Sightings
NEJM Perspective: Indoor Tanning — Science, Behavior, and Policy
David E. Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., and William D. James, M.D.
An estimated 1 million times per day, someone in the United States uses ultraviolet (UV) radiation for skin tanning. According to the indoor tanning industry, tanning beds are used by 30 million Americans, or about 10% of the US population, each year (www.theita.com/indoor). These users include minors, who often have ready access to tanning beds. In response to considerable grassroots and political opposition to indoor tanning, in late March the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened an advisory panel to review the safety of the procedure. The FDA is expected to announce a decision soon on whether and how to reclassify tanning lamps and possibly to address minors’ access to them.
FTC and the Clean Credit Report Repair Court Order
A credit repair operation has agreed to stop making false claims and stop charging up-front fees under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement is part of an ongoing crackdown on scams that target financially strapped consumers, in this case taking hundreds of dollars in fees to purportedly remove negative information from consumers’ credit reports even if the information is accurate and timely. The FTC filed the action in “Operation Clean Sweep” in October 2008.
Problems with State-Local Final Pay Plans; Options for Reform
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has published another Brief of interest August 2010
Introduction
As widely publicized, the financial crisis dramatically worsened the funded status of state and local pension plans. In response, public sector sponsors are making a number of changes. Most of these changes involve increasing employer and employee contributions and cutting benefits for new employees primarily by increasing the age for full benefits. A couple of states have cut cost-of-living adjustments for current retirees, but they are in the process of being sued. One item not on anyone’s agenda is reconsidering the basic design of public-sector defined benefit plans.
Website Houzz, Home Design
When we were gathering ideas for the house we built two years ago, we had folder upon folder of tear sheeets collected from numerous magazines. Unfortunately, a number of those magazines have disappeared, unappreciated by their publishers after years in mailboxes and on newstands. Two of those prized resources were House & Garden and Metropolitan Home. Some were recent newcomers in the magazine field, such as Domino, and a number of them are still sorely missed. Here's a website that might make that search for the perfect room easier. From their website:
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