Culver City Observer -

Before President Obama left office he signed the 21st Century Cures Act to study Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and spur new disease treatments. The measure would provide nearly $4.8 billion over the next 10 years to the National Institutes of Health for cutting-edge research. Finally the tide is starting to turn. In Forsyth County, Georgia the Cumming City Council changed a retirement benefit rule. Council members upped the length of time a city employee has to work to qualify for retirement health care benefits from 10 to 25 years of continuous service. City spokeswoman Crystal Ledford said the change was made as a money-saving move and will affect only employees hired after January 1, 2017. The people of Georgia might burn down their city hall if they paid the millions Culver City residents pay each year for retirement benefits. The killer storms the southern part of our country experienced during the third week in January made me wonder about the number of mobile homes. The top five states with manufactured (mobile) homes are: 1. Florida 828,603 2. Texas 760,201 3. North Carolina 592,850 4. California 518,547 5. Georgia 381,978 Dr. Suzanne de Benedittis and others had a reason to be proud regarding an article in the January 25, 2017 issue of the Florida Times–Union. Many of us remember how she headed a large group of citizens to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting to stop fracking. Presently in the Florida legislature a bipartisan group of lawmakers backed a proposal to

permanently ban fracking of all types from the entire state. The bill (SB442) will be considered in the legislative session that starts this month. Oh, my. Boeing paid an effective federal tax rate of 27.7% in 2016. Speaking of my former employer, Boeing’s dividend rate is roughly 3.3%, one of the highest you can get. I am concerned when I read our Vice Chairman, Ray Conner, sold $15.75 million worth of Boeing shares during the first week of February 2017. Do you think Conner sold 96,174 shares when he got a hot tip from his broker? I never gave it much thought until I read Scientific American, October 2014 issue. It seems researchers at the University of Oxford, England are looking into cancer and how it relates to big animals such as elephants and whales. One possibility – the longer the animal’s life span and the larger the animal’s size have made it more cancer-proof. For many, confidence in banks is on par with the rates the financial industry pays. It pays one interest on savings accounts. Now, how can we have respect for the banks when they were caught playing the role of a Mississippi riverboat gambler with our money? Wells Fargo, to show the world how it has changed from Mr. Nasty to Mr. Friendly, has sent lawyers to courtrooms to fight lawsuits by people like you and me who want justice. If you get a chance, read the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Page A6, Friday, January 20, 2017. The headline reads, “Wells Fargo rejects customer’s request for Black Lives Matter debit card.” Wells rejected the customer’s request for the personalized graphic by saying it was “offensive and antisocial.” Friends, as soon as possible, I plan to contact the School District and the Culver City Finance Department, and if they have money there, to please get it out. Let’s boycott Wells!!! For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.comby placing Rubenstein in that website's search box.