Culver City Observer -

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

I am voting for Kelly Kent for Culver City Unified School District Board of Education on November 3. Kelly is the most qualified and has the best plan to formulate guidelines to benefit the students. Another asset she has is the ability to be an independent thinker who can ask the right questions. If you want the best choice, please join me with your friends and neighbors and vote for Kelly Kent.

Just a reminder, the 10th Annual Taste of Soul Family Festival as described in tasteofsoul.org and L.A. Watts Times will be on October 17, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Crenshaw Blvd. between Stocker St. and Rodeo Dr.

The American Legion Magazine in its August 2015 issue published the ups and downs of military spending by the ten largest economies from 2007 to 2014:

Countries Percentage

China +67%

UAE +135%

Saudi Arabia +112%

Russia +97%

India +39%

Republic of Korea +34%

Australia +27%

United States +.4%

France +3.2%

Britain +5.5%

Cities and states have plied companies with tax breaks for decades hoping to attract jobs and commerce. A new accounting standard will force many taxing agencies to disclose the total annual cost. The rule approved August 3 by the Government Accounting Standards Board will require government officials to show the value of property, sales and income tax waived. It kicks in next year. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the NUCOR Corporation paid a property tax in Shelby County, Tennessee of $300 that ordinarily would have been $1.3 million.

Can you believe, as reported in Car and Driver Magazine, that an autoworker in Germany is paid more per hour than in any other country?

Germany $62.63 per hour

France $46.23 per hour

Japan $41.24 per hour

Italy $41.04 per hour

Canada $39.04 per hour

United States $37.62 per hour

South Korea $26.96 per hour

Brazil $17.03 per hour

Poland $10.70 per hour

Taiwan $9.95 per hour

Mexico $8.24 per hour

China $4.10 per hour

India $2.10 per hour

Automakers have announced $24.20 billion worth of investment in Mexico since 2010. Nearly a third of all new spending on North American factories is in Mexico.

The Cup of Noodles Museum in Japan started selling Ramen-flavored ice cream, which comes in soy sauce and curry varieties. Toppings include shrimp, green onions and potatoes. I wonder when Ralphs will have it.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds rearview cameras to be so beneficial that it is requiring all new cars and trucks to have one by May 2018.

The United States Navy as of September 16 has announced the location of aircraft carriers in our fleet.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Atlantic Ocean

Harry S. Truman Atlantic Ocean

Carl Vinson California

George Washington Eastern Pacific

Ronald Reagan Pacific Ocean

Theodore Roosevelt Persian Gulf

Abraham Lincoln Virginia

George H.W. Bush Virginia

Chester Nimitz Washington

John C. Stennis Washington

Veterans who fill their prescriptions at a Veterans Affairs Department pharmacy will see no increase in co-payments until at least January 2017, according to a new federal rule.

The Marines want you!!! Yes, indeedee, if you were at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from 1953 to 1987 the government wants to run toxic tests on you for being exposed to chemicals in the camp’s water supply. Call (877) 261-9782 Monday thru Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Time.

According to a study in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery, researchers found injuries related to high heels have nearly doubled since 2002.

Luckily, most are sprains and strains.

I was surprised by the article by Charity Maness in Sierra Lodestar describing the Asian population of Chinese Camp in California in 1860. There were 196 Chinese according to the U.S. Census, which included eight general merchants, ten boarding house keepers, six cooks, seven doctors, three saloon keepers, six butchers, four bakers, two grocers, two clerks, two tailors, two barbers, a washman (who had two female helpers), and one musician. The balance was unidentified.

Most people associate the term, “identity theft,” with stolen credit or debit card information. In actuality, 43 percent of identity theft cases in 2013 had to do with theft of personal medical information, as mentioned in a 2014 report from the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Here are some of the ordinance violations used in Pagedale, Missouri (a St. Louis suburb) to snare cash from its mostly African American residents, according to an article in Mother Jones: having a hedge taller than three feet; having a basketball hoop, wading pool, dish antenna or barbeque in the front of a house; walking on a roadway if there is a sidewalk and walking on the wrong side of a roadway if there’s not; and letting kids play in the streets. Pagedale has seen a fivefold increase in petty fines over the last five years, averaging nearly two per household in 2014.

Did you read the September 2015 issue of Consumer Reports? “How Your Hospital Can Make You Sick” describes how U.S. hospitals have turned into breeding grounds for infections that kill tens of thousands of people per year. Before you do anything, read ConsumerReports.org/hospitalratings.

The California medical board has information about whether a doctor has been disciplined for offenses related to sexual misconduct, violence, incompetence and even patient deaths. See fsmb.org/state-medical-boards/contacts.

For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com by placing Rubenstein in that website’s search box.