From the U.S. News & World Report website
Most Americans hit retirement and never look back. In fact, three-quarters of recently retired baby boomers say they are very satisfied with their lifestyle in retirement, according to an Ameriprise Financial survey of 1,000 Americans ages 60 to 73 who have at least $100,000 in investable assets. They are happy with both their finances and their free time.
But what about the 25 percent of baby boomers who aren’t satisfied with retirement?
Fortunately, seniors who are dissatisfied can reset a retirement gone wrong.
You can register to receive an email every time there is a new post. In the “Follow Retiree News via Email” section and press “Follow”. On the next screen, enter your email address and press ENTER. Shortly, you will receive a confirmation email to your address from WordPress.com. You acknowledge the email and you are a registered reader.
After you compete this short registration process, you get a notification email every time there is a new posting. The email has a quick teaser of the posting, along with tags that indicate how the posting relates to special topics/areas. There is a direct link to the website (Read more of this post)
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Thanks to these Retiree News readers who registered to “Follow Retiree News via Email”: ryan.endo, hickoryhill2005, bobcat.hi
From the Explore Parts Unknown website
Modern Hawai`i is young, I realize from my vantage point on the peak of Mauna Kea, the highest location in the state. Without moving, I can see the other four Big Island volcanoes and Maui’s Haleakala, which sits dormant across a blue-sea channel. To the east, steam rises in a plume where lava flows from Kilauea into the ocean, adding 42 acres to the island every year.
Like the lava, Hawai`i’s culture and cuisine have grown, layer by layer, over years, expanding as waves of immigrants have each brought something new to the islands. These ingredients—beef, rice, spam, pineapples, soy sauce, black pepper, and many others—mingled and fused to create the “local style” dishes that are unmistakably and perplexingly Hawaiian. Why are macaroni salad and white rice paired on the Hawaiian plate lunch? Or pork-stuffed Chinese rice buns a gas station specialty? Why do Portuguese pastries outsell the all-American donut? Finally, Hawaiian pizza—just why?
Digging down through the layers of Hawai`i’s home cooking exposes a chronology of people, plants, and politics that together build what we think of as Hawaiian cuisine today.
From the International Business Times website
Airlines are cracking down on checked luggage as its newly updated policies prohibit checking in high-tech suitcase’s powered by lithium battery if it can’t be removed. The policy change stems from the fear of a potential fire risk that the batteries pose.
Battery-powered tech, like laptops and portable gaming devices, have faced scrutiny from several airlines because they contain lithium batteries. Airlines have updated their policies to accommodate this as these devices may pose a fire risk. Smart luggage is now being lumped into this category as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have modified its regulations to place a restriction on checking in high-tech suitcases.
From the Military.com website
House and Senate negotiators have backed a 2.4 percent military pay raise for fiscal 2018, topping President Donald Trump’s recommendation of 2.1 percent. For more details, see this Military.com news article.
President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal included a 2.1% pay increase for the military in fiscal year 2018 — the same amount that troops received for 2017. More recently, the Senate and House have endorsed a 2.4% bump.
Check out our charts reflecting the House and Senate’s proposed 2.4% raise.
From the Eater website
Hot, fried, adorably puffy and round, malassadas are some of the most delightful confections found all over Honolulu. They range from palm-size to bigger than your hand. A traditional malassada is simply coated in white granulated sugar, but they are frequently served with flavored sugars and fillings. Some are denser, others airier; some are almost wet, others perilously dry; each style has its proponents, and I have come to believe there truly is a malassada for every desire.
From the U.S. News & World Report website
With advancing age, and changing care needs, many older adults – and their families – face what can be a daunting task: finding suitable senior housing.
To begin the process of narrowing the search, it’s helpful to get a better idea first of the types of senior housing and determine which might be optimal. “I think one of the biggest factors is taking into account what the individual’s needs are, and there are lots of different options for receiving care,” says Lori Smetanka, executive director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, based in the District of Columbia.
From the Military.com website
The U.S. Army recently launched a new direct-commissioning pilot program aimed at attracting talent from academia and industry to become officers in its cyber mission force.
The service launched the Army Cyber Direct Commission Pilot in late October to “go after some of the most technical and adept talent out there that would like to serve our nation,” said Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, commanding general of U.S. Army Cyber Command.
A Retiree News reader sent in this photograph of the Personnel and Finance staff (who were not on leave on that Aloha Friday in December 2000.)
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Back row (L-R): Randall Tom, Edwin “Skip” Vincent, Lester Ho, Roselina (Vendiola) Welden, Larnette (Phillips) Doi, Elaine Perreault, Nani Mahaulu,
Middle row: Randy Solomon, Iris Kabazawa, Brian Tom, Regina (Berry) Komine, Carleton Tajiri
Front row: Ryan Deguchi, Beau Sabagala, Glenda Buis, Robert Snyder, Colosse Eliapo, Jr.
From the Air Force Times website
The Air Force is launching a new pilot training program that will include enlisted airmen — and could eventually lead to them flying combat aircraft.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Leahy, commander of the Second Air Force, said in a November 30 email to his commanders that 15 officers and 5 enlisted airmen will be picked for the six-month pilot training program.
From the Military.com website
The VA loan guaranty program does not impose a maximum amount that an eligible veteran may borrow using a VA loan but limits the maximum guaranty amount to $453,100 for 2018. However, if you live in one of the following counties listed below, follow the data on the chart to determine the VA’s maximum guaranty amount for a particular county. These limits apply to all loans closed January 1, 2018 and afterwards.
Honoring the 1,177 crew members who died on December 7, 1941 and all the survivors who continued to serve.
From the Images of Old Hawaii website
2nd Lts. Ken Taylor (left) and George Welch. (USAF)
2nd Lt Schwartz Welch and 2nd Lt Kenneth M Taylor are credited with being the first ‘Aces’ of World War II. Welch and Taylor were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Welch and Taylor were at Wheeler when the attack on Pearl Harbor began; they had previously flown their fighters to the airfield at Haleiwa as part of a plan to disperse the squadron’s planes away from Wheeler. Both men raced in their cars to Haleiwa Field completing the 16-mile trip in about 15 minutes.
Once in the air they spotted a large number of aircraft in the direction of ʻEwa and Pearl Harbor. “There were between 200 and 300 Japanese aircraft,” said Taylor; “there were just two of us!” Lt Welch was credited with a total of four Japanese planes shot down and Lt Taylor downed two.
Of the hundreds of articles I have written concerning heroes to my knowledge only one has been about a civilian hero. This will be my second. The number of civilians killed on December 7th 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has never been completely documented, it was somewhere between 48 and 68. It’s thought most of these deaths resulted from friendly fire, unexploded American anti-aircraft shells that landed in civilian areas. In doing the research for this article it seems there may have been a cover up by the authorities at the time to conceal the number of civilians killed by friendly fire.
Ni‘ihau, is the westernmost and second smallest of the Hawaiian Islands. The Robinsons, a white kama‘āina family, have owned the island since 1864. On December 7th 1941, Ni‘ihau had 136 inhabitants, most of them were Native Hawaiians whose first language was Hawaiian.
