A rather contentious issue at times and now up for discussion today by the Solano County Board of Supervisors is the elimination of longevity pay of Solano County employees -- but only for new hires.

At the request of Supervisor Barbara Kondylis, supervisors will consider elimination of longevity pay over a period of time for people who are not currently employed by the county.

"It didn't go very far when I brought it up before," Kondylis said. "It's based on people taking up space, not on performance."

After thinking about it for a long time, she said the board can be convinced to eliminate the longevity pay if it doesn't touch current employees.

In fiscal year 2009-10, the county paid more than $3.1 million in longevity pay. That number jumped to $3.2 million the next fiscal year.

"These costs are not sustainable given the current county structural deficit," staff said in a report.

Kondylis added that since longevity pay is tied into salaries, eliminating the benefit will also reduce retirement costs.

It would be difficult and probably illegal, according to staff, to eliminate longevity pay for those who are currently working for the county due to contracts and other employment agreements.

"Our goal should be to eliminate longevity for new hires in a way that is fair so that, over time, these costs will no longer occur," staff said in a report.

Staff also noted that none of the actions regarding longevity pay are intended to effect

those who are currently employed by Solano County, including elected officials.

The board will consider several options:

* Eliminate the legislative, executive and senior management groups longevity tier and substitute longevity tier that is in place for all other groups of new hires.

* Eliminate the "credit service provision" for all future hires.

* Eliminate longevity pay for all newly elected officials who take office after Jan. 1, 2013.

* Adopt policy that it is the intention of the Solano County Board of Supervisors to eliminate longevity pay in its entirety for new hires.

The Solano County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. today in the County Administration Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield.

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Solano County leaders to discuss eliminating longevity pay

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire -02/06/12)- Brandes Investment Partners today released a new study by the Brandes Institute suggesting ways for investors to improve their financial prospects in retirement, including reducing the risk of outliving their assets ("money death"). The baby boom generation is now moving towards retirement age while longevity estimates suggest that their retirement may last much longer than expected. The study suggests that many of America's baby boomers could increase their retirement assets at advanced ages by maintaining a larger portion of their portfolios in higher-potential investments such as equities (rather than re-allocating prematurely into fixed income) and managing the risk of money death by investing a modest portion of their portfolio in longevity insurance. The study comes on the heels of the U.S. Treasury's plan to make it easier for defined contribution plans and IRAs to offer annuity options.

"Retirees in good health have a risk of outliving their assets regardless of their investment strategy. Our study suggests they may do better by aiming for superior long-term returns in their investment portfolios and dealing with money death risk separately," said Barry Gillman, Research Director, Brandes Institute Advisory Board. "This contradicts the conventional wisdom, which tells people to play it safe when they retire by moving a large portion of their portfolio to bonds.

"One problem with the conventional approach is that about 60% of the money distributed from typical retirement accounts should come from investment returns earned after retirement. Today's historically low yields are just not providing the returns retirees will likely need to sustain them.

"Until now, this approach has not been widely understood or used even by the healthy and wealthy individual investors who stand to benefit from it most. With the Treasury's new initiative to tear down some of the barriers to investing retirement savings in annuities, this could also become a practical solution for many participants with 401(k) and IRA savings."

The study cites evidence generated by the Brandes Retirement Simulator, a proprietary online model that projects a range of long-term asset outcomes based on an individual's personal finances and expected lifespan, as well as portfolio allocations and investment assumptions, and the use of longevity insurance. The full study is available on the firm's website at http://www.brandes.com/institute. Access to the Brandes Retirement Simulator will soon be available on the firm's website at no cost to retirees and advisors who can customize the inputs and integrate it into their retirement planning.

About Brandes

Brandes Investment Partners is a global investment advisory firm based in San Diego and along with its affiliates, manages more than $32 billion of assets as of December 31, 2011, for institutional and private clients worldwide. Since its inception in 1974, Brandes has applied the value investing approach to security selection pioneered by Benjamin Graham. Among the first investment firms to bring a global perspective to value investing, Brandes manages a variety of investment strategies.

Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. is a U.S. registered investment adviser. Brandes does not sell or endorse any insurance policy. More information can be found at http://www.brandes.com.

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New Study Suggests an Unconventional Approach May Help Boomers Prolong Retirement Savings

A little goes a long way (Sharon Basaraba ©)

Attention all chocolate lovers (and that's a club with a lot of members): when it comes to choosing which chocolate is the healthiest, quantity, and frequency, may be more important than quality.  A couple of fairly recent research reviews looking at the effect of chocolate consumption and cardiovascular disease, analysed how often, and how much, chocolate people ate, without distinguishing between milk or dark chocolate.  For example, in a British Medical Journal review of seven studies involving about 114,000 subjects, University of Cambridge researchers concluded those who ate chocolate more than twice a week had a 37 per cent lower chance of developing heart disease, and a 29 per cent lower risk of stroke - whether they ate their chocolate dark, in drinks, baking or as nutritional supplements.

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The findings, published in the February 1, 2012 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, mark a crucial step toward being able to predict who may be at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms appear.

Relatively few studies have looked at levels of beta-amyloid in healthy living adults, as until recently, beta-amyloid levels could only be measured at autopsy. Few, if any, studies have looked at beta-amyloid levels in middle-aged and younger adults. Many investigators now believe that the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease can precede symptoms of dementia by a decade or more, so data on middle-aged adults is critically important to understanding the transition from a healthy brain to a diseased brain.

In the new study, researchers measured levels of beta-amyloid protein in the brains of 137 cognitively healthy adults between the ages of 30 and 89 using an amyloid imaging agent. The researchers found that beta-amyloid levels increased with age across the entire age span and that about 20% of adults aged 60 and older had particularly high levels of beta-amyloid.

"We found that this high-amyloid group showed deficits in cognitive performance even though the individuals were well educated and scored normally on our standard tests of cognition," said Dr. Karen Rodrigue, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Vital Longevity and lead author of the study. On tests of processing speed, working memory, and reasoning ability—three major aspects of cognition—higher levels of beta-amyloid correlated with lower test scores.

That beta-amyloid burden has detectable effects on cognitive function even in adults with apparently good cognitive health underscores the need to better understand the recently proposed preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease, which suggests that beta-amyloid deposits in healthy adults do not exert a strong effect on cognition for some time.

"Our findings suggest that subtle effects on cognition occur early," said principal investigator Dr. Denise Park, co-director of the Center for Vital Longevity and Distinguished University Chair in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at UT Dallas. "These are important findings because imaging patients when they first show signs of very mild cognitive impairment could be essential to determining their risk of future disease."

Long-term follow-up studies led by Dr. Park as part of the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study, one of the nation's largest projects examining neural and cognitive aging across the entire adult lifespan, are already underway to help researchers determine whether high beta-amyloid burden in healthy people necessarily predetermines occurrence of Alzheimer's disease later in life.

"Knowing this information will help us determine at what stage potential interventions, once available, may be most critical and most effective," said Park. Many researchers believe that interventions to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer's will be most effective during middle age, before irreparable damage to the brain is done. "Just as many adults take aspirin to lower their risk of heart disease or stroke, one day we may be able to help protect our brains and cognitive health by starting a treatment in our 40s or 50s," Park said.

Another of the study's interesting findings was that some people well into their 60s, 70s, and even 80s, had beta-amyloid levels as low or lower than people at middle age or younger.

"Another avenue of our future work will be to investigate what factors enable these individuals to maintain cognitive health well into old age, whether they be genetic factors, lifestyle factors, or environmental issues," said Park.

"Understanding how the brain and mind stay healthy and vital over the long term will help guide our efforts to delay or even prevent the devastation caused by diseases like Alzheimer's."

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Study of Alzheimer's-related protein in healthy adults may shed light on earliest signs of disease

Richard Foreman

Gibbs (Mark Harmon) finds himself talking to his late friend Mike Franks (Muse Watson) on Tuesday's "NCIS," the series' 200th episode.

PASADENA, Calif. -- CBS's "NCIS" remains the No. 1 scripted drama this season and next week it hits the 200-episode mark, quite an achievement for a series that didn't become an indisputable hit until about five years into its current nine-season run.

Generally, TV shows are either successful out of the gate or grow into hits over the course of a season or two. Five years to become a hit? That's not the norm.

At a CBS press conference last month, "NCIS" star Mark Harmon attributed the show's ratings improvement so late in life to multiple factors.

'NCIS'

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, CBS.

"From the very beginning, we were a show that wasn't good enough to get all that noticed and wasn't bad enough to get canceled," he said. "And we had a lot of time just to get to know each other and just to do this show and just to work on the foundation of what this show started as. And we've had changes along the way that have, in my opinion, greatly influenced us."

He points to the additions of cast members Sean Murray (in season one), Carnegie Mellon University alum Cote de Pablo (in season three) and Rocky Carroll (in season six) as significant in the life of the show and audience appreciation of it.

Actress Pauley Perrette said another factor in the show's longevity is the cast's attitude toward "NCIS."

"Part of what keeps it so alive and so fresh all the time is that we all love our show. That's such a big deal," she said. "When I tell [fans] we're having so much fun, they're, like, 'No. Everyone can tell.' That's huge because just bringing a sense of not only gratefulness, but joy to your workplace every single day [is important and] it's not just us; it's also our crew. We have the best crew on the planet who have been together so long. Everybody is excited when we come back from hiatus. We're excited when we start our first day of the season. It's like the first day of school. We're excited to see new scripts. And part of that is not only do we love each other, but we're all huge fans of our own show."

CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler credits the show's success to the "NCIS" writers.

"We've added new cast members over the years, and that brings a tremendous amount of vitality," she said. "The writing staff is constantly challenging themselves, challenging the cast. They have really achieved a great balance in tone, style. So having a show that is mature and continues to build audience, even in its later years, I think it's a testament again to the writing of the show. They give the fans what they want."

The series' 200th episode (8 p.m. Tuesday, KDKA-TV) also will seek to treat longtime fans with past guest stars returning as Gibbs (Mr. Harmon) sees his life flash before his eyes when a gunman shows up at a diner while Gibbs has his morning coffee.

"There's a certain element to the season that's been about decisions that our characters have faced and decisions moving forward and decisions looking back," said "NCIS" executive producer Gary Glasberg. "As far back as last summer, I sort of had a sense of what I wanted the episode to be. And it starts with a pivotal moment for Gibbs that he faces. ... It literally looks back at key moments throughout nine years of 'NCIS' where decisions have had to be made and, had people gone one direction instead of another, how the world would have ended up. And it brings back familiar faces, old faces, faces fans don't think that they'd see again."

After the press conference, Mr. Glasberg, who wrote Tuesday's episode, said Lauren Holly, who played NCIS director Jenny Shepard for several years, won't be back. But he wouldn't answer a direct question about the possible return of actress Sasha Alexander, whose Caitlin Todd was gunned down at the end of the show's second season. (IMDB.com suggests she provides her voice, but she's not listed in credits CBS provides for the episode.)

"There are surprises to be had," he said. "There are all kinds of tricks up our sleeve for this episode."

A version of this story first appeared in Tuned In Journal blog at post-gazette.com/tv. TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook.

First published on February 2, 2012 at 12:00 am

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Longevity is one of the keys to 'NCIS' success

Iowa City board approves assessor's budget, eliminates longevity funds

BY DI STAFF | FEBRUARY 01, 2012 7:20 AM

The Iowa City Conference Board passed the City Assessor's fiscal-year 2013 budget proposal during one of its two yearly meetings Tuesday night.

The conference board — consisting of Iowa City city councilors, Johnson County supervisors, and Iowa City School Board members — voted to eliminate a proposed $3,525 longevity expenditure before passing the budget. Longevity pay was previously allotted $3,350 for fiscal-year 2012.

City Assessor Dennis Baldridge said the conference board eliminated step/merit pay for fiscal 2012 because they want to spend more time evaluating how the pay options would effect citizens. The proposed step/merit expenditures for fiscal 2013 is $6,000.

Baldridge suggested the conference board leave both longevity and merit/salary pay in the budget for this meeting and vote at the next meeting.

But conference board members insisted on proceeding with only step/merit pay.

"We're either doing longevity or merit," Supervisor Janelle Rettig said. "I think [Baldridge] wanted to move to merit last year, but we didn't have a clear direction from the conference board to do that."

All conference members approved the budget proposal with the elimination of the longevity pay.

The assessor's budget will be effective July 1.

A public hearing for the assessor's budget will be held March 6 at 3 p.m.

—by Kristen East

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Iowa City board approves assessor's budget, eliminates longevity funds

The nation’s oldest Medal of Honor recipient, a World War II
Army veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, will
celebrate his 95th birthday at a party today at a Clifton VFW Post.

ELIZABETH LARA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Army veteran Nicholas Oresko, 95, received the Medal of
Honor for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge in
World War II in 1945. His birthday, and his
accomplishments, will be honored today in Clifton.

Nicholas Oresko of Cresskill, a U.S.
Army master sergeant and Purple Heart recipient who
single-handedly wiped out two enemy bunkers near Tettington,
Germany, on Jan. 23, 1945, will also commemorate the 67th
anniversary of his heroism at today’s party at VFW Post 7165 on
Valley Road.

Oresko’s birthday was Jan. 18, and each invitee has been asked
to bring a younger person to hear the story of the hero platoon
leader with Company C, 302nd Infantry, 94th Infantry Division.

Back in January 1945, when the 28-year-old Oresko and his unit
were taking on heavy fire from the Germans, the situation
looked grim.

"We attacked their positions several times, and we got beaten
back," he said. "It’s terrible. It scares the hell out of you.

"So we figured this time, let’s sneak up on them," Oresko said.
"Instead of getting prepared with artillery fire, let’s just go
as it gets dark and sneak up on them and then attack ’em."

Oresko started out solo — at 4:30 a.m. that cold winter
morning. He assessed his chances.

"I looked up to heaven and said, ‘Lord, I know I’m going to
die, please make it fast,’ " he said.

Oresko realized that a machine gun in a nearby bunker must be
eliminated, and he did so alone, according to the 1945 citation
honoring his brave actions. Facing heavy gunfire, he tossed a
grenade into the bunker, then rushed it with his M-1 rifle and
killed any hostile forces who survived the explosion.

Another machine gun opened fire and knocked him down, seriously
wounding Oresko in the hip, the citation says.

Oresko said he managed a slow crawl to another bunker.

"The machine gunner who shot me thought I was dead," Oresko
said. "I was able to move around, sneak around, so they didn’t
see me. They saw me go down. They thought they’d killed me, but
they didn’t. I slipped around and somehow got around, and they
were in a bunch."

Oresko crawled back for grenades he’d dropped from inside his
jacket and advanced to an enemy dug-in machine gun. He crippled
the gun with a grenade blast and wiped out the troops manning
it with his rifle, the citation says.

"I got to the position to do what I was supposed to do, and I
couldn’t because I had no grenades," Oresko said. "I had to
crawl back a couple of feet and pick up the grenades. I was
almost afraid to do that, but I figured, what the hell?"

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Longevity, heroism saluted

19-02-2011 17:10 LONGEVITY Welding offers plasma cutters and TIG / MIG / ARC / STICK Welders and MultiProcess welding equipment at affordable prices with the industry's best 5 year parts and labor warranty. Check out the latest welders and cutters at http://www.longevity-inc.com. This contest featured our LONGEVITY WeldAll 200PI on http://www.freeweldingforum.com - your place for welding advice and tips. If you want to learn how to weld, join http://www.freeweldingforum.com and ask some of the professional welders on our site. Here we are introducing the LONGEVITY StickWeld 140 which is a 140amp DC stick welder that is dual voltage. This model is extremely portable and affordable. It features a carrying case and is versatile as it will take 110v or 220v hookup Link to Product: http://www.longevity-inc.com

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LONGEVITY StickWeld 140 110/220v Dual Voltage 140AMP DC Stick Arc Welder IGBT - Video

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Swampscott School Committee agrees to correct longevity pay

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Lars Anderson: Biggest offseason winner; Gordon's longevity; power teams; more mail

25-08-2011 14:50 LONGEVITY Welding debuts a portable 200amp ACDC TIG WELDER with Pulse.

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LONGEVITY MicroTIG 200 Digital 200amp AC DC PULSE TIG WELDER - Video

07-01-2012 16:44 Describing my Longevity 200DX welder.I know i said low when i meant high.I hope you guys like my first video and i hope it helped.comment rate and subscribe.let me know if i should make more videos!

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Longevity 200DX Welder Review (Part 1) - Video

06-01-2012 23:03 Picked up a Box today.

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Panini Rookies

04-01-2012 17:34 Kjersti Cote explains how to use the Isagenix Total Health and Longevity System. Learn more: http://www.isagenix.com

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How to Use the Isagenix Total Health and Longevity System™ - Video

03-01-2012 10:46

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David Wolfe Explains the Longevity Benefits of Chinese Herbs - Video

11-04-2011 14:51 A documentary about the health and longevity of Okinawa - and a warning of the health dangers posed by modern 'American lifestyles'. VISIT: http://www.okinawanway.blogspot.com for information on attaining the secret to Okinawan Longevity

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Okinawan Longevity and Health - Video

31-12-2011 19:21 Great box of 2011 Rookies and Stars Longevity Football. I'm still shocked that I pulled the Locker. (I got the box from Tradingcards13 and his family, I knew he'd make me say that) Thanks for watching!

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2011 Rookies

30-12-2011 18:43 Daniel Vitalis explains why water is so important to us and it is the key to living a healthier life.

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Daniel Vitalis - WATER:Learn How Important Water is To Our Health and Longevity (part1 of 3) - Video

29-10-2010 12:30 Nir Barzilai, MD, Principal Investigator http://www.einstein.yu.edu - The Longevity Genes Project at Einstein is a study of more than 500 healthy centenarians, near-centenarians and their children. In this video, principal investigator Dr.

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Longevity Genes (1 of 5): Nir Barzilai, MD - Video

30-12-2011 17:58

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Mission Center for Longevity - Patient Story - Video