Hurricane Season 2011 -- By the Numbers

• 19:  Named storms during 2011 Atlantic hurricane season
• 11:  Number of named storms during an average hurricane season
• 14:  Out of the last 17, hurricane seasons that have been above average
• 2:  Number of tropical systems that made landfall on the U.S. coast.  Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2008.
• 17:  U.S. states affected by Hurricane Irene
• $10.1 billion:  Estimated damage caused by Hurricane Irene
• 1:  Storm category of Hurricane Irene, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
• 120:  Number of fatalities blamed on hurricane season

Long range forecasts for the 2012 hurricane season will be released next spring.

More Ways to Save

The news has not been good lately for Groupon, the deal-of-the-day website and former Internet darling.  There are almost daily reports of tumbling stock prices and low reviews of Groupon's business model.  However, Groupon continues to offer solid deals and inspire copycat ventures, much to the benefit of the consumer.

Groupon is one of several deal-of-the-day programs available in Hampton Roads.  Others include:

Pilotonline.com's Daily Deal
WVEC's Yollar
WAVY's Save Now Local

For those unfamiliar with the concept of Groupon, the idea is in the name.  The word groupon is a  combination of the words "group" and coupon," a device called a portmanteau (see, reading is educational, both for the reader and the writer.) Groupon and similar sites offer discounts on goods and services, often 50% or more, provided enough people buy into the offer.

Consumer Reports has a summary of Groupon and other group offer sites.

Meanwhile, there have been allegations of Groupon inflating the regular price to make the deal price seem like a better value.  The Atlantic Wire reports there is no scam involved, however.

Keep Grease out of the Drains

Local utilities officials are making a concerted effort this Thanksgiving to remind people not to pour cooking grease down the kitchen sink.  Virginia Beach has a website devoted to reducing oil and grease in the sink.  And it was Topic One during last week's edition of Hampton Roads Topics, my Sunday morning public affairs program on 92.9 The Wave, Star 1310, ESPN Radio 94.1 and 97.3 The Eagle.  Katie Cullipher and Brianna Venner from HRGreen, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission's environmental program, came on the show to talk about the problem.

Venner said that when poured into drain pipes, cooking grease will cool and harden.  The result could be a clog, either in your pipes or in the neighborhood sewer pipes. The EPA reports that cooking grease backups lead to thousands of sewer overflows in the United States every year.  For a view of the end result, click here.

The best advice for getting rid of old grease:  throw it away.  Venner advises that grease can be poured into a jar and kept in the freezer.  Once the grease hardens, throw the jar in the garbage.

For the more environmentally conscious, frying oil can be recycled.  On her blog, Cullipher includes a list of fry oil recycling centers in Hampton Roads. 

Grease is not the only problem for sink drains.  Any fatty food, such as ice cream, butter, or salad dressing, can lead to a drain clog.

Links:
AskHRGreen.org
Virginia Beach FOG (fats, oils and grease) page.

Telemarketing Scam

The State Police are warning Virginia residents about a telephone scam in which people claiming to represent law enforcement are asking people for personal information.  The callers often claim to be with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation or Judicial Support Bureau.  The warning suggests the scammers are identity thieves, interested only in getting victims' social security numbers and addresses.

There are actual organizations that do telemarketing on behalf of law enforcement or fire departments, but they also should dealt with cautiously.  They're called "Badge Organizations."  The Federal Trade Commission reports badge organizations do support law enforcement, but that in many cases, most of the money they raise goes to pay their staff.

According to the Better Business Bureau, a charity should not spend more than 35% of donations on salaries.

The Federal Trade Commission advises that if you do want to support local police or fire departments, contact them directly to find out how.

Links:
Federal Trade Commission report on dealing with badge organizations.
Guidestar.org -- Records and reviews of non-profit organizations.

Do People Really Give Cars as Christmas Gifts?

Here it is Thanksgiving week and we're already two weeks into the Christmas sales hoopla.  The endless "holiday sales" commercials on TV include several from automotive companies, many featuring an image similar to the one at right:  a car with a giant ribbon.  That got me to wondering...do people really give cars as Christmas gifts?  Yes, they do.

In 2010, CNW Marketing Research estimated that 56,884 new and used vehicles were bought by people as Christmas gifts.  It sounds like a lot, but gift-giving actually amounted to less than 2% of the more than 900,000 cars, new and used, that were sold during the holidays last year.  Also, the car as gift numbers for 2010 are less than half what they were in 2005, when more than 130,000 vehicles were given as gifts.  That, of course, pre-dates the recession.

According the editors of automotive marketing firm TrueCar.com, the commercials with cars wrapped in ribbons are intended more to keep consumers minds on the auto industry during a time of year when shoppers are thinking of buying everything but a car.  Giving a car as a gift rarely happens, they say.

Then again, the end of the calendar year is seen by many as the time of year to get the best deal.  TrueCar.com forecast in 2010 that dealers, trying to make sales quotas, would offer new cars at about 6.85% below MSRP in late December.

Who are the people who give a car as a gift?  According to USA Today, they are grownups with a lot of money...between the ages of 30 and 60 and making more than $100,000 a year.

Links:
USA Today article
Article from Consumersearch.com

Transportation Planners Seek Opinions from the Military

Local transportation planners are asking military members, veterans and military civilian employees to fill out an online survey about their daily commutes to work.  Officials with the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization are hoping at least 2,000 people take the survey to help them identify roadway problems and hopefully fix them.  More than 120,000 people make the commute to a local military base every day.

The survey should take five to ten minutes to complete.  It will be available online through February 20th.

Link:
The survey

Virginia Beach Hotel and Restaurant Inspection Reports are now Online.

Virginia Beach has launched a new website that includes Health Department inspection reports on every hotel, motel, bed & breakfast and restaurant in the city.  In a news release, city officials said the inspection reports date back five years.  The Virginia Beach Hotel/Motel Task Force, made up of representatives of the health, fire and code enforcement departments, inspects every hotel once a year.

Links:
The Virginia Beach inspections report page
The press release from the city

HRBT Among the Nation's Worst Bottlenecks

Subtitle:  Tell me Something I Don't Already Know

The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel has earned the dubious distinction as the 5th most congested traffic corridor in the country, only ranking behind roadways in two much larger urban areas, New York City and Atlanta.

The Texas Transportation Institute, an agency of Texas A&M University, identified 328 traffic corridors that were at least three miles long and had at least 10 hours of traffic congestion per week.  Those 328 corridors represent only six percent of the nation's  freeways but account for more than one-third of the traffic backups in the country.

The researchers found it takes five-times longer to get through the HRBT at rush hour than at off-peak hours.

As I have detailed previously, working early morning radio has its disadvantages, such as the early bedtimes and early alarm times, most of which are outweighed by the advantages.  One of those advantages is that I don't have to deal with rush hour traffic.  I am reminded of that fact every time I'm on ESPN Radio 94.1 reporting on a five-mile backup at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

Links:
The report from the Texas Transportation Institute
Pilotonline.com's report

America Recycles Day

Do you have your first computer, a vintage 1991 286 IBM clone, sitting in your garage?  A CD player that operates only when it rains?  Twenty old cell phones?  On Tuesday, November 15th, you can get rid of those old electronics in your home or office and be assured that they won't be cluttering up a landfill.

This Tuesday is America Recycles Day, a day held every November 15th to celebrate and encourage recycling.  In Hampton Roads, HR Green is devoting America Recycles Day to rounding up old electronics.

There will be two electronics recycling events in Hampton Roads.  Document shredding and plastic bag recycling will also offered at both events.  They will run from 9am to 3pm.

• The Gallery at Military Circle, Norfolk.  MAP
• York County Sports Complex, 4311 George Washington Memorial Highway, Yorktown. MAP

According to HR Green, more than one million tons of electronics that could have been recycled ended up in local landfills in 2009.

Remember, you can recycle electronic gear anytime through your local Best Buy or Goodwill store.

Links:
America Recycles Day homepage
America Recycles Day events in Hampton Roads
AskHRGreen.org
Daily Press article about America Recycles Day

Free Oil Changes for Military Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, the Meineke Car Care Center located at 1837 Laskin Road in Virginia Beach is giving free oil changes to all active-duty military and military veterans.  The offer is good through 7pm Friday, November 11th.

For more information, call 757-428-8033.

Links:
Meineke's homepage
Map to the location

Recycling Rates are Up

Virginia is recycling more than ever.  The Virginia Department of Envionmental Quality's recycling report for 2010 shows the state reused or recycled more than 3.4 million tons of material, a little over 40% of the state's total solid waste.  The percentage is all-time high for Virginia.  All 71 municipalities tracked in the report met recycling goals for the year.

In Hampton Roads, the recycling rate has grown significantly in recent years, climbing from 31% in 2008 to over 39% last year.  Richmond is the state's recycling leader, with over 55% of its solid waste stream being reused or recycled.

State environmental officials credited the spread of curbside recycling for the growth in the recycling rate.  Suffolk, which dropped curbside recycling in 2007, restarted their program this year.

Links:

News report from the Virginia Gazette

The DEQ report

Update: WVEC settles with DIRECTV

DIRECTV customers can continue to watch their Dancing with the Stars.  On their website, local ABC affiliate WVEC has announced an agreement between parent company Belo and and DIRECTV over retransmission rights.  Terms were not disclosed.

As I detailed earlier, retransmission rights of local television signals by cable and satellite companies often come into dispute at contract renewal time.  Local stations are sometimes blacked out during the disputes.  Belo's prior contract with DIRECTV ended on Halloween.

Links:
WVEC's statement
Broadcasting & Cable's report