Verne Hill
Thursday News: April 20, 2023
Welcome to North Carolina (the Triad) everyone attending the High Point ‘Spring Home Furnishings’ Market happening April 22-26, 2023 (Sat – Wed). https://www.highpointmarket.org/
Allergy Alert for TREE, GRASS and WEED pollen ‘very elevated’ for Thursday. www.forsyth.cc/EAP/pollen.aspx
Sheetz has lowering the price of its E-85 (flex fuel) to $1.85 per gallon thru the end of April (midnight April 30).
Not sure if you can use E-85 flex fuel?
Check to see if your gas cap is ‘yellow’ or maybe a sticker that suggests ‘flex-fuel’ compatible. We have an ‘online tool’ to help, based on your make of vehicle, on the News Blog at wbfj.fm. https://pearsonfuels.com/flex-fuel-car-check/
It’s National VOLUNTEER Week (April 16-22, 2023)
One in four Americans volunteer.
Most volunteers in the US are between 35 and 44 years old.
Women are more likely to volunteer than men.
https://teamstage.io/volunteering-statistics/
Unemployed? Why not volunteer…
One surprising benefit of volunteering…it can help you land a job?
Volunteers who’ve been unemployed (and out of work) are 27% more likely to find a job. *Resume statistics indicate that the majority of recruiters (91%) value soft skills as much as hard skills and volunteering is a great way to develop soft skills in a real-world environment. https://teamstage.io/volunteering-statistics/
Instacart says that the #1 delivered grocery item on its platform is bananas.
More than 1 billion bananas have been delivered to customers. Actually, bananas have been the most delivered item from Instacart for almost 11 years. Almost 40% of banana orders on Instacart have “special instructions containing the word ‘green.’”
*According to Dole Food Company, the banana is “the world’s most popular fruit, the top-selling item in the supermarket and a staple for more than 90% of American households.” BTW: Instacart: One billion bananas (if put end-to-end could ‘circle the Earth more than 5 times’.
BTW: Instacart is a grocery delivery service that employs personal shoppers to shop for you and then deliver the groceries to your home..www.pennlive.com/food/2023/04/with-more-than-1-billion-delivered-this-is-the-most-popular-grocery-item-on-instacart.html
Toddler to teenager: Kids will go through at least 15 pairs of shoes by age 13.
The common problem: While feet grow, kid’s shoes do not.
An Indian entrepreneur has designed a line of ‘kids shoes’ called ‘Aretto’ that slowly uncurl’s (or grows) as a child grows.
“Between zero and three years of age, children’s feet size changes every three months, and you need roughly 15 sizes between zero and nine years old, before attaining final foot size at 13 years. This design helps to solve the problem and reducing unnecessary manufacturing waste. The shoes with the 3-fold purpose of durability, flexibility, and washability are priced between $22 – $31 are available internationally at https://wearetto.com/
Facebook users who had an active account between May 2007 and December 2022 can now ‘apply for a share’ of the company’s $725 million dollar settlement reached in a major data privacy scandal.
The claim form can be filled out online or printed and submitted by mail. The form takes only a few minutes to complete and must be submitted by August 25 to be included as part of the settlement. It’s not yet clear how much each settlement payment will be.
Note: Facebook’s parent company, Meta, agreed last year to the amount to settle a long-standing class action lawsuit accusing it of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access private user information and misleading users about its privacy practices. https://facebookuserprivacysettlement.com/#submit-claim
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/tech/facebook-cambridge-analytica-settlement-application/index.html
FRA: What is your full retirement age?
Your FRA (full retirement age) is the age at which you’ll receive the entire social security benefit amount you qualify for, based on your earnings and work history.
Your exact FRA will depend on your birth year, but usually between ages 66 and 67. For anyone born in 1960 or later, your FRA is 67 years old.
NOTE: The average person could be missing out on roughly $5,400 per year in benefits as a result of not fully understanding how their FRA works.
If you claim before your FRA (as early as age 62), your benefit amount will be reduced. By waiting until after your FRA to file, though, you’ll collect a bonus each month on top of your full benefit amount. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2023/04/16/social-security-mistake-could-cost-you/70114141007/
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extended an administrative pause that allows access to the abortion drug mifepristone through Friday night. A Federal District Court judge overturned the FDA approval of the drug, and a Federal Appeals Court held up parts of the lower court ruling. /www2.cbn.com/news/politics/supreme-court-expected-rule-abortion-pill-week
