more re r to be do re d ne..

That is why I ask for your vote on June 24th. Early Voting is June 12th – 19th.

Endorsed by Former Congresswoman, Helen Delich Bentley e Endorsed

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Aquatic exercise is safe, gentle, effective When you’re struggling with joint pain, gravity can make exercise an unpleasant experience. But exercising in water, also known as aquatic therapy, can change all that.

“It enables you to do many of the same exercises you’d do on land without applying the same force on your joints,” said Gayle Olson, a certified athletic trainer at the Sports Performance Center at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

“One of the things people love about it is the feeling of buoyancy. It takes pressure off your body, and that brings immediate relief to painful areas,” Olson said.

Buoyancy is just part of the magic. The water also provides resistance to your body, which helps you build muscle and bone strength.

And the warmth of the water encourages you to move, which has a helpful side effect: Repetitive movement pumps a natural lubricant called synovial fluid into the joints.

Another plus of aquatic therapy is that it’s a safe exercise. Not only is it gentle on arthritic joints, which can help prevent further injury, but it also poses less danger from falls compared to land exercise.

“If you fall during aquatic therapy, you just get wet, not hurt,” said Olson.

How to exercise in water A typical aquatic therapy class takes place in a large pool and lasts for 30 to 60 minutes. If you’re disabled or have a bal-

10 innovations From page 3

Treating Difficulty Standing or Walking, attributed to Arthritis, Spinal Stenosis, Neuropathy, Poor Circulation or Poor Balance I am a patient who had severe foot pain for 2 years, with no relief in sight....by the end of the 4 days I was 85% pain free in both feet. I thank God for Dr. Goldman and his passion for research in healing people with foot and leg pain.

How fortunate I feel to have found a doctor who could not only diagnose an underlying problem that many specialists missed, but who has been able to find a painless and rapid method of relieving the worst symptoms.

– Alvin, Baltimore

– Susan, Baltimore

As a podiatrist with over 30 years experience, I have always focused on non-surgical treatment of foot and leg pain. I find that most people with foot or leg symptoms (arthritic, aching, burning, cramping or difficulty walking) , even those who have had other treatments, including surgery of the foot (or back), can be helped, usually in 1 or 2 visits.

Stuart Goldman, DPM

410-235-2345

4419 Falls Road, Suite A, Baltimore 4000 Old Court Road, Suite 301, Pikesville

— Dr. Stuart Goldman Fellow American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons Marquis Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare Author, multiple articles on Foot & Leg Symptoms

H elP F orYour F eeT.C oM

cines for patients who didn’t respond to traditional therapy for hepatitis C. But two drugs, telaprevir and boceprevir, made the top 10 innovations list that year. Now, another — Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), the first alloral therapy — further expands the list of treatment options. The drug promises the highest cure rates ever, reduced treatment time and fewer side effects. [See “New hepatitis C pill is quick, costly cure,” May Beacon.]

3. Device disrupts seizures The seizures that come with epilepsy disrupt life, but a new neurological device can disrupt seizures. For patients with intractable epilepsy, in which treatment fails to control seizures, the experimental technology is especially promising. The surgically implanted device can detect triggers of an impending seizure and deliver short electrical pulses to interrupt them before symptoms occur.

2. Genomic tests for managing cancer Genomic-based tests have brought a new age of cancer diagnosis and precision

ance problem, you’ll be encouraged to bring a partner along to help keep you stable in the water.

After floating for a few moments to get used to the water, often with the help of a small flotation device (think pool noodle), you’ll begin a workout.

The types of exercises you can do in the pool can vary as widely as on land.

“You can move your arms to work on imSee WATER EXERCISE, page 5

medicine. These tests analyze the genes in an individual’s tumor to predict how it will behave. Past tests have improved management of breast and colorectal cancers, and in 2013, the FDA approved a similar test for prostate cancer. The goal of these tests is to avoid aggressive treatment when it is not needed — and save lives when it is.

1. The bionic eye becomes reality In the past, there was no effective treatment for late-stage retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a disease that causes most patients to be legally blind by age 40. A new technology featuring a retinal prosthesis — commonly called the “bionic eye” — will make a big difference. While the technology does not restore complete vision, it does allow people to detect light and dark in the environment and to identify the location or movement of people and objects.

WhatDoctorsKnow is a magazine devoted to up-to-the minute information on health issues from physicians, major hospitals and clinics, universities and healthcare agencies across the U.S. Online at www.whatdoctorsknow.com. © 2014 Whatdoctorsknow.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Finding local classes

June 25

JOINT REPLACEMENT SEMINAR

Learn about joint replacement at this seminar presented by Dr. David Schroder of Towson Orthopaedics Associates on Wednesday, June 25, at 6 p.m., at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, 7601 Osler Dr., Towson. To register, call (410) 337-1337 or visit stjosephtowson.com/events.

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❏ Blood Clot Study (see ad on page 11) ❏ Dementia Behavior Study (see ad on page 11) ❏ Diabetes Complications Study (see article on page 10) ❏ Diabetes Research Study (see ad on page 10) ❏ Fall Prevention Study (see ad on page 11) ❏ Stroke Study (see ad on page 11)

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❏ Alta at Regency Crest (see ad on page 9) ❏ Atrium Village (see ad on page B3 & B4) ❏ Augsburg Lutheran Village (see ad on page 18) ❏ Bay Forest (see ads on pages B6 & B11) ❏ Charlestown (see ads on pages 9, B7 & B10) ❏ Christ Church Harbor Apts. (see ad on page B10) ❏ Glen Forest (see ads on pages B6 & B15) ❏ Greens at English Consul (see ads on pages 22, B7 & B14) ❏ Greens at Logan Field (see ads on pages 13 & B11) ❏ Meadows of Reisterstown (see ads on pages B6 & B7) ❏ Oak Crest (see ads on pages 9, B10 & B15) ❏ Park Heights Place (see ad on page B5) ❏ Park View Catonsville (see ad on page 19) ❏ Park View Dundalk (see ad on page 19) ❏ Park View Rosedale (see ad on page 19) ❏ Park View Taylor (see ad on page 19) ❏ Pickersgill (see ad on page B13) ❏ St. Mary’s Roland View Towers (see ad on page 14) ❏ Tudor Heights (see ad on page B8) ❏ Warren Place (see ad on page B12) ❏ Wayland Village (see ad on page 20) ❏ Weinberg Senior Living (see ads on pages B4 & B16) ❏ Westminster House Apts. (see ad on page B8) ❏ Williamsburg Homes (see ad on page B4 & B5)

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http://www.aacounty.org/recparks (410) 222-7300

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Anne Arundel County Dept. of Recreation and Parks

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MAIL OR FAX FOR FREE INFORMATION

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Baltimore County Dept. of Recreation and Parks

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http://bcrp.baltimorecity.gov/Recreation/Aquatics.aspx (410) 396-7900

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Baltimore City Dept. of Recreation F R E E

Aquatic exercise classes abound in the region, from gentle water exercise for those with arthritis to deep water “running.” Each jurisdiction offers several water exercise classes throughout the year, primarily in indoor pools. Look online or call your local recreation department for more information.

Can’t swim? Usually that’s not a problem; you can wear a life vest. Olson also recommends the therapy for people who are recovering from surgery, once wounds have healed. But aquatic therapy isn’t right for people with open wounds, infectious disease, seizure disorders or incontinence.

— Harvard Health Letter © 2014. President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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If you’re interested in taking an aquatic therapy class, Olson recommends looking

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Where to find it

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proving posture, do combination movements for a good core muscle workout that helps your back, or do balance activities.

You can also do an aerobic workout by marching, walking, running, jumping and swimming,” said Olson. You can also work out with special weights that float.

an expensive way to exercise. So Olson advises that you go and watch a class or training session first, before you jump in.

Just about anyone can take an aquatic therapy class. It’s helpful to people who have chronic pain from arthritic joints or fibromyalgia, and for people who are disabled. It’s also considered safe for people who have balance problems or disability from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or stroke.

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From page 4

at your local YMCA, JCC, fitness center, senior center or hospital. But don’t expect insurance to pay for it.

“Medicare and other insurers rarely cover the costs, although some insurance plans offer a reimbursement if you participate in a fitness activity,” said Olson.

You may be able to get coverage for aquatic therapy if your doctor prescribes it as physical therapy. And many physical therapy groups offer therapy in a pool.

Olson said to look for either a group-based rate of up to $15 per class or a personal trainer fee of $35 to $60 per half-hour. That can be

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Floaters and flashes warn of eye trouble

By Patrick J. Skerrett “Floaters” and flashes are a common sight for many people. Floater is a catchall term for the specks, threads, or cobweblike images that occasionally drift across the line of vision. Flashes are sparks or strands of light that flicker across the visual field.

Both are usually harmless, but can be warning signs of trouble in the eye, especially when they suddenly appear or become more plentiful.

A floater is a tiny cluster of cells or fleck of protein lodged in the vitreous humor.

This clear, stable gel, which looks like raw egg white, supports and fills the rear twothirds of the eyeball.

The vitreous provides a pathway for light coming into the eye through the lens.

The vitreous also connects to the retina — the patch of light-sensitive cells along the back of the eye that captures images and sends them to the brain via the optic nerve.

What you see isn’t actually the floater itself, but the shadow it casts onto the retina. Floaters move as your eyes move.

They appear to zoom away when you try to look directly at them, and drift slowly when your eyes stop moving.

Incidence rises with age The vitreous slowly shrinks with age, causing it to become a bit stringy. The strands cast shadows on the retina, causing floaters. About one-quarter of people

have some vitreous shrinkage with floaters by their 60s; that rises to about two-thirds of 80-year-olds.

Floaters also appear more often in people who are nearsighted, those who’ve had cataract surgery or a previous eye injury, and those with diabetes. Although most people tolerate floaters just fine, others feel that floaters affect their vision and disrupt their ability to read.

See FLOATERS, page 7

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Ongoing

FRIDAY STROLLS AT ROBERT E. LEE PARK

Get in some free exercise every Friday morning from 9 to 10 a.m. at Robert E. Lee Park, 1000 Lakeside Drive. The terrain is varied, but mostly flat with some hills. Hiking boots are recommended. Bring water with you. Call (410) 887-4156 for more information.

June 27

FROM STRESS TO PEACE

The Bykota Senior Center will hold a class with short, easy meditations to help you welcome peace into your life. The class on Friday, June 27 at 12:30 p.m. will be led by Michael Smith. The center is located at 611 Central Ave., Towson. For more information, call (410) 887-3094.

Ongoing

YOGA AND DANCE FOR EVERY BODY

Changing Heart Yoga offers individual and small group classes for women and children at 6314 Windsor Mill Rd., Suite 206, Woodlawn. Email changingheart@gmail.com or call (443) 204-4546.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Floaters From page 6 Flashes occur when the vitreous gel bumps, rubs or tugs against the retina.

Like floaters, flashes are generally harmless and require no treatment.

Sometimes, however, floaters and flashes signal a condition that can lead to vision loss.

“A new onset of floaters may herald retinal disease,” said Dr. Jeffrey Heier, director of the retina service at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and clinical instructor in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

Retinal detachment The shrinking vitreous can tug on the retina and pull away from it. This event, called a posterior vitreous detachment, is common, and usually doesn’t threaten vision.

In about one in six people, however, a

posterior vitreous detachment causes the retina to tear. Fluid from inside the eye can then seep through the tear and separate the retina from the tissues that nourish it. This separation, called retinal detachment, can lead to permanent vision loss.

Retinal tears and detachments are painless. Key warning signs include: —A new onset of floaters and flashes —Gradual shading of vision from one side (like a curtain being drawn across your field of vision) —Rapid decline in sharp, central vision.

This occurs when the macula (the area of the retina responsible for central vision) detaches.

If you experience any of these warning signs, call your doctor right away. You’ll need to see an ophthalmologist for an eye exam as soon as possible. If a tear is detected early, treatment can prevent the retina from detaching.

Tears can be treated several ways. Pinpoints of laser light can be used to fuse the retina to the back wall of the eye. Laser photocoagulation is usually done in a doctor’s office. The ophthalmologist uses a laser to make a series of tiny burns around the retinal tear. This creates a barrier of scar tissue that stops the tear from getting bigger.

Extreme cold, a procedure called cryopexy, does much the same thing.

Cold and laser light can also be paired with the injection of a gas bubble into the eye (pneumatic retinopexy) to repair a detached retina. Two operations, scleral buckling and vitrectomy, can also be used to reattach a retina.

Living with floaters If your floaters aren’t a sign of retinal damage, they may disappear, become less

noticeable, or stay and become irritating.

Some clinicians perform and promote laser treatment for benign floaters, but this approach hasn’t been carefully studied in a clinical trial, Dr. Heier said.

Floaters can be removed, but for most people the risk the surgery poses to vision is greater than the problem posed by the floater.

If floaters become a nuisance, Dr. Heier recommended this trick in “The Aging Eye,” a special health report from Harvard Medical School for which he is a medical editor: Move your eyes up and down, or left and right. That can shift the floater and provide temporary relief.

Patrick Skerrett is executive editor of the Harvard Health Letter. © 2014. President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

MEN’S HEALTH SCREENINGS OFFERED

The Men’s Health Center (MHC), operated by Total Health Care, Inc., provides primary care, screening and health education to uninsured males residing in Baltimore City. Based on screening, the center provides referrals to various specialty care services including oral health, STD, podiatry, radiology, cardiology, urology, ophthalmology, substance abuse, and mental health service. For more information, call (410) 383-8300 or visit www.totalhealthcare.org.

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Ways to strengthen bones and slow loss

By Dr. Bart Clarke Dear Mayo Clinic: What’s the difference between osteoporosis and osteopenia? Are they treated differently?

Answer: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are related conditions connected to bone health.

Bones are in a constant state of renewal.

Your body regularly makes new bone and breaks down old bone. When you’re young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone, and your bone mass increases. Most people reach their peak bone mass in their mid-20s to mid-30s.

As people age, bone mass is lost faster than it’s created. That means the higher your peak bone mass is when you’re young, the more bone your body has to sustain bone health throughout the rest of your life.

Osteopenia develops when a person’s bone density is below normal. This condi-

tion raises the risk of bone fractures. Osteopenia can be a precursor to osteoporosis, but that’s not always the case.

Osteoporosis occurs when the body’s creation of new bone can no longer keep up with the breakdown of old bone. This leads to bones becoming weak, brittle and easily broken.

Treatment for these disorders is similar because the treatment goals for both are to strengthen bones and slow bone loss.

Diagnosing bone loss Osteopenia and osteoporosis are often diagnosed based on results of a bone density test. The test measures how many grams of calcium and other bone minerals are in a segment of bone.

Bones that are most commonly tested are in the spine, hip and forearm. The higher the bone mineral content, the

denser the bones are. The denser the bones are, the stronger they are and the less likely they are to break.

Results of bone density tests are reported in a number called a T-score. A T-score of -1 or higher is considered normal. Tscores between -1 and -2.5 are labeled as osteopenia. A T-score of -2.5 or lower indicates osteoporosis.

In some situations, a person may be diagnosed with osteoporosis if she or he has a bone that breaks easily, even if the Tscore is not in the osteoporosis range.

Osteoporosis requires treatment. Treatment may be appropriate for osteopenia in some cases.

Medications called bisphosphonates are often prescribed for people who have osteoporosis and osteopenia. These drugs are useful because they have been shown to slow the bone breakdown process. Examples of bis-

phosphonates include alendronate (brand name: Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel) and ibandronate (Boniva), among others.

Diet and exercise can help Getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet also can help keep your bones healthy. Men and women between the ages of 18 and 50 need 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. This daily amount increases to 1,200 milligrams when women turn 50 and men turn 70.

Good sources of calcium include low-fat dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, canned sardines with bones, canned salmon, and soy products. Many cereals and juices also are calcium-fortified.

Vitamin D is necessary for your body to absorb calcium. People may get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight, but many do not. If you’re diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, your doctor can do a blood test to check your level of vitamin D. If it is too low, you may need a vitamin D supplement.

Regular exercise can help build strong bones and slow bone loss, too. A combination of strength training exercises with weight-bearing exercises is usually best.

Strength training helps strengthen muscles and bones in your arms and upper spine. Weight-bearing exercises — such as walking, jogging, running, stair climbing, skipping rope or skiing — have a positive effect on the entire skeleton, and in particular benefit the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine.

Swimming, cycling and exercising on machines such as elliptical trainers can provide a good cardiovascular workout. Because these exercises are low impact, however, they are not as helpful for improving bone strength as weight-bearing exercises.

— Bart Clarke, M.D., Endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care. To submit a question, write to: medicaledge@mayo.edu. For health information, visit www.mayoclinic.com. © 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All Rights Reserved Distributed By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS

June 27

BARBEQUING AND GRILLING SAFETY

Get ready for the summer months ahead with an interactive discussion on cooking safely outdoors. The class will be held at the Catonsville Senior Center, 501 N. Rolling Rd., Catonsville on Friday, June 27 at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call (410) 887-0900.

9

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Phone apps can help keep track of meds

By Linda A. Johnson Medicine only helps if you take it properly. And adhering to an exact schedule of what to take, and when, can be challenging for patients who are forgetful or need to take numerous medications each day.

Doctors warn about the consequences, and urge patients to use various techniques to remind them to take their morning and bedtime medicines — such as using divided pill boxes or putting their pill bottles beside their toothbrush.

Still, only about half of patients take medication as prescribed, resulting in unnecessary hospital admissions and ER visits that cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $290 billion a year.

To help combat the problem, many doctors are trying a more high-tech approach: They’re recommending smartphone apps that send reminders to patients to take their medications and record when they take each one.

“I think it’s going to become pretty standard” for doctors to recommend them, said Dr. Michael A. Weber, a cardiologist at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

Weber began recommending apps to patients a few months ago, and already has seen better lab results from some who are using them.

“Some people say, ‘That’s a great idea,’” Weber said. “Even ones who claim they’re conscientious like the reminders.”

He said the apps are particularly helpful for patients with symptomless conditions, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Those patients are less likely to regularly take their medications than someone with pain or an infection.

“I don’t think [the apps are] going to change the world,” Weber said. Though he recognizes the benefit of smartphone apps,

he said they won’t do much to help people who simply don’t like taking medicine, fear side effects or can’t afford their prescriptions.

It’s too soon to tell how well the apps keep patients compliant or how long they keep using them.

Darrell West, director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the independent public policy group Brookings Institution, said some doctors have reported better medication adherence, but there haven’t been large scale studies on the effectiveness of such apps.

Apps galore The apps began appearing a few years ago and now there are dozens. Available functions include providing more detailed information on the patient’s medication and illness, prompts to refill prescriptions, email alerts about possible drug interactions, doctor locators and more.

Some have symptom checkers, and one called iPharmacy can identify pills when patients enter their shape, color and imprinted text.

Others are for patients with complex chronic diseases, such as cancer (CareZone Cancer), diabetes (Diabetes Pacer, which also tracks blood sugar and exercise) or HIV (My Health Matters, from drugmaker Merck & Co.). For those patients, getting off schedule or ignoring symptoms can have particularly serious consequences.

Still more apps take distinct approaches.

For instance, Mango Health lets users earn points for complying with their medication schedule. Those points can be turned into gift cards or charitable donations.

CEO and founder Jason Oberfest, formerly head of game platforms at MySpace, said Mango Health partners with doctors and health insurers who are recommend-

ing its app to patients and customers.

The app, featured in Apple’s iTunes store, gives a history showing users daily results and point total, plus graphs com-

paring an individual’s adherence to other app users. According to the company, 46 See APPS FOR MEDS, page 11

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Health Studies Page

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Study focuses on diabetes complications

By Carol Sorgen Type 2 diabetes affects nearly 20 million people in the United States, while impaired

glucose regulation — which includes impaired glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose, and early diabetes — is believed

Diabetes Research Study 50-80 year old men & women with Type 2 Diabetes are needed to participate in an exercise research study at the University of Maryland/Baltimore VA Medical Center.

Parking and compensation for your time will be provided.

Call 410-605-7179.

Mention code: EPC-DM.

to affect a considerably larger population group.

Impaired glucose regulation is a growing problem among older adults, and its association with many functional limitations, particularly when it comes to mobility, is not always recognized — even though diabetes-related disability occurs in up to two-thirds of older adults with diabetes.

Researchers have found that over 90 percent of patients with impaired glucose regulation report such symptoms as lightheadedness, dry mouth or dry eyes, pale or blue feet, feet that are colder than the rest of the body, decreased sweating in the feet or increased sweating in the hands, nausea or bloating after eating, persistent

diarrhea or constipation, and leaking of urine.

One of the complications of diabetes is neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that most often affects the legs and feet, and can cause pain, tingling, difficulty walking and standing, and increased risk of falls.

In addition, autonomic dysfunction (damage caused by miscommunication between the brain and portions of the autonomic nervous system, such as the heart and blood vessels) is a significant problem in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

While neuropathy is rarer in those with pre-diabetes or early diabetes, it can still occur, especially in those who already have high blood pressure.

Can exercise help?

More physicians. More locations.

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Get back to an active life without going out of your way.

The VA Medical Health Care System in Baltimore is currently recruiting men with pre- or early diabetes between the ages of 30 and 80 to examine whether intense physical activity has an effect on autonomic function and balance in such patients.

Although previous research has shown that diet and exercise in patients with diabetes led to an overall improvement in autonomic function and an improvement in standing balance, currently there are no published studies that assess the effect of physical activity on autonomic function in those with diabetic neuropathy.

The VA study will test how aerobic and balance exercises may help.

Two study groups The study — which researchers hope will See DIABETES STUDY, page 11

Six of the Baltimore area’s most respected orthopaedists are now part of MedStar Orthopaedics: Steven Kulik, MD; Mesfin A. Lemma, MD; Darioush Nasseri, MD; Robert M. Peroutka, MD; Steve A. Petersen, MD; and Carmen Pichard-Encina, MD. Along with Michael Jacobs, MD, and Derek Papp, MD, these MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital specialists add their expertise to that of more than 70 others, providing the highest level of care through a network of four hospitals and more than 20 locations. They all work together to help you get back to your active life.

MedStarOrtho.org/More • 877-34-ORTHO MedStar Orthopaedics combines the expertise of MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, MedStar Harbor Hospital, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, and The Curtis National Hand Center.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Apps for meds From page 9 percent of its monthly visitors use the app daily and 60 percent are still using it after four months.

For widely used classes of drugs for depression, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the company claims at least 80 percent of its users take their meds as prescribed. That’s compared to 59 percent or less in independent studies of overall patient adherence for those drug classes.

“We’ve heard from people using the application as old as their mid-’70s and older,” Oberfest said, but it’s especially popular with the 35-to-55 age group, people familiar with video games.

How to choose an app • Check whether it’s available for your

Diabetes study From page 10 enhance the chance of reversing autonomic neuropathy and balance impairment — is open to men who are pre-diabetic as well as those with early or mild diabetes. They will be randomly divided into two groups.

The first group will undergo a structured weight loss program for six months, followed by six months of weight maintenance.

During the year, they will also be assigned a personalized aerobic exercise program that stresses activities that are meaningful to, and tailored for, individual participants. They will work with a dietician and trainer to establish and review goals.

Participants in this group will also have their activity levels monitored by questionnaires and telephone contact, as well as

smartphone’s operating system. Some are only available for one system or haven’t been updated for the latest phones.

• Ask your doctor’s opinion. Some may not be up on the different apps, but have staff members who can help patients pick and install apps.

• Start with one of the many free or lowcost apps. Search your app store for “medication reminder.”

• Think about what you’ll really use. If you only want reminders to take your pills, that’s all you need. If you’re taking multiple drugs or change medications often, you might prefer an app with information on your condition, drug interactions and other details.

• To protect your privacy, pick one with password protection.

• If your life is hectic, consider one with a snooze function.

— AP

heart rate monitoring. The program stresses aerobic exercise, rather than other types of exercise, because it appears to correlate best with improved autonomic function.

Participants in the comparison group will be assigned an “interventionist assessor,” who will meet with them during an orientation meeting. They will be provided guidelines and a weight loss and physical activity target to achieve, but will not get an individualized program. Participants will be contacted weekly during a 12month period.

To be eligible to participate, volunteers must have impaired glucose regulation as well as autonomic neuropathy.

For more information, or to see if you are eligible to participate in the study, contact Dr. James W. Russell at (410) 706-6689 or James.Russell6@va.gov, or Dr. Lindsay A Zilliox at (410) 328-3100 or lzilliox@som.umaryland.edu.

11

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Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the University of Maryland &Veterans Affairs of Baltimore to better understand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

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• Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFT at Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line *You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours each per visit

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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EMPOWER YOUR PORTFOLIO How to invest in the energy sector through tax-advantaged master limited partnerships

Money Law &

INVEST IN ISRAELI STOCKS Israel’s high tech and healthcare companies shine, but can be volatile due to the geopolitical environment ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTS After maxing out retirement accounts, look at taxable accounts, annuities and SEP IRAs

Frontier markets feature attractive stocks

By Stan Choe Finding stocks that zig when others zag is a key goal for investors, and mutual fund managers say they’re finding candidates in places that may be unfamiliar. They’re delving deeper into less-developed economies, buying stock in Nigerian breweries, banks in Kazakhstan and cement companies in Colombia.

Trading in such markets is more difficult, and the threat of big losses is higher.

But proponents of so-called frontier markets say they are where Brazil, China, India and other big emerging markets were 20 years ago. And while investing in stocks from those countries may have seemed wild then, today they’re just a de rigueur part of an emerging-markets portfolio.

Frontier-market investing covers a wide range of economies from huge countries like Pakistan, one of the world’s 10 largest by population, to Mauritius, which has fewer people than Idaho.

What they have in common are economies or stock markets that are less developed than traditional emerging markets, such as China and Brazil, which are themselves less developed than the U.S., Japan or Germany.

Because of their smaller size and increased risk, conventional wisdom said that frontier-market stocks should behave like emerging-market stocks on steroids: They should have higher highs and lower lows. But over the last year, frontier-market stocks haven’t been dragged down by worries dogging large emerging markets.

Over the 12 months ended in April, the MSCI Frontier Markets index returned 27.9 percent in U.S. dollar terms, including dividends. China, Brazil and other more established emerging markets, meanwhile, lost 1.5 percent as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets index.

Unaffected by global trends Part of the allure is that frontier markets aren’t yet fully part of the global economy.

They don’t have big exporters like South Korea’s Samsung, whose revenue depends heavily on the global economy’s strength.

That means the direction of a frontier market’s stocks is more heavily reliant upon the strength of its own economy. And expectations for many frontier economies are high.

The focus on the growth of the local economy can lead to big differences in perform-

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ance. Consider the United Arab Emirates.

Through the end of April, it surged 40.4 percent. Meanwhile Kazakhstan, also a member of the frontier index, fell 7.1 percent.

Such differences are a positive for investors, said Rick Schmidt, portfolio manager at Harding Loevner’s Frontier Emerging Markets fund (HLMOX), which has returned 18.8 percent over the last year.

“The individual country risk is very high: You can have a coup over here and an invasion over there,” Schmidt said. “But because none of them affects what happens in other markets, when you own a portfolio of those, you’re actually reducing risk.”

To be sure, as frontier markets grow, their ties to the global economy will likely strengthen. That means their stock markets would eventually move more in sync with other global markets. But investors now are noticing the strong performance and diversification that frontier markets have recently provided.

Big institutional clients and financial advisers are asking more often whether they need to be in frontier markets, Schmidt said. So, what’s the answer?

“If you can handle the risks and hold through this thing for five years, frontier is an asset class that is very exciting,” he said.

Research the risks Frontier markets would likely be a small part of an investor’s portfolio. But investors need to be aware of the risks involved.

Coups, wars and other political risks: When the protests of the Arab Spring swept through Tunisia and other countries, markets quickly tumbled.

Tunisian stocks lost 19 percent in the first eight weeks of 2011.

Earlier this year, tensions between Russia and the United States about Ukraine led to falling markets around the world.

See FRONTIER MARKETS, page 13

LAW & MONEY continues on page 13, after the Housing & Homecare Magazine pull-out.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION

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Housing Options | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Taking charge of how we live as we age

By Beth Baker The following is adapted from the introduction to the recently published book, With a Little Help from Our Friends: Creating Communities As We Grow Older (2014, Vanderbilt University Press) by Beth Baker, a writer living in Takoma Park, Md. The book explores many creative housing options for older adults, from home sharing to cohousing to aging-in-place villages.

Lynne Moore, a 50-something dietician in Port Gibson, Miss., has had a fantasy for years. When she grows older, rather than move to a retirement community or live alone, she and a handful of close friends will find a way to be together.

“We talked about buying a piece of property and building us a place to live,” she said. “We envisioned maybe a round building, where everyone had their own apartment, to come and go as they please, but also a central living area.

“We would be some place we had chosen as a group. We would hire someone to cook and clean for us. That would be a way of taking care of each other, but still have privacy.”

Conversations like this are happening all over the United States, as my generation of baby boomers realizes that middle age will soon be in the rearview mirror.

We would do well to contemplate the next chapter of our lives. What will our homes be like?

If, like my mother, we have difficulty walking, will our home serve us or be an impediment to our well being? How will the fabric of our lives be woven? Are there people nearby — family, neighbors, friends, members of our congregation — who care about us, who would be willing to help us or accept help from us?

Don’t be in denial Being proactive about what lies ahead,

rather than living in denial that we may ever need assistance or have to live alone, will serve us well. Researchers are finding that powerful images and stereotypes have the force of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Older people who believe they have something valuable to contribute to their families and their communities, and who assume they will not end up in institutions, actually feel healthier and are much more likely “to successfully age in place than their older peers who do not feel the same way,” one study found.

The authors called for fundamentally changing our “images and perceptions of needy, dependent older adults,” replacing them with “images and perceptions of older adults as wise, resilient and capable of offering resources to their communities.” This transformation, the researchers suggest, actually nurtures our ability to age where and how we choose.

Before you climb

higher look for the wire.

Smart energy. It’s in the overhead power lines that deliver safe and reliable energy to your home or business. But those same power lines must also be avoided. If you’re planning to do work, keep all ladders, poles or landscaping equipment at least 10 feet away from them—that’s the law. Call BGE at 800.685.0123 before starting any work within 10 feet. Also don’t build playhouses and tree forts in trees with power lines running through or near them. To learn more about safety around power lines, visit BGE.COM

ENERGY WORKS SMARTER

together

More options today The essential question facing each of us as we age is: how can we balance our desire for independence with staying connected to others? That we even can raise this question is remarkable.

In the past, older people have had limited choices. Most opted for “aging in place” in their own homes. But aging in place is only as good as the place you’re aging in.

For many, that meant being lonely, isolated and marginalized as they grew older, especially if they could no longer drive.

Others moved to retirement communities, whether “active adult” or continuing care, with levels of service as needed. And the rest moved in with family members.

That was pretty much it.

But there are signs that my generation will do things differently. Many of us have two strong streaks that may serve us well.

One is a desire for autonomy and a resistance to authority, and the other is a strong sense of community. These two seemingly contradictory traits are precisely what can transform our experience from “aging in place” to one of interdependence and “aging in community.”

A 2012 report by the Urban Land Institute, “Housing in America: The Baby Boomers Turn 65,” found that while most of us want to remain in our own homes, those who decide to move are gravitating toward places with vibrant “town centers,” near their grown children, friends, work, public transportation and healthcare.

“Leading-edge boomers will not settle gracefully into quiet retirement and move into traditional seniors’ housing communities for years, if they ever do,” the report found.

A recent Reuters story, for example, reported on “rambling retirees” who sell their homes and live on houseboats, in recreational vehicles (RVs), or even crash on sofas and in guest rooms through an online network of hospitality. Although firm statistics are scarce, some 9,000 retirees reportedly live on the water and 25,000 in RVs. People are spending energy, time, resources and creativity to re-imagine all sorts of living arrangements. “Across the board there’s a yearning for connectedness,” said Ann Zabaldo, who lives in a cohousing community in Washington, D.C.

Independent but connected The same could be said of many alternatives ways of living: each is an effort by people not only to remain independent throughout their lives but, as important, to have connections to others. For some, like those in the village model (See “Aging in place villages continue to grow” on page B8) or in “NORCs” (naturally occurring retirement communities), this means organizing ways for neighbors to help each other.

For some it is the ambitious undertaking of constructing a new intentional cohousSee TAKING CHARGE, page B-5

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

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High-tech gadgets monitor safety at home

By Lauran Neergaard It could mean no more having to check up on Mom or Dad every morning: Motion sensors on the wall and a monitor under the mattress one day might automatically alert you to early signs of trouble well before an older loved one gets sick or suffers a fall.

Research is growing with high-tech gadgets that promise new safety nets for people determined to live on their own for as long as possible.

“It’s insurance in case something should happen,” is how Bob Harrison, 85, describes the unobtrusive monitors being tested in his apartment at the TigerPlace retirement community in Columbia, Mo. Living at home — specialists call it aging in place — is what most people want for their later years. Americans 40 and older are just as worried about losing their independence later in life as they are about losing their memory, according to a recent survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Common-sense interventions like grab bars in bathrooms and taping down rugs to prevent tripping can make homes safer as seniors deal with chronic illnesses.

Technology is the next frontier, and a far cry from those emergency-call buttons people sometimes wear to summon help.

Why would the gadgets work? That monitor under the mattress can measure pulse and respiratory patterns to see if heart failure is worsening before someone realizes he or she is becoming short of breath. More nighttime bathroom trips can indicate a brewing urinary tract infection.

A change in gait, such as starting to take shorter or slower steps, can signal increased risk for a fall. Basic motion sensors can’t detect that. So Rantz’s team adapted the Microsoft Kinect 3-D camera, developed for video games, to measure subtle changes in walking. (Yes, it can distinguish visitors.)

Monitoring to improve health The researchers installed the sensor package in apartments at the university-affiliated TigerPlace community and in a senior complex in Cedar Falls, Iowa. On-site nurses received automatic emails about significant changes in residents’ activity.

One study found that after a year, residents who agreed to be monitored were functioning better than an unmonitored control group, presumably because nurses intervened sooner at signs of trouble, Rantz said.

The bigger question is whether simply alerting a loved one, not a nurse, might also help. Now, with a new grant from the National Institutes of Health, Rantz will begin expanding the research to see how this monitoring works in different senior housing — and this time, participants can decide if they’d like a family member or friend, in addition to a nurse, to get those alerts.

Rantz says embedding sensors in the home is important because too many older adults forget, or don’t want, to wear those older emergency-call buttons — including Rantz’s own mother, who lay helpless on her floor for eight hours after tripping and badly breaking a shoulder. Rantz said her mother never fully recovered and died six

months later.

“When we started this team, I said we are not going to make anybody wear anything or push any buttons, because my mother refused, and I don’t think she’s any different than a lot of other people in this world,” Rantz said.

Monitoring raises important privacy questions about just what is tracked and who has access to it, cautioned Jeff Makowka of AARP. To work, the high-tech approach has to be “less about, ‘We’re watching you, Grandma,’ but ‘Hey, Grandma, how come you didn’t make coffee this morning?’” he said.

Sensor prices are another hurdle, although Makowka said they’re dropping.

Various kinds already on the market can run from about $70 to several hundred, plus monthly service plans.

— AP

A gaggle of gadgets Already, some companies are offering monitoring packages that place motion sensors on the front door, a favorite chair, even the refrigerator, and then send an alert to a family member if there’s too little activity over a certain period of time.

Other gadgets can make pill bottles buzz when it’s time for a dose and text a caregiver if it’s not taken, or promise to switch off a stove burner that’s left on too long.

CookStop stove turn-off device

Researchers at the University of Missouri aim to go further: Their experiments show that certain automatic monitoring can spot changes — such as restlessness in bed or a drop in daytime activity — that occur 10 days to two weeks before a fall or a trip to the doctor or hospital.

“We were blown away that we could actually detect this,” said nursing professor Marilyn Rantz, an aging-in-place specialist who is leading the research. She compares it to “a vital sign of my physical function.”

On the cover: During a community fashion show, members of Northwest Neighborhood Connecting wore a meaningful dress from their past. The village brings together residents of all ages to help older neighbors age in place with help from volunteers.

Camaraderie at Atrium Village

We honor those who took part in service to our country. We also honor the caregivers who serve the people that they love. While the responsibilities are different, they are both necessary to make the lives of those around them better. Come celebrate those lives.

V E T E R A NS BE N E F I T S SE M I N A R Friday, June 27th at 2:00PM John Wardell, a department of veterans affairs accredited claims agent will be presenting:

RSVP AT 888-840-2214

BY JUNE 23RD Limited seating

• Address the concerns of long-term care costs for you or your loved ones.

• Learn what veterans benefits might be available for wartime veterans or their surviving spouses from the department of veterans affairs.

• Learn about the qualifications and get clarity.

Light refreshments will be served.

INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSISTED LIVING MEMORY CARE 4730 ATRIUM COURT OWINGS MILLS, MD 21117 WWW.S E N I O R LI FESTYLE.CO M

B-4

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INDEPENDENT SENIOR LIVING

Weinberg Senior Living 410-753-3976

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Gadgets to consider

By Jeff Bertolucci

Medication reminders

Atrium Village 888-840-2214

One area where technology can help keep a loved one independent and safe is medication monitoring and dispensing.

The Philips Medication Dispensing Service (www.managemypills.com), for example, is a countertop appliance that reminds someone to take pills and delivers the correct dosage like a vending machine.

A caregiver fills the Philips device with several days’ worth of medications.

Each dose goes inside a small plastic cup, which the caregiver seals with a lid and stacks inside the machine.

When it’s time for a scheduled dose, the dispenser flashes a red button and sounds an audio alert: “Time for your medication, press button to dispense.” Voice prompts continue every minute for up to 90 minutes until the intended pill taker pushes the button. If there’s no response, the person’s caregiver receives an automated call alert.

The medication dispensing service has a monthly rental and monitoring fee ranging from $59 to $75.

4730 Atrium Ct. Owings Mills, MD 21117

Other reminders

Weinberg Senior Living provides quality, affordable apartments for people 62-plus and those younger than 62 with disabilities. Our communities have been designed from the ground up to meet the needs of our residents and provide them the opportunity to live an active and social lifestyle. Our communities feature amenities such as libraries, community rooms and dining areas where residents may enjoy meals, group activities and visits with friends and family. Additionally, our communities offer a variety of floor plan designs, services and programs that support Weinberg Senior Living’s mission to help people age in place, gracefully.

Our staff members are friendly, supportive, professional and eager to assist residents. More than just employees, they enjoy what they do and take pride in the communities where they work.

INDEPENDENT/ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

Atrium Village is conveniently located on the Northwest side of Baltimore, just minutes from shopping, restaurants and entertainment. Our community offers a variety of lifestyle options to meet your needs, whether it’s independent living, assisted living, or memory care. Take advantage of our resort-style atmosphere and enjoy fine dining, stimulating programs, and diverse entertainment. Our dedicated staff will provide you with the best care 24 hours a day, while our unique Quiet Care and emergency response system will keep you healthy and safe. We take care of your housekeeping, laundry and transportation so that you can spend your free time doing the things you love to do.

Come unretire at Atrium Village.

You can also buy products that will remind you of appointments and various tasks. One is the Senior Digital Voice Reminder, made by Genji Sports. When you open the door to leave the house, a message will remind you to turn off the lights and to take your key. (Find this item at Amazon.com for $25.)

ACTIVE ADULT COMMUNITY

Williamsburg Homes 410-997-8800 5485 Harper’s Farm Rd. Columbia, MD 21044 www.williamsburgllc.com Osprey Landing offers a variety of rancher and two-story detached home plans, from 1500 to 2500 square feet, with first floor master suites, up to 4 bedrooms, two-car garages, gourmet kitchens and options for expansion space, and more. Grand Opening prices are from the mid $300’s.

Skippers will appreciate the opportunity to lease a boat slip in the private community marina, and all residents enjoy the year-round splendor of Marley Creek. Hike or ride your bike on our nature trail.

Launch your kayak, fish or cast your reel from our community pier.

The choices for an active lifestyle are numerous!

Easily reached from Baltimore and points north and east via Routes 2 and 100, Osprey Landing is close to everything and everywhere you want to be.

Memory Phone

Specially designed telephones are helpful for those who are beginning to forget names and telephone numbers.

With the Memory Phone ($65 at www.alzstore.com), a person calls a friend or relative by pressing the person’s photo. The phone has room for nine photos, and there is also a large keypad with easy-to-read keys.

If you’d rather keep your current phone, the Photo Touch n Dial (find it at www.techforltc.org for $80) connects to a home phone. You can flip through six pages of photos (24 photos total), and then push a button next to the picture of the person you’d like to call.

Keep track of wanderers Using global positioning system technology, cellphones, wristwatches and other new products allow caregivers to keep track of loved ones who may become disoriented, wander off and get lost.

Aetrex Navistar GPS Footwear System (www.aetrex.com/aetrex-gps) is a pair of shoes with GPS technology in the heel. Originally created to locate lost and kidnapped children, Aetrex Navistar was later redesigned for use by older adults after Andrew Carle, founding director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., saw its benefits for dementia patients.

Carle, a consultant for Aetrex, said it’s unlikely that a senior would leave the house without shoes. Of the three types of memory, the longest lasting is habitual memory, which includes getting dressed.

Auto fall detectors Wearable devices that allow people to seek help after they fall aren’t new. But sensors in the latest models can automatically tell when someone has fallen, alerting help for them if needed.

With Philips Lifeline with AutoAlert (http://philips.lifelinesystems.com), immediately after a fall, a person can initiate a help call by pushing a button on the pendant. But if the person hasn’t gotten up or pushed the button after 30 seconds, AutoAlert calls a center, which asks via a home speakerphone if help is needed. If there’s no response, Lifeline contacts emergency services.

With traditional help buttons, “many people become so confused or stunned, they forget they have the button on in the first place,” said Philips’ Rutherford.

“Or it’s 2 in the morning, and they don’t want to bother anybody. They’ll wait until 7 or 8 a.m. to press the button, and by that point they’ve got all kinds of secondary consequences from the fall.”

The Lifeline with AutoAlert costs $49 a month, and a pendant without fall detection goes for $36 a month.

— © 2014, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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What are the best improvements for resale?

2. Don’t ‘overimprove’ Some home improvements can help lift a home’s resale value, especially updates to features like cabinets and appliances that are clearly dated.

The key is to select finishes and appliances that don’t go well beyond what a buyer might find in similarly priced homes in the area. The term appraisers have for that is “overimprovement.�

Consider a homeowner in a neighborhood with modest homes who splurges on

Taking charge From page B-2 ing community that is comprised either of older people or of multiple generations.

Others share a house with close friends — or even strangers — to have an affordable lifestyle with steadfast companionship. Or they create living situations with an affinity group, whether based on sexual orientation, religion, or the arts.

Still others establish cooperatives of manufactured housing in rural areas or

One of the home improvement projects that’s least likely to produce a return on the investment is a room addition that expands the size of a home beyond its original floor plan, said Borges.

Projects that require tearing down an exterior wall often involve moving doors, windows and other features, which can drive the costs higher than, say, converting an attic into a bedroom, which uses existing space in the home.

The more expensive the project, the harder it can be to recover one’s costs.

Also, making major changes to the original structure, even when permitted by the city, runs other risks. “When you become the oddball, the only home in the neighborhood with four bedrooms, probably the fourth bedroom is not going to be that desirable,� Borges said.

Replacing your front door might cost you $1,500, but it’s the type of upgrade that can make a home attractive to buyers, said Sal Alfano, editorial director of Remodeling Magazine.

See RESALE VALUE, page B-6

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One way to gauge whether a home improvement project is worthwhile is to estimate how much of what you spend will be recovered at resale.

For example, if you spend $1,000 on siding and it only adds $500 to the resale value of your home, that upgrade is giving you a 50 percent return on your investment.

Remodeling Magazine’s latest cost-value study, which is based on surveys of real estate agents, can help provide a ballpark reference. For specific Baltimore cost and value data, see www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vsvalue/2014/south-atlantic/baltimore-md.

That said, when home prices are rising fast enough, like during the last housing boom, it’s easier to recover costs spent on home improvements, regardless of the upgrade. The alternative scenario also holds true.

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4. Consider cost-to-value

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The classic example here is installing a swimming pool.

A pool could make your home a tougher sell and it’s unlikely you will recover your expenses, said Richard Borges, president of the Appraisal Institute, a professional association of real estate appraisers.

It may be a deal-killer for buyers who might not want to take on maintenance costs or safety risks for small children. “It’s not going to contribute a full measure of its cost of installation because its utility is so limited,� Borges said.

The principle holds true for other large projects that can alter the structure of the property, such as adding a second garage.

In some neighborhoods, they may be a common feature that becomes a selling point.

But if it’s not common, it could discourage buyers who don’t have a need for it.

3. Consider risks of expanding footprint

converting a downstairs closet into a halfbath might seem like good investments, but not if you need to upgrade your roof or fix window seals.

Those fixes may not be aesthetic upgrades, but often make a home easier to sell.

in

1. Consider all buyers

pricey countertop finishes like quartz or marble. They’re not likely to recoup the cost when appraisers look at recent sales of comparable homes that may not have such lavishly appointed kitchens.

This applies to everything from lighting to flooring and bathroom fixtures.

W ith

By Alex Veiga Homeowners are opening their wallets.

A rebound in the housing market has made them more willing to invest in renovations that could boost the value of their homes even more in a rising market.

Spending on home remodeling has picked up over the past 18 months and is expected to rise nearly 20 percent to $151 billion by the fourth quarter, according to a recent report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Many homeowners decide to make upgrades with the idea that the bigger kitchen or finished basement will make their home more enjoyable. But those looking to sell should know that not all home improvement projects will boost the value of a home.

Here are six tips when considering investing in home improvement projects:

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By taking hold of the future and being proactive about anticipated loss, new generations of elders may finally begin to overcome our culture’s deep-seated denial — and to do so in a way that aligns with new research emerging about healthy aging, which finds that social connection, friendship and a sense of purpose may be more powerful than any drug when it comes to maintaining our well being.

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Simple modifications make homes safer

By Jim Miller Q. What tips or products can you recommend to help make a home safer and more convenient for aging in place?

My husband and I are in our 70s and don’t have the money for any big renovations, but we want to do what we can to stay in our house as long as possible.

— Homebodies Dear Homebodies: There are lots of small adjustments and simple modifications you can do to make your home safer and livable as you age that are very inexpensive or completely free. Here are several to consider.

Fall-proofing

The Meadows of Reistertown offers the maintenance-free, independent lifestyle you’ve been looking for in a retirement community.

• Social, Educational and Recreational Events • Patios or Balconies • Individual Climate Control • Convenient to Shopping, Banking and Restaurants

• Emergency Response System • Controlled-Access Entry • Hair Salon • Elevators • Smoke-Free • Small Pets Welcome

Live the carefree life you’ve been waiting for, and let us take care of all the details!

Since falls are the leading cause of home injury among older adults, a good place to start is by picking up any possible clutter that can cause you to trip, such as newspapers, books, shoes, clothes, electrical or phone cords. If you have throw rugs, remove them or use double-sided tape to secure them. And if you have stairs, consider putting handrails on both sides.

Good lighting is also very important, so add lamps or light fixtures where needed, and install brighter full-spectrum bulbs in existing fixtures to improve visibility. Also purchase some inexpensive plug-in nightlights for the bedroom, bathroom and hallways, and consider installing motion sensor lights outside the front and back doors and in the driveway.

In the bathroom, get some non-skid bath rugs for the floors, put a non-slip rubber mat or self-stick strips on the floor of the tub/shower, and have a carpenter install grab bars inside the tub/shower.

And in the kitchen, organize your cabinets so the things you use most often are within easy reach without using a step stool.

For more information, call

410-526-3380

300 Cantata Court • Reisterstown, MD 21136

Easier access Growing older can bring about various physical limitations that can make your home more difficult to use. Some simple solutions that can help weak or arthritic hands are to replace round doorknobs with lever handles, or get some inexpen-

sive doorknob lever adapters.

The same goes for twist knob kitchen or bathroom faucets. You can easily replace them with lever faucet handles that you can purchase for a few dollars in most hardware stores, or get a single lever handle faucet installed.

In the kitchen, you can make your cabinets and pantry easier to access by installing pull-out shelves or lazy susans.

And D-shaped pull-handles for the cabinets and drawers are also recommended because they’re more comfortable to grasp than knobs.

In the bathroom, consider getting a hand-held adjustable showerhead installed, and purchasing a shower or bathtub seat, so you can shower from a safe seated position, if need be.

And for easier toilet access, purchase a toilet seat riser for a few dollars. This can make sitting down and standing up a little easier, especially if you’re 6 feet or taller.

If you get to the point where you need to use a walker or wheelchair, you can adapt your house by installing ramps on entrance steps, and mini-ramps to go over high entrance thresholds. You can widen the doorways an additional two inches by installing “swing clear” offset door hinges.

More ideas For many more tips, see the “AARP Home Fit Guide,” which offers dozens of modification suggestions to make your home safe and livable as you age. You can access it at online at homefitguide.org, or if you’re an AARP member, call 888-6872277 and ask them to mail you a free copy.

If you want personalized help, get an inhome assessment with an occupational therapist, or OT, who can evaluate your home, make modification recommendations, and refer you to products and services to help you make improvements.

Medicare will pay for a home assessment by an OT if prescribed by a doctor.

Ask your physician for a referral.

Send your questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior book.

www.firstcentrumcommunities.com

Resale value From page B-5 The magazine said replacing the front entry with a 20-gauge steel door is the upgrade from which homeowners can expect to recoup the most money among renovations that cost less than $5,000. The magazine estimates a recovery of 85.6 percent of the cost.

930 Bay Forest Ct. • Annapolis, MD 21403

410-295-7557

6. Consult an expert 7975 Crain Hwy. • Glen Burnie, MD 21061

410-969-2000

Before moving forward on a home improvement project, consult with a real estate agent or an appraiser who knows

your market.

They should be able to gauge how the upgrade could affect the sales price of your home. That can help you determine how much of your investment you’re likely to recoup.

Almost all appraisers are independent and set their own fees. A consultation could cost between $500 and $1,000.

Real estate agents might be willing to offer their assessment for free, perhaps with the understanding that they might earn your business when it comes time to sell.

— AP

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Communities that care for you for life

By Roberta Schultz Benor A continuing care retirement community (CCRC), also called a life care community, is one where both your current requirements and your future medical needs are met. Its contract provides for lifelong housing along the continuum, from independent living to assisted living, with access to medical care services and longterm care, including skilled nursing services.

An inviting aspect of this kind of housing is that you can move in while you are able to live independently, and still remain at the facility should you get sick or become unable to care for yourself.

Many of these facilities emphasize preventative healthcare. The services include meals, housekeeping, transportation, personal care assistance and activities.

Most CCRCs have entrance restrictions related to age, assets, income, health and mobility. Depending on the level of care you need at any given time, you may or may not have to move to different sections in the same facility.

There are two parts to your financial obligation. You are responsible for an entrance fee, which in many contracts returns in full or in part to your estate when you die, and for ongoing monthly payments, whether you own or rent the unit.

There are several types of contracts: extensive (provides unlimited long-term care without much increase in the monthly fees), modified (designates a specific amount of care beyond which you pay additional fees), and fee-for-service (requires you to pay for health services at daily nursing care rates). So you need to read all the

fine print or contact an attorney to advise you on specifics for each facility.

Some CCRCs are sponsored by religious or specialty groups. For example, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and a private developer have plans to construct one in the Baltimore suburbs. Others may be on the campuses of universities, although there are none currently in the BaltimoreWashington area.

There is a national Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC), which sets standards and conducts evaluations of facilities that choose to become accredited.

Ask to see the evaluation of a CCRC when you visit it. Be sure to tour all the areas that provide the different levels of care to help you decide if this kind of senior housing is right for you.

The good points of this kind of housing: You are cared for in the same facility from when you move in until you die. This continuity relieves the anxiety about having to move to another setting.

The drawbacks of this kind of housing: You may have to pay a large entrance fee.

Your neighbors will be at various points along the health spectrum. When you move in as a healthy person, you may not want to be around those who are ailing. On the other hand, should you become ill, it will still be your home.

Benor is the former administrator of Revitz House, an independent living community in Rockville, Md. This article is excerpted from her book, The Keys to Senior Housing: A Guide for Two Generations. The paperback is available for $24.95 (e-book for $9.95) from www.amazon.com or from Publish America at www.publishamerica.com.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

LOVE BOOKS? VOLUNTEER AT THE LIBRARY

Volunteers are an integral part of the Enoch Pratt library system, performing a variety of activities and assignments. To learn more, call (410) 396-9940 or visit www.prattlibrary.org.

Ongoing

MENTOR A TEENAGER

icouldbe.org is an award-winning online mentoring program connecting middle and high school students from diverse communities with mentors from across the country, cultivating meaningful relationships to explore interests and dreams for the future. Since 2000, icouldbe.org has used a research-backed curriculum to help over 25,000 students discover their passions and take action to realize their career and educational goals. For more information on becoming a mentor, visit www.icouldbe.org.

Ongoing

ACTIVE ADULT COMMUNITY

Meadows of Reisterstown Senior Apartments 410-526-3380 300 Cantata Ct. Reisterstown, MD 21136 www.firstcentrum.com Enjoy carefree leisure living at The Meadows — an affordable senior apartment community for seniors 62+. Each spacious one- and twobedroom apartment features a fully equipped kitchen, roomy closets and a balcony or patio. You can exercise the mind in the library and media room or the body in our fitness area. Keypad entry and the emergency response system provide peace of mind.

The atmosphere is filled with gracious living. Here, you will appreciate not having to worry about maintenance chores. At the same time, you can take advantage of nearby shops, library, banks, postal services, grocery store and convenience to I-695.

We invite you to tour The Meadows of Reisterstown.

ACTIVE ADULT COMMUNITY

The Greens at English Consul 410-789-3000 4120 Oak Rd. Halethorpe, MD 21227 www.GreensAtEnglishConsul.com Located in Halethorpe, The Greens at English Consul offers a mix of affordable one- and two- bedroom apartments for seniors 62 +. The Greens at English Consul provides its residents with amenities including a fitness center, party room, beauty parlor, game room, library, cyber café, wellness room and community room. In addition, a calendar of social events and activities is planned each month for residents’ enjoyment. The thoughtfully designed apartment homes feature open-concept floor plans with modern, sought after amenities such as walk-in closets, washer and dryer hookups and Energy Star appliances. The neighborhood offers convenience and accessibility for senior citizens with churches, stores, restaurants, the MARC Train and major interstates all within a two mile radius of the community. Rents from $683.

Don’t Wait, call for your tour today! An Equal Housing Opportunity Community.

INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY

MERCY MEDICAL CENTER SEEKS VOLUNTEERS

Mercy Medical Center has ongoing volunteer opportunities. Contact Mercy’s Volunteer Office at (410) 332-9227 (TTY (410) 3329888) or volunteers@mdmercy.com to discuss volunteer opportunities or ask questions about application requirements, and to share your interests, goals and skills.

Ongoing

B-7

HEARTLAND HOSPICE SERVICES

Join the team at Heartland Hospice as it strives to make its patients’ lives more comfortable and meaningful. Volunteers visit patients, read, listen, play music, do crafts and provide much-needed respite time for caregivers. Volunteers receive 16 hours of training, followed by ongoing guidance and support. When training is complete, volunteers are assigned to patients in the area of their choice. To learn more, visit www.hcr-manorcare.com.

Charlestown 410-709-3069 715 Maiden Choice Ln. Catonsville, MD 21228 www.ericksonliving.com Come and see our exciting new look!

After a year of multimillion-dollar renovations, Charlestown is better and more beautiful than ever! No other community in the area has invested so much in their residents and campus. If you’re considering your options for retirement — now is the time to take a closer look.

Our expansive makeover includes the new Terrace Café and performing arts center, plus a remodeled clubhouse with a brand new pool, fitness center and Fireside Restaurant. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. More renovations are coming soon!

Discover the new Charlestown! Call 410-709-3069 for your free 45-page Charlestown brochure.

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Aging in place villages continue to grow

By Carol Sorgen Since it was founded two years ago, Northwest Neighborhood Connecting (NNC) has continued to grow and to thrive, Community Network Director Lane Levine said.

NNC is based on a growing national movement of do-it-yourself living that’s friendlier, more autonomous, less expensive, and designed so that homeowners can remain in their own homes and communities as they age.

Through nominal membership fees that encourage membership across the economic spectrum, the grassroots “village” model provides older adults with everything from social activities to transportation, grocery shopping and home repairs — much of it provided by volunteers living in their neighborhood.

Residents who become members of

NNC pay a small annual fee, based on a sliding scale (currently, that works out to $5, $25, or $50 a month), to help fund programs and services.

NNC is only the second such model in Baltimore. It serves the Glen, Cheswolde, Cross Country and Fallstaff neighborhoods.

But as the popularity of the program expands, so are the boundaries. “The geographic focus is fluid at this point,” said Levine, noting that there are members and volunteers from outside the original Upper Park Heights neighborhoods.

NNC currently has 170 dues-paying members. All members receive the same services; how much they pay is determined by what they feel they can afford.

Whether a member needs a ride to the airport or a computer repair (or almost

anything else you might think of), there is usually a volunteer available to handle that particular need, according to Levine. He said that approximately 50 rides a month are given, 10 services a month (such as computer repair or household assistance), and 20 check-up calls a week to make sure members are doing well.

In addition to the services provided, an active social calendar keeps members connected through barbeques, holiday parties, birthday balloons and cards, and more. “It’s a very supportive community network,” said Levine.

NNC is developing care partners, such as Capitol Hill Village (one of the first villages established in Washington, D.C.), which will train new volunteers.

In addition, it is expanding staff to include a partnership coordinator who will work with local businesses that are interested in providing services, as well as a member wellness coordinator, who will train members on creating supportive wellness programs.

Help from rides to recycling Another community, Village At Home, began in 2011 and serves 23 neighbor-

L’Chaim

Baltimore’s Premier Choice for Kosher Assisted Living At Tudor Heights, we dedicate each day “To Life” and a lifestyle filled with health, happiness and hospitality.

We’ll celebrate and brighten your loved one’s days with cheerful smiles, delicious kosher meals, engaging activities, an on-site synagogue and a compassionate, helping hand always by their side.

Discover the Tudor Heights difference.

Call 866-618-3244 for a private tour.

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hoods bounded by Mt. Washington to Oakenshawe and Roland Park to Ruxton.

Volunteers provide help with grocery shopping and menu planning, rides to appointments, taking out recycling, raking leaves, light gardening, organizing papers, and computer education. There are also walking and exercise groups.

Vetted vendors provide a car service, medical transport, prepared meals, handyman services, house cleaning, bill paying and many more services.

Members of Village At Home pay $800 per year for an individual membership; $1,200 for ahousehold (the fee can be paid in monthly installments).

In Anne Arundel County At Home Chesapeake is another village model in the region. Begun more than five years ago, At Home Chesapeake has about 40 members, half living in the Severna Park/Arnold area and half in Annapolis.

“Our hallmark difference is that we are a member-to-member participatory community,” said Managing Director Maureen See VILLAGES, page B-10

For further info Further information on the village concept, resources for starting your own village, and a list of villages throughout the country is available at the website of the Village to Village Network, www.vtvnetwork.org, or by calling them at (617) 299-9638.

Here’s how to contact At Home Chesapeake, Northwest Neighbors Connecting and Village at Home, which are up and running: • At Home Chesapeake Severna Park, MD (410) 647-1997 maureen.cavaiola@gmail.com • Northwest Neighbors Connecting Upper Park Heights, Baltimore City Risyl Edelman

(410) 500-5319 • Village at Home Roland Park, Baltimore (410) 235-3171 executive.director@villageathome.org www.villageathome.org The following villages are still in development: • Flack Ventures Annapolis, MD (410) 419-7328 bfarrar@flackventures.com • Four Corners Village Baldwin, MD (410) 746-6900 • The Village in Howard, Inc. Fulton, MD http://www.thevillageinhoward.org; jihcheung@gmail.com

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B-9

FREE HOUSING AND OTHER INFORMATION For free information from advertisers in this special section, check off those that interest you and mail this entire page to the Beacon. Please do not request info if you are not interested.

All replies will be entered into a random drawing to win $100 cash.

HOUSING COMMUNITIES ❑ Atrium Village . . . . . . . .B3 & B4 ❑ Bay Forest Senior Apartments . . . . . . .B6 and B11 ❑ Charlestown . . . . . .B7 and B10 ❑ Christ Church Harbor Apts . . . . . . . . . . . . .B10 ❑ Glen Forest Senior Apts . . . . . . . . . . . .B6 and B15 ❑ Meadows of Reiserstown . . . . . . .B6 and B7 ❑ Oak Crest . . . . . . .B10 and B15 ❑ Park Heights Place . . . . . . . .B5 ❑ Pickersgill . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B13 ❑ The Greens at English Consul . . . .B7 and B14

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The Greens at Logan Field . .B11 Tudor Heights . . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Warren Place . . . . . . . . . . . .B12 Weinberg Senior Living . . . . . . . . . . .B4 and B16 Weinberg Gardens . . . . . . . .B16 Weinberg House . . . . . . . . . .B16 Weinberg Manhattan Park . . .B16 Weinberg Manor East . . . . . .B16 Weinberg Manor West . . . . . .B16 Weinberg Park Assisted Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B16 Weinberg Place . . . . . . . . . .B16 Weinberg Terrace . . . . . . . . .B16 Weinberg Village Community .B16 Weinberg Woods . . . . . . . . .B16

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HOME CARE SERVICES ❑ Options for Senior America .B13 ❑ Home With You . . . . .B11 & B14

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Housing Options | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Qs and As on how to choose homecare Last month, we printed an article titled “Helping you stay in your own home longer,” which described several options for in-home healthcare. This month, we answer some common questions people raise on this topic.

Q. How do I choose a homecare agency?

A. With the number of agencies available, you may want to compare several. Ask for referrals from friends who may have used an agency. Check for quality of services and possible infractions. You can also check with the Chamber of Commerce or Better Busi-

ness Bureau, which will have a record of any specific complaint lodged against an agency.

You may find some of these questions helpful in narrowing down your choices: • Is the agency licensed by the state?

• Does it provide both nursing and nonmedical/personal care?

• What are the qualifications and training of the workers?

• Are the workers supervised, and if so, by whom?

• Are there a minimum number of hours required?

• Is there a written description of services and fees?

Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a homecare agency?

A. The home health agency provides you with a number of advantages. The agency will create and implement a comprehensive care plan and coordinate this with you and the physician. It will also manage the administrative details, such as payroll (including state, federal, unemployment, Social Security, disability taxes, workers’ compensation, and paperwork like the I-9 employment eligibility form), screening and supervisory oversight.

Another advantage of hiring through an agency is that they can provide you with a variety of caregivers for back-up coverage so that, in most instances, you will not be without care should one caregiver be unavailable.

A commonly cited disadvantage is the cost. The homecare agency is usually more expensive than hiring a person privately.

Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages of hiring privately?

A. When you hire a person privately, you become the employer and take on those additional responsibilities of the administrative and supervisory roles.

Because the nature of the work is very personal, and the relationship is key, some people prefer to search for an individual whose temperament will be most compatible with their own. The other reasons that you may choose to hire privately include:

• You have more control over the duties and responsibilities.

• The cost is typically lower than that of an agency.

• You will determine the scheduling.

If you decide to hire an independent caregiver you should be prepared to locate potential caregivers, screen applicants, conduct interviews, run background checks, and administer payroll, including Social Security and other taxes.

Q. How do I find an independent caregiver?

A. Getting referrals from people you trust will be your first step. People in your community, church, synagogue or other spiritual affiliation may be able to assist you in your search for a caregiver. Your primary care physician may have recommendations for caregivers.

Disease-specific organizations such as the ALS Association, the Alzheimer’s Association, Parkinson’s Disease Association, American Heart Association, and others may know of independent caregivers who are looking for work.

Independent workers may also come with recommendations from families who have used them in the past. Check with your local senior center or senior clubs, as they may have a list of individual caregivers. Word of mouth can often be your

Villages

cal decisions about how they will handle the inevitable ‘bumps in the road’ in life,” Cavaiola said.

“We develop these plans on our own and by participation in our coffee/discussions, and in conversations with other members at our social events,” said Cavaiola.

She, along with Carol Cober at Westat Research, have formed a Community of Practice of Maryland Villages that meet together to learn what they all have in common and to strengthen their presence. At a recent meeting held at the Erickson School at UMBC, approximately 30 representatives from different Maryland villages met to discuss the continued growth of village-style programs.

From page B-8

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Cavaiola.

“Our main goal is to educate ourselves and our community about the best ways to live and age well in our communities. We also advocate and help each other in the best ways we can.

“When we cannot do [something] for each other, we find resources that will handle the situation,” Cavaiola continued.

The village has developed a tool called a Master Aging Plan, and “every member is involved in the evolving process of making tactical as well as more esoteric and practi-

See HOMECARE, page B-11

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Find out how much your old stuff is worth

By Jim Miller Q. What resources can you recommend for finding the value of old items? I inherited a large number of old antiques and unique art from my great aunt, and I would like to find out what some of these items are worth.

Seeking Answers Dear Seeking: There are actually a number of resources and online tools available today that can help you find out the value of almost any item.

Here are some tips to help you proceed.

Get an appraisal While many people use local antique shops or collectable dealers to find out the value of old and/or unique items, it’s usually best to use a certified appraiser who’s accredited and meets professional and ethical standards.

Certified appraisers are more likely to give you a fair judgment because there’s no conflict of interest. It’s actually a violation of professional ethics for an appraiser to offer to buy an item he or she has appraised.

A professional appraiser will provide you a written report that includes a full description of your item and the procedure used to estimate its current value. For their service, you can expect to pay either a flat fee or an hourly rate from $200 to $400, depending on their expertise and location. Avoid an appraiser who asks for a fee based on a percentage of the item’s value.

If an appraiser thinks an object isn’t worth a written appraisal, he or she might recommend other resources to arrive at a value.

To locate an appraiser either by location or specialty, search online at one of the three professional appraising organizations: The American Society of Appraisers (www.appraisers.org, 1-800-272-8258) which has around 5,000 members worldwide; Appraisers Association of America (www.appraisersassoc.org) that has around 700 members; and the International Society of Appraisers (www.isa-appraisers.org) that has about 900 members.

Homecare From page B-10 best route for finding the right person.

Q. Are there government resources to assist with finding a caregiver?

A. Another source is the ElderCare Locator, a free public service from the U.S. Administration on Aging that will help you find your local Area Agency on Aging. The Area Agency on Aging provides information about state and local resources. Call them at 1-800-677-1116 or visit www.eldercare.gov.

Q. Are there professionals who can assist with this process?

A. If you are having difficulty finding a caregiver to meet your needs you might want to consider using a Geriatric Care Manager (GCM) to assist you. This is usual-

Online resources You can also get estimates by professional appraisers and other experts through a number of websites. How it works is you upload photos of your items and provide descriptions, and the sites send back valuations, usually within a week.

Sites that provide this type of service include Value My Stuff (valuemystuff.com/us), which charges $10 for one appraisal, $25 for three or $75 for 10. Also there’s WorthPoint (www.worthpoint.com), which charges $30 for one item or $75 for three, or you can pay $20 for a monthly membership that provides unlimited access to their antique and collectables valuations.

Another resource for finding out what antiques and collectables are worth is Kovels (www.kovels.com, 1-800-829-9158), which offers a free basic membership that gives you access to its online price guide, or you can purchase one of their premium services that run $39 or $60 a year.

They also sell the book, Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2014, for $28. It reports on recent prices paid for 35,000 items in more than 700 categories at auctions, shops, shows, flea markets and online.

You may also be able to get an idea of what others are willing to pay for your stuff by searching similar items on the massive online auction site ebay.com, or the classified ads site www.craigslist.org.

Both of these sites are free to search.

Tax-deductible value If you are interested in donating any of your items, you can find out the tax-deductible value at free valuation websites available through tax-prep companies, such as Turbo Tax at turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible.

The Salvation Army also offers a valuation guide at satruck.org/donation-value-guide.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org.

ly a nurse or a social worker who can assist with evaluating and overseeing a care plan.

A care manager would be able to assist you in the hiring and interviewing process, as well as ongoing monitoring once you have a caregiver in place. This is especially helpful if you are a family member of someone who needs care and you live a distance from your family member.

Some care managers work independently and others may work through an agency. In either instance, the amount the care manager would charge for services and costs would vary based on the type and amount of service you require. Prior to enlisting the services of a GCM you should ask for a fee schedule for his or her services.

Excerpted from “Receiving Care at Home” by the MetLife Mature Market Institute.

B-11

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HOME CARE

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ACTIVE ADULT COMMUNITY

The Greens at Logan Field 410-288-2000 3455 Dundalk Ave. Dundalk, MD 21222 www.GreensAtLoganField.com The Greens at Logan Field is a new community offering affordable one- and two- bedroom apartments for seniors 62+. The community has amenities including an arts and crafts room, laundry center, library, cyber café, fitness center and health suite for wellness check-ups and visiting doctors and a multipurpose room for social events and programs. The management staff coordinates all the services and social activities for the residents. The apartment homes feature open-concept floor plans with amenities such as washer and dryer hookups and a fullyequipped kitchen with Energy Star appliances. Handicap-accessible apartments are available. Located adjacent to the Logan Village Shopping Center and on two major bus routes, The Greens at Logan Field is convenient to shopping and entertainment. Rents from $685.

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B-12

Housing Options | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Make small changes to save big on AC bills

By Jonathan Fahey That precious, cooled air that leaks out of your home every summer is money leaking out of your checkbook.

Electricity prices are expected to rise faster this year than they have since 2009, to a record average of 12.5 cents per kilo-

watt-hour, according to the Energy Department. And prices are highest in the summer, just when you need more power to run the air conditioner.

But many residents are paying far more than they should to cool their homes, because cold air is leaking out

and hot, humid air is getting in. The air seeps through obvious places, like under doors, and not-so-obvious places, like cracks around plumbing that you can’t see.

“We accept a much higher level of bad performance in our homes than we would in our cars. You shouldn’t be uncomfortable,” said Jennifer Amann, director of the buildings program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. “Homes don’t have to perform badly.”

Home energy audits To see if your home is a bad performer, try a thorough home energy audit. They are offered through utilities and local contractors, and are often subsidized by state energy efficiency programs.

The audits can cost $100 to $400, but they can lower both summer cooling bills

and winter heating bills by finding leaks and other sources of wasted energy. How much you save depends on how much repairs cost, the size of the leaks found, how big your home is, and your electricity price.

BGE offers audits for $100 and also offers rebates of up to $3,150 for energy efficiency steps that are taken. See www.bgesmartenergy.com/residential/home-performance-energy-star for more information.

Knowing whether or not you need a home energy audit — and whether it will pay off — is tricky. Amann said you should get one if you feel like you are paying too much for electricity (who doesn’t!), and she suggests talking to friends and neighbors about their costs.

Some utilities are making it easier to see how your usage compares with others nearby, either as part of your bill or with online tools.

If you opt for an audit, Amann suggested using a contractor who participates in the Department of Energy’s Energy Star home performance program.

A thorough audit — more than just a walk-through of your home — will include something called a “blower door test.” A device is attached to your front door that sucks air out of your home, allowing leaks to be detected. It also establishes a baseline to test the home again after leaks are fixed to determine how effective the repairs were.

What pays off?

Some repairs will be clearly cost-effective, like adding insulation or closing up cracks with caulk or weather-stripping.

Others might not be.

Windows and central cooling and heating systems are so expensive that the savings might not justify replacing them if they are still functioning.

If a new central air-conditioning system costs $5,000, including installation, and it cuts power consumption by 20 percent, it would take 18 years for it to pay off for a typical power customer.

If it is time to replace the system anyway, buying the most efficient one available usually pays off more quickly.

The auditors will have tips for reducing energy use in other ways, like unplugging devices that aren’t being used, and replacing inefficient appliances and lighting.

They’ll recommend changes in behavior, too, such as not running appliances like dishwashers, which add heat and humidity to a home during the hot part of the day.

“These are simple, common sense things, but sometimes people just don’t think about it,” Amann said. “We all have our habits.”

For more information, see these websites: www.aceee.org/consumer and https://www.energystar.gov.

— AP

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

B-13

Sharing a home can reduce many costs

By Beth Baker Across the nation, from Baltimore to Washington State, homeshare programs are cropping up as a way to both provide affordable housing and to help people age in place without being isolated.

The National Shared Housing Resource Center (NSHRC), a loose-knit network, has identified some 40 programs in 18 states that offer matchmaking services for home providers and home seekers.

Housing is among the most pressing and expensive concerns of older people.

According to a 2009 study by researchers at Brandeis University and Demos, a public policy organization, “high housing costs put 45 percent of all seniors’ budgets at risk. Single seniors face even more pronounced challenges with more than half (55 percent) at risk with respect to their monthly housing expenses.”

A study by the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development found that 1.3 million renters over age 62 had “worst case” housing situations in 2009, meaning that either they were paying over half their income on rent and/or living in dilapidated housing.

As a way to ease living expenses, homesharing has gone on casually in many cities since World War II. Still, American devotion to single-family housing has long made shared housing somewhat suspect — OK for college students, perhaps, but not what mature adults should do.

Still, homesharing can be viable option for many older adults, who can either rent a room in someone else’s house or rent out extra space in their house.

Rent in exchange for services According to a survey of homesharing programs by NSHRC, more than one-third of homeshares involved bartering of services in exchange for greatly reduced rent.

Typically, the home provider is older and often needs help with chores, such as lawn mowing, snow shoveling or doing light housework. They may also need transportation, or help with errands and shopping. In some cases, the agreement is for the tenant to provide a certain number of hours of help a week.

Although homesharing is something homeowners can do on their own through online services such as Craigslist, programs operated by nonprofit agencies can offer security. Program staff and volunteers conduct background checks on home seekers, interview people to help find the right match, and provide an avenue for mediation if problems arise.

Johns Hopkins.

“He was a breath of fresh air,” Sue said.

“He was so helpful and talented. He was savvy in a lot of handyman kinds of things.

A couple of people have been that way.”

Getting help with small household chores is one benefit of shared housing.

But so, too, is the chance to meet new people. “To find and be enriched by their cultures, it has been very enriching in my own life,” she said.

Not everyone has worked out, she added. “You have to be aware that people come from all kinds of backgrounds. You don’t know a person until you live with them. So you get some surprises. If you’re willing to take a chance, it could work out.”

To qualify to rent rooms in their home,

homeowners in the St. Ambrose program must pass a criminal background check and not currently abuse alcohol or drugs.

They must provide four personal references of people they have known for at least five years.

Home seekers must have at least $750 per month in income, and be able to spend at least $450 a month on rent. They must also provide references, such as a previous landlord or roommate.

For more information on the St. Ambrose homeshare program, see www.stambros.org/pages/homesharing.html or call (410) 366-6180.

Excerpted with permission from With a Little Help from Our Friends: Creating Communities As We Grow Older.

A Baltimore program One such program is run by St. Ambrose in Baltimore. St. Ambrose has been helping low- and moderate-income families struggling to buy homes or avoid foreclosure for 50 years.

In the 1980s, St. Ambrose created a program to facilitate homesharing. “One of the employees had this idea to start homesharing to give the elderly homeowner the ability to age in place and preserve the housing stock in Baltimore,” explained counselor Annette Leahy Maggitti.

“With one elderly person in the home, things start to get run down. Sometimes people are lonely, and depression sets in. Or they need more income to keep the house up.”

For Sue, a widow, renting rooms to people who have been screened by St. Ambrose has given her enough extra income to make improvements to her home, such as making it more energy efficient.

She’s had 19 people rent rooms over the years, with the longest staying five years.

One of her favorites was a physician from Beijing, who had come to do research at

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Housing Options | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Collections tell a story and add to decor er Elaine Griffin.

“It’s the eclecticism — photos with found objects, for example — that makes it beautiful and stylish,” she said. “Every element should speak to you or tell you a story.”

Plan your layout To create a salon wall, plan carefully.

Lay out the arrangement on the floor first, and then transfer it from the floor to the wall, piece by piece.

“Start at the center of the composition and work your way outward, a little bit in each direction, left, right, up, down,” Griffin said.

Spacing doesn’t need to be the same around all objects, but it can look better when it’s equal around an individual element. Use a geometric shape — square, circle, triangle or diamond — as a loose

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basis for your arrangement.

Create an axis in the center of the wall, a focal point from which all the elements radiate, Griffin advises. Laying the idea out on a template — a piece of art paper on which you draw the shapes — will help consolidate the finished look.

“It’s nice if you have the entire collection for a wall ready to hang at once, but you don’t have to — you can Grouping a collection of similar pictures into a photo install as you collect,” Griffin wall can provide visual impact in a room. said.

David Kassel, a collage bland photo and a flawed, energetic one, artist in New York City, creates salon walls go for the lively one,” Southard said. for designers like Bunny Williams, Jamie “Don’t be afraid to exhibit your passion.

Drake and Jeffrey Bilhuber. Through his Cars, kids, architecture — even good food. company, ILevel, he’ll put up anything a When guests come over, you can talk client gives him, but also offers his own about something you love.” collections: exotic turtle shells, vintage San Francisco photographer Jason Rodmedicine bottles, colorful plates, even a man, for example, mounted a series of blackframed set of 1940s Rorschach ink blots. and-white images of the city on his wall.

“For small objects you can use shadow In Seattle, Sara Shrader’s pride in her boxes. Sconces are a wonderful way to dis- two baseball-loving sons led her to take play bottles, vases, rocks or any three-di- photos of their various team caps over the mensional objects. You can choose from years. She created a collage wall that insimple contemporary wall wedges or more cluded pictures of the boys in action. traditional options like carved, gold-leaf A company like Picturewall.com prosconces,” Kassel said. vides templates for rectangular and stairway displays, and sends a kit that includes Photo collection tips wood frames and acid-free mats. You just If you want to turn your wall into a photo drop in your photos. gallery, hanging the pictures without Kassel said such displays should continframes creates a clean look that lets the pic- ue to evolve. “Families grow, important tures pop, said Jeff Southard, a spokesman events continue to happen, collections for Collagewall.com, which helps clients change over time,” he said. “A great salon create photo walls. wall is never finished.”

Avoid hanging several versions of the For more information, see the websites of same picture, he said; instead, use a vari- the companies in this story: www.elainegrif ety of close-ups, action shots, etc. fin.com, www.ilevel.biz,www.collagewall.com “Given the choice between a perfect and www.picturewall.com.

— AP PHOTO COURTESY OF PICTUREWALL

By Kim Cook Those beautiful summer vacation photos are in a cardboard box. Somewhere.

The souvenirs you picked up on that overseas trip years ago are jumbled in a drawer.

Your collection of (fill in the blank) is in the kitchen cupboard.

Why not showcase these personal treasures and create great art at the same time?

One clever way to do it is to mount shelves or frames on a wall and fill them with whatever pleases you. Decorators call it a salon wall, and it has origins in 17th century Paris, when the Royal Academy held exhibitions, or “salons,” to showcase student work. Their art would be mounted in a closely knit configuration.

A visually balanced arrangement is what you’re after, said New York interior design-

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Housing Options

B-15

Bathroom grab bars get a stylish update PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN STANDARD

By Karen Schwartz respondents included only those who had The renovation of the master bathroom purchased a house in the past three years in my 83-year-old father’s new house or were planning on doing so in the next turned out beautithr ee years. In fully, with a frameother words, peoless glass shower ple who were “realand handmade cely thinking” about ramic tile accents. what they wanted Neither of us in a home, said wanted to make it Stephen Melman, look institutional NAHB’s director of with a grab bar. We economic services. needn’t have worStatistics show ried. that while people Many of today’s 85 and older are grab bars are clevthe most likely to e r l y d i s g u i s e d , American Standard’s Invisia shampoo slip and fall, no age shelf incorporates a small grab bar. looking instead group is immune. like sleek soap Nearly 22 million dishes, functional shampoo trays, trendy people over the age of 15 went to the hostowel racks and even toilet-paper holders. pital because of a bathroom injury in 2008, Take for instance the corner shelf from according to the Centers for Disease ConAmerican Standard’s Invisia line. It looks like trol and Prevention. Falls accounted for nothing more than a solid white tray set in- more than 80 percent of the injuries. side a tubular frame. But that tube, available Although 85 percent of those taken to a in brushed stainless or chrome, functions as hospital were treated and released, the ina grab bar and can support up to 500 pounds. juries still resulted in approximately $67.3 bilWant fun and funky? Best Bath Systems lion in lifetime medical costs, the CDC said. has a series of acrylic towel bars with hidden mounts that come in more than two How to choose dozen colors — some opaque, some Some things to think about when choostranslucent, some with embedded stones ing a grab bar: and some that even glow in the dark.

• Consider the Or for a spa feel, weight of the peothey make a teak ple who will be grab bar that comes using it. Some bars in six dif fer ent are rated to suplengths, from 10 por t up to 250 inches to 42 inches. pounds — the Mounting har damount required ware is available in to comply with the a choice of five finAmericans With ishes.

Disabilities Act. “We realized there Best Bath’s acrylic grab bar and towel Others support up rack is both a stylish and useful safety were a lot of people to 500 pounds. feature. It is available in multiple colors. who wanted an at• Compare tractive option for safety, and who didn’t prices and quality. The Invisia shampoo want to be reminded of their inabilities first shelf retails for about $285 online, dependthing in the morning and last thing at night,” ing on the finish, while one made by Moen said Abbie Sladick, 53, of Naples, Florida, a is available at Home Depot for about $40. certified contractor and remodeler who cre• Be aware of how it will be mounted. ated the GreatGrabz line. The company was If you haven’t reinforced the back of your purchased by Best Bath Systems last year shower or tub with plywood, you’ll likely for an undisclosed amount. need a bar with 16-inch offsets, or multiples thereof, to secure it properly.

A popular feature • Many people think of grab bars for the Still, I wondered what having a grab bar shower and bathtub, but consider putting in the bathroom might do to the eventual one near the toilet, too. The 10-inch bars resale value of the house. Turns out, it from Best Bath Systems can be mounted to might just help it. hold a roll of toilet paper. Invisia, meanA 2012 survey found that about half of while, makes a more substantial, 13-inchthose ages 55 to 64 thought that bathroom high arched toilet paper holder. aids, such as grab bars and shower seating, With so many choices, it was easy to find were “essential” or “desirable.” That rose attractive options for my father’s bathroom. to nearly two-thirds among those age 65 And the best part is, no one knows it. and older. Even in the younger age groups, For more information, see www.bestabout a third of those surveyed agreed. bath.com and www.americanstandardus The National Association of Home .com/products/collection.aspx?d=1&c=221.

Builders’ online survey of more than 3,860 — AP

INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY ASSISTED LIVING

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BEST BATH

Glen Forest is centrally located to the numerous conveniences of the region, including Baltimore Washington International Airport, the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail and North Arundel Hospital. This independent living community for persons 62 years of age or better is also convenient to local shopping and dining that can be found throughout the Glen Burnie and Baltimore area. A shopping mall is located right across from the property that includes grocery, clothing and other shopping stores, banks and restaurants. While living at Glen Forest you will enjoy many activities hosted by the resident association, a senior center nutrition site that serves a hot lunch Monday through Friday for a nominal fee and carefree 24-hour emergency maintenance service. Come visit and see why our residents love it here at Glen Forest.

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LAW & MONEY continued

Energy investments offer strong returns

By Kathy Kristof Because the U.S. energy market is rapidly expanding, thanks in large part to the shale boom, the master limited partnership (MLP) market offers plenty of choices.

True, some old-time darlings are running aground because their pipes are in areas that have been supplanted by new fields far away. But that doesn’t mean investors should shun MLPs altogether.

MLPs are given special tax treatment as a way of fostering the development of energy infrastructure in the U.S. As long as the firms have at least 90 percent of their assets engaged in the extraction or transportation of energy, they’re not taxed at the corporate level.

Instead, they pass earnings and tax deductions directly to investors. MLP shares, which are called units, trade like stocks.

(Each year, investors get a Schedule K-1 form detailing their share of income as well as deductions.) We think the four companies below are appealing.

Energy Transfer Partners (symbol ETP; recent price, $56; 6.6 percent yield) once focused on transporting oil and gas in the state of Texas. But as production increased, demand did not, which sounded a death knell for its business model, said Morningstar analyst Jason Stevens.

Forced to remake itself, the MLP bought a utility, a refiner and a business that transported natural gas, as well as a terminal built to import gas through the Gulf of Mexico. The nation’s glut of natural gas obviated the need for imports, but this terminal has become one of a few authorized to export liquefied natural gas overseas.

Spectra Energy Partners (SEP; $51;

Frontier markets

were trading at an average 14 times their earnings per share over the last 12 months.

That’s higher than the average price-earnings ratio of 12 emerging markets.

Fund managers say much of that gain is due to just a few countries and may soon be alleviated. The United Arab Emirates has nearly doubled over the last 12 months, while Qatar is up nearly 50 percent. The pair together makes up about a third of the MSCI Frontier Markets index.

But both markets are graduating to the MSCI Emerging Markets index after the end of the month. Following that, price-earnings ratios for frontier markets will likely drop.

Costs are higher: Trading stocks in frontier markets is more expensive than trading in the U.S., which has translated into higher expense ratios for frontier-market funds.

Harding Loevner’s Frontier Emerging Markets fund has a net expense ratio of 2.23 percent, for example. That means $223 of every $10,000 invested in the fund goes to cover annual costs after waivers made by the managers.

Lower expenses are available among frontier funds that track an index.

— AP

From page 12 Surprisingly, Ukraine’s stocks have done well: They returned 4.6 percent through April. That’s because of the increased global attention, which has led to billions of dollars in loans for Ukraine, said Nathan Rowader, portfolio manager of the Forward Frontier Strategy fund (FRONX).

“As hard as it is, the annexation caused a real change in fortunes,” Rowader said.

Big losses are possible: Frontier-market stocks are still below their 2008 peak.

That’s in part because of their particularly steep declines. In 2008, frontier markets plunged 54.1 percent, compared with a 37 percent fall for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. In 2011, frontier markets lost 18.4 percent, when the S&P 500 returned 2.1 percent.

One of the risks in frontier markets is that stocks are tougher to trade: It can be difficult to find a buyer when you want to sell.

Prices are higher following a big run: As a group, frontier-market stocks are more expensive than those of other regions. At the end of the first quarter, they

4.3 percent) was spun off from Spectra Energy Corp. last November. With a presence in the Marcellus shale district in Pennsylvania, Spectra has been building new pipes to New England, Canada, the Midwest and the Atlantic seaboard. The firm already has 1,510 miles of pipelines in and around Tennessee, and a significant presence on the Gulf Coast. Stevens thinks payouts will grow at a 7 percent annual pace.

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD; $73; 4.1 percent) is a well-established player operating both pipelines and storage facilities. It stores and transports natural gas, crude oil and refined products in the U.S. and offshore, and is developing facilities for

exporting propane and butane. Enterprise is among the few MLPs that retain much of their cash to fund future growth, yet it still lifted payouts by 5 percent in 2013.

OneOK Partners (OKS; $55; 5.4 percent), which specializes in all aspects of the natural gas market, is also attractive.

The firm has been able to grow by building new processing plants and new pipelines for liquefied natural gas, and by expanding through the Williston basin in Montana and North Dakota.

Kathy Kristof is a contributing editor to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. © 2014 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Israeli stocks show nice growth potential

By Kathy Kristof and Barbara Hoch Marcus With more start-up businesses per capita than anywhere in the world, Israel is brimming with tantalizing investment prospects. Moreover, many Israeli stocks trade in the U.S, making it simple for Americans to buy in.

Granted, the risks are substantial. Not only do the country’s businesses grapple with a hostile geopolitical environment,

but many are youthful enterprises that have yet to post a profit. Still, for long-term investors who don’t mind assuming some risks, the rewards could be great.

Few companies illustrate the contrast between an ancient land and modern technology better than Caesarstone Sdot-Yam (symbol CSTE; recent price, $60). Caesarstone’s headquarters is located just miles from the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Caesarea.

Caesarstone makes high-end quartz floors and countertops, and thanks in part to the housing revival in the U.S. (Caesarstone’s biggest market), sales and profits are rocking. The stock, which has climbed more than fivefold since Caesarstone went public in March 2012, sells for 27 times forecast earnings — not cheap, but not outrageously expensive in light of the company’s rapid growth.

BEACON BITS

Israel’s Silicon Valley

July 25

The corridor between Tel Aviv and Haifa to the north, nicknamed Silicon Wadi, is brimming with companies that are working on ways to speed and secure Web commerce. Silicom (SILC; $69) makes adapters that serve as building blocks for all sorts of technological appliances.

With an increasing number of consumers speeding through cyberspace, computer networks are finding themselves bedeviled by a familiar problem: traffic jams.

Radware (RDWR; $17) makes products to unplug those bottlenecks while maintaining the security of computer networks.

THE GILDED AGE Learn about the Gilded Age mansions of Palm Beach, Fla., and

their architects, owners and stories at this lunch and learn program at CCBC Hunt Valley, 11101 McCormick Rd., on Friday, July 25, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Discuss architectural styles, the open air loggia and features of each mansion. Lunch will follow at the Milton Inn. Fee is $59. To register, call (443) 840-4700 or visit www.ccbcmd.edu/ceed.

Ongoing

FREE LEGAL SERVICES FOR BALTIMORE CITY SENIORS Legal Services to the Elderly provides free legal assistance in general civil matters to Baltimore City seniors and provides education

and outreach to seniors at local senior centers, nursing homes and to other groups. For more information, log on to www.baltimorebar.org.

Healthcare companies Many promising Israeli companies are in healthcare. Consider Compugen (CGEN; $11), located in Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem-based Oramed Pharmaceuti-

cals (ORMP; $15). Neither biotech firm is profitable yet, but both appear to be on the verge of breakthroughs that are likely to put them on the map.

At a time when attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder appears to be reaching epidemic proportions, Alcobra (ADHD; $23) is developing an alternative to traditional ADHD medications that appears to be both effective and less addictive than other ADHD medications.

No discussion about Israel would be complete without a few words about Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA; $49), which is by far the largest company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the world’s biggest maker of generic drugs.

Surprisingly, the stock has been a mediocre performer over the past few years. But William Scholes, assistant investment manager of the Aberdeen Israel Fund (ISL), a closed-end fund, thinks the stock, at just 11 times estimated 2014 earnings and boasting a dividend yield of 2.8 percent, is a bargain.

Kathy Kristof is a contributing editor to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

Barbara Hoch Marcus is managing editor of the magazine. © 2014 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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15

Alternative accounts for retirement savings

By Sandra Block Say you’re saving the maximum in your retirement accounts. For most employees, that means you can stash up to $17,500 in 2014 in your 401(k), 403(b), federal Thrift Savings Plan or 457 plan.

You can also contribute up to $5,500 to a traditional or Roth IRA. And if you’re 50 or older, you can make “catch up” contributions of up to $5,500 to an employer retirement plan and $1,000 to an IRA. Or maybe you earn too much to contribute the maximum. Employers are required to limit contributions by highly compensated employees if an insufficient number of lower-paid employees participate in the plan.

And you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA if your adjusted gross income is more than $129,000 in 2014 ($191,000 for married couples filing jointly).

If any of these scenarios put up a roadblock to further savings, consider these alternatives:

Taxable accounts Saving in a taxable account is an especially good idea if you’re putting aside cash for college as well as retirement. If you come up short when the bursar calls, you can tap a taxable account without paying income taxes and early-withdrawal penalties.

Taxes on these accounts aren’t deferred, but most investors pay just 15 percent on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends.

Withdrawals from your tax-deferred accounts, on the other hand, will be taxed at your ordinary income rate, which currently ranges from 10 percent to 39.6 percent. To keep taxes in check, select tax-efficient investments, such as tax-free municipal bonds or stock index funds and other investments that qualify for long-term capital-gains rates.

BEACON BITS

July 7

ALL ABOUT ESTATES Learn about trusts,

estates and probate in a presentation by attorney George Aitken on Monday, July 7 at 10:30 a.m. at the Jacksonville Senior Center, 3605A Sweet Air Rd., Phoenix. Call (410) 8878208 for more information.

July 14

SCAM ALERT Learn about the latest trends in home

improvement scams and telemarketing fraud targeting seniors at this seminar at the Ateaze Senior Center on Monday, July 14 at 10:30 a.m. The center is located at 7401 Holabird Ave., Dundalk, Md. For more information, call (410) 887-7233.

SEP IRAs If you have self-employment income from your own business or freelancing, consulting or other part-time work, these SEP IRAs let you break free of the regular IRA limits.

You can contribute up to 20 percent of your self-employment income (your business income minus half of your self-employment tax), up to a maximum of $52,000 in 2014. Contributions are tax-deductible — regardless of how high your income — and grow tax-deferred until retirement.

Variable annuities Contributions to these accounts aren’t deductible, but investment gains grow taxdeferred until you take withdrawals.

Variable annuities were once encumbered by high fees that crippled investment returns, but many now feature low

fees and modest or no surrender charges.

Investors can purchase annuities directly from Vanguard Group and Fidelity Investments, for example, without paying a commission.

Still, variable annuities are most appropriate for high-bracket taxpayers with in-

come of at least $250,000 because they stand to benefit the most from compounded tax-deferred earnings.

Sandra Block is a senior associate editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. © 2014 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Travel Leisure &

Portland is known as the City of Roses; these blooms are from the city’s International Rose Test Garden.

Portland, hip city of roses and gourmands

Ageless hipsters Portland is hip, whatever your age.

Fresh, affordable, intriguing food almost falls out the food truck windows. Low-polluting streetcars and light rail make getting around a cinch. Seniors, “honored citizens,” can travel for $1 a day.

Bikers abound, and the new Tilikum Crossing Bridge over the Willamette will serve only public transit, pedestrians and bicyclists, no cars, when it opens in 2015.

Walkers stroll city blocks that are only 200 by 200 feet. “It’s a small town masquerading as big city. It does not feel hustly-bustly here,” resident Alacia Lauer told me.

Entrepreneurs nurture specialty shops, like one that sells only lightbulbs. And Fido is welcomed even at Nordstroms.

Take-out wine and beer at the Local Choice market comes in a returnable growler, a large resealable bottle. The city encourages food waste composting by providing a bucket and bi-weekly pickup.

Solar-powered, compacting trash cans dot city streets, and the roof on the Indigo@12West apartment building has windmills.

Aging hippies and young hipsters sport a “Keep Portland Weird” bumper sticker.

The city has even reached TV in the IFC television satire, “Portlandia.”

But Portland is more than eco-sophisticates, foodies and idealists. There are world-class corporations like Intel and Nike, a symphony, opera, chamber music, art museum, theater, and a university.

Portlanders practice a “civic ecology,” some say. In the 1970s, to prevent Portland from becoming another sprawling, car-dependent Los Angeles, city fathers and mothers set an urban growth boundary to preserve land.

The city ripped up concrete and pavement to “daylight” Tanner Creek, a stream

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL PORTLAND

By Glenda C. Booth Roses have figured prominently in plays, poems, songs and movies, but manhole covers? Welcome to rose-obsessed Portland, Ore. The City of Roses has an internationallyacclaimed rose garden. Shops sell a postcard picturing roses bursting out the top of a skyscraper. There’s even a song, “The Portland Rose.” And in a prickly twist, the women’s professional soccer team is the Thorns.

Roses symbolize love and beauty, so go for it. Embrace Portland.

Perched on both sides of the Willamette River, Portland is a friendly, walkable city of 600,000 with a small-town feel. It’s won ratings like “most liveable city” (Places Rated Almanac), “America’s cleanest city” (Readers Digest), and “Best Urban Destination for Summer Travel in the U.S.” (Travel and Leisure magazine).

At more than 11,000 feet, Mt. Hood towers over downtown Portland, deemed America’s “most livable city” by Places Rated Almanac. The city boasts both the largest rose show and book store in the nation.

© ERICA SCHROEDER | DREAMSTIME.COM

More than 400 food carts in Portland offer a diverse range of delicacies, from a bacon cheeseburger dumpling to Saigon-style fried chicken.

buried for 100 years, and restore a wetland in center city. Portland boasts 35 acres of green roofs.

There’s even a 141-acre wildlife refuge within the city limits, Oaks Bottom, with 120 species of birds. Peregrine falcons nest under one of the 10 bridges. Snowcapped all year, Mount Hood seems to float above the city, a comforting symbol of stability.

More nature’s nearby. Portland is 90 minutes to the coast, 45 minutes to the mountains. The Columbia Gorge and the Willamette Valley wine country are not far.

For the culinarily curious Central to Portland’s vitality is the “food culture,” locals brag — from organic dishes to exotic fusion offerings and everything in between. What other city would claim kale as the “city vegetable”?

There’s a farmers’ market almost every day, and “liquid assets” in almost every block. Portland has more breweries than any city in the world, claimed a tour guide, noting with a giggle that Cologne, Germany, is second.

There are 45 coffee roasteries. For gourmands and non, Portland Walking Tours (www.portlandwalkingtours.com) offers Chocolate Decadence, Epicurean Excursion and food cart tours, led by self-

described “food dorks.”

At the craft chocolate maker, Cacao, you can sip silky drinking chocolate during a tutorial on the delicate nuances of this universally popular product. The Salt and Straw offers ice cream with flavors like beer, pear and blue cheese, and olive oil.

The Flying Elephant sells a zingy tomato-orange soup. Hungry for bread? Try the Pearl Bakery, where Julia Child watched baguette making. Farmatherapy serves a cucumber-orange-lemon juice drink to die for. Need a hangover cure? Order the cucumber-kale-spinach-parsley-lemon soother.

Real everyman symbols of Portland’s food culture are the not-to-be-missed 400 food carts (www.foodcartsportland.com) — stationary vehicles crammed onto parking lots or pods. Vendors slide open their windows late morning to dish out delicacies from all over the world into the evening, prompting CNN to give Portland the title: the city with “the world’s best street food.”

Examples: The Dump Truck, for a bacon-cheeseburger dumpling; Eurotrash, foie gras; Big Top Waffles, build your own; Rua, Saigon fried chicken; Brazilian House, coxinha, drumstick-shaped chickSee PORTLAND, page 17

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Portland From page 16 en balls; Mama Chow’s wontons. There are oodles more.

Try Voodoo Donuts, where there’s always a line for the popular peanut butter donut. Voodoo made the Guinness Book of World Records for the “World’s Largest Box of Doughnuts,” a jumbo, pink 200-cubicfoot box weighing 666 pounds and holding 3,880 doughnuts. Check the “Where to Eat Guide” and indulge at eateries like Andina (Novo-Andean), Bollywood (Indian), Jake’s Famous Crawfish, Uchu Suchi and Fried Chicken, and more.

Back to roses: Mixologists at the Hotel DeLuxe’s Driftwood Room push a champagne cocktail dubbed Rose-Colored Glasses — gin, rose syrup, lemon juice and champagne. Yum.

Art, books and gardens Besides eating and drinking, there’s plenty to see and do. Pioneer Courthouse Square, “Portland’s living room,” has 300 events a year, including free concerts.

The Portland Art Museum showcases Pacific Northwest artists, starting with Native Americans. There are also Arctic natives’ crafts (wooden snow goggles and ivory toggles) and 19th and 20th century paintings of Mount Hood. The Portland History Museum tells the state’s story from Native Americans to the Oregon Trail to today’s industries.

The must-see Powell’s City of Books is synonymous with Portland. The largest bookstore in the U.S., it’s a block square, three stories tall and always populated with bibliophiles plying the miles of bookshelves filled with over one million old and new offerings, out of print books, and books on every conceivable subject.

At 1,000 feet above the city stands the Pittock Mansion, a sandstone edifice with 14 styles of architecture, built by former Oregonian newspaper owner Henry Pittock. On a clear day, the Columbia River and Washington state are visible from the

garden. Mrs. Pittock established the Portland Rose Society in 1888, which still today is a “rose support group” that advises on cures for rose problems.

Portland’s Japanese Garden is the most authentic outside Japan, 5.5 acres of peace — formal gardens, streams, koi ponds, raked sand, and a teahouse. Garden designer Takuma Tono has said that the running water “initiates a dialogue through the garden.”

In mid-town, the Chinese Gardens are a city block of manicured tranquility and reflecting ponds that engage all the senses with materials from China, including 500 tons of rock and 300 plant species and cultivars.

And yes, roses. The five-acre, International Rose Test Garden has roses of every shape, size and color — over 590 varieties and 10,000 plants. It was started in 1917, when Europeans sent roses to the states for protection during World War I, and Portlanders realized they have a perfect rose-growing climate.

An annual June festival (www.rosefestival.org) celebrates roses with the largest rose show in the nation, the coronation of the rose queen, and a grand floral parade led by the Royal Rosarians. Businesses and volunteers layer floats with roses — enough roses, promoters say, to send your mother a dozen roses, every day for 30 years.

(www.heathmanhotel.com, 1-800-551-011), on the national register of historic landmarks, gained “visibility” as the setting for parts of the racy tome, 50 Shades of Grey.

Rooms start at $224 a night.

US Airways has July flights from BWI for around $560 round trip. The 38-minute,

airport-to-downtown trip on MAX light rail (www.trimet.org/max) costs $2.50.

For more information, contact the Portland Visitor Information Center, www.travelportland.com, (503) 275-9750.

Glenda C. Booth is a freelance writer living in Alexandria, Va.

We specialize in short-term rehabilitation and long-term relationships.

Mary came to ManorCare Health Service – Woodbridge Valley debilitated from an infection. Mary couldn’t even get out of bed!

If you go Portlanders say any time is a good time to visit. Weather-wise, there are few days over 100 degrees and few days in the 20s.

Summer averages in the 80s. Portland is known to be rainy, but the rains are rarely heavy.

There are festivals all year, such as the Waterfront Blues Festival in July, literary festival in October, holiday ale fest in December, and the Chocolate Fest in January.

Check with the Visitor Center (below) for lodging options.

The downtown Heathman Hotel

17

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Tell them you saw it in the Beacon!

After our rehab team worked with Mary, she was up on her own two feet, managing all of her own needs and, in no time, was discharged and back to her regular routine.

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Style Arts &

In the 18th and 19th centuries, why were there more banjos in the Chesapeake region than anywhere else in North America? See story on page 20.

All the summer’s a stage around Baltimore uous little theater in the United States, now in its 98th season — presents The Exonerated — an award-winning docudrama that intertwines the true stories of six death row inmates who are proven innocent and released from Death Row. The play, running through July 6, poses the question: How many others have not been as fortunate?

From July 25 to August 10, Mrs. Maslow’s Boarding House by Cheryl Adam is the Vagabond’s Baltimore Playwrights Festival production. Jilted, jobless and homeless, Meredith Maslow flees Manhattan for her grandmother’s house in Baltimore, only to discover that the sprawling Mt. Vernon home is no longer a placid retreat.

Grandma Maslow, left penniless when widowed, has converted her home into a boardinghouse for a motley crew of lost souls and outcasts. But tough economic times once again have Mrs. Maslow on the brink of bankruptcy, and the fun begins when Meredith and the boarders cook up an outrageous scheme to set things right.

Vagabond is located at 806 S. Broadway St. Ticket prices are $18 ($15 on Fridays); $16 ($15 on Fridays) for seniors. Call (410) 563-9135 or visit www.vagabondplayers.org.

“Always Be Yourself. Unless You Can Be A Pirate, Then Always Be A Pirate!”

OPENING JUNE 26

PHOTO BY TOM LAUER

By Carol Sorgen Theater lovers can rejoice this summer, as the region’s thriving community theater scene offers a full slate of performances to keep even the most ardent theater-goer happy.

Spotlighters Theatre closes out its run of Edward II on June 22, but comes right back with God of Carnage, from July 4 to 27. This dark voyeuristic drama is a verbal battle of wits between two pairs of parents, one of whose children has hurt the other at a public park. They meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner, which turns out to be anything but.

Performances run July 4 to 6, 10 to 13, 18 to 20, and 25 to 27. Following the end of God of Carnage, Spotlighters will be home to Baltimore Playwrights Festival’s staging of In a Yellow Wood by Gary Kluger from August 15 to 17, 21 to 24, and 28 to 31.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for patrons 60+, and $16 for students and military. (On select Thursdays, all tickets are $10.) Spotlighters is located at 817 Saint Paul St. For details, call (410) 752-1225 or visit www.spotlighters.org.

Vagabond Players — the oldest contin-

The Vagabond Players production of The Exonerated tells the story of six death row inmates who escape execution thanks to DNA testing.

Toby’s Dinner Theatre performs The Pirates of Penzance from June 26 to Aug. 31.

This updated version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular musical had a smash Broadway run. The Pirates of Penzance spins a hilarious farce of sentimental pirates, bumbling policemen, dim-witted

young lovers, dewy-eyed daughters, and an eccentric Major-General, all morally bound to the often ridiculous dictates of duty.

Tickets range from $51 to $56, including all-you-can-eat dinner or brunch. To order, See THEATER ROUND-UP, page 19

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Discover An Attractive, Attentive, Attainable Retirement Lifestyle In the pages of your FREE Retirement Kit, you’ll find that Augsburg Village is an active, friendly community with a bustling Town Center at its heart. You’ll see that our roomy apartments have a patio or balcony, so that you can better enjoy our picturesque setting and lovely manicured grounds. Best of all, you’ll learn that we have a state-of-the-art healthcare center enter ... and that our friendly, friendl d y, dedicated edd staff offer a full continuum of care in a truee non-profit, non-profift, faith-based faith-bbas ased e environment. ed env n ironmeent nt..

Call 443-379-4930 You won’t want to miss this updated version of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular musical comedy.

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TOBY’S DINNER THEATRE OF COLUMBIA • CALL 410-730-8311 Based on availability. Due to the nature of theatre bookings, all shows, dates and times are subject to change.

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

From page 18 visit www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or call (410) 995-1969. Toby’s is located at 5900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia.

At Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre at the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex, escape to Neverland with the timeless Broadway musical Peter Pan, on stage June 20 to 21, and 26 to 28 at 8 p.m., and June 15, 22 and 29 at 3 p.m.

Once you’re back from your adventures in Neverland, Legally Blonde: The Musical plays it for laughs from July 18 to 19, 25 to 26 and 31, and Aug. 1 to 2 at 8 p.m. Matinees are July 20, 27 and August 3 at 3 p.m.

When Elle Woods’ life is turned upsidedown after her boyfriend dumps her so he can start getting serious about his life and attend Harvard Law, Elle — determined to get him back — uses her charm to get into Harvard Law as well. What begins as a struggle — albeit a funny one — turns into a triumph.

Cockpit Cabaret will also present the classic comedy The Odd Couple, as well as The Allergist’s Wife, while the Young People’s Theatre adapts the popular Annie with its production of Annie, Jr. For ticket information for all shows, call (443) 840-ARTS or email cockpitincourt@ccbcmd.edu.

Center Stage’s 51st season comes to a close with Wild with Happy, running through June 29. Colman Domingo’s comedy, which was a recent hit in New York, is an entertaining look at perhaps the least entertaining of subjects — grief.

Gil’s boyfriend has left him, his acting career has stalled, and his mother has just died. Gil’s not taking any of this very well, but between his boisterous Aunt Glo, a sensitive funeral director and his outrageous best friend, he may just pull through.

Tickets range from $19 to $59. For more information, contact the box office at (410) 332-0033 or boxoffice@centerstage.org.

Center Stage is located at 700 N. Calvert St. Bowie Community Theatre (16500 White Marsh Park Drive), presents Sex Please, We’re Sixty on July 11 and 12 at 8 p.m., July 13 at 2 p.m., July 18 at 8 p.m., July 19 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., July 20 at 2 p.m., and July 25 to 26 at 8 p.m.

In this American farce, Mrs. Stancliffe’s Rose Cottage Bed & Breakfast has been successful for many years. Her guests (nearly all women) return year after year.

Her next door neighbor, the elderly, silvertongued, Bud “the Stud” Davis believes they come to spend time with him in romantic liaisons, and Mrs. Stancliffe reluctantly accepts the fact that Bud the Stud is, in fact, good for business.

Add to the guest list three older women, plus a retired chemist who has developed a blue pill called Venusia, after Venus the goddess of love, to increase the libido of menopausal women. The pill has not been tested. When Bud gets his hands on some of the Venusia pills, the fun begins, as he attempts to entertain all three women.

Ticket prices are $20, $15 for seniors. Call (301) 805-0219 or visit www.bctheatre.com.

PHOTO © RICHARD ANDERSON

Theater round-up

19

Circle in Annapolis.

Tickets are $16 in advance; $20 at the door.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.annapolisshakespeare.org or by calling the box office at (410) 415-3513.

Annapolis Summer Gar den Theatre’s 2014 roster includes perennial favorite 42nd Str eet, through June 21; Shout!

The Mod Musical, from June 27 to July 19; and Spamalot, from July 31 to August 31. Tickets Wild with Happy at Center Stage takes an entertaining look are $20 and can be pur- at grief. chased by sending a check, payable to ASGT, to ASGT Ticket www.summergarden.com.

For a listing of theaters throughout Office, 143 Compromise Street, Annapolis, visit www.srbnet.com.

Maryland, MD 21401, or by visiting online at

Annapolis Shakespeare Company presents 22 weeks of comedy at the Courtyard of Reynolds Tavern, with the production of Moliere’s The Schemings of Scapin every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. through July 29. Enjoy the antics of the conniving servant Scapin, who is enlisted by two young men, Octave and Leandre, to save them after they pledge marriage to women their fathers wouldn’t approve of.

On Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. from Aug. 5 to Oct. 7, there is more hilarity with Moliere’s The Imaginary Invalid, in which the hypochondriac Argan wants nothing more than to be sick, or at least to be thought of as sick, and tended to by doctors and family (notably his scheming wife).

His desire for treatment outweighs his judgment, as he tries to set his daughter up to marry an idiot doctor-in-training. Only the brilliant collaboration of the maid, Toinette, with his brother, Beralde, can foil the wife, conquer the doctors and satisfy Argan.

Reynolds Tavern is located at 7 Church

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Exhibit explores banjo’s Baltimore roots

By Carol Sorgen For nearly 300 years, the banjo has been a part of the American narrative, with Baltimore playing an integral role in its legacy — from the manufacture of the instruments themselves to being the birthplace of some of the most highly regarded banjo players in history.

The Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI) is exploring Baltimore’s role in banjo history in a new exhibition titled “Making Music: The Banjo in Baltimore

slaves were brought to America and forced to work on plantations in the South, the instrument and its music gained a foothold in this country.

It remained primarily a form of African folk music until white audiences were introduced to the instrument through minstrel shows starting in the mid-1800s. In these shows, white performers wearing black makeup on their faces popularized the music and culture of African Americans in what is today considered a “grotesque” representation.

Around the same time, the banjo was also introduced to Ireland, when the blackface group, the Virginia Minstrels, toured England, Ireland and France from 18431845. Minstrel Joel Walker Sweeney is widely credited with bringing the banjo into mainstream American and European culture.

and Beyond,” featuring banjos, sheet music and profiles of local banjo makers.

The exhibit includes 14 rarely seen banjos from the 1840s and ‘50s, as well as a Haitian banza, made from a gourd and animal hide, believed to be one of the precursors of today’s banjo.

African roots Banjo music began more than a century ago as a form of folk music, reputedly in sub-Saharan Africa. When West African

Banjo hotspot According to BMI Executive Director Roland Woodward, the largest concentration of banjos in North America between the 1730s and 1830s could be found in the

Chesapeake region of Maryland.

In the 19th century, as the northernmost point for the Southern economy, and the South’s most industrialized city, Baltimore was at the crossroads for slavery and industry. And an industrious Baltimorean made the city the site of the banjo’s earliest mass production.

German immigrant William E. Boucher, Jr. capitalized on the demand for banjos in the 1840s, when he began a successful banjo manufacturing business.

In addition, he ran a music store in which to sell them. Boucher and the city of Baltimore helped to transform the banjo into an icon of one of America’s first pop music crazes, according to Woodward.

The increasing worldwide popularity of the banjo influenced different kinds of music, gave rise to mountain string bands, and laid a foundation for blues, American folk and bluegrass music. Television shows such as “Hee Haw” made banjo music even more popular in the late 20th century.

Banjo music tends to be lively and upSee BANJO, page 22

PHOTO COURTESY OF BMI

An exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Industry tells the story of the banjo’s journey from Africa to America, and thence to Europe. The instrument was particularly popular in Maryland from the 1730s to the 1830s.

Cars, boats, furniture, antiques, tools, appliances Everything and anything is sold on

Radio Flea Market Heard every Sunday, 7-8:00 a.m. on 680 WCBM

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

Making a move From page 1 into an apartment in Baltimore County when her mother — who was then living with her — needed a space without steps.

Smith couldn’t find a condominium that she liked, so she rented an apartment that she said she has thoroughly enjoyed.

But moving to Texas is giving her the opportunity to be a homeowner again.

“The expense of an apartment in Texas is about the same as it is in Baltimore,” Smith explained, “but you can buy a home there for less than you can here. I can get what I want for less than renting, and have something to leave my son.”

Smith is looking forward to decorating her new home, but the move itself is another story.

“Oh, that is not going to be fun!” she exclaimed, having just spent the afternoon sorting through closets and packing up items to be donated or consigned.

Moving is expensive, so she’s planning to take only what matters the most to her.

Once she is settled, she will fill in the blanks when it comes to furniture, accessories and so on.

While Smith has already met some people in Texas on her visits to her son, she admits that she’s concerned about leaving her friends.

“At my age, a lot of my friends are deceased or very ill, so the ones who aren’t are so important to me,” she said. “I’m going to miss them terribly.”

Smith won’t be living in a large city like Dallas, Houston or even Austin, and said she’ll miss things like going to the theater and, as befits a former librarian, a good library (though she’s become quite enamored of her iPad). The atmosphere in Texas is more “laid back” than she’s used to, as well.

Still, the people she has met so far have been very welcoming, and though she never thought she’d live anywhere but Baltimore, “it’s been a revelation to me that, at this point in life, I can have a new adventure.”

On a healing path Carole Langrall, who says she’s on the younger side of the baby boom generation, grew up in Baltimore, left for a number of

FROM PAGE 22

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD A C H E B O O T S T U N S A C A T A M O R S A N S A N I V S A N P I S L E

C A I R O

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O K R A S A L O N C I A O

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years, and then returned for another 16 years.

And while she loves her mother, her friends, the ocean and seafood, in 2010 she packed up her belongings and moved — without knowing a soul — to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Langrall, who had owned a successful floral design studio in Catonsville, became seriously ill several years ago, which was followed by a devastating relationship break-up.

“Everything in my life just broke down,” she said. That caused her to re-think what she wanted to do in life, and where she wanted to do it. “I settled on Santa Fe,” after having visited there with a friend.

She had been tempted to move to Mexico because she speaks Spanish and wanted something completely different from her lifestyle in Baltimore. But she decided that, as a single woman, she wasn’t ready to do that on her own.

“Santa Fe is very much like Mexico, so I thought this would be a good alternative,” she said. Langrall was also drawn to Santa

Fe because of its spiritual and healing practitioners.

“I not only wanted to challenge myself, but I wanted to learn how to heal myself naturally,” she said, adding that at one point in her illness she was in a doctor’s office almost every week.

With the many holistic therapies and support groups available in Santa Fe, Langrall is feeling much better, and believes that her move there played a large part in putting her on the road to recovery.

21

“So many people have looked out for me and ‘adopted’ me,” she said. “I feel very blessed.”

That’s not to say that Santa Fe is necessarily part of Langrall’s long-term future.

She may come back to Baltimore — “Baltimore will always be my home” — but other new adventures may await.

“I landed in Santa Fe, but the journey continues,” said Langrall, who describes herself as a bit of a gypsy. “I’m ready for a new place.

This is not my last stop by any means.”

BEACON BITS

June 28+

SUMMER JAZZ CONCERT SERIES

Sterling Silver Jazz performs at the first of three 2014 outdoor concerts on Saturday, June 28, at Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, 300 Oella Ave., from 6 to 8 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs, blanket and a picnic dinner or purchase food and beverages onsite from Island Quizine. Tickets are available online or at the museum. For more information, call (410) 887-1081 or visit www.BenjaminBanneker.wordpress.com.

All ages are welcome, and tickets are $15 per person.

22

Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Banjo From page 20 beat; some of the most popular banjo tunes include “Dueling Banjos,” “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” “Cripple Creek,” “Blackberry Blossom,” “Cotton Eyed Joe,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and “Wildwood Flower.”

Though guitars have taken some attention away from the popularity of banjos, Maryland still continues to be a hub of banjo talent — from two-time Grammy winner Cathy Fink, to Buddy Wachter, widely acknowledged as one of today’s most pre-

JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

eminent banjo virtuosos, to Stephen Wade, local author, historian and musician, whose performance of the show “Banjo Dancing” had a record-setting 10-year run at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. “Making Music: The Banjo in Baltimore and Beyond” runs through Oct. 18. The Baltimore Museum of Industry is located at 1415 Key Highway, Inner Harbor South, and is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for patrons 62+. Parking is free. For more information, call (410) 727-4808 or visit www.thebmi.org.

Crossword Puzzle Daily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus

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See useful links and resources at www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com

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by Stephen Sherr

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Down

1. Require ibuprofen 1. They are toned up by sit-ups 5. Oodles 2. Item in M*A*S*H’s swamp 9. Avail oneself of Vail 3. “___ the blind” (Sandra Bullock’s 12. ___ camp repeated distress cry in Gravity) 13. Microwave 4. Highly active volcano 14. Entrapment scheme 5. Jack ___ 16. Phaser setting 6. Tropical shindigs 17. Provide a challenge 7. Ingredient in Creole cooking 18. Star of the National Zoo 8. Prom-goer 19. North American city marches into 9. Hackneyed South American harvester 10. Sort of (sort of) 22. Brazilian Shorthair, for example 11. Sort files 24. Grp. of former Soviet republics 14. Sort of tooth separator 25. Mountain climber’s tool 15. Stare at curiously 26. Indifferent between right 20. Org. that spreads madness (in March) and wrong 21. Dionysus’ love 28. Levelheaded 22. Castilian castles 30. Cuzcatlan city marches into Catalan 23. It sells a “Top load washer with artist dual action agitator” 36. “Nurse: give this patient ___” 27.

Invitation rqst.

37. Clay, later 28.

It will curl your hair 38. Remote Local Area Network 29. ___ in the pool (acronym) 31.

Low-lying area 39. Golden state bay marches into gold 32. Bummer medal painter 33. Not just quietly offended 44. “Children should be ___ ...”

45. His last film was Plan 9 From Outer34. Calf catcher 35. Packed like tuna Space, 28 years after starring in Dracula 40. Categorize 46. Least welcoming 41. Parlays 50. End of a souffle or waffle 42. Against the letter and the spirit 51. Tennessee athlete 43. User of body language 52. Tech city marches into 46. Small patch of land tequila seller 47. “The city of a thousand minarets” 56. Permanent inmate 48. Speculate 57. Proof of engagement 49. Remove (as from James Bond’s 58. It will give you heartburn Aston Martin) 61. Not slouching 50. Mushrooms and mold 62. Not at all 28 Across 53. Units of work 63. ___ in America 54. Goodbye, Giuseppe 64. Scrap of food 55. Femme fatale 65. Garden store package 59. Expected wedding response 66. Remove snow 60. Winter : frost :: Spring : ___

Answers on page 21.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2014

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 NURSING STUDENT & LICENSED, bonded, highly experienced CNA seeks full-time, overnight caregiving position. Extensive resume & sterling references available. If interested, please call Jacqueline at 301-787-3555.

SENIORS HELPING SENIORS® in-home services is looking for Caregivers and Homemakers who want the perfect part-time job.

Flexible hours, work with senior citizens prior experience helpful. Call for information today!

410-989-3775 or visit our website, www.seniorshelpingseniors.com/westbaltimorecounty.

EXPERIENCED, CARING COMPANIONS, homemakers, conscientious, understanding and dependable, certified caregivers available 24/7 – please call Jeanne at 410-340-7764 or Viola, 443-833-7952.

LICENSED, EXPERIENCED CNA/GNA seeks overnight and weekend caregiving position. Excellent references provided if interested. Call Millicent, 443-469-7694.

23

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Financial Services RETIREMENT PLANNING, LIFE INSURANCE, annuities, chronic care, final expense coverage? Free one-on-one consultation with a Financial Advisor. Contact info: www.wfgconnects.com/naimurfinances or 240-743-7325.

ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, TAXES – conscientious CPA, 37 years experience, reasonable rates, looking for additional business, personal and eldercare clients. Call 410-653-3363.

For Rent/Sale Real Estate WE BUY HOUSES FOR CA$H – Call today, 240-670-6797. Iwant2helpyou.com.

For Sale DULANEY VALLEY MEMORIAL GARDENS – One two-grave lot. Abbey Gardens Area, Crypt #114. Reasonable asking price. Call 410-655-1439.

2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed.

Asking $900 for the pair. Can email pictures if desired. Call Steve, 410-913-1653.

Home/Handyman Services SANFORD & SON HAULING & RECYCLING. Trash removal, house & estate cleanouts, garage clean-outs, demolition. Shed, fence & deck removal. Tree trimming & removal, yard work, etc. Licensed and insured. Free estimates over the phone. 7 days a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 410-746-5090.

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).

Personal Services

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED Deadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.

Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards.

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.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise.

Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad.

Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:

The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept.

P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227 Wanted

Wanted

OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling Silver Flatware, Tea Sets, Single Pieces, Fountain Pens, Lighters, Tools, Cameras, Glassware, Art Work. Toys From Trains to Hotwheels to Star Wars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

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.

MILITARY ITEMS Collector seeks: helmets, weapons, knives, swords, bayonets, webgear, uniforms, inert ordnance, ETC. From 1875 to 1960, US, German, Britain, Japan, France, Russian. Please call Fred 301-910-0783, Thank you. Also Lionel Trains.

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEWELRY – pocket and wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, train sets and accessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-655-0412.

Thanks for reading!

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

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

Wanted VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950 through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least 100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

WE BUY OLD AND NEW JEWELRY, Coins, Silver and Gold, Paper Money Too. Watches, Clocks and Parts, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

JOIN SENIOR BOX OFFICE Senior Box Office (SBO) offers complimentary and discounted

tickets to members for cultural, educational and entertainment events, as well as travel opportunities. Those age 60 and older are eligible to join. The 20142015 membership year will run Oct. 1, 2014, through Sept. 30, 2015. Annual membership dues are $30 per household with quarterly brochures delivered by email or $38 per household with printed brochures delivered by regular mail.

More information, as well as a membership application, is available at www.seniorboxoffice.org. You may also call SBO at (410) 887-5399 or email sbo@seniorboxoffice.org to request an application by mail.

June 28

DIANA ROSS IN CONCERT Legendary pop star Diana Ross performs on Saturday, June 28 at 8 p.m. at Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, 140 W. Mt.

Royal Ave. The concert will benefit the Edward A. Myerberg Center’s programs and services for adults 55 and older. Tickets range from $59 to $175. For more information, call (410) 900-1150 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

BB7/14

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JULY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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