Our California Legislators are Hard at Work, Counting Your Calories!

From the good intentions, questionable impact department.  Our Governor signed into law Senate Bill 1420 yesterday, which will require restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to publish the calorie content of their food beginning on 1/1/11. 

The goal was to ensure that we, the ravenous masses, know how many calories we are inhaling so that perhaps we make wiser food choices.  I suppose it may make some of us think twice.  For example, when I see that a Big Mac has 120 calories more than a Quarter Pounder clear as day on that menu, maybe I'll grab the Quarter Pounder.  Yeah, that's it!  I'll go on a Quarter Pounder diet!

The law doesn't apply to chains of 19 or less locations, farmers' markets, grocery stores, commissaries and school cafeterias.  So Mastro's Steakhouse will be at a major advantage as they will not have to tell me I'm eating 3 billion calories in my meal!

The law says that after 1/1/11, "every food facility that uses an indoor menu board shall disclose calorie content information for a standard menu item next to the item on the menu board in a size and typeface that is clear and conspicuous."  All right you brilliant lawmakers, take a look at this Taco Bell menu and tell me how you're gonna fit "clear and conspicuous" calorie information on there!  I already have a hard enough time reading these cluttered menus! 

Perhaps the real goal here is to make menus so incomprehensible that people get fed up and start eating at home!  I heard LensCrafters was a big supporter of this law.

But let's zero in their definition of "standard menu item."  SB 1420 defines this as a food or beverage that is on the menu at least 180 days per calendar year and excludes special orders, alcohol, salad bars and buffets.  Souplantation, you're off the hook!

Loophole Alert!  Hey all they have to do is change the menu every 179 days and the law doesn't apply!  I can see it now.  Carl's Jr., Wendy's and Burger King strike an agreement to swap menus every 179 days just to get around this law.

The law goes on to say that if a menu item is a combination of 2 or more other menu items, then you must show the minimum/maximum calorie counts based on all possible combinations.  El Pollo Loco was shaking in its boots at this one.  Imagine...the kids meal combo has 11 different sides and 3 entrees.  That's 33 different combinations, ignoring beverages!  Uggghhh!

They are letting drive-thru menus off the hook, kind of.  Instead of publishing calories on the drive-thru menu, they can provide a brochure with the calorie counts.  "Hi, I'd like a Double Double and Strawberry Shake please.  But hold on, I would like to review your calorie content brochure prior to placing my order.  Thank you."

Violation of this law will be an infraction, punishable by a fine of $50 to $500.  Watch out for those Calorie Cops!!

People Pictures From the Early 20th Century

Recently I came across these really interesting World War I era photos of thousand of soldiers in the formation of large patriotic symbols.  The sampling of photos below are courtesy of the Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago (www.HammerGallery.com).  Click here for a link to "The Art of the Conceptual Photograph 1915-1920" for other pictures and a more complete description.  The pictures below are the work of Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas.

The Living Uncle Sam: 19,000 Officers and Men, Camp Lee, VA 1919

The Human Liberty Bell: 25,000 Officers and Men, Camp Dix, NJ 1918

Woodrow Wilson: 21,000 Officers and Men, Camp Sherman, OH 1918

Human Statue of Liberty: 18,000 Officers and Men, Camp Dodge, IA 1918

Living Emblem of U.S. Marines: 9,100 Officers and Men, Paris Island, SC 1919

Help a Local 8 Year Old Boy Diagnosed With Brain Cancer

UPDATE:  With sadness, we report that young Thomas Hearne passed at 4:30 p.m. today, March 19, 2009.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Thomas Hearne, an 8 year old boy from Camarillo, was diagnosed with brain cancer on July 8th.  Initially emergency room workers thought it was a virus.  An MRI proved otherwise.  The next day Thomas was in surgery at Childrens' Hospital in Los Angeles to remove a tumor at the base of his brain toward the back of his head.  However, the cancer had already spread to his brain and spinal cord and Thomas is receiving chemotherapy.  Not only that, a contractor paid to remodel the Hearne house bailed out, leaving the Hearne family home in need of major work.

Please reach out if you can to help Thomas Hearne and his family in this time of need.  Visit www.thomashearne.titlereptom.com to learn more and to make a donation.  Or make checks payable to "The Hearne Family" and mail to Tami Tackett, 4829 Paseo Montelena, Camarillo, CA 93012.  Or make a deposit at any Washington Mutual branch into the "The Hearne Family" benevolent account.

Misleading Property Tax Reassessment Mailings

Many of us homeowners received solicitations in the mail last month from "Property Tax Reassessment."  These looked like "official" documents from the assessor's office although the return address was a PO Box in Los Angeles.  Initially it appeared that I needed to respond with a $171 processing fee to reduce my property taxes by $1,973 per year.  And pay a $67 late fee if not returned by 9/5/08.

It didn't seem right.  I read the form more carefully and soon realized this was a very cleverly and carefully worded advertisement.  I did some searching and discovered the Ventura County Assessor's Office issued a "Scam Alert" for these types of solicitations and there was also a Ventura County Star article on the issue a few weeks ago.

They were offering a service to file a form to claim your property value has declined below its Prop 13 value.  It costs you nothing to do so yourself (visit the Assessor's Office website above for more info).

The Assessor's office does its own reassessment of local properties and sent out 30,000 decline in value notices this summer.  The office goes on to say that most houses purchased before 2004 have not declined in value below Prop 13 increases (which are limited to 2% per year).

I carefully read the front and back of the solicitation.  Nowhere does it "guarantee" you a tax reduction.  (They can't of course.)  So don't get ripped off!  If it looks too good to be true, do some research!

Let Conejo Joe know if you come across more scams like this so we can all stay aware!

Christina Applegate Double Masectomy

Emmy Award-winning actress Christina Applegate was intereviewed on Good Morning America today about her very recent decision to have a double masectomy in response to learning she had breast cancer in one of her breasts.  The surgery took place about 3 weeks ago.

It was uplifting to see how positive, determined, and good-spirited this talented actress, whom many of us (especially us guys) know all so well from her 10 year stint on Married with Children in the late 80s/early 90s, was in the interview (click here to see it).

Her decision was obviously not an easy one, but was based on an assessment of the facts.  She tested positive for the BRCA1 gene that is an early indicator for breast cancer.  Her mother is a breast cancer survivor.  A doctor-ordered MRI confirmed the breast cancer diagnosis.  She decided to have the surgery to ensure the cancer would not come back (she is 100% cancer free now) and to alleviate the need to have chemotherapy and other recurring treatments.

Christina, who looks incredible at age 36 and only 3 weeks after surgery, says she wants to increase awareness of breast cancer screening and in particular, find a way to help women at risk but lack finances to pay for the expensive BRCA1 testing and MRI screening. 

She went on to joke about how in the coming year she will have reconstructive breast surgery and that her new boobs will make her the envy of other 90 years olds sitting around the bridge table in the nursing home.  She describes how humor has helped her deal with her challenge and that she is ready for the next challenge of helping others facing the same issues.

Applegate is scheduled to appear on the Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser on September 5th.  See www.standup2cancer.org for more information.  She is also rumored to be playing the part of actress Elizabeth Montgomery, who died due to colorectal cancer, in the 2009 movie "Everything Is Going to Be Just Fine."

We wish you well, Christina!  We admire you.

Run or Die? A 21-Year Stanford Study

In a study published today in the American Medical Association's Archive of Internal Medicine, Stanford researchers said that over a 19 year period, runners died at less than half the rate of non-runners  Wow, if that isn't a case for regular aerobic exercise (be it running, swimming, biking, whatever), I don't know what is!

The study began in 1984 with 538 runners over age 50 and a healthy "control" group of 423 non-runners from Northern California.  Annual surveys were completed by participants.  After 19 years, 15% of the runners had died compared to 34% of the non-runners.  Hmmm, could that be why my wife wants me to stop running and set up a life insurance policy...hmmm.

At the end of the study, the runner group had a 40% reduced chance of being moderately disabled or of dying as compared to the non-runner group.

The runner group exercised as much as 200 minutes per week versus only 20 minutes for the non-runner group.  It obviously pays to exercise, so go on, get out there and start training!  How about one of these upcoming local 5K fun runs as a goal!

One last point.  The study indicated that 284 runners and 156 non-runners completed the entire 21 year study.  So of those that lived through the entire study, this implies that 62% of the runners and 56% of the non-runners completed the entire survey.  To me this says that runners not only live longer and healthier, but are more reliable survey takers.

(Disclosure:  Conejo Joe is a runner if you couldn't already figure that out.)