Memorial Day 2015. Honoring those who died this holida

How are you celebrating the 2015 Memorial Day holiday? If you're like many, you're probably relaxing with friends, food, sand and surf. However, do you really know what Memorial Day is all about? 

Memorial Day is meant to be a solemn day set aside to remember everyone who has died serving in the American armed forces. The holiday started as Decoration Day after the Civil War to honor both Union and Confederate soldiers who died in battle. It wasn't until after World War II that the holiday started to gain a strong national following, but it took until 1967 to name is as an official holiday.

Take a moment this weekend and thank service members for the sacrifices they make to keep our country safe. Not sure how? Let these Memorial Day quotes help guide you as you post thanks through social media and email.

"Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." -- President John F. Kennedy

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." -- Mark Twain

"Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours." --Wallace Bruce

"A Hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." -- Joseph Campbell

"We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them." -- Francis A. Walker

"And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave." -- Joseph Rodman Drake

"All gave some, some gave all. Some stood through for the red, white and blue, and some had to fall. And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties and recall, some gave all." -- Billy Ray Cyrus, "Some Gave All"

"And I'm proud to be an American where as least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the USA." -- Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the USA"

Haggen donates 1M lbs of food and $100K to 100 charities celebrating 100 new stores opening in 100 days throughout CA, AZ & NV

Hello from Haggen!

We wanted to share today's news on Haggen donating 1 million pounds of food to local food banks and $100,000 to 100 charity partners as part of the 100 new Haggen stores opening in 100 days throughout California, Arizona and Nevada March-June (please see announcement release below for more details).

New Haggen stores opening this afternoon include: Rancho Mirage and San Diego (422 W. Washington St. and 10740 Westview Pkwy). Three more locations will open this Saturday, May 23 in Palm Desert, Coronado and La Mesa.

Haggen stores opening in California next month include:

• Redondo Beach on June 2 (2115 Artesia Blvd.)
• Torrance on June 4
• Oxnard on June 6
• Chula Vista on June 9
• San Ysidro June 13
• Saugus, Lompoc and Ventura on June 16
• Goleta, Santa Barbara and Newbury Park on June 18
• Long Beach, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria on June 20

Haggen's goal is to provide a unique, hassle-free shopping experience, offering essential items guests need, specialty items guests want, and local items that reflect the community – all at fair, competitive prices. Haggen is a full-line grocery store with a bias toward fresh, quality, organic, local, and “healthy for you” options, so that guests can do all their shopping at one location instead of traveling to multiple stores. The new Haggen stores open at about 25 percent “Haggen-ized.” It will take time to completely infuse the store with the full Haggen experience. Immediate changes shoppers will experience at each newly opened Haggen store include: 

• Produce: Enhanced selection on Organic with increased item variety, selection and pre-pack offerings for easy grab-and-go; Haggen is, at a minimum, doubling the amount of organic fruits, vegetables and leafy green offerings in each store
• Meat/seafood: Grass fed and Double R choice beef, Natural pork, Free range chicken and Santa Monica Seafood
• Deli: Great assortment of fresh, house-made salads. Outstanding offering of meats and cheese. “Grandma Haggen” signature salads in the service deli with more grab-and-go fresh made salads and sandwiches
• Bakery: Local, fresh, full and abundant, including Haggen’s famous Cinnamon Rolls, cookies, garlic bread and cakes baked fresh throughout the day
• Center Store: More specialty, natural, "healthy for you" options (e.g., Alaffia and Acure Natural Health & Beauty items)
• Floral: Fresh cut flowers from local growers
• Beverage: Local brews, wines, specialty sodas and more! 

Expect to see continued improvements and thousands of new products coming to newly opened Haggen stores over the upcoming weeks, months and year.  

Guests who visit their local Haggen, snap a photo of their filled grocery cart and post it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with hashtags ‪#‎OneStopShop and ‪#‎HaggenSouthwestSweeps have the chance to win a $50 gift card now through June 15. See official rules for Haggen "What's In Your Cart" and "Favorite Haggen Find" Sweepstakes @ http://bit.ly/1e4iBqb.

Please contact Kris Ellenberg, kellenberg@goldpr.com, 310-430-1772 to request an interview, additional information or images.

Many thanks for your help spreading the word on the new one-stop shopping solution in town!

Grocery greetings,

Darcy Hagin

Gold PR
(503) 806-7940

HAGGEN DONATING 1 MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD TO LOCAL FOOD BANKS

AS PART OF NEW STORE OPENINGS IN CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA AND NEVADA

Haggen Continues Tradition of Giving Back In Partnership with Feeding America

To Support Communities Surrounding 100 New Pacific Southwest Stores

Irvine, Calif. (May 21, 2015) – Continuing a long history of giving back to the communities it serves, Haggen Pacific Southwest is donating more than one million pounds of food to local food banks from the 100 new stores the West Coast regional grocery chain is converting throughout California, Arizona and Nevada this spring. Haggen’s donation represents more than 833,333 meals to help feed the hungry. The donations began with the opening of the first Haggen store in California on March 11 in Carlsbad and will continue until June 20 when the final three stores open in Carpinteria, Long Beach and Santa Barbara.

Donated items from departments throughout each store include everything from fresh produce, baked goods, deli items and dairy, to meat, dry, canned and packaged goods. Initial recipients of Haggen food donations include, among others:

• City of Refuge of San Diego
• East County San Diego Transitional Living Center
• Feeding America San Diego
• Helping Hands of Orange County
• Grateful Hearts of Orange County
• San Diego Rescue Mission
• St. David’s Episcopal San Diego
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County

“Our commitment to supporting local extends beyond sourcing and into the communities around our stores,” said Bill Shaner, Haggen Pacific Southwest CEO.  “We are always looking for ways we can get involved and give back, providing hunger relief, educating our youth and promoting our core value of sustainability. We’re a grocery store and, above all else, we’re here to feed families, whether that’s through the great stores we run or partnering with Feeding America to help those in need.” 

 

“The Feeding America network provides more than three billion meals each year to families facing hunger, thanks to the help of generous partners like Haggen,” said Bill Thomas, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Feeding America. “We are grateful to Haggen for providing meals for people in need and for raising awareness of hunger in the communities they serve.”

 

With each store opening, Haggen is also partnering with 100 local non-profits, donating a total of $100,000 across 100 stores opening in approximately 100 days. Local store leadership is involved in guiding the process to help make a meaningful impact in their communities. Recipients to date include, among others:

• Antelope Valley Boys and Girls Club in Palmdale
• Central School District in Rancho Cucamonga
• Clear View Elementary School in Chula Vista
• La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad
• Lakeside Union School District and Granite Hills High School in El Cajon
• Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach
• Pacific Beach Elementary School in San Diego
• Southern Ravens, The League of Dreams and Van Home Elementary School in Bakersfield
• Therapeutic Living Centers for the Blind in Tujunga
• Travis Ranch School in Yorba Linda. 

Non-profits interested in learning more about Haggen’s community giving should visit haggen.com/grow-community/our-local-community to complete an online inquiry form and submit information about their organization.

Haggen is undergoing an unprecedented expansion from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies; from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees; and from a Pacific Northwest company with locations in Oregon and Washington to a major regional grocery chain with locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. To date, Haggen Southwest has opened 66 new stores in California and will be opening an additional 34 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada in May and June.

Guests who visit their local Haggen, snap a photo of their filled grocery cart and post it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with hashtags ‪#‎OneStopShop and ‪#‎HaggenSouthwestSweeps have the chance to win a $50 gift card now through June 15. See official rules for Haggen "What's In Your Cart" and "Favorite Haggen Find" Sweepstakes @ http://bit.ly/1e4iBqb. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, shoppers at new Haggen Southwest stores will also enjoy three-day sales with discounts on popular items across each department. Check in-store and online at Haggen social feeds every Friday to see what new Fresh Deals will be offered throughout each weekend. Facebook.com/haggensouthwest; instagram.com/haggensouthwest; twitter.com/haggensouthwest.

About Haggen

Founded in 1933 in Bellingham, Washington, Haggen has built its business on providing guests the freshest and most local products with genuine service, while supporting the communities it serves. The company currently operates stores in Washington and Oregon, and is in the process of acquiring an additional 146 stores and establishing a second headquarters in Irvine, California. With this acquisition, Haggen will expand from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies; from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees; and from a Pacific Northwest company with locations in Oregon and Washington to a major regional grocery chain with locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. Throughout its eight decades in business, the company has supported regional farms, ranches, fisheries and other businesses, creating a lasting and sustainable local food economy. The company remains focused on building local, sustainable food economies as it expands. For more information about what’s happening at Haggen, visit haggen.com, find us on Facebook or follow Haggen Southwest on Instagram and Twitter.

About Feeding America

Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Airbag Maker Announces Largest Auto Recall Ever; 34 Million Vehicles Involved

Takata is nearly doubling the size of its already massive recall for faulty airbags, making it the largest auto recall in history.

This graphic from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows an airbag expanding, shooting shrapnel toward the driver.

The company has already recalled airbags used in about 18 million vehicles for the problem. This move will bring that number up to about 34 million autos. That is nearly one out of every seven cars on U.S. roads today.

The recall is one of the largest consumer product recalls ever.

At least five deaths have been tied to the faulty airbags. But Takata has previously resisted demands by regulators to get all the affected airbags off the road.

The airbags have been known to explode and send shrapnel into the face and body of both the driver and front seat passenger. Victims appeared to have been shot or stabbed, according to police who responded to the accidents. Many others had serious injuries including vision damage from shrapnel hitting them in the eye.

Most of the fatalities and most of the recalled cars were made by Honda.

But dozens of different models are affected, most of which were built between 2000 and 2011. Consumers can check to see if their car is included in the recall by going to a special website created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration athttp://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/index.html.

It’s not yet known what is causing the airbags to explode, admitted Mark Rosekind, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“When are we going to find out? We don’t know. [But] we can’t wait and risk the safety of the American people before we move forward,” he said.

Rosekind could not even definitively say whether the airbags being installed in the recall cars are totally safe.

“But we know they are safer,” he said.

Takata had previously insisted that the airbag problems were limited to cars in regions with very humid weather, and it sought to limit the scope of the recall to those areas.

NHTSA initially agreed to that limited recall, but later pushed Tataka and 11 separate automakers to expand the recall. The agency even fined Takata $14,000 a day, the maximum, for failing to cooperate with its probe. That’s added up to $1.2 million as of Tuesday.

The daily fines were suspended Tuesday but further fines are possible.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with NHTSA,” said Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada. “[It} presents a clear path forward to advancing safety and restoring the trust of automakers and the driving public.”

Before this, the biggest recall on record was from Ford, which recalled 21 million cars in 1980 for a transmission problem that could allow cars to shift out of park, according to Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

Recalls of this size and scope are likely to happen more often as the auto industry becomes more global, pushing different automakers to use parts from the same suppliers, said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

“Ironically, the use of common parts is meant to save money, yet a recall of this size will cost the industry billions,” he said.

Please remember, 1-7 vehicles will be affected by this recall. I have attached a link so you can check and see if your vehicle is on the recall list. https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/.

*Courtsey of KTLA

10 Ways to Prevent School Bullying Ideas on how parents can prevent school bullying

Bullying at school can affect your child in a number of ways. Not only does it have a negative impact on the social environment, but it also creates an atmosphere of fear among students.

Bullying also impacts learning regardless of whether your child is a target of bullying or just a witness. So, the need to address bullying is significant. But schools cannot address the issue alone. Preventing bullying requires your involvement too. Here are the top 10 things parents can do to prevent bullying at school.

                                                                       

 1.  Begin at home.

Talk with your child about what constitutes healthy friendships and what does not. Although research suggests that parents are often the last to know when their child is being bullied or has bullied someone else, you can break that trend by talking with your kids every day about their social lives. Ask open-ended questions about who they had lunch with, what they did at recess and what happened on the bus or on the walk home from school.

2.  Learn the warning signs.

Many children don't tell anyone when they have been bullied. As a result, you have to be able to recognize the possible signs that your child is being bullied. For instance, complaining about stomachaches, avoiding school activities and dropping grades are red flags that something is going on. Additionally, kids who are bullied may experience changes in mood, personality, eating habits and hygiene.

3.  Instill healthy habits.

It’s very important to instill an anti-bullying mindset. But this includes more than just teaching your child not to hit, shove or tease other kids. Kids should learn that being critical, judgmental, making hurtful jokes and spreading rumors are also unhealthy and constitute bullying. It's also never too early to teach your kids about responsible online behavior. Cyberbullying is a big issue among kids today.

4.  Empower your kids.

Give your kids tools for dealing with bullying like walking away, telling an adult or telling the bully in a firm voice to stop. You also should teach your kids how to report bullying when they witness it. Research shows that most kids feel powerless to help when they see another person being bullied. Equip them with ideas on how to handle these difficult situations.

5.  Become familiar with your school's policies.

It's important to have a firm grasp on how bullying is handled at your child's school. Not only will you know which person to call if something happens, but you also will have clear expectations of how the situation may be handled.

6.  Report bullying incidents.

Contact school personnel and ask to meet with them in person if your child is bullied. By holding a face-to-face meeting, you are demonstrating that you’re committed to seeing this issue resolved. You may also want to document all bullying incidents in case the situation escalates and law enforcement or other outside sources need to be contacted.

7.  Be an advocate.

While it's important to voice your support for bullying prevention, it's also important to offer your time. Volunteer to work with your child's teachers or your school's guidance counselor to develop an anti-bullying program. If your school already has a program in place, offer to help when events and fundraisers are held.

8.  Recruit other parents.

When a lot of parents are committed to bullying prevention, a school's program will be more successful. Form a group of motivated parents to help you tackle the issue. Meet regularly to brainstorm ideas. Then, share your ideas with the appropriate school officials and offer to help implement the ideas.

9.  Spend time at school.

Accept opportunities to volunteer at school functions and during the day if your schedule permits. With shrinking budgets, schools have been forced to downsize. As a result, your kids may be getting less supervision on the playgrounds and during lunch. Sometimes simply having an additional adult around is enough to deter bullying.

10.  Ask the PTA/PTO to sponsor a bullying prevention program.

If your school has limited funds for bullying programs, approach your school's PTA/PTO and ask for their assistance. Or, suggest a fundraiser to build awareness. Remember, bullying is not a normal part of childhood. Bullying affects everyone. But as a parent, you have the power to do something about it.

50 Sexting/Texting Terms and 7 Snapchat Tips Every Diamond Bar Parent Should Know Do you think Snapchat photos evaporate within seconds of delivery? Guess again – and that’s just one thing parents should be worried about.

Teens may be naive about the permanence of photos they send using the popular social media application Snapchat. (Photo by Ildar Sagdejev via Wikipedia/Creative Commons)

By BETH DALBEY (Patch Staff) 

Social media apps are ever changing and it’s hard for parents to keep up on the codes teens use to keep them in the dark about they’re saying as their fingertips furiously tap the touch screens on their smartphones and tablets.

The American Academy of Pediatrics found texting and sexting are a “normal” part of adolescent sexual development, but that doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t worry.

And their worries shouldn’t be limited to the messages kids are sending back and forth on their phones.

Snapchat, an application for iPhones, iPads and Android phones, allows subscribers to quickly send photos that quickly expire, increasing the temptation of teens to send embarrassing photos. The photos disappear, but that doesn’t stop the person on the receiving end from quickly grabbing a screenshot and circulating the photo beyond its intended audience.

Snapchat does notify the sender if the person receiving it takes a screengrab, but there’s a fairly common workaround. A receiver could use a digital camera to take the screenshot, and the photo that supposedly disappeared could be saved on someone else’s device,

That’s Problem No. 1 with Snapchat, according to the parenting website fatherhood.com

Problem No. 2 concerns parents who may be – and experts say, should be – monitoring their teens’ social media use. The photos and messages disappear, so there’s no record that they ever existed.

Problem No. 3: Because photos supposedly evaporate instantly, teens may be more inclined to engage in sexting because they think the risk is lower their photos will be shared on the Internet.

Problem No. 4: Snapchat and Facebook both claim photos can be permanently deleted.Forensics experts have poked holes in that promise, though, and have said photos can be retrieved from smartphones and other devices. And guess what? “You don’t necessarily need crazy forensic tools that allow you … to access the information,” Andrea London, of the forensics firm Stroz Friedberg, told Mashable.

Problem No. 5: Snapchat owns royalty rights to every “Snap,” or photo message, that users send. According to the application terms of use, Snapchat retains “”nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such user content in connection with the services, subject to your use of privacy settings in the services to control who can see your user content.”

Problem No. 6: You may need a lawyer. In accordance with the terms of use, users accept responsibility for activity occurring while they’re logged into the application. In one case, reported by the familyshare.com website, a 15-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl exchanged explicit photos, which the boy saved and his mother discovered. The families involved addressed and resolved the situation, but because the girl was 14, the boy could have faced child pornography charges and, if convicted, been forced to register as a sex offender.

Problem No. 7: Snapchat can become a runaway train if you don’t talk to your kids about the risks associated with the use. “Parents who allow their children to have SnapChat need to have a real, live, one-on-one chat … about the risks associated with the false sense of security that SnapChat may provide,” fatherhood.com said.

Now, back to the “old school” social media worries.

Here’s the list of 50 terms a Denver television station used to test – and stump – several parents to determine if they could crack the codes their children use when they’re texting or sending online messages on their phones.

A detective with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office told the Denver television station KMGH that parents may be missing some red flags “because they don’t know the lingo or the language.”

Here’s a list of commonly used terms:

1. 8 – it means ate, can also refer to oral sex
2. 9 – Parent watching
3. 99 – Parent gone
4. 1337 – Elite, leet or L337
5. 143 – I love you
6. 1174 – the meeting place, meet at
7. 420 – Marijuana
8. 459 – I love you
9. 53X – Sex
10. ADR – Address
11. AEAP – As Early As Possible
12. ALAP – As Late As Possible
13. ASL – Age/Sex/Location
14. BROKEN – hung over from alcohol
15. CD9 – Code 9 (parents are around)
16. C-P – Sleepy
17. F2F – Face-to-Face
18. GNOC – Get Naked On Cam
19. GYPO – Get Your Pants Off
20. HAK – Hugs And Kisses
21. ILU – I Love You
22. IWSN – I Want Sex Now
23. KOTL – Kiss On The Lips
24. KFY or K4Y – Kiss For You
25. KPC – Keeping Parents Clueless
26. LMIRL – Let’s Meet In Real Life
27. MOOS – Member Of The Opposite Sex
28. MOSS – Member Of The Same Sex
29. MorF – Male or Female
30. MOS – Mom Over Shoulder
31. MPFB – My Personal F*** Buddy
32. NALOPKT – Not A Lot Of People Know That
33. NIFOC – Nude In Front Of The Computer
34. NMU – Not Much, You?
35. P911 – Parent Alert
36. PAL – Parents Are Listening -or- Peace And Love
37. PAW – Parents Are Watching
38. PIR – Parent In Room
39. POS – Parent Over Shoulder or Piece Of Sh**
40. pron – Porn
41. Q2C – Quick To Cum
42. RU/18 – Are You Over 18?
43. RUMORF – Are You Male OR Female?
44. RUH – Are You Horny?
45. S2R – Send To Receive
46. SorG – Straight or Gay
47. TDTM – Talk Dirty To Me
48. WUF – Where You From
49. WYCM – Will You Call Me?
50. WYRN – What’s Your Real Name?