With only a few short weeks left until Christmas, the excitement of the season is evident all around Northern Arizona. I always love seeing the beautiful decorations and, of course, how the snowfall just changes our landscape to a winter wonderland. As an APS employee, we are especially encouraged during the holiday season to give back to our community and hope you will join us in a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. As a decades-old holiday tradition, the Northern Arizona Law … [Read more...] about Helping Northern Arizona Families Smile and Stay Safe during the Holidays
Columnists
Understanding the Connection Between High Blood Pressure and Hearing Loss
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease, which affects nearly 70 million adults in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This adds up to one in three adults! In addition to people with hypertension, the CDC states that one in three adults is living with elevated blood pressure or prehypertension. Prehypertension is not hypertension, but the blood pressure levels are above what is considered normal. What … [Read more...] about Understanding the Connection Between High Blood Pressure and Hearing Loss
CCC: Coconino County’s Best-Kept Secret
I sometimes think that community colleges are one of Arizona’s best-kept secrets, and they shouldn’t be. According to a recent report in The Arizona Republic, more than two-thirds of new jobs in the state will require some sort of post-secondary education. Additionally, getting a post-secondary credential or degree is worth it, considering higher earnings over a lifetime. For example, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, a person … [Read more...] about CCC: Coconino County’s Best-Kept Secret
Top Ten Reasons Massage is the Perfect Gift
Thanksgiving is past and the season of gift giving is here. The days are sure to be full of joy, events, giving, food, laughter, friends, family and, for most of us, a dose of stress. One way to ease holiday stress? Purchase gift cards that promote health and ease stress; give the gift of a massage. Here are the Top 10 reasons massage is the perfect gift: 1. Massage is the gift of health, relaxation and time. 2. Massage saves time, energy and money – no need to spend countless … [Read more...] about Top Ten Reasons Massage is the Perfect Gift
Rechargeable CROS Aids Improving Quality of Life
People with single-sided deafness or one ear that is not able to understand speech clearly are at a significant disadvantage when attempting to understand speech and other sounds. This type of hearing loss is called a unilateral hearing loss. This problem is increased when there is noise in the room while the desired sound is occurring. They have difficulty judging the distance a sound is from them and the location of the sound. This discrepancy in how the two ears hear sound interferes with how … [Read more...] about Rechargeable CROS Aids Improving Quality of Life
Why Do People Carry Concealed Firearms?
As of October 2018, there are 337,733 concealed weapon permit holders in the state of Arizona. That equates to one in every 15 adults. In 2010, Arizona passed a law that removed the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed firearm. The law states that if you are at least 21 years old and a legal firearms owner, you may carry a concealed firearm in most places within Arizona. With that many people legally allowed to carry concealed, one might ask why would someone want to carry a concealed … [Read more...] about Why Do People Carry Concealed Firearms?
Generating Goodwill with Seasonal Marketing
With the holiday season just around the corner, it’s a great time to bring the festive and giving spirit into your marketing efforts. One popular marketing tradition is the annual holiday card. Sending season’s greetings is a personal way to offer gratitude to your clients and customers while reinforcing name and brand recognition for your business. Since the rush of the holidays has a way of sneaking up, getting started on your holiday cards now will ensure you have enough time to do them … [Read more...] about Generating Goodwill with Seasonal Marketing
Local Interest is Growing Fast for Endoscopic Spine Surgery
Patients come to see me for a variety of complaints regarding their back and neck health. Often, there are specific questions they would like me to answer (often, to help debunk Google), and end up sharing so much about their back pain, which is incredibly personal and can really impact one’s life in a variety of ways. Naturally, my surgical patients usually ask me about the least-invasive, minimally painful and easiest surgery for them to undergo, so they can get back to enjoying life again. … [Read more...] about Local Interest is Growing Fast for Endoscopic Spine Surgery
Offering the Gift of Inner Peace for the Holidays
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and other winter holidays are rapidly approaching. For many people, the holidays can be very stressful. There are three visitors who can bring gifts. First is the Ghost of Christmas (or, insert your holiday here) Past. Remembering how things used to be can bring happy memories or sadness, even anger. The happy memories can be resources for the present. To enliven the positive memories, find a quiet place, get comfortable, close your eyes, go back in time and … [Read more...] about Offering the Gift of Inner Peace for the Holidays
Addressing the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System
The rising costs of pension liabilities is the largest financial issue with which local municipalities and counties across the State of Arizona and the nation have to deal. Coconino County is no exception. Over the past several decades, pensions have been impacted by lower-than-expected investment returns, unanticipated impacts from benefit increases and adjusted actuarial assumptions such as life expectancy and population growth. These impacts have created a pension system that is … [Read more...] about Addressing the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System