How the City Crisis Hits Home

It's been a little while since I posted an article from Stephanie Vendig of the Greater Griffith Park Senior Center, but her take on Los Angeles' budget crisis is certainly worth a read. You can read Stephanie's column every month in the Los Feliz Ledger at www.losfelizledger.com

The news is bleak for our city, including our school district, as never before. And when you add in the State, it is pretty catastrophic. For these local public entities these days, it is not about tightening the belt or getting rid of the fluff. We are talking about core services that impact all of us, in one way or the other. In order to avert bankruptcy or other costly consequences, there is a scrambling to find all kinds of ways to reduce the financial burden.

The recommendations of Miguel Santana, City Administrative Officer, in his “Three-Year Plan for Fiscal Sustainability” report to the Mayor and the City Council on January 29th spelled out the alarm in 273 pages. LA’s economic woes are mainly due to the economic recession beginning in 2008 as a consequence of our local real estate downturn, which has been severe, and the unemployment rate higher than in all previous recessions. The revenue that mainly comes from, sales, business, hotel, communication users, and gas user’s taxes, hasn’t been enough to cover the costs. Currently, the City Council and the Mayor are struggling to come to agreement on the recommendations.

Because of my involvement with Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks at the Griffith Park Adult Community Center (GPACC) I am paying attention to this crisis a little more than usual. The department is asked to reimburse the general fund for their utility costs, which has not been done in the past, and for their pension costs. As a result of these and other recommendations, the department may end up with a different sense of itself in order to live within the budget. However, these recommendations raise the specter of potentially hurting the recreational function of the department.

Already, layoffs have started with Recreation Coordinators, Child Care programs, and Therapeutic Centers. The early retirement of some Facility Directors may mean no replacement, and a group of current Facility Directors has been warned of possible layoffs by July. There are more than 390 sites, including 28 senior centers that provide recreational opportunities in Los Angeles. The idea that quality recreation programs can operate with limited staff is not very reassuring. Not only that, if there is not enough experienced and trained staff within these programs, the recreation part of “Recreation and Parks” will suffer.

I would say it is letter-writing time. We should remind councilmembers that cost-saving decisions must not result in the substantial reduction or the potential elimination of the recreation function of the department. Los Angeles deserves better.

Facial Make Up Tips for Senior Women: FoundationThrough Blush

I admit, as owner of Right at Home here in Los Angeles, I'm not much use to my female clients when it comes to areas such as hair, make-up or nail polish. So I thought this article at www.seniorwomennow.com might be of benefit to some.

Whether you are nearing retirement or have recently retired, your appearance is still very important.

I’d like to share Roberto Sedycias’s ” 8 Face Make up tips to Enhance Your Beauty.” These are easy and only take a few minutes to apply. Leaving time to enjoy the wonderful world of a senior woman.

Face makeup can be used to highlight one`s good features and also to camouflage the not-so-good features. Useful and practical tips go a long way in enhancing your looks. Some of the practical tips are:

1. Foundation forms the base of the face makeup and is applied after the face has been cleansed and moisturized. Wait for a few moments for the moisturizer to be absorbed before applying the foundation. Use your fingertips or a damp sponge to dab small dots of the foundation on the forehead, nose, and cheek and chin area and blend well right into your hairline and jaw line.

2. Blending is the key to good makeup and cannot be stressed enough as proper blending will give a natural look to the face and not leave blotches here and there. Blot your face gently with tissue paper to absorb the excess foundation.

3. A concealer is a very versatile piece of cosmetic as it can hide pimples, scars, dark circles and blemishes on the face. Apply the concealer on the desired spot and spread it towards the edges and do not over-apply it as it will then look too obvious an attempt to hide some flaw.

4. Before putting on the eye shadow, apply a base of neutral color on the eyelids and do not try to match the eye shadow with your outfit. The eye shadow should suit your skin color. Dab the eye shadow on the entire length of the eye lid starting from the inside and moving outwards. 2 or 3 colors of eye shadow can be used together but some expert blending is required to give a smooth look. Stick to lighter or neutral colors for day wear but for the evenings, experiment with brighter, bolder colors or the smoky, smoldering look.

5. The eyeliner should be drawn as close to the lash line as possible to give the impression of thicker eyelashes. Although black is the favorite color for the eyeliner, blue, brown or navy blue can look equally stunning. In fact, the color of your eyes can be brought out magnificently by using the right eyeliner.

6. Mascara can literally be termed the `magic wand` as it can be used to coat the most meager of eyelashes to give the effect of full, lush eyelashes. Wait for the first coat to dry before applying the next coat and then using a mascara comb, run it through the eyelashes to shake off the excess mascara. An eyelash curler is also an invaluable cosmetic aid but the curling should be done before the applying the mascara.

7. Chapped lips should be treated with a lip balm before applying lipstick. A thin base of foundation on the lips will allow the correct tone of the lipstick to show. Lips can be first outlined with a lip liner which is slightly darker than the lipstick color but of the same tone and then the lips can be filled in with the lipstick with a lip brush. The shape of the lips can be corrected with the help of the lip liner. Using a lip brush helps give an even coating of color to the lips. A lip gloss on the middle of the lips will give a fuller look to the lips.

8. The blusher should be chosen according to one`s skin tone. If using powder blusher, put some on the brush and shake off the excess powder before the application. Smile while applying the blusher and put it on with upward strokes towards the ears. Again, blending is the key to perfect application and for contouring the face.

So, the right face makeup can enhance any woman`s natural looks even if she is not Helen of Troy!

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for Polomercantil

Understanding Home Care

What is “home care”? How is it different from “home health”?

This is a question that is important for anyone who has an aging parent, relative, or acquaintance who they are trying to help deal with disability, or retain their independence by remaining at home. If keeping a parent or loved one at home is the goal, then understanding clearly what home care models are available is important.

Most of us think of the traditional “visiting nurse” when we think of home care, but this is actually usually home health care. We kind of get stuck in what I call the medical model mode of thinking. When we think of care, we assume services are designed like most of our medical care services to help us recover from an illness, and usually just short term. This kind of care is paid for by Medicare or health insurance, and comes most often after a stay in the hospital.

Home care as provided by companies like Right at Home is substantially different in its focus. We provide many services all geared to help maintain the quality of life in a home setting. This can be an array of care, including support with everyday activities like bathing and dressing, preparing and serving nutritious meals, running errands and keeping up with housework–in other words, a lot of stuff that family members do if they have the time or capability.

The problem is, and you know this already if you are caring for an aging parent–it is not always possible for family members to help with this sort of care. Without it, the quality of life of the aging parent continues to decline. They don’t eat well, they don’t take care of basic hygiene, and if they are forgetful they can do things that create a danger to them without someone checking in.

For further information, check out the definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_care. For an informative newsletter on caring for an aging parent see www.rightathome.net and click on newsletter signup.