Week 47 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

EQUIFAX Will Pay You $125 to Go Away

First of all, I was curious whether I was one of the 147 million folks whose security was broached when EQUIFAX was hacked back in 2017. Yep, made the list. 

Next, I read both articles written by CNN and The Washington Post covering the breach, FTC settlement and payout. (See links below.) You don’t have to do all that reading if you just want the $125. Click on Eligibility Form and do a little bit of reading. But I have to tell you that you could get up to $20,000 if you had your identity stolen and you have lots of documents to support your claim.

If you are thinking about claiming the $125, I suggest you do it soon because the pot will empty quickly.

Eligibility Form

https://eligibility.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/en/eligibility

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/27/equifax-settlement-guide-how-get-money-what-you-need-know/?utm_term=.bda220358e56

CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/26/us/equifax-breach-settlement-questions-answered-trnd/index.html

This week we donated 128 lbs. of pet food and $52.98 in cash and two check. Also, there was one regular yellow lead and one Bark chew stick.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 46 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Safe Neighborhood ... Now Safe Computers

Last Thursday, I read an article in the Huffington Post that was a bit unnerving. The author said that nearly half of all personal computers were leaking personal data. And the culprit, Extensions, were selling your information.

“The root of this privacy train wreck is browser extensions,” the author stated, “also known as add-ons and plug-ins, they’re little programs used by nearly half of all desktop Web surfers to make browsing better, such as finding coupons or remembering passwords. People install them assuming that any software offered in a store run by Chrome or Firefox has got to be legit.”

Here is the link to the Huffington Post 

It is long and well written. But reading it may prove to be a bore for some non-techie folks, so here’s the crux.

Copy this web address in Chrome (Google) … chrome://extensions. When the extensions come up, delete them all.

That’s it. Some extensions will ask you why you are deleting the program … I clicked Other and said … Stop leaking data.

Now your computer is as safe as the Miles Neighborhood.

PS. Please share this information with your friends. They will appreciate a safe computer, too.

Thank You.

This week we donated 163.3 lbs. of pet food and $160.10 in cash and three check. Also, there were 5 large towels, 5 small towels and 3 wash cloths donated.

Spoiler Alert: We passed our latest goal of 6,490 lbs. by 104 lbs. this week. Our First Year Anniversary is seven weeks away so who knows what our total donation to PACC will be.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 45 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

So Nice, Had to Shoot it Twice

Great exercise because I have to move one bag at a time. And when they are all stacked up, even I am impressed. But better yet, Kristen Auerbach, the executive director of Pima Animal Care Center happened by as I was finishing up and she nodded her approval.

This week we donated 228 lbs. of pet food and $78.25 in cash and two check.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 44 - Rescued Critters Food Stamp

Hi Folks,

Miles, a safe and clean neighborhood ... 

Really!

June 24 through July 8, 2019

Bi-monthly, the Tucson Police Department graphically charts the incidents of crime in the whole city. The Miles Neighborhood comes up clean time after time. The physical boundary of the Miles Neighborhood, Broadway and Campbell, always has a little illegal activity going on in the hustling foot- traffic like robbery and personal confrontation. To the south and west of those two major arteries, nearly nothing. See red pizza pie slice outline above.

Here is the link to the Tucson Crime Mapping website. https://www.tucsonaz.gov/police/statistics

Check it out now and again, it will make you sleep better.

The Week of July 22 is

Brush and Bulky Pickup in the

Miles Neighborhood.

Beside listing the dos and don’ts below, need we say more.

Brush & Bulky will collect:

• Brush, tree trunks, branches and other green waste (up to 5 feet long and 24 inches in diameter)
• Lumber (up to 5 feet long and stacked in a separate pile)
• PVC and metal pipes (up to 5 feet long)
• Railroad ties (limit 5)
• Furniture, carpet, and doors
• Lawn mowers with fuel tank and crank case removed
• Scrap metal (bicycles, swing sets, etc., broken into 5 foot lengths)
• Cacti (must be contained - up to 25 lbs.)
• Appliances (remove freezer/refrigerator doors)
• Car tires (limit of five automobile tires)
• Metal drums (empty and cut in half)

Brush and Bulky will NOT collect:

• Any excess over the 10 cubic-yard limit
• Any items other than those listed above, such as Stone/bricks/concrete/aggregates
• Construction debris
• Hazardous waste like paint/oil/pesticides/solvents/liquids
• Glass/mirrors
• Television and computer monitors
• Compressed gas/air cylinder(s)
• Vehicle parts
• Commercially generated material

The Fourth of July weekend was a bit rough on us what with learning about the Revolutionary War Airports, lots of vacationing neighbors and a stalwart donor nursing a miserable cold while on the job in El Paso.

This week we donated 12.2 lbs. of pet food and $46.19 in cash and two check.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 43 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

 Another Winning Quarter

To date we have donated 5,874.2 lbs. of pet food to PACC and this is just our 43rd week. Our first annual goal was 4,333 lbs. or 2.2 tons. We beat that goal at the end of May and set 6,490 lbs. or 3.2 tons as our new September destination. Since our current pet food donation to PACC stands at nearly 6,000 lbs., we are going to surpass our present goal, too. Your generosity is still amazing and I am very proud you are my neighbors.

This week we donated 228 lbs. of pet food and $89.94 in cash and one check. There was so much food, in fact, it overwhelmed the table and turned into a truck load.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 42 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Miles Neighborhood Streets ...

Nothing but Blue Skies

Years of fixing potholes and street light, bi-annual roll-offs, bi-annual Brush & Bulky, backed up by Environmental Services terrific 48-hour Dumping pickup services helped create a clean and safe neighborhood that everyone is proud to call home.

While collecting donation this past Sunday I couldn’t help but notice how clean and quiet our neighborhood streets were. Every corner I turned opened up to another clean street. Besides me, the only other people who get to see the whole Miles Neighborhood on display are the UPS, FedEx, Amazon and USPS drivers. So, after dropping off our donations at PACC today, I drove the neighborhood again taking images of what I see every Sunday. It makes me smile and hope it makes you happy, too.

12th Street east to Highland Ave.

Miles Street east to Cherry

Miles Street east to Campbell

13th Street east to Cherry

13th Street east to Campbell

Manlove west to Highland Ave.

Now Some Cross Streets

Santa Rita north to Broadway

 Highland Ave. to north Broadway

Cherry Street to north Broadway

Vine, Warren and Martin look just as sparkling clean.

This week we donated 75.2 lbs. of pet food and $89.11 in cash and two check. In addition, PACC received a Trump catnip doll, a pill bottle, a small collar and harness and a very nice yellow retractable lead.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 41 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Rescued Critters Need Food, a Forever Home ... and Space

Steve, my neighbor and friend, has been mulling over his retirement from the railroad recently. Moving to Texas came up, so has settling into a cabin he owns up north. In between, Steve talks about caring for his cats and how they give so much meaning to this daily life.

About a week ago, I suggested he take part of his ample home and turn it into a cat shelter. He doesn’t have to adopt cats he could just become a very cat-friendly foster home for kittens. PACC would love it.

Steve is already a major contributor to our Rescued Critters Food Drive so helping PACC is always on the table. In that initial conversation he was seriously considering the idea. To help define the concept of fostering further I said, “you know, besides donations and pet food, what PACC needs most is SPACE.” (I leaned on the word, a bit.) “They care for 17,000 rescued pets a year. With that many animals, they really need SPACE.

“Space,” Steve replied thoughtfully. 

Related Video: 12-year-old foster care expert. https://www.thedodo.com/videos/close-to-home/12-year-old-girl-fosters-kittens-nonstop

Monday’s Delivery

After turning in our donation, I ran into Bennett, our PACC contact and manager, as it were. He is always in demand with his smartphone chiming every minute or two, but he never fails to spends a few minutes with me.

I told Bennett about my conversation with Steve and the concept of space for the 17,000 rescues. He immediately talked about fostering and added that with a new, beautiful building, talking about space may upset some tax payers. That makes perfect sense. Then I told Bennett, I’ll start talking about fostering and space in the same sentence. Folks don’t associate both ideas when they consider fostering.

Then I thought about our $0.90 cents per pound idea. In general, how much space does one rescue pet take? While waiting for Bennett to get back to me, I’ll make a few calculations myself.

As Bennett left for his meeting, I thought about the day I rescued my Cody. He was in a cage with two other dogs just itching to get out. When the door was opened, he bolted past the volunteer and me and headed to the other end of the huge tent. (Remember, what PACC looked line in the old days?)

Cody is a solitary dog and he likes he space. I didn’t know that then. I just thought he wanted to escape again. Well, maybe that was on his mind, too.

Back to the cages, if the space size is 4 feet by 3 feet for dogs that would be 12 sq. ft. Multiply that by 17,000 and you get 204,000 sq. ft. Now let’s see, one football field is 57,600 sq. ft. so if you housed 17,000 pets at once you would need 3.5 football fields.

This is why fostering pets for a while is such a good idea, but keep in mind that you are also donating much need SPACE to PACC. Think of it as if you were babysitting your sister’s kids or your grand kids for that  matter. Not only are you providing a safe shelter, but you are allowing the parents to revitalize themselves. You know that. And that’s why you do it. PACC needs the same SPACE consideration.

This week we donated 135.3 lbs. of pet food and $118.00 in cash and one check. Again, a most generous week.

See you Sunday,

Peter