Welcome to your latest edition of the Federal Citizen Information Center's FEDINFO e-letter! These subscription e-letters from Pueblo are sent 6 times a year with helpful updates, practical information, and special offers to make your life a little easier. You can always find the latest information at our websites: pueblo.gsa.gov and www.USA.gov.
This issue includes:
Need a copy of your child's birth certificate, or maybe just your own? The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) provides a listing of state and U.S. territory vital statistics offices to contact for copies of birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates. The NCHS also offers tips on how what information to provide when making a request and gives the approximate cost of obtaining each type of vital record in each state.
Find
out where to write for vital records at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm
When you think of hot summer days, you often think of swimming in a nice, cool pool or catching waves at the beach. And while swimming can be a great way to have fun while getting full body exercise, it also has its risks. Did you know that each year between 4,000 and 6,000 people drown in the United States? Tragic water accidents can happen quickly, so it's important to know basic facts about water safety.
To help everyone
have a safe and fun summer, check out FCIC's Consumer Focus on water
safety at:
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cfocus/cfwatersafety04/focus.htm.
with the help of the Consumer Action Handbook. Published continuously since 1979, the Consumer Action Handbook is one of the most informative and popular consumer resources produced by the federal government. Dear Abby wrote in her column that a copy "belongs in every household."
This free 174-page guide is designed to help citizens find the best and most direct solutions for their consumer problems and questions. Referred to as the "Consumer Bible" by Consumer World and acclaimed by the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the Handbook offers tips on topics such as buying and leasing cars, protecting your privacy, avoiding fraud and shopping from home. It also includes a sample complaint form that consumers can use as a guide for writing letters, faxes and e-mails. The Handbook lists thousands of names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for Better Business Bureaus, corporate consumer contacts, federal agencies, and state and local consumer protection offices.
Consumers can access the web edition or order a copy of the Handbook at http://www.ConsumerAction.gov.
Have some hot fun in the summertime and see how well you know your summer trivia facts (Answers are at the bottom of the page).
1. According to the song made famous by the Beach Boys and later The Muppets, where would you find the paradise called "Kokomo?"
a. South of Waikiki.
b. North of Malibu.
c. Off the Florida Keys.
2. In "Summertime," when the livin' is easy, what are fish doing?
a. Fryin'.
b. Swimmin'.
c. Jumpin'.
3. "Under the Boardwalk" what is the singer out of?
a. The rain.
b. The sun.
c. Money.
4. When The Lovin' Spoonful sings of a "Summer in the City," what body part is "getting dirty and gritty"?
a. Soles of my
feet.
b. Back of my neck.
c. Back of my knees.
5. Which surf-sound song isn't from the Beach Boys? (And pat yourself on the back if you know the band that sang it!)
a. "Surfin'
Safari."
b. "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena."
c. "Good Vibrations."
ANSWERS
Give yourself 20 points for each correct answer.
1. The correct answer is "c." Kermit sang "Off the Florida Keys there's a place called Kokomo. That's where you wanna go to get away from it all." In real life Kokomo is in Indiana. But all those steel drums and tropical fruit would seem a bit out of place there, don't you think?
2. The correct answer is "c." The song is from "Porgy and Bess," and goes "Summertime, and the livin' is easy, fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high..."
3. The correct answer is "b." The chorus of The Drifters' song goes, "Under the boardwalk, out of the sun, Under the boardwalk, we'll be havin' some fun..."
4. The correct answer is "b." You The song goes, "Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty..." The kids may remember it as the opening song to the hit summer movie, "Die Hard III."
5. The correct answer is "b." "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena," with the refrain "Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go," drove "a brand new, shiny red Super Stock Dodge" like a bat outta... Well, let's just say she drove it real fast! Surf singers Jan and Dean brought us that little number.
So how hot are you? Compare your score to the ranges below.
0-20: You're
98.6° -- just normal.
40-60: Getting warmer -- you're boiling over.
80-100: You're...Sssizzling!
We hope that you have found this e-letter valuable. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please contact us at: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/emailus.htm.
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Issue
2004-3