Several months ago, a friend of mine called. Tom, not his real name, and his buddy had traveled to San Antonio for a guy’s trip a couple of weekends earlier. Tom drove through a construction zone where there was a lane shift followed by a traffic light. Based on the location of the light, he mistakenly thought he was supposed to stop about 40 yards away. He ended up passing through the intersection and was struck by a car that had a green light. It was his fault.
I had coffee last week with a friend of mine in Dallas. We’ll call her Abby, not her real name. We were catching up on each other’s summer and how our businesses were doing; they’re both growing. Abby owns one of the top catering companies in Dallas handling everything from a family meal, when no one feels like cooking, to a sit down dinner for 5,000 people. She’s quite the chef! When my wife had eye surgery earlier this year, Abby gave me a batch of her tortilla soup to aid in Sheri’s recovery. It was the best soup either of us has ever had.
The Dallas Morning News reported earlier this year on surcharges the state of Texas assesses to Texas drivers who are convicted of offenses such as driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain car insurance, and driving without a valid license or with an invalid license. These driver surcharges were enacted as a part of The Driver Responsibility Program in 2003.
School supplies are out in force at Wal-Mart, Target, and office supply stores across the Dallas / Fort Worth area. That means it’s almost time for our kids to return to the classroom. In the next two weeks the familiar flashing light marking school zones will renew its warning and traffic will be interspersed with school buses for each of the independent school districts. It’s time to revisit Texas laws concerning both school zones and driving around buses.
I received a letter last week from the University of Alabama, Birmingham alumni association. I graduated from there with a business degree, I’ll let you guess when. The letter was to offer me savings of $300 to $400 a year on my car insurance with a company I was with before I started Wise Insurance Group. As an alumnus of UAB, I qualified for an insurance discount.
Having a child go to college is a wonderful and sometimes slightly scary time for most parents. Son or daughter is spreading their wings, stepping out on their own and beginning to prepare for life as an adult while they figure what their future holds. It is also a time when a son or daughter begins to make decisions for themselves, some of which have adult level consequences.
In case you missed it, the Biggert-Waters Flood Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12) was passed by the U.S. Congress in July of last year. The goal of BW-12 is for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and other agencies to make changes in how the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is administered.
In November of 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize recreational marijuana usage. People can now legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana if they’re over 21. They may also legally grow up to six plants for personal use; however, they may not legally smoke in public places such as parks or on sidewalks.
Technology has made our lives easier, more connected, and even safer. It continues to evolve and change at an incredible rate. A decade ago the only smartphone was a Blackberry which gave rise to mobile email. We now have access to thousands of apps to help us plan menus, shop, take pictures, read books, and connect. Technology has entered our homes too. We have programmable thermostats to manage our power usage, smart home systems that can turn on lights before we arrive, record shows and sporting events when we’d rather watch something else, and washing machines that help us use less water.
Did you catch the story last week about the toddler who bought a car on eBay with her dad’s smart phone? Sorella Stoute, a 14 month girl in Portland, Oregon, was playing with her dad’s smart phone. She opened the eBay app on dad’s phone and submitted the winning bid on a 1962 Austin Healey.
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