Life And Death Decisions: The Importance Of End Of Life Planning

Carol Failla
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Life And Death Decisions: The Importance Of End Of Life Planning
Planning for the end of your life is never an easy task, regardless of your age or health. But with over  37% of people living in Charlotte aged 20 to 44 years old, the biggest age group for the city, it’s not something that will cross many people’s minds. But the reality is that there are many hard decisions to face at the end of your life. These decisions include what care you want to receive, where you want to be to receive it, and who will act on your behalf should you no longer be able to make your own decisions. There is also your funeral to consider and the  type of funeral plan that would be best for you. Even though you may be in good health at the moment, planning for the end of your life relieves the pressure on you and your loved ones if and when the time comes.
End Of Life Care
Only a third of Americans have plans in place for their end of life care and funeral. However, as a resident of Charlotte, you can create legal documents or advance directives that will guide your doctors towards the end of your life. You can ask your lawyer to prepare these for you, or you can do it yourself. A declaration of desire for a natural death or living will direct what level of care you want at the end of your life. These medical documents allow doctors to decide whether they should take measures to prolong life if you are terminally ill. A ‘do not resuscitate’ order, known as a DNR, will dictate whether you want CPR at the end of your life.
Palliative Treatment
You may wish to spend the last part of your life in one of  Charlotte’s 28 hospice facilities. A hospice provides palliative care for those who are close to the end of their life. Palliative care helps to provide pain relief, and will assist with coordinating your medical care while providing spiritual and emotional support for you and your loved ones. While you may not know when your time will come, it’s a good idea to spend time planning what you want at the end of your life.
Funeral Planning
A crucial part of any end of life plan is  planning your burial and funeral. Planning means the cost and decision making won’t become a burden for your loved ones after you’ve gone. Funeral costs in Charlotte can range from a direct cremation at around $1,795 to a full burial that could cost up to $6,495. This is where taking out burial insurance can help. But what is the best burial insurance for seniors? Burial insurance is a whole life insurance policy that pays out a death benefit of somewhere between $5,000 and $25,000. After you die, this money can be used to cover the costs of your funeral, such as the memorial service, cremation, or to pay for a headstone. While there are a number of burial insurance providers that cover Charlotte, it’s a good idea to look for burial insurance that will keep the premiums the same forever, will payout after an accident, will cover most common health issues, and will pay out to whoever you want it to. To determine the best burial insurance policy for your situation, you may want to visit a comparison site such as burialinsurancepro.org.  Everyone’s situation is unique and it’s wise to make sure you review all of your options.
Telling Your Loved Ones
Talking to your loved ones about death is never easy. But you should discuss your choices with those around you while you can still speak for yourself. Even if the end of your life seems a long time in the future, planning will help you and your loved ones to make those difficult decisions when the time eventually comes. While it can be an uncomfortable and awkward subject to bring up, look for opportunities to talk about your choices for the end of your life. It may feel a natural topic to bring up while you are making out your will or after you have visited your doctor.
Making plans for the end of your life can be incredibly difficult, and talking about things like DNRs and burials with your loved ones can be very uncomfortable. However, it will be hugely beneficial when the time comes.

The Difference Among the Online Casino Laws Around the Globe

Clark Alcorn
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The Difference Among the Online Casino Laws Around the Globe

The online casino has become very popular in the recent decade or so all across the world. Luckily, most countries are going towards legalizing this type of gambling and making it more flexible and convenient.  When it comes to online gambling laws, there are many different ones depending on the location. While online sportsbooks and casinos are completely legal in some areas of the world, there are places where it is still banned. Moreover, there are countries that allow playing on offshore websites hosted elsewhere. Take a chance to learn a bit more about the worldwide online casino laws right here!

Canada

Even though Canada has some laws concerning online gambling that are applied to all the citizens, they have some provincial regulations too. This is why it is so important to make sure that you understand all the local laws and regulations specific to a certain province before you start gambling online at Interac online casinos. Due to the 1892 Criminal Code Act, many Canadians are opting for betting or playing at an offshore online casino. It is legal to play online casino games and even engage in sports betting online in Canada as far as you are doing it on an offshore licensed website.

The UK

Playing online casino games on the UK soil is heaven for casino enthusiasts. Sure, the United Kingdom has some strict regulations and laws concerning gambling but it has a myriad of online casinos where it is legal to play. As one of the greatest casino markets, the UK has a legal age limit for gambling and it is 18 years. Once the operator gets the license to operate and manage an online casino they are free to launch their platform and offer their services. Up until recently, the users were able to pay using their credit cards, but due to strict laws and conscious gambling, that is impossible at the moment.

The USA

Gambling on the US soil and their laws concerning this industry are tricky – especially with the arrival of the internet sports betting and casino playing. Namely, some states have successfully regulated online casino laws, and the number of such states is growing. Nevertheless, there are states that are still far from passing the bill. It is important to note that each state has its own set of regulations gamblers should be aware of. Some of the states where you can currently bet and play in virtual venues are New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and more. Hopefully, many other countries will join the list and grant their residents with this sort of entertainment.

Germany

Even if Germany is filled with top-rated European casinos, getting a German casino operating license is not an easy task. The country established law in 2012 enabling the operators from getting a license for online platforms. However, they don’t have such strict rules concerning playing on offshore websites. German players can choose their preferred offshore brand and play while in the country. If a website is hosted anywhere outside the borders of Germany, no player will be legally persecuted for gambling.

Italy

Unlike Germany or Canada, Italy is completely against playing and betting on offshore websites. as a matter of fact, this European country has had several attempts at trying to deal with this with strict regulations. Even if the end goal was to unable to play at neighboring online casinos and sportsbooks, the Italian government was unable to achieve this due to the EU laws. The Finance Act passed in Italy in 2007 and the Abruzzo Decree in 2009 were the two major steps toward legalizing online gambling in Italy.

Caribbean Storms 13 and 14 Could Collide To Become Fujiwara Megastorm

Charlotte Stories
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Caribbean Storms 13 and 14 Could Collide To Become Fujiwara Megastorm

The Southeast of the United States could soon experience a truly devastating super-storm if 2 depressions continue to strengthen and collide in the northern Gulf of Mexico early next week.

This afternoon, the National Hurricane Center released the following warning about the 2 rapidly developing systems in the Caribbean:

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical 
Depression Thirteen, located several hundred miles east of the 
northern Leeward Islands. Advisories are also being issued on 
newly formed Tropical Depression Fourteen, located a couple of 
hundred miles east of the Honduras/Nicaragua border.

They now forecast that both 13 and 14 will reach the top of the Gulf of Mexico at roughly 2pm on Tuesday afternoon.

Several models show the paths of the storms colliding sometime Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning, and if this occurs, the ‘fujiwara effect’ could cause the 2 growing storms to become one massive mega-hurricane.

According to the National Weather Service, “the fujiwara effect occurs when two hurricanes spinning in the same direction pass close enough to each other, they begin an intense dance around their common center…often, the effect is additive when hurricanes come together — we usually end up with one massive storm instead of two smaller ones.”

Here you can see how 2 smaller storms, Nuru and Kulap combined in 2017 to become the largest storm of the pacific that year.

The Atlantic Coast hurricane season for 2020 runs from June 1st through November 30th.

NWS officials are reminding all residents in Atlantic Coast states to be prepared for this hurricane season.

In case of a power outage, make sure to have the following emergency items stocked in your home;

We will continue to update this article as this storm develops. 

NC’s Developmental Disability Council Seeks Input for Its Next Five Year State Plan

Charlotte Stories
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NC’s Developmental Disability Council Seeks Input for Its Next Five Year State Plan

The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) is seeking input from the disability community for its Five-Year State Plan and to formulate its goals for the next five years (October 1, 2021-September 30, 2026).

The Council is seeking input from individuals with intellectual and/or other developmental disabilities, family members and community members. The input will support NCCDD to draft goals, objectives and specific activities to bring about change and guide the Council regarding how staff and fiscal resources are allocated.

The surveys are available online, in PDF and Word Doc formats. They are also available in Spanish. The deadline to complete the surveys is August 31, 2020.

To access the surveys, visit the NCCDD Five-Year State Plan webpage.

Krispy Kreme Opening New Hallmark Location in Charlotte with 24/7 Donut Vending Machine

Charlotte Stories
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Krispy Kreme Opening New Hallmark Location in Charlotte with 24/7 Donut Vending Machine

Krispy Kreme is about to open their most revolutionary sugar factory in the heart of Charlotte’s South End. The new location will include a 24/7 ‘Doughnut Vending Machine’, scoop sandwiches, hand-spun milkshakes, and fresh baked Insomnia Cookies.

They’ll be hosting a massive grand opening party all next week where they will be giving out ‘Celebration Dozen Tickets’.

According to Krispy Kreme’s official rules, they will award a total of 120 ‘Celebration Dozen Tickets’ in Charlotte. “Each prize is a punch card (the “Prize Card”) that entitles the owner to receive one dozen Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnuts per month for one year (total 12 dozen) at participating Krispy Kreme locations.”

The new location will be located at 2116 Hawkins St., next to the South End Common Market and across the Street from Ashton South End.

TD Thirteen Could Become Hurricane And Sweep Through The Carolinas Next Week

Charlotte Stories
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TD Thirteen Could Become Hurricane And Sweep Through The Carolinas Next Week

A growing disturbance in the Atlantic is now predicted to become the 12th named storm of 2020 later today.

This morning, the National Hurricane Center sent out the following alert:

At 800 AM AST (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Thirteen
was located near latitude 15.4 North, longitude 50.9 West. The
depression is moving toward the west-northwest near 21 mph (33 km/h)
and this motion is expected to continue for the next few days.  On
the forecast track, the depression is expected to move near or north
of the northern Leeward Islands by late Friday and near or north of
the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. 
Gradual strengthening is forecast, and the depression is expected to 
become a tropical storm later today.

By the end of today, ‘Tropical Depression Thirteen’ will likely become ‘Tropical Storm Laura’ on a direct path toward the east coast of the US.

Late model intensities show the storm could increase in strength to a hurricane, possibly even a category 4 hurricane before it makes landfall in the states.

Several model paths of the storm have it sweeping through both North and South Carolina before it heads back out to sea.

The Atlantic Coast hurricane season for 2020 runs from June 1st through November 30th.

NWS officials are reminding all residents in Atlantic Coast states to be prepared for this hurricane season.

In case of a power outage, make sure to have the following emergency items stocked in your home;

We will continue to update this article as this storm develops. 

North Carolina Ranked As One of The Most Difficult States To Self-Isolate

Charlotte Stories
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North Carolina Ranked As One of The Most Difficult States To Self-Isolate

With more than a third of Americans reporting that the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt their mental health, social distancing has proved to be just as stressful as it is necessary. In light of this, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States Where Social Distancing Is Most Difficult.

To identify where social distancing is the hardest, the site compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 13 key metrics. The data set ranges from whether residents have supportive relationships to how much consumers spent on social activities before COVID-19.

North Carolina was ranked as the 15th most difficult state to self-isolate:

States Where Self-Isolating Is Most Difficult

Overall Rank State Total Score ‘Social Environment’ Rank ‘Time Spent on Social Activities’ Rank ‘Money Spent on Social Activities’ Rank
1 Utah 74.53 1 2 12
2 New Hampshire 63.29 3 3 23
3 Montana 62.84 6 11 8
4 Colorado 60.41 16 7 5
5 Alaska 58.41 2 48 15
6 Massachusetts 57.35 18 8 10
7 Wyoming 56.77 8 44 6
8 Virginia 56.25 17 27 2
9 Idaho 56.22 12 5 34
10 South Dakota 56.15 10 16 27
11 Minnesota 55.65 13 22 13
12 Oregon 55.55 7 20 35
13 Iowa 54.66 15 12 24
14 Hawaii 54.19 24 25 4
15 North Carolina 53.97 14 10 32
16 District of Columbia 52.80 27 39 1
17 Washington 52.73 11 29 21
18 Maryland 52.30 21 24 16
19 Florida 51.75 38 19 3
20 North Dakota 51.46 19 40 9
21 Missouri 51.31 28 4 33
22 Kansas 50.57 23 17 28
23 Connecticut 50.55 22 35 14
24 Georgia 49.59 40 6 17
25 Tennessee 49.02 41 1 22
26 Delaware 48.63 20 26 36
27 Nebraska 48.40 9 50 25
28 Vermont 47.87 4 51 29
29 Texas 47.74 36 23 18
30 Maine 47.47 5 49 42
31 South Carolina 47.01 32 15 37
32 California 46.66 37 21 20
33 Pennsylvania 45.26 33 14 40
34 Arizona 45.25 26 37 30
35 Nevada 45.17 46 32 7
36 Michigan 44.25 44 9 31
37 Wisconsin 43.97 30 28 39
38 Ohio 43.97 25 30 43
39 New Jersey 43.63 39 43 11
40 Indiana 42.23 29 31 46
41 New York 41.73 49 13 26
42 Illinois 40.96 47 33 19
43 Louisiana 39.99 34 41 44
44 Oklahoma 39.31 31 45 45
45 New Mexico 38.64 35 47 38
46 Arkansas 36.29 42 42 41
47 Rhode Island 35.71 45 34 49
48 Kentucky 34.54 48 38 47
49 West Virginia 30.96 43 46 51
50 Mississippi 29.78 51 18 50
51 Alabama 29.15 50 36 48

 

Alongside this report, WalletHub also released a Social Distancing Survey, which asked a range of questions from how social distancing makes Americans feel to what protective clothing they wear and how often they go outside. Below, you can see highlights from the survey.

Social Distancing Survey

  • Online shopping is a popular stress reliever: 36 million Americans use online shopping as their number one way to cope with social distancing.
  • Nearly half the population still ventures outside: 48 percent of Americans go outside at least once a day while self-quarantining.
  • Women worry more: Women are 40 percent more likely to feel anxious than men due to social distancing.
  • People want to see family most: 34 percent of Americans are most looking forward to seeing family once this is over, more than the amount that are most excited to see friends or go out to eat.
  • Most Americans use masks: 60 percent of Americans are now wearing face masks due to the coronavirus.
  • Social distancing provides an opportunity to build skills: Almost 29 million Americans are using the social distancing time to learn something new.

To view the full report, you can visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-where-social-distancing-is-most-difficult/73336/

What You Need to Know When Working with a Staffing Agency

Charlotte Stories
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What You Need to Know When Working with a Staffing Agency

Selecting the right staffing agency is a task that must be done selectively to find the right one and avoid losing money in the process. The relationship between a company and its staffing agency is vital to create a relationship of strategic partners; and thus, develop the synergy of the team to work closely in order to achieve common business objectives.

For this reason, to find the right agency certain criteria must be followed; even when you already have a staffing agency, in order to evaluate its performance.

In this post you are offered eight keys or basic recommendations so that you can make an evaluation of the staffing agencies that you have in mind in order to choose the one that is ideal for your business.

Still no staffing agency or do you want to change the one you have? Read these keys to get the best option for you

8 Tips to Select Your Staffing Agency

  1. Talent and Experience of a Staffing Agency

When we turn to staffing agencies, we must look for a greater variety of creative talent and innovative profiles, these people with fresh minds who work on the success of your campaigns. For this reason, it is advisable to know about the individuals and their work history to verify their level of experience and capabilities.

You also have to make sure that the main team, the one that will work with you, is present at the first presentation so that you can meet each one in person and assess the chemistry between your team and that of the staffing agency.

  1. Account Management

This criterion is like an extension of the previous point, the management of an account is a fundamental role in maintaining the best relationship with the staffing agency.

Communication between the company and the agency is always done through the brand executives; who are the bridge between us (the client) and the other members of the team in charge of the staffing campaign.

For this reason, this point is one of the essential components in a successful marketing campaign since the appropriate communication depends on this channel.

It is important to note that in many cases what your organization has in mind may be completely different from the vision of the staffing agency; and this is where the need for open communication lies in order to develop the correct staffing.

  1. Experience of The Staffing Agency Within the Industry

As you are basically delegating a task of your company to another company, to search between staffing agencies, you must assess what experience or skills each have in your field.

You can validate if the agency is part of the Alliance for the Strategic Value of Brands (AVE), or check agency rankings to help you make a better decision. But also focus on the needs you have as a company more than the prestige or reputation of an agency to hire.

If you choose an staffing agency more familiar with your industry, you will no longer have to ‘acclimatize’ to understand needs related to your business area; although you will always have to know your company in depth, since they become part of your workforce.

However, it is easier to direct your search towards agencies that have clients similar to you so that they can develop successful marketing strategies for your products or campaigns. But at this point you may be presented with limitations due to conflicts of interest with agencies that already work in a similar category.

In general, look for agencies that specialize in an industry, but they can differentiate your brand from that of other clients they support.

  1. Experience Running a Campaign

The credentials and results of campaigns that the staffing agencies have executed should be the first thing you should request for your selection. So, you can evaluate cases of their successful campaigns for other brands that they supported, and more in cases that coincide in a field of work similar to that of your brand.

Here it is essential that you can examine their tactics and strategies applied to past campaigns so that you can identify the agency’s ability to develop and execute marketing programs.

  1. Strategic Thinking

This is a determining point to consider. The strategies developed and the ability to provide value propositions and differentials for your brand in the face of the competition is very important when choosing a staffing agency.

A strategy must be well defined and provide you with as much detail as possible. For this reason, staffing agencies should be asked to offer a detailed overview of the market for your product or service, with the challenges and opportunities you have to differentiate yourself.

  1. Creativity in The Staffing Agency

A determining factor, although sometimes very subjective, is reviewing your ability to be creative; For this you must give the staffing agency the opportunity to present the strategic message through creative work.

Remember that successful marketing campaigns usually have innovative creative elements that attract the attention of the market and have an implicit call to action.

In this case you can also gather case studies from the agency to evaluate them, or you can require initial concepts about your brand to offer during the initial presentation, so you can know the creativity of the agency and if it is aligned with your vision.

  1. Response Times

Another reason why we choose a staffing agency is to expand our reach, basically because we are octopuses with a lot of executing arms to attend to everything at the same time. But when choosing an ally for our campaigns we must think about the scalability and speed they offer when implementing a strategy.

Although in the case of small companies, campaigns can be done internally as long as the time and professionals are available to do so.

  1. Cost-Benefit Ratio

In the search for results for your campaigns it is just as essential when choosing a staffing company that you can also establish the best cost-benefit ratio. It is useless to have the best agency in the world if the Fee you have to pay is so high that you cannot handle it.

In this world there are traditional segments such as large corporations working with large agencies and medium-sized with medium-sized ones, but this is not a mandatory rule.

There are many small prestigious agencies that work for companies of various sizes, the most important thing is the quality of the work, not the size of the agency. And before putting together any plan or evaluating a bunch of agencies to select the best one, ask yourself: what budget do you have? How much are you willing to invest? And what results do you hope to obtain?

So you can think of the most efficient alternatives on the market based on your budget; and which agency can offer you strategies for different and innovative media that are not necessarily the best known.

Conclusions

These points are some of those that you can evaluate in your selection, although there are others such as if the agency is technologically advanced, if it is in accordance with the culture of your company, if it is adaptable to change, or if it can work as a team with other agencies. But the ones we mentioned are essential to start the evaluation.

Finally, take into account this recommendation that many companies generally apply , before staying with an agency make a “Pitch” and evaluate several . At least check the work of 3 (three) so that you have points of comparison.

South Carolina Gambling Laws

Christine Taylor
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South Carolina Gambling Laws

Daily Fantasy Football is still not legalized or regulated in South Carolina, yet sports bettors from South Carolina are widely accepted  at some of the most prominent online betting sites. Prosecution of operators and also online sports books is not happening either.

If we had to look at the US states, South Carolina is not one that will be regulating sports betting any time soon. Possibly this could be due to the fact that no land based casinos or sportsbooks are available there. No horse or dog tracks are available and gambling as a whole is a no go. To be completely blunt, we would expect the 40 other states to legalise gambling and pass betting bills, and then South Carolina would consider to legalize.

Truth be told, the state has always taken a stance on paid playing.  South Carolina is the one state that does not allow wagering on games, horses, online poker or anything that falls under the gambling umbrella. The only thing they allow is betting on fantasy sports, albeit still not regulated or legal.

If you happen to be in South Carolina visiting or you intend to pack up your life and move there, forget just walking into a betting shop or bookie. The only way that you can enjoy gambling in the state is only if you happen to be on a cruise ship. The other alternative is a fantasy betting site. With gambling being a covert activity in the state, most gamblers and also lawmakers’ goals are to expand the gambling scene and have a more accessible framework.

But before we start drafting laws and regulations, we need to see what is currently legal, available and happening in the Palmetto State. So, let’s dig in.

SC Daily Fantasy Sports

One of the things that makes South Carolina worth a gambling visit is definitely fantasy leagues and sports. Fan favourites DraftKings and FanDuel are so organised they even employ gambling  lawyers to look at laws and read between the lines. Both companies feel that business is blooming in other states and feel that their operation does not go against the state’s laws and regulations.

In terms of laws, the South Carolina lawmakers have never looked at the daily fantasy sports laws. They state is quite strict when it comes to gambling, however fantasy sports seems to be accepted in a way. FanDuel has been in the operation for years and seems to have a solid relationship with the authorities. The state seems to close a blind eye on the matter.

Sports Betting in South Carolina

You can hope as much as you want, but the truth is that South Carolina is not very likely to legalize betting today, tomorrow or next year. The state does not have a gambling community, and the term gambling is quite a taboo still. The state residents have been quite resistant to introducing gambling laws. Testament to this is the fact that lotteries were only introduced in 2000, and if you dare mention horse racing or land based casinos, you will raise an eyebrow or two.

In the year 2017, a bid to include a massive gambling expansion was explored, however the bill did not make it very far, and unfortunately did not make it to the Senate.We would be lying if we said that there was more progress with regards to this, and following this bid, there was never any further talk about the matter.  Lawmakers try to change the mindset and push for a legal framework to be implemented, however they are always faced with a brick wall.

One of the State’s Reps Russell Ott approved and co-sponsored the bill to introduce gambling in 2017. Mr Otts was interviewed in 2018 by the Post and Courier and mentioned that it would be very difficult to get such a bill passed in election year. Ott promised that he will still raise the issue in the future and hopes that such bills would be implemented.

If South Carolina passes a law to include legal gambling, the South Carolina constitution would need to be amended and this would include a referendum. The question would be:  Do you agree that legal gambling should be implemented in South Carolina? A referendum is not an easy process and this is one of the main elements to why gamblimg is still illegal in the state.

During the last days of 2018, senior law members of the state launched a bid to see sports gambling take a legal stand. This was done by filing a motion to amend the constitution. Was iat an easy task? Nope!  In Fact the bill faded out in January 2019, and hence the gambling on sports, horses or casino activity remains illegal to this date.

Let’s discuss the South Carolina Gambling Laws

In order to have a clear insight we addressed bookmakers.bet team

“If we had to point out one thing about SC’s gambling laws, we’d say that a reform is much much needed. Funnily enough, some of these laws date back to 200 years ago …yes you read that right, 200 years!  Back then if you mentioned world gambling, you would be shunned. Playing cards, dice and even a friendly childhood game would be deemed as illegal.

If we had to take a closer look at the SC’s laws relating to gambling, specifically the South Carolina Code of Laws, which by the way were written in 1802. They state the following:

If any person shall play at any tavern, inn, store for the retailing of spirituous liquors or in any house used as a place of gaming, barn, kitchen, stable or other outhouse, street, highway, open wood, race field or open place at (a) any game with cards or dice, (b) any gaming table, commonly called A, B, C, or E, O, or any gaming table known or distinguished by any other letters or by any figures, (c) any roley-poley table, (d) rouge et noir, (e) any faro bank (f) any other table or bank of the same or the like kind under any denomination whatsoever or (g) any machine or device licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling purposes, except the games of billiards, bowls, backgammon, chess, draughts, or whist when there is no betting on any such game of billiards, bowls, backgammon, chess, draughts, or whist or shall bet on the sides or hands of such as do game, upon being convicted thereof, before any magistrate, shall be imprisoned for a period of not over thirty days or fined not over one hundred dollars, and every person so keeping such tavern, inn, retail store, public place, or house used as a place for gaming or such other house shall, upon being convicted thereof, upon indictment, be imprisoned for a period not exceeding twelve months and forfeit a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars, for each and every offense.

If we had to reword or simplify part A of the above, it clearly states that any form of gaming events in South Carolina should be banned. The term ‘ any game of cards or dice’ even prohibits  players for having a friendly match between friends. Even though the actual term of money gambling is not mentioned, it still prohibits all forms of gambling. Just to show how sad the situation is in the state, the police topped a club gaming session that was organised by senior citizens.  Why would a small niche of people be disrupted from a night of fun?

Another closer look at sections 16-19 and 70 also highlight how old the SC laws really are, and even ask that all people abide by the rules of not playing on a Sabbath. The fine is a small amount of money of just $50. But can you imagine telling a group of friends to not play on a feast when chilling out is the norm?  The SC State acknowledges that a new law would need to be drafted soon, and this would allow social play and people to confidentially play a game or two of bridge, especially retirees and senior citizens.

Although the new laws have not been implemented yet, and a million and one barriers would need to be surpassed, we feel that SC needs some reforms.  Some of the decision makers feel that if one form of gambling is introduced, this could pave the way for gambling to take over and potentially see the repercussions of such laws. Truth be told, if you find yourself in South Carolina, today or in a few years time, you would not be at your front porch enjoying a good game of poker with friends, let alone you registering at an online casino. South Carolina needs reforms, and some will take decades to implement and launch.

Source

Here Are The Best Ways to Keep Your Roof In Pristine Condition

Robert Tilman
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Here Are The Best Ways to Keep Your Roof In Pristine Condition

Having a robust and sturdy roof is vital to ensure the safety of your property. A well-maintained roof not only protects from sun exposure and harsh weather conditions but also enhances the visual appeal of your home.

Regular care and maintenance prevent leakages, cracks and reduce the chances of damage. If overlooked, issues like algae build-up and water ponding start to surface. There might be situations that call for full roof replacement, which could cost you a fortune. Thus, the best way to avoid these problems is proper roof maintenance.

Here are some effective ways to prevent damage and maintain the optimal condition of the roof.

Inspection: Before starting any maintenance, it’s a good idea to first inspect the roof. Inspection helps to know the critical areas that need improvement and take the right approach. It’s not wise to examine the roof by yourself. 

Hiring a professional roof inspector is a smart move. Their discerning eyes can identify flaws and faults quickly. They can also help you choose the best way to fix the issue and recommend professional roofers to do the maintenance job.

Preventing Infestation and Algae: Excess moisture on your asphalt shingles, cedar shakes and tiles could rot the roof material and develop leakage. It not only damages the roof but also poses a serious health risk. So, clean the roof at regular intervals. 

Look out for licensed and professional roof cleaners who have years of experience in the industry. Licensed roofers know innovative ways to clean and dry the roof and prevent infestation. With their power washing machines and non-toxic cleaning agents, you can get a perfectly cleaned roof. It gives the assurance that there is no infestation and the roof is moss-free.

Proper roof drainage: Rainwater can accumulate on the roof if the gutters are blocked or filled with debris. It prevents water from going down to the sewers and creates a ponding situation. Thus, you should ensure that the gutters aren’t clogged. 

The best way to do it is to remove the debris, leaves, and check there is no blockage to restrict the flow of water. Check for any holes or bump in the gutter. You can take help from gutter cleaning specialists and ensure uninterrupted flow of water. 

While these problems have an easy and quick solution, there are challenging roof issues that only specialized, trained roofers can fix. These include difficulties in roof insulation, ventilation, flashings and more. 

Highly-qualified and experienced roofers from top roofing companies in Charlotte NC provide smart solutions for such complex problems and address them quickly. Here’s how to fix the major problems in roofs.

Thermal Shock Prevention: A roof is made up of multiple layers- from the waterproofing membrane to binding materials and the top visible roof shingles. Temperature fluctuations trigger changes in the membrane and other materials, resulting in thermal shock.

Professional roofers employ smart installation techniques that keep all the materials in place. Irrespective of the expansion of adhesives in summer and shrinkage in winters, the roof does not lose its integrity and functionality.

Ventilation and Insulation: Sun exposure and harsh weather can directly affect the flashings alongside chimneys or skylights. Roofing specialists install high-quality insulation products like R-49, R-60. This ensures optimal indoor temperature and proper ventilation.

So, having professional inspections and regular maintenance check-ups helps determine the minor issues and repair them before they cause any severe damage. With proper maintenance, you are assured of having an efficient roof system and a promise that it will last for years to come.

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