The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers springing forward into spring

The legislature in my state is debating whether to get rid of day light savings time. Arguments include it doesn’t save energy, some people have health effects, and it costs money due to reduced productivity.

For me, my opinion is to keep daylight savings time. I like the increased daylight in the evening. And, while it takes me a couple of weeks to go through the time change, I don’t notice it after that.

Whether daylight savings time or standard time, baby boomers keep on writing. Last week’s articles include:

• Whether baby boomers are leaving the world a better place than they found it.
• The benefits of taking walking tours.
• The challenges of replacing an old TV set.
• The ups and downs of quitting jobs in Connecticut and moving to Florida.
• How to buy a winter coat.

Carol Cassara of Heart·Mind·Soul writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #587. Click here to get the links to these articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Propane torches are being recalled by Harbor Freight Tools due to burn hazards

Harbor Freight Tools is recalling about 150,000 greenwood propane torches.

The trigger on the torches that engages the flame can fail to disengage when the trigger is no longer pressed, posing a burn hazard.

Harbor Freight has received two reports of the trigger failing, including one report of a burn injury.

How to buy a winter coat

Why am I writing about this when spring is approaching? Because winter coats are on sale now and it’s a good time to get a bargain.

I like long, warm wool coats, especially red ones. My niece brought the coat in the photo as a present for me. It fits perfectly. I get lots of compliments on it. However, I’m looking for a new one to have when my red coat wears out. Today I saw a cobalt blue coat at Macy’s. What was remarkable was that it had a hood. I liked it a lot, but it wasn’t long enough and it didn’t fit snugly around my neck.

Today is International Women's Day

International Women's Day, March 8, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day has occurred for more than a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Prior to this the Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom’s suffragettes, America’s suffragists, and other groups campaigned for women’s equality.

This year’s theme is Balance for Better. The IWD website explains the theme this way:

Claire pulls kids’ makeup containing asbestos from shelves after FDA tests

Claire, a mall chain store, is removing from shelves three talc-based products — eye shadows, compact powder, and contour powder — that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this week contain asbestos. Claire’s said it’s doing this "out of an abundance of caution."

FDA test results confirmed the findings of a U.S. PIRG Education Fund study last year that discovered asbestos in Claire’s compact and contour powders. Talc is a substance that sometimes contains naturally-occurring asbestos, and Claire’s said it was "also removing any remaining talc based cosmetic products."

"While we are relieved that children will no longer be able to buy three asbestos-containing cosmetics at Claire's, we urge Claire's to take stronger action with these products,” said Kara Cook-Schultz, toxics program director for U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “Many consumers still have these dangerous products on their shelves at home. Parents and kids should be informed about the problems with the makeup they purchased."

The FDA is advising consumers not to use these products.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

How Wall Street influenced Congress last year

Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of the Congress in 2018 voted again and again for bank-backed bills that endanger financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending, according to a report by Americans for Financial Reform.

The report, “Where They Stand on Financial Reform,” shows how each lawmaker voted in areas affecting Wall Street and predatory lenders. It also identifies those members of Congress who most frequently voted with Wall Street or predatory lenders, and against the public interest.

“Majorities in the 115th Congress voted repeatedly for measures that benefit Wall Street and predatory lenders over consumers and investors,” said Rion Dennis, financial reform advocate at AFR. “Strong public opposition and the 60-vote threshold in the Senate ensured that many of these measures passed in the House, but not the Senate. But when some Democrats joined the solid block of Republicans – or where only 50 votes were required – dangerous deregulation became law.”

Trump’s EPA slows down review of toxic chemicals

Under the direction of top political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency, scientists were told to “limit” chemical safety assessments, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO audit was requested by Senator Tom Carper, Del., the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Carper asked the GAO to investigate how the EPA is carrying out the Toxic Substances Control Act and its Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, program.

In June 2018, the office of then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “told IRIS officials that they could not release any IRIS-associated documentation” without formal permission from top political leadership from the chemicals safety division at EPA, according to the GAO investigation. By October, the scientists were informed they must cut back on the number of chemical safety assessments.

Baby boomers and the art of self-care

Winter is drawing to a close, and spring is coming. It seems people are worn out from the cold weather and lack of sunshine, and maybe even suffering from SAD. So it’s a good time to think self-care . . . and maybe even self-preservation.

This week our baby boomer bloggers offer articles on self-care: using self-compassion, reframing for a different perspective, learning to say no for self-care, processing grief, and sleeping soundly long and often without guilt. Then, there’s information on self-preservation, too: placing a freeze on your credit reports.

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #586. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Rechargeable flashlights are being recalled by Harbor Freight Tools due to overheating and burn hazards

Harbor Freight Tools is recalling about 500,000 rechargeable flashlights.

The flashlight can overheat while charging, posing a burn hazard to consumers. Harbor Freight Tools has received two reports of the flashlight overheating. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves the Harbor Freight 80 lumen 12v rechargeable flashlights. The small black flashlight has a white button located on the side to turn the flashlight on and off. The base of the flashlight is a charger that fits into any standard vehicle 12V power port to charge.

Which store has the cheapest ingredients for a stew?

Last week, I was coming home and I realized I forgot to stop at the local co-op to get the ingredients I wanted to make a crock pot stew. Instead of driving back across town, I decided to stop at Safeway and shop there instead.

My priority in buying groceries is to purchase as much organic food as I can. So, at Safeway, I set about buying organic vegetables for the stew. I was shocked when I got to the checkout and found out that the large sweet potato that I selected cost $3.41 cents.

I decided to compare prices and see if the makings for the stew were cheaper at my local co-op, Safeway, or Trader Joe’s. I’ve shopped at Trader Joe’s a few times recently because I heard an article on National Public Radio that said it had good prices and service.

Here’s the comparison for the stew ingredients: