Culver City Observer -

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

Whenever you see an article by Dan Walters, be sure to read it. Recently Dan wrote that the poverty rate in the Golden State for 2014 as reported by the Census Bureau was 16.3 percent. California’s jobless rate recently was 6.1 percent or 50 percent higher than Texas’ 4.1 percent. Nearly a third of California’s 39 million residents are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the federal and state tax supported health care program for the poor, and nearly 60 percent of K-12 students qualify for reduced price or free lunches per the Fresno Bee

With glasses my eyes are 20/20 but I’m having trouble seeing what’s going on. In the San Francisco Bay area regional transportation planners are planning a future network of over 500 miles of toll roads on existing highways. How many times are we going to be taxed for the same road?

How many of us read the decision by U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald adhering to provisions of the law that allow broad rights to use copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism or news reporting or teaching?

The Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles is located in Macy’s on the third floor in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza at Crenshaw and Martin Luther King. For more information see http://www.maaala.org.

From the Los Angeles Times: The name of the new exhibition at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans speaks volumes about the experience of African Americans in the military. “Fighting for the Right to Fight” opened July 4. An eight-minute film recounts the story of the 332nd Fighter Group better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Besides the ordinary people who struggled to overcome injustice, the exhibition also recognizes some famous African Americans including entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (Army), author Alex Haley (Coast Guard), and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (Army). For information call (877) 813-3329 or go to http://www.nationalww2museum.org.

Magnesium supplements can improve blood sugar in people at high risk for developing diabetes. A study of 116 people published in Diabetes and Metabolism found supplements can improve blood sugar by an average of 22 percent.

Eating tree nuts or peanuts daily can help you live longer, according to Dutch research published in the Journal of Epidemiology. Researchers tracked 120,000 men and women ages 55-69 beginning in 1986, and found nuts reduced the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, respiratory conditions and neurodegenerative diseases.

As if restaurant owners aren’t already worried about employee wage and benefit problems, here is one more. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is asking the public to determine whether more information should be provided on health grade placards posted in restaurants and market windows. During October and November a five question survey will be available on line and at district offices throughout the county. To find a district office, go to http://www.publichealth.lacounty/gov/eh/DSE/districtoffices.htm, as reported in Long Beach Press-Telegram

Corrosion buildup on a vehicle’s battery terminals can keep it from starting. The solution is a mixture of baking soda and water. Mix, apply and presto, the corrosion will be dissolved. An alternate solution is to pour Coca-Cola on the battery cables, scrub with a toothbrush and rinse with water.

Are you curious and wonder how do parade organizers get 700,000 cubic feet of helium to New York City for the balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? The November 2015 Popular Mechanics has the answer.

When you are through reading about Macy’s on page 30 turn to page 33 and read, “How often do ambulances and fire trucks cause accidents on their way to emergencies?” A lot more than you think.

Perhaps you knew that the citizens in Beverly Hills are in a mess. The governor wants water conservation and now their water bills will rise by $5.5 million in fiscal year 2015-2016. Yes, that’s true. They cut back, being good citizens, so now their city raises the cost of the water as money is needed for infrastructure. To top it off, Beverly Hills executive employees will face added scrutiny for outside employment, per the Beverly Hills Courier.

You may be eligible for up to $2,054 per month in tax-free cash payments for life through a government pension program. To accommodate all of our veterans and spouses a special six-minute telephone seminar has been developed. Just call (877) 331-1635 ext. 101 for their 24- hour free recorded message to see if you qualify. This is sponsored by VA Benefits as reported in the Los Angeles Sentinel.

The study recently completed at Tufts University has stopped my sweetened ice tea habit. Health officials around the world have warned drinking soda or other sugary beverages is harmful, but now a team at Tufts has some hard numbers to back it up. The new study ties sweet drinks to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year, including 25,000 in the U.S. alone. After analyzing dietary surveys involving more than 600,000 people from 51 countries conducted between 1980 and 2010, the Tufts group found 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 from cardiovascular disease and 6,450 from cancer. The study’s senior author, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, said, “There are no health benefits from sugar-sweetened beverages.”

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.