beth_parker's Blog

I've been traveling the D.C. metro area talking with folks about the economy. What a huge range of reactions I've gotten. Some people are following this economic crisis very closely. Others say they're so used to the government spending huge sums of money that they aren't even paying attention to these latest developments. What do you think? Are you tuned in to the details of the Congressional bailout talks? Do you feel like all of this affects you ? Do you think it'll impact whether you can buy a house? Get a credit card? Or a student loan?

Today D.C. began a pilot program that puts recycling bins on downtown street corners. 80% of Americans say they recycle at home. However, in public there are not a lot of opportunities to recycle. These bright blue cans are already on 25 downtown street corners. How much recycling do you do? Do you think this "public" recycling will make a difference?

 

Verizon says it accidentally sent more than 12,000 unlisted phone numbers, names, and addresses to the company that publishes the phone book in Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland. Police, crime victims, and others are angry. Many people say they have unlisted phone numbers to protect their personal safety. Now Verizon says it'll republish, pass out the new book, and credit the customers who had their information compromised. The president of the police union says it's not enough. What do you think Verizon should do?

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My friends who are in their 30s and 40s and still looking for that "speical someone" have a tough time. Some people imply there's something wrong with being single at that age. Now, there's a new book out about men in their 40s who haven't married. It's called "So Why Have You Never Been Married?" The author - Carl Weisman - was trying to answer the question for himself. He was single in his 40s. He blames high divorce rates for part of the trouble. Some guys he interviewed say they're fearful about ending up in a bad marriage. 62% of men he polled say they'd like to get married, but they won't settle for anything less than perfection. What do you think? Are these guys just too picky?

See Beth's story:

Men & Marriage

Did you know that eight percent of men never want to get married? Fox 5's Beth Parker explains how one author says this lack of commitment may not be a bad thing.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?conte
ntId=6679179

Four times a year the University of Michigan releases the American Customer Satisfaction Index. They rank industries and specific businesses for how good a job they do pleasing their customers.  The latest rankings are out today. The airline and cable industries get the worst rankings from customers. What's your consumer gripe?

If you're like me, your feet take a beating. You're on the go most of the day. Maybe you exercise. Maybe, just maybe, you sometimes wear shoes that aren't exactly a perfect fit. That daily wear and tear can be eased a bit by a trip to a salon. A pedicure can at least smooth over some of the damage. A business near Fort Belvoir in Virginia is introducing our area to a new type of pedicure. It involves fish. That's right, fish. They're a species of fish called the garra rufa. They come from hot springs in Turkey. The water's so warm that there isn't much for the fish to eat. The result - they nibble on human skin. Dead skin. At Yvonne's Hair & Nails in Fairfax County they call it "Dr. Fish". I tried it. I sat with my feet in a pool for about 15 minutes. Tiny fish nibbled at my feet. It tickles a bit - kind of like when your foot falls asleep and it's tingling as it wakes up. The owner of the business - John Ho - says he uses filtered water that he cleans every day. They check all clients. Anyone with a small scrape, even a bug bite, cannot enter the water. He says they go to great lengths to keep the water clean. It costs $25 for 20 minutes. I can tell you from experience it does leave your feet feeling soft and smooth - that is if you can get past the idea of fish nibbling away at you!

A study released today by the Pew Research Center says that black people have grown less optimistic over the past five years. They think life in general is getting worse, not better. The majority of black people say racism is pervasive in everyday life. Ask white people and they say they don't think there is much racism these days. What do you think? Are you surprised by the findings in this study?

The Humane Society of the United States is rescuing more than a thousand puppies from what they call a puppy mill in Carroll County in southern Virginia. No one's been arrested yet, but there are so many pregnant moms that 20 new puppies were born just this past weekend! The Humane Society says people should avoid buying puppies from stores and only buy from breeders if you've visited their site and met the puppy's parents. What do you think?

Consumer groups met with the Federal Trade Commission today. The groups say you're being followed - not in person, but on-line. Advertisers are buying information about where you go on the web. For example, if you're trying to find out more about an illness or searching for a way to get out of debt, advertisers know it. Is that an invasion of your privacy? The groups want the FTC to create a "do not track" list - something similar to "do not call". Would you sign up?

No, not money...time. The Red Cross is sending volunteers to help victims of the California wildfires. One Hyattsville man we spoke with today has been to 17 disaster sites. Nobody's paid him a dime. The Red Cross says it gets a lot of interest in volunteering whenever a disaster strikes. In the midst of a disaster they have very little time to train new volunteers. They like to train new volunteers at times when there's not much happening. Have you ever volunteered? Do you help out on a regular basis? Or when something big happens - Katrina, 9/11?

Some lucky person won $250,000 in the Mega Millions lottery. The person bought the ticket at a store in Northern Virginia. The person hasn't claimed the prize yet. He or she has 180 days to claim it. That expires Wednesday, October 17th. Do you have the ticket? The winning numbers at 01-09-10-23-53 and the Mega Ball 40. The sale date was April 20th. Even if you didn't win, think about if you had. What would you do with that money? Of course, it's $250,000 BEFORE taxes.

Odds are you've encountered someone(maybe lots of someones) who just can't put down that cell phone. It's a constant stream of calls and text messages. Do you think it's out of control? Do you worry that the younger generation is losing the skill to communicate face-to-face? We're talking about it tonight on Fox5 news at 10pm.

McKay's, a grocery chain in Southern Maryland, is now using "Purecarts". It's like a tiny carwash. Run the shopping carts through it and they come out the other side sanitized. The manufacturer says the system kills 99% of bacteria and germs. How dirty do you think the carts are at your grocery store? Would you like for them to be sanitized regularly?

McKay's, a grocery chain in Southern Maryland, is now using "Purecarts". It's like a tiny carwash. Run the shopping carts through it and they come out the other side sanitized. The manufacturer says the system kills 99% of bacteria and germs. How dirty do you think the carts are at your grocery store? Would you like for them to be sanitized regularly?

Today D.C.'s new school modernization czar, Allen Lew, fired the contractor on the job at Hardy Middle School in Georgetown. Hardy's renovation project has had a lot of delays - many are documented problems on the part of the city. Some people think the contractor's a scapegoat. How confident are you that the changes being made in DCPS will improve facilities and education in general?