George Mindling Column - 4-22-2005 - Top-Notch Identity Theft Program

Sheriff Has A Top-Notch Identity Theft Program

I won a neat little personal nail file kit because I knew the Federal Trade Commission is the one government agency that acts as a clearinghouse for acts of white-collar crime. Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Gordon Baer gave his excellent presentation on Identity Theft to our homeowner’s association and had been tossing out semi-useful, mainly symbolic rewards for correct answers to his questions to the audience. Everyone enjoyed the interactive presentation that involved the audience in the actual exchange of information. When he got to the one question about which Federal agency acts as a clearinghouse for crime, the audience was stumped. Guesses from the FBI to the Treasury Department were met with a disappointing “Nope! Anybody else?”

I had been on the FTC web page earlier in the day, checking out the page on Identity Theft and what to do about it at: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/. I forward all of the e-mail “Phishing” attempts I get to uce@ftc.gov. Phishing is the fake e-mail that tries to get you to log on to an official looking website and enter your account information because your account is in dire need of immediate attention. The web site that looks very official is in fact a scam. When in doubt, pick up the telephone and call the financial institution to tell them about the e-mail.

The FTC page at the ID Theft page lists the four steps to take if you think you are a victim of identity theft: First, “Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.”

Second thing to do is “Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.”

Next, “File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.” Finally, “File your complaint with the FTC!” The FTC web page actually has a link on step four that will take you through the process.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Department Identity Theft program is excellent and should be attended if you get the chance. It’s worth driving across town to attend the presentation. It shouldn’t be missed. Call the Sheriff’s Crime Prevention office at (941)-764-1533 for more information on their community programs.

Visit the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov/. Click on the box at the top that’s marked “consumer.” Put that page in your bookmarks or favorites folder. It is a nice page to have handy. We need all the help we can get.

Letter to the Editor - May 28th, 2005

Letter to the Editor

May 28^th, 2005

I always read the curmudgeons articles with great enthusiasm: they confirm my definition of CAVE people, Citizens Against Virtually Everything! With the exception of Frank Lukasik, who actually had something positive to say about Murdock Village, they are a waste of talent. They are, in my opinion, subversive. Look up subversive before you blast me with a letter or e-mail. I will send you a definition in case you don’t have, or do not know how to use, a dictionary.

Many of the Curmudgeons have written surreptitiously as supposed “letters to the editor” when in fact they are carefully publishing a political manifesto of a self appointed group of narrow minded right wing conservatives who want to drive the political bus in Charlotte County without paying for the bus or the gas! Certainly without being elected!

Curmudgeon Joe Dixon’s pro-phosphate mining column of October 20, 2003, really caught my attention. I have read all of their articles ever since, waiting to see if in fact they would contribute something to actually help the people of Charlotte County.

Where were these guys when the people of Charlotte County needed them? Were they serving food, or delivering ice? Or working with the emergency teams throughout the county? Did they work with the Sheriff’s Office, or even with the church groups, service clubs, homeowner’s associations, and myriad volunteers that came to the aid of residents of Charlotte County. Did they attend any of the FEMA meetings, or get involved with any aspect of the reconstruction of the damaged areas of our county? Or were they sitting around, pissing and moaning, trying to decide who should write the next letter to the editor?

Have they presented to the Commissioners any alternatives to any of the issues they have written about? I don’t remember seeing any one from the Curmudgeons at any of the commission meetings I’ve attended.

Tell me anything positive about the Curmudgeons. I would love to hear it.

I believe these guys would take away my freedom to express my views: they have in fact demanded that the newspapers only print articles that fit their beliefs! They want their freedoms, they just don’t want you or I to have any.

Time to shine the light on the Curmudgeons.

George Mindling

Port Charlotte, FL

George Mindling Column 5-6-2005 - Ideas On Fixing I-75

Got Any Ideas On Fixing I-75?

While sitting idly on I-75 on a recent Friday morning, I couldn’t help but think about the future of southwest Florida. There was no accident and it wasn’t rush hour! Traffic simply jammed and stopped. With estimates running at somewhere around 10 to 14 million new residents for our state within the next ten to fifteen years, it isn’t hard to imagine what traffic will be in 2015. 

The completion of I-75 just a little over twelve short years ago changed southwest Florida forever. Traffic now zips east/west across the southern half of the state effortlessly. The biggest change, however, isn’t the east/west flow: it is the flow to and from the Naples/Marco area and the high growth corridor north to Tampa and the connector at I-4. With the soon to be completed $386 million expansion at Southwest Florida International Airport, I-75 will again be asked to absorb a greater traffic load.

Prior to I-75, US 41 had been the prime connector between southwest Florida and the rest of the country. Planning had centered on that one north-south highway as the main artery of most coastal communities. One can only thank the Commissioners of Charlotte County for six laning US-41 when they did.

Got an idea to fix the problem? Want to get involved in the planning process? The State of Florida Department of Transportation wants to hear from you! Go to the web site “Get Involved!” at http://www.ftp2025.com/get-involved.asp. Take a look at the planning for year 2025. There is an on-line survey that, unfortunately, only works with Microsoft Internet Explorer. The survey is limited in scope, but does have a page for comments and citizen input at: http://www.ftp2025.com/comment.asp. I’m sure you have a view you’d love to share.

According to the DOT, “The Florida Transportation Plan (FTP) is the long-range plan that identifies the goals and objectives for the next 20 years to address the needs of the entire state transportation system. Perhaps more importantly, the FTP provides the policy framework for allocating over $100 billion in funding that will be spent to meet the transportation needs of residents, tourists and business people between now and 2025.”

Perhaps you can attend one of the public planning workshops at either Sarasota or Ft. Myers. They will be held:

May 9, 2005 -- Sarasota (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport
Dan P. McClure Auditorium

5900 Auditorium Lane
Sarasota, FL 34243 Contact: Johnny Limbaugh 239-461-4300

May 11, 2005 -- Ft. Myers (4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
Florida Gulf Coast University, Sprint Room
10501 FGCU Blvd. South
Ft. Myers, FL 33965-6565
Contact: Johnny Limbaugh 239-461-4300

Just remember if you plan on using I-75 to get to Sarasota or Ft Myers for the workshops, you’d better leave home early.

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 5-20-2005 - Punta Gorda's Not Escaping

Punta Gorda's Not Escaping Area Changes

Will Rogers, the great American humorist, is supposed to have responded to a small city mayor who asked him what he thought of their fair town with, “It’s a good place for one…”

While I can’t verify the town or the quote, the quip certainly brings to mind Punta Gorda.

While getting my wife’s car serviced in the “Great Auto Mile” on US 41, we decided to grab a bite to eat and do some shopping. The several restaurants on the block at Marion are very nice and well priced, just be sure to check the schedules as most are in summer schedule. Several other shops, sorry, shoppes, appeared to be on hiatus as well

Since the central shopping area appeals to those looking for specialty items, we wandered over to Fisherman’s Village, which caters to the tourist crowd, or trickle, depending on the time of year, to see if we could really do any shopping. After an ice cream cone and a leisurely stroll along the shoppes, we decided we really didn’t want a tee shirt or a bumper sticker. Now where to?

With all the autos for sale and being serviced in the concentrated area on Tamiami Trail, I expected to find abundant proof of life in the neighborhood. There seemed to be plenty of traffic, especially pick up trucks laden with ladders and PVC pipe, even sheets of drywall, but everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get into PGI or leave town.

According to a local, well known real estate broker, Punta Gorda Isles, the high dollar salt water canal front part of town, is just now, for the for the first time, seeing clusters of kids waiting for school buses. The comments were broadcast during a local cable television show that highlights our area and activities. The significance of the observation may not be seen immediately, but our area is changing and so is Punta Gorda.

While the residents of Punta Gorda have always raised families here, the next generation of PGI residents offers a new paradigm to retailers. That will dictate the changes that will transpire in the quaint town of Punta Gorda. Retailers know where the money is. Home Depot and Wal-Mart will be the first of the new retailers, but don’t be surprised if other national chains have their eyes on the changing profile of Punta Gorda.

The hurricane rebuilding effort is underway, but what will it bring? What will rise from the rubble of a hotel and the County Auditorium yet remains to be seen. What had been a central shopping area for Punta Gorda remains barren. The vacant land is more than an eyesore, it is a reminder that now is the time to do things right. Empty lots will hopefully grow new structures and buildings to be the face of a new City.

The heart of Punta Gorda is still there. It just isn’t beating very hard at the moment.

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 6-17-2005 - Annual Salary

How to Figure Your Annual Salary

If you are an hourly worker trying to decide how much you need to earn to afford the lifestyle you want, you need to know your actual annual salary. You may decide further education is needed to enhance your skills and increase your wages, but you still need to know what your time is worth in the work force.

While there are several different methods of converting hourly wages to annual salary, one of the old standards still works as a yardstick in converting wages based on the old forty-hour workweek. The forty-hour workweek, though, may be disappearing from the American work place. In the retail world, or perhaps in the realm of exempt, or true salaried positions, employers expect far more than a forty-hour week. The use of an hourly employee often offers an employer more flexibility than a fixed annual salary. If you are a part time employee working less than 40 hours a week, then multiplying number of hours times wage times number of days worked a year is the best way to determine your annual salary.

Many payroll programs simply use 2080 hours a year, (the basic concept of 8 hours a day times 5 days a week times 52 weeks a year). These programs do not count non-work days. Several programs use 2020 hours a given year to account for non-paid vacation and other non-paid days. Many companies pay vacation from a different accounting fund than salary, although the employee only sees the difference in the tax statement. Many hourly workers simply have unpaid vacations.

Several large companies have used the twenty-one day work period at eight hours a day, twelve times a year to determine annual salary. That results in 2,016 work hours a year. Twenty-one days is a basic formula based on the actual number of workdays in a “generic” month. That eliminates weekends and the average number of non-worked, non-paid days in each given period. Multiply 2,016 times the hourly rate to see what the annual salary would be.

According to recent numbers published by the Sun-Herald, you can expect to start at $7.00 an hour for as a retail salesperson if you have no experience. That calculates to $14,112 annual salary. Of course you can flip that around and divide an annual salary by 2,016 to find the hourly rate. $32,000 a year works out $15.87 an hour, $48,000 would be $23.81 an hour. Using 2080 hours, the flat annual calculation, the rate would be $23.08 an hour.

There are several on-line services that will also convert your figures at the 2080-hour rate. One is Financial Calculators, Inc which has two pages, one for annual to hourly at http://www.fincalc.com/pay_03.asp?id=6 and one for hourly to annual at http://www.fincalc.com/pay_04.asp?id=6.

There are different formulas but you will find they are all very close in their estimations of annual salary. Good to know before you go car shopping or house hunting, especially in today’s housing market.

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 7-22-2005 - Retirees Face Property Tax Crunch

Many Retirees Face Property Tax Crunch

Retirees trying to cope with dwindling income and spiraling expenses have always had to adjust lifestyles to balance their budgets. Increases in property taxes are never offset by increases in retirement income, even when the Save our Homes three percent cap in property tax increases applies!

Many retirees own their homes outright. They pay only insurance premiums and the annual property taxes on their homes. After years of mortgages, where PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance) were withheld from payments automatically, many now find the annual property tax a lump payment that becomes the largest single expenditure of the year. When they were paying a mortgage, the tax amount came out of the mortgage payment and the property tax was paid by the mortgage holder out of an escrow account. The effect was the homeowner being separated from the actual responsibility of paying the property tax. No checks had to be written, no withdrawals from savings to cover taxes.

Now the retirees themselves must handle those payments. Sometimes it can be overpowering and finances can get out of hand. Savings accounts are often used for these lump sum payments, and nothing is more distressing than watching savings melt away. Even if you make monthly deposits to offset the quarterly or annual payments, it’s difficult to watch your funds take that big dip every year. For many, saving part of every social security or retirement check just for taxes hasn’t been considered.

One way to avoid the annual shock is to create your own escrow account. Use it only to pay taxes and leave your savings account alone. Most banks offer free additional savings accounts, and you can use it anyway you want.

If you are still working and paying estimated taxes, as most self-employed and many part time workers do, you pay the equivalent what would have been withheld from normal wages every three months. You may also want to consider an escrow or tax account. Many people have no problem putting part of every check into savings to cover the quarterly tax expense, but savings accounts often fail to grow to cover both needs: quarterly and annual withdrawals, plus saving for other future money needs. Separating the money into two separate accounts makes it easier to control and plan.

You know how much estimated taxes will be before hand, so deposit one third of the amount you owe in the escrow account each month. Make a habit of monthly deposits and you will always be covered at tax time. Retirees can do the same with the property taxes. Divide the annual amount by twelve and deposit that amount into the escrow account every month as well. Pay your tax amounts first, then put whatever you can spare into savings and leave it alone.

It doesn’t matter which account you save into. It just feels better knowing the savings or checking account isn’t taking a beating every time you pay taxes.

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 8-24-2005 - Spam e-mails

George Mindling Column 8-24-05 For Immediate Release

Spam e-mails present a unique problem to the small business owner. Deleting e-mails from unknown sources is a quick and easy way of avoiding unwanted viruses and worms from the Internet on your home e-mail. Your business e-mail address is a different story. 

Every e-mail is a potential inquiry about future business, and unless the subject line is obviously a spam attempt, the business owner is compelled to open the message and see if it is a valid message.

I maintain a web site dedicated to the old Air Force unit I served in. On the web site I have several photos of my particular class, one of which was taken in Pueblo, Colorado. We were enroute from Lowry AFB in Denver to the Tactical Missile School at Orlando AFB and stopped for one last class photo session. We all piled onto a MG-TD while the owner of the car snapped the photo. I had posted the photo and forgotten about it until I received an e-mail I almost deleted without opening.

The son of the car owner had stumbled across the photo while surfing the net. His dad had it on his bedroom dresser thirty some odd years ago. He found my address and sent me an e-mail about the photo and his dad who lives in California. He called his dad, who is just now getting on the Internet for the first time, and we have spent the last several days catching up, both on the Internet, and by telephone. But it almost didn’t happen.

I went back to review my Spam filters and how to prevent deleting messages that are not harmful or just outright marketing junk. Spam, not the meat product from Hormel Foods, is a name for e-mail junk messages and advertising.

There are several web sites devoted to spam and how to combat it. One such site is http://spam.abuse.net/. The problem Internet web site owners have is malicious software, called “bots,” scan web sites looking for e-mail addresses that get added to marketing lists that dump out everything from fake pharmaceuticals to growth potions and gadgets for anything you may want to increase. Except your wallet.

Traditional E-mail marketing uses the premise that it is far more price competitive to market to an existing customer than to advertise for new customers. That is a valid marketing technique, one that allows a customer to voluntarily sign up for mailing lists and announcements. Those e-mails, however, do not come from culling unsuspecting web sites.

I have now added several JavaScripts, small computer programs, on the several web sites I maintain to test a method of preventing the “bots” from harvesting my e-mail address. The small JavaScripts are available from many sources on the web, simply search for Javascripts and spam blockers to find what is available. Most are free downloads. If they work the way I hope, I should reduce my junk mail considerably.

Hopefully, I haven’t deleted any messages I should have read.

George Mindling