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Heartbleed Heats Up Cyber Security Concerns
A hot topic in business banking today is cyber security amid issues like hackers, hijackings and most recently: Heartbleed.

What is the Heartbleed Bug? The Heartbleed Bug is a programming flaw on secure websites that puts personal information at risk, including passwords, e-mails and credit card information. Experts discovered the bug and warned that cybercriminals could exploit it to access visitors' personal data or impersonate a website and collect even more information.

How are Banking Transactions Affected? Despite the severity of Heartbleed, bank accounts are safe. Most internet banking applications aren't impacted by this bug since financial institutions have multiple layers of security preventing this type of exploit. Banks use many different systems to protect customers' information including rigorous security standards, encryption and fraud detection software.
However, if any unusual account activity is suspected, you should notify your bank immediately. Even with advanced protection from banking institutions, security experts strongly advise that users change all passwords, particularly on sites where personal information, credit card numbers or other sensitive data is exchanged.

What is Mission Valley Bank Doing? Since Heartbleed, Mission Valley Bank has been in close contact with security experts and service providers, confirming there are no vulnerabilities within their systems or those of their vendors.

Regardless of the safety of transactions with Mission Valley Bank, the Heartbleed Bug is a real threat to all internet users. With so much attention on Heartbleed and the security lapses throughout most of the internet it exposed, know that at Mission Valley Bank, the security of business and personal banking information is their top priority.

Mission Valley Bank Valencia Office 775-4112 Centre Pointe Business Banking Office 753-5680

A Dog's Bite is Worse Than Their Bark
According to accident and injury statistics nationwide, there are 4.7 million dog attacks that occur on a yearly basis. The most common injuries from dog bites include puncture wounds, permanent scarring and disfigurement, tissue damage and infections like rabies and cellulitis.

Unfortunately, about half of these incidents involve children under the age of 10. Young children are prone to more serious injuries as they are much more fragile than the average adult.

There are numerous parks and recreational areas throughout Santa Clarita which, at any time, could be filled with numerous dogs. Although many of these dogs are well tempered, some could become violent even without provocation.

Unfortunately, some dog owners try to shift the liability onto the attack victims. An argument that may hold up in court is that the bite victim provoked the dog, and therefore should share liability for the incident. A property owner may also claim that you were trespassing on their property when the accident occurred. Dog bite lawyers can fight to see that this doesn't happen to you.

According to the LA Department of Animal Care and Control:
It is not permissible to let your dog run at large day or night, with or without a license (County Code Title 10, Section 10.32.010).

If a dog owner did not properly restrain their animal, and the animal attacked another person, the dog owner will be considered liable for any ensuing injuries. Because California is a strict liability state, a dog bite is the responsibility of the dog's owner. Dogs that escape from yards and then attack others are also the responsibility and liability of the dog's owner. For this reason, dog owners must be careful to properly secure their fences as well as use leashes when taking their dogs for walks or runs.

After an accident, your lawyer can fight to see that the dog owner's insurance company fully compensates you for your medical costs. Although many dog bite incidents do not land victims in the hospital, about 20 percent will.

As a victim, you may not only be entitled to financial compensation for medical costs, but for emotional damages that you sustained, as well. This is true especially in the case of children. If a child is attacked by a dog, they may suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

To learn more about dog bite incidents and what you can do to fight back, be sure to speak with a Santa Clarita dog bite attorney.

The Law Offices of Gerald L. Marcus 296-2992

Support Community Empowerment Drumming (The CED Project)
A venture of the Share Your Shade initiative, Community Empowerment Drumming (The CED Project) seeks to empower seniors and build community through recreational music making. Share your Shade's mission is to create a conscious, caring community that empowers its members to connect to and serve one another.

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Share your Shade is best symbolized by a grove of Aspen trees. Their connected root system provides nourishment to one another and, essentially, they grow as a community. Altruistically, Aspen trees serve others by emitting a medicinal quality from their bark and leaves. Share your Shade wishes to grow as a community and to serve others, creating a transparent and symbiotic relationship that inspires cascading altruism internally, locally and globally.

Here's how it all started. Lawrence Joss and Mandy Cisler met in February of 2013 at a HealthRHYTHMS drum facilitator training. Their combined passion for drumming, building and serving community soon led to the budding of a volunteer drum circle at senior centers in the local area. Given the permission and creative freedom to fully express themselves through music, these seniors blossomed into a warm, compassionate and supportive community. Witnessing this transformative process, Lawrence and Mandy became more inspired and decided to teach seniors how to facilitate their own drum circles, thus fully empowering the seniors to be advocates for their own wellness and freedom.

And now you can join them in sharing your shade! There are several ways to participate. First, please join them in this initiative by participating in a local drum circle held locally at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center in Newhall every Wednesday from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. You can also join in by making a donation.

Currently, as Lawrence and Mandy set out to turn these community-empowered drum circles over to the seniors, they are in need of donations for drums to propel the Share your Shade initiative forward. Donations will be accepted in the form of new/used drums and/or percussion instruments, as well as any monetary donations. Lawrence's company, Surfaces USA, has agreed to match any monetary donation received for drums.

Donations of all kinds will be accepted at the Castaic Surfaces USA store location, found at 30629 The Old Road in Castaic, Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm and 9am to 4pm on Saturday. If you cannot drop off your donation at this site, please contact Lawrence at lawrence@surfacesusa.com and he will make arrangements to pick up your donation.