Rudy’s Articles

San Francisco Magazine proclaims “Sactown Gets Sexy“ and the San Jose Mercury News chimes in “Sacramento heats up.” Sure, there are still the historic landmarks of Old Sacramento, the State Capitol and Sutter’s Fort. But check out Sacramento art galleries on Second Saturday, dine at one of the hip new restaurants or tap your feet at a free Concert in the Park to discover the “hot” side of California’s capital city. Sip luscious Zinfandel at one of the 200 wineries in the Sacramento area or experience the thrill of whitewater rapids on the American River. Here are some of the Things to Do in Sacramento that have made the list for 2009.

Exclusive Sacramento exhibits give new reasons to visit and cost-saving hotel packages make an overnight stay even more palatable. And Sacramento’s got a great business climate, so whether you need roofing Sacramento or Sacramento SEO, it’s easy to find.

Exhibits:

Space Exhibit Lands in Sacramento
“Space: A Journey to Our Future” is touring major science centers and air and space museums around the country and the Aerospace Museum in Sacramento is its ONLY California stop through September 6, 2009. The exhibit is created to ignite the desire for space exploration and discovery, spark imaginations and inspire new generations of explorers. “SPACE” uses immersive scenic elements, the most advanced interactive exhibits and state-of-the-art projection and audio technology to bring this epic story to life.
Interactive experiences include: rocks from the lunar surface; exploring a future lunar base while walking through a full-size space living habitat and work pod; a first-hand look at a wide range of artifacts from the space program; a look into the future of our exploration of the universe in a 360-degree theater; step on the “Moon Scale” to establish your weight on the moon. www.discovergold.org/space

Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition
Sacramento is currently the ONLY scheduled stop on the West Coast for With Malice toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition. After the exhibit’s premiere at the Library of Congress it will be at the California Museum from June 24 to August 22, 2009. The exhibit will feature a wide array of ephemera dealing with Lincoln’s life and legacy including his 1861 inaugural bible (also used by President Obama), his grammar book, his wife’s jewelry, a lithograph of the Emancipation Proclamation and the contents of his pockets on the night he was assassinated. www.californiamuseum.org
There are three additional Lincoln related exhibits in Sacramento, all presented by California State Parks:
Walking the Grade: Contemporary Views of the Pacific Railroad at the Leland Stanford Mansion; The Rail Splitter and the Railroads: Lincoln, the Union and the Golden State at the California State Railroad Museum and Our Union Forever: California’s Role in the Civil War at the State Capitol.

For many people who never experienced identity theft, credit monitoring seems like a waste of money. But those who had become victims have realized the full risk they expose themselves to on a daily basis. Fortunately, it is possible to know whether you’ve become a victim or not by asking for a credit report. Under the federal law, everyone can get a free credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies including Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

The credit report can be retrieved from the website http://www.annualcreditreport.com once every year. After you get the report, it becomes easy to verify if your identity has been stolen. Check for any fraudulent transactions, account information, or modified address. If you discover that you’ve become a victim of identity theft, it is right to be concerned. But don’t panic just yet. Below are some steps you can do:

1. Contact the Fraud Division. Each of the credit reporting agencies have a fraud department which can answer your queries. Ask them to put a fraud alert on your file. Through this, the thief would not be able to open a new account because the creditor needs your permission first. After several months, you can order for an updated copy to verity the changes.
2. Talk to the Creditors. The second thing you should do is to contact the creditors. If possible, talk to their fraud division. Those who work in this department have a better grasp of your situation. Follow-up with a written document after talking as required by the Fair Credit Billing. Fraudulent charges can be corrected in this step.
3. Go to the Police. File an identity theft report with the local police. Be sure to keep a copy of this report because your creditors might ask for it in the near future.

You may also want to use an Identity theft protection service such as LifeLock. They offer proactive identity theft protection for $99/year.

As you can see, there are steps you can take to minimize the damage of identity theft. However, it has always been said that “prevention is better than cure”. When it comes to identity theft, this saying is definitely true.