2012 Flag Display at Pierce Brothers Memorial Park Westlake Village

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Tomorrow, Memorial Day, Pierce Brothers Memorial Park in Westlake Village is hosting its 22nd Annual Memorial Day Service tomorrow morning starting with a musical prelude at 10:30 a.m. Over 2,500 are expected to attend this free service open to the public. American flags create a carpet of red, white and blue as they decorate the graves of more than 1,400 heroes buried in the Garden of Valor and throughout the memorial park. Flags will line the Avenue of Flags to honor the memory of all veterans. Local Boy Scouts placed these 1,400 flags yesterday.

Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park, Mortuary and Crematory is located at 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village. www.piercebrothersvalleyoaks.com

We were able to drive through the park tonight to see the impressive display of flags and pay our respects to our fallen heroes.

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TSA Pre✓™ Pre-Screening Initiative Gets You Through TSA Lines Quicker

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TSA Pre✓™ is a pre-screening initiative that makes risk assessments on passengers who voluntarily participate prior to their arrival at the airport checkpoint.

TSA Pre✓™ includes U.S. citizens who are members of existing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler programs including Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI programs as well as eligible airline frequent flyers.

If TSA determines a passenger is eligible for expedited screening, information is embedded in the barcode of the passenger’s boarding pass. TSA reads the barcode at designated checkpoints and the passenger may be referred to a lane where they will undergo expedited screening, which could include no longer removing shoes, 3-1-1 compliant bag from carry-on, laptop from bag, light outerwear/jacket and belt.

TSA will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport and no individual will be guaranteed expedited screening.

TSA Pre✓™ is in partnership with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Certain frequent flyers from Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and certain members of CBP's Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS who are U.S. citizens are eligible to participate. US Airways and United Airlines will also offer TSA Pre✓™ to eligible passengers in the coming months. TSA plans to expand TSA Pre✓™ to include additional airlines, as well as airports that participate in a CBP Trusted Traveler program, once operationally ready.

The above airlines are contacting eligible frequent flyers with an invitation to opt-in. Once the passenger opts-in, the airline identifies the individual as a TSA Pre✓™ participant when submitting passenger reservation information to TSA’s Secure Flight system.

If a participating airlines’ frequent flyer did not receive an invitation from the airline, he/she can still participate by joining a CBP Trusted Traveler program.

Locally here in the Los Angeles area, as of May 2012, the only TSA Pre✓™ screening lane is available only in the American Airlines terminal. TSA Pre✓™ is currently at 14 airports and is anticipated to expand to 35 airports by the end of 2012.

The TSA announced that it has pre-screened over one million travellers through the TSA Pre✓™ initiative as of May 2012.

Learn more at www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/escreening.shtm.

Global Entry Program for Expedited Entry Back Into the United States

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Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Though intended for frequent international travelers, there is no minimum number of trips necessary to qualify for the program. Participants may enter the United States by using automated kiosks located at select airports.

To apply, you fill out an online application and pay a $100 non-refundable application fee. After your application is reviewed, you will be asked to schedule an interview at an enrollment center (there's one at LAX). A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer will ask you questions, take your photo, and collect biometric information, e.g., scan your fingerprints.

As a pre-screened Global Entry member, you arriv

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Presidential Elections - Can I Buy a Vowel? Obama, Adams, Eisenhower, Oh My!

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Conejo Valley Guide generally does not cover politics as we like to focus on things to do throughout  Ventura County and adjacent areas. And this post really is not political in nature. It is more along the lines of "useless yet potentially amusing information."

Barack Obama is running for re-election in 2012. If he loses, this would be the first time since 1828 that a President whose last name starts with a vowel loses a re-election. After one term in office, John Quincy Adams (like Obama, a Harvard graduate) lost to Andrew Jackson, considered the first Democratic President. Also notable (ok maybe not) is that Obama honored another Quincy...Quincy Jones, with a National Medal of Arts in 2010. The Obama/Quincy connection.

If Obama wins his re-election, he'll follow in the footsteps of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, who demolished Adlai Stevenson with 86% of the electoral vote. Obama also has something in common with Eisenhower. He received his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1983 whereas Eisenhower was President of Columbia from 1948 to 1953.

Truth be told, there have not been a lot of Presidential candidates whose last names begin with a vowel. In fact, while 19% of the letters in the alphabet are vowels, less than 10% of thos

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Register to Vote . . . Then Take the Time to Actually Vote!

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About 79% of Ventura County residents that are eligible to vote actually register to vote.  Do your civic duty and register to vote! Visit www.sos.ca.gov/nvrc/fedform/ for an online form that you can complete and mail in. For additional information about voter registration, including timing deadlines, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm

You may register to vote in California if:

  • You are a United States citizen
  • You are a resident of California
  • You are at least 18 years of age (or will be by the date of the next election)
  • You are not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction. For more information on the rights of people who have been incarcerated, please see the Secretary of State's Voting Guide for Currently or Formerly Incarcerated Californians.
  • You have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent

YOU HAVE UNTIL MONDAY, MAY 21ST TO REGISTER TO VOTE!!

But of that 79%...only 40% actually vote!  That's pitiful! Come on, register to vote...then VOTE! To make it easier on yourself, apply for a Permanent Vote by Mail status when you receive your Sample Ballot! That way, you never even need to visit a polling place to vote.

TO VOTE BY MAIL IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION ON JUNE 5, 2012, YOUR APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN MAY 29TH.


 

Quit Smoking with the Help of Smokefree.gov

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Smokefree.gov (http://www.smokefree.gov) provides free, accurate, evidence-based information and professional assistance to help support the immediate and long-term needs of people trying to quit smoking. The site was created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute.

Smokefree.gov has a variety of resources to help you stop smoking, including a step-by-step quit smoking guide, a wide range of information sources related to smoking and quitting, free text messaging and mobile app services and much more.

National Cancer Institute smoking cessation counselors are available to answer smoking-related questions in English or Spanish, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Call 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848) to learn more.

There are also state-based tobacco cessation "quitlines" available by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). Quitlines are staffed by counselors trained specifically to help smokers quit and the service is completely free.

An interesting interactive map of smoking trends by state is at www.smokefree.gov/map.aspx. Based on data from the 2009-2010 timeframe, the map shows smoking rates, average pack prices, work bans, restaurant bans and other information by state. We're doing pretty well here in California! Based on 2009 data, California had the 2nd lowest adult smoking rate in the U.S. at 12.8%, Utah was by far the lowest at 9.8%. rounding out the "Low 5" were Massachusetts (14.9%), Washington (14.9%) and Rhode Island (15%).

The national average in 2009 was 20.6%. The Top 5 smoking states were Kentucky (25.6%), West Virginia (25.5%), Oklahoma (25.4%), Mississippi (23.3%) and Indiana (23.1%).