Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
From the US Census: Highlights of Annual 2020 Characteristics of New Housing
Of the 912,000 single-family homes completed in 2020:
870,000 had air-conditioning.
90,000 had two bedrooms or less and 401,000 had four bedrooms or more.
29,000 had one and one-half bathrooms or less and 309,000 homes had three or more bathrooms.
353,000 had a heat pump. Of these, 344,000 were air-source and 9,000 were ground-source.
831,000 were framed in wood and 75,000 were framed using concrete.
306,000 had a patio and a porch, while 71,000 had no outdoor features.
The median size of a completed single-family house was 2,261 square feet. more »
Jo Freeman Reviews Mazie's Hirono's Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter's Story
Jo Freeman Reviews: Mazie Hirono's first four years in the Senate were relatively uneventful, as she dug down and learned the job. When Trump became President, Hirono pulled out her sword. His acts, appointments and words represented everything she disliked. There’s a lot on the Kavanaugh hearings where, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she questioned Kavanaugh about his alleged sexual assaults. There’s also a lot on immigration (one of her pet issues) and the “Chinese virus.” Hirono’s political career coincided with the rise of political women from bit players to major leaguers. Her stories illustrate the forward steps as well as the backward ones. This book is a tribute to success, both hers and that of other women. more »
Department Of Justice Announces Coordinated Law Enforcement Action to Combat Health Care Fraud Related to COVID-19
The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and reporting suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and referred to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation. To learn more about the department’s COVID response, visit: https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. For further information on the Criminal Division’s enforcement efforts on PPP fraud, including court documents from significant cases, visit the following website: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud. more »
Federal Reserve's Lael Brainard: Private Money and Central Bank Money as Payments Go Digital: an Update on CBDCs
"Technology is driving dramatic change in the US payments system, which is a vital infrastructure that touches everyone. The pandemic accelerated the migration to contactless transactions and highlighted the importance of access to safe, timely, and low-cost payments for all. With technology platforms introducing digital private money into the US payments system, and foreign authorities exploring the potential for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in cross-border payments, the Federal Reserve is stepping up its research and public engagement on CBDCs. more »
