Employer Health Benefits 2009 Annual Survey Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
From press release: Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 annually for family coverage this year—with employees on average paying $3,515 and employers paying $9,860, according to the benchmark 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET). Family premiums rose about 5 percent this year, which is much more than general inflation (which fell 0.7 percent during the same period, mostly due to falling energy prices). Workers wages went up 3.1 percent during the same period. Since 1999, premiums have gone up a total of 131 percent, far more rapidly than workers’ wages (up 38 percent since 1999) or inflation (up 28 percent since 1999).

How Is the Financial Crisis Affecting Retirement Savings? August 2009, Update
September 15th, 2009 How Is the Financial Crisis Affecting Retirement Savings? August 2009, Update Source: Urban Institute
The stock market lost 56 percent of its value between September 30, 2007, and March 9, 2009. These losses reduced the retirement savings of American households. Recently, however, a good portion of these losses has been reversed. Equities gained 53 percent between March 9, 2009 and August 31, 2009.

Governing: State and Local Sourcebook September 15th, 2009
Governing: State and Local Sourcebook Source: Governing magazine
Governing’s State & Local Sourcebook is an authoritative resource for data about the states and the largest U.S. municipalities, as well as contact information on state and local decision makers. This site contains essential information in 10 categories, including data on revenue, spending, employment, technology trends, health insurance coverage and other important topics. The data is customizable and searchable, and will be frequently updated. You can compare governments in key areas, monitor trends over time, create data tables and even receive e-mail alerts when data is updated or new content is added.

On September 17, paleontologists said that they had discovered what amounted to a miniature prototype of Tyrannosaurus rex, complete with the oversize head, sharp teeth, long legs—and, as every schoolchild knows, puny arms—that were hallmarks of the king of the dinosaurs. But this scaled-down version, which was about nine feet long and weighed only 150 pounds, lived 125 million years ago, about 35 million years before T. rex roamed the earth. The new dinosaur, which has been named Raptorex kriegsteini, “really throws a wrench into this observed pattern,” Mr. Brusatte said. The nearly complete fossil was found in ancient lake deposits in northeastern China and bought by a collector, Henry J. Kriegstein, who alerted Paul C. Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago and lead author of the paper. Under the terms of the work, the fossil, which was illicitly excavated, will be returned to a museum in China. Dr. Sereno said that the fossil was that of a young adult, about 5 or 6 years old, and that several characteristics, including the fused nature of many of the bones, suggested it was near the end of its growth period.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/science/18dinosaur.html?hp

The much anticipated Lorain-Vermilion Water Trail in Ohio is now available for canoe and kayak enthusiasts. The water trail is a total of 27 miles along the Vermilion River, Lake Erie and the Black River. The access points are listed as well as a downloadable map and brochure of the trail at: http://www.loraincountymetroparks.com/home.shtml

The September 2009 issue of SAVEUR magazine has a special section “Burger Nation,” starting on p. 55. P. 61 suggests various meats including brisket, short ribs and lamb. Cheeses are on p. 66, additions on p. 62, toppings on p. 69, sauces on p. 74, buns and breads on p. 78. Six burger books are listed on p. 76. As of this writing, you will find much of the issue at: http://www.saveur.com/in_this_issue.jsp?issueId=200906

Calling all food lovers: SAVEUR wants to share your favorite ingredients, recipes, wines, spirits, restaurants, markets, chefs, cookbooks, cooking tips, kitchenware, and more, in the pages of SAVEUR magazine. All the items for next year's SAVEUR 100, the annual tribute to a hundred great things from the world of food, will come from leaders. Send your contributions to: http://www.saveur.com/saveur100

Q. How long have I known about SAVEUR (means savor) magazine?
A. Three days. I found it while browsing in the beautiful Holland branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.

Eponyms
pleiad (PLEE-uhd) noun
a group of (usually seven) brilliant persons or things
After the Pleiades, the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and sea-nymph Pleione in Greek mythology. These seven sisters were Maia, Electra, Celaeno, Taygete, Merope, Alcyone, and Sterope. In one version of the myth, they killed themselves out of grief over the loss of their half sisters the Hyades, and were turned into a group of stars. In another version, they were placed among the stars to protect them from the hunter Orion, though he too became a star to continue to pursue them. Only six of the seven sisters shine brightly in the Pleiades star cluster. The other one is supposed to be Merope, hiding in shame for loving a mortal, or Electra, mourning the death of her son Dardanus.
pasquinade (pas-kwuh-NAYD) noun
a satire or lampoon, especially one displayed in a public place
Before there were Facebook protests and Twitter outcries, people complained publicly by publishing pamphlets and posting flyers. One such tradition was posting anonymous satirical verses and lampoons on an ancient statue in Rome. The locals named this statue Pasquino after a shopkeeper near whose place it had been unearthed. Over time the term came to be applied to any work of satire publicly displayed. Also see the talking statues of Rome.
Beau Brummell (bo BRUM-uhl) noun
a man who pays excessive attention to his clothes and appearance
After Beau Brummell, nickname of George Bryan Brummell (1778-1840), a British dandy. Brummell was known for his suits and elaborate neckwear and was considered an authority in matters of men's dress and etiquette. He rose in society thanks to his royal connections, but gambling debts forced him to flee to France. He died penniless in a mental institution in Caen. A.Word.A.Day

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From: Bob Pert (bjpert nbnet.nb.ca)
Subject: Arcadian Def: Idyllically pastoral: simple, peaceful
The origin of the designation Acadia is credited to the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who on his sixteenth century map applied the ancient Greek name "Arcadia" to the entire Atlantic coast north of Virginia (note the inclusion of the 'r' of the original Greek name). "Arcadia" derives from the Arcadia district in Greece which since Classical antiquity had the extended meanings of "refuge" or "idyllic place". The Dictionary of Canadian Biography says: "Arcadia, the name Verrazzano gave to Maryland or Virginia 'on account of the beauty of the trees,' made its first cartographical appearance in the 1548 Gastaldo map and is the only name on that map to survive in Canadian usage. . . . In the 17th century Champlain fixed its present orthography, with the 'r' omitted, and Ganong has shown its gradual progress northwards, in a succession of maps, to its resting place in the Atlantic Provinces."

Sue Reichert, director of libraries for Beardstown School District, will be given the Illinois Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award in October. The award—which “recognizes an individual or group for outstanding contributions to the defense and advancement of intellectual freedom”—will be presented during a ceremony Oct. 8 in Peoria. Reichert was cited for professionalism in handling the protest over the Jodi Picoult book “Nineteen Minutes,” according to Illinois Library Association officials. http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/library-23765-district-beardstown.html

On September 18, 1838, the Anti-Corn Law League was created in the United Kingdom. As the name suggests, the purpose of the association was to press for the abolition of British Corn Laws, which were indeed repealed in 1846. After the repeal, the organization worked to oppose other protectionist measures in the UK. The weekly news publication, The Economist, was founded as part of the anti-corn law movement.
On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts. West Virginiia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet--learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/
September 18 is the birthday of poet Alberto Álvaro Ríos, (books by this author) born in Nogales, Arizona, on the Mexican border in 1952. His first language was Spanish, but he learned English in school, where he got in trouble if he spoke Spanish, and eventually he forgot it completely. Years later, in high school and college, he decided to relearn Spanish, and he said, "In having to pay double and triple attention to language—first to forget, and then to relearn—I began to see earnestly how everything, every object, every idea, had at least two names." And paying so much attention to language inspired him to become a writer. He has written many books of poetry, including The Smallest Muscle in the Human Body (2002), The Theater of Night (2005), and most recently, The Dangerous Shirt, which came out this year.
The Writer’s Almanac