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The Sherando Times
Stephens City • Middletown • Kernstown
April 27 – May 3, 2011Volume III, Issue 17
7
Secrets o a tiger trainer
2
Virginia beneftsrom movies
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Page • Te Sherando imes • April 7 – May 3, 011Read all issues in their entirety FREE on www.Sherandoimes.com
Entertainment
By Samantha Mazzotta
There’s No FixingDroopy Light Switch
Q:
Lately when I turn on thelight switch in the bedroom,the switch goes up but then dropsloosely down to the halfway posi-tion. Why is the switch doing this?
— Jacob C., Cleveland
A:
The switch is broken and must be replaced. There’s no fix-ing it, but the part is not expensive.Replacing a switch isn’t an espe-cially difficult task, but if you’re atall uncertain about doing it or totallyinexperienced with electrical tasks,have an experienced friend replacethe switch, or hire an electrician.If you’re determined to do it your-self, great. You’ll need a standardscrewdriver and needle-nosed pliers,and keep a wire cutter/stripper nearbyin case it’s needed. A voltage tester (or multimeter) is important to makesure no electricity is coursing throughthe circuit during the replacement job. You’ll also want to purchase thereplacement switch.Turn off the circuit that controls theswitch. The best way is to leave thelight on and have a helper call outwhen you’ve switched off the correctcircuit at the box. (Now is also a goodtime to label that circuit for the nexttime you need to switch it off.) Tomake absolutely sure that no power is reaching the switch, take the face plate off and use your voltage tester by placing one sensor tip against one of the two screws on the side of the lightswitch (you’ll see a wire attached toeach) and then placing the other sen-sor tip against the second screw. If thetester does not light up, electricity isnot flowing to the switch; if it doeslight up, electricity is still flowing andyou should not start the repair untilthe problem is remedied.Once the power is off, gently removethe switch from its mounting brackets by unscrewing the top and bottomscrews of the bracket and easing itout. Locate the wiring connections onthe side of the switch, taking specialnote of where the wires go. The “hot”wire (the one through which electri-cal current flows) is usually black or red in color, while the neutral wire isusually white (but sometimes blue or green). Loosen the connecting screwsand detach the wires, using the nee-dle-nose pliers.At this point, check the conditionof the wires. If the exposed copper ends are frayed and there is a littlewire to spare, consider trimming theold wire end and stripping insulationto expose the same length of twistedcopper (just enough to hook aroundthe screw).Attach the new switch, being sure tohook up the wires in exactly the sameconfiguration. Tighten the screws andthen ease the switch into its bracketand replace the mounting screws.Attach the faceplate.Test your work by turning the cir-cuit back on and flipping the switch.
Send your questions or commentsto ask@thisisahammer.com, or writeThis Is a Hammer, c/o King FeaturesWeekly Service, P.O. Box 536475,Orlando, FL 32853-6475. When indoubt as to whether you can safely or effectively complete a project, consult a professional contractor.
© 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.
Stay safe whendoing electricalwork. Never start a repair if you’re not cer-tain the power is off, and havea helper nearbyin case of emergency. If you’renot confident you can completethe task safely, contact a licensedelectrician.
o advertise in Te Sherando imes please contactAngie Buterakos: angie@sherandotimes.com • 540-683-9197or Alison Duvall: alisond@sherandotimes.com • 540-551-07
Movies bring boo beneits to Virginia
By Alexander ChangCapital News ServiceRICHMOND – For Clint East-wood ans in Virginia, it was athrill to hear that his latest lm,“J. Edgar,” is set in parts o Fau-quier and Fairax counties. Butor those communities, there’s atangible benet to playing sucha supporting role: Tey’ll enjoy anancial boost rom tourism andother economic spinos.Te General Assembly recog-nized the economic value o entic-ing lmmakers to shoot movies inVirginia during its “reconvenedsession” in April. Legislatorsapproved a state-budget amend-ment to add $1.5 million to Gov.Bob McDonnell’s Motion PictureOpportunity Fund or the 01scal year.Tat means the und will have$3 million to provide incentivesor lmmakers to shoot in Vir-ginia. Tose incentives include anexemption rom state sales taxes,an exemption rom hotel taxes orstays o 30 days or more in somelocalities, and grants or rebatesor qualied projects, accordingto the Virginia Film Oce.“For the lm oce, it’s going toallow us to recruit more projectsto Virginia and provide more jobopportunities or Virginians,” saidRita McClenny, the state’s ilmcommissioner.“he money that companiesspend on a variety o goods andservices, rom hotels to trans-portation equipment and to con-struction equipment, it will ben-et Virginia businesses rom a taxcollection standpoint and a busi-ness opportunity standpoint.”In 009, the direct and indi-rect impact o Virginia’s motionpicture and video productionindustry was about $346 millionand supported more than ,700 jobs in the state, according toJe Caldwell, McDonnell’s presssecretary.Caldwell said the lms, docu-mentaries, commercials andmultimedia productions shotin Virginia contribute to thecommonwealth’s economy. Tey provide job opportunities becausecompanies oten hire Virginiansor their production teams, hesaid.“Te main priority o McDon-nell’s administration is to spureconomic development, and thereare many pieces o that,” Caldwellsaid. “Tis lm industry programis a major one or him becauseit attracts lmmakers to use thecommonwealth as a location ortheir movies. And that bringsinvestment in jobs, investmentin restaurants, and it can providesigniicant economic develop-ment boost or the community inwhich the lms are made.”McDonnell underscored thatpoint when he announced thatEastwood, the amous actor anddirector, was shooting his movieabout J. Edgar Hoover, the or-mer FBI director, in NorthernVirginia. Te locations includedWarrenton and Te Plains (bothin Fauquier County), Great Falls(Fairax County) and the cities o Alexandria and Arlington.“Clint Eastwood is an Americanlegend, and we are thrilled hechose Virginia or his lm aboutthe rst director o the FederalBureau o Investigation,” McDon-nell said in a press release.“J. Edgar” stars Leonardo Di-Caprio as Hoover, who headed theFBI rom 1935 until his death in197. Also starring are Dame JudiDench as Hoover’s mother, NaomiWatts as his longtime personalsecretary, Ken Howard as theU.S. attorney general, Josh Lucasas aviator Charles Lindbergh, andArmie Hammer as the assistantdirector o the FBI.“Virginia is an excellent locationor lm production with its richhistory and natural beauty, andwe are working diligently to bringmore lm production like this tothe Commonwealth,” McDonnellsaid.Te state’s lmmaking incen-tives come with strict guidelines.Te Motion Picture Opportu-nity Fund is not intended to cover100 percent o the Virginia laborcosts or lmmakers. In its appli-cation, the production company must show how much economicimpact the lm will provide orVirginia. Te company also musthave 100 percent o its anticipatednancing in place at the time o request.Besides the Motion PictureOpportunity Fund, the com-monwealth also has the VirginiaMotion Picture Production axCredit program.o qualiy or tax credits, lmcompanies must spend at least$50,000 in “qualiying expenses,”lm at least 50 percent o prin-cipal photography in the com-monwealth and agree to includea “Filmed in Virginia” credit andVirginia logo in the nal produc-tion.he Virginia Film Oice andVirginia ourism Corp. are purs-ing more than 15 active lm proj-ects.Beore the budget amendment,Virginia was at a competitivedisadvantage because it couldn’tprovide lmmakers adequate eco-nomic incentives, McClenny said.Consequently, Virginia was losingprojects to neighboring states.But now, McClenny said, Vir-ginia is beginning to see results.“We have to be competitive withwhatever nancial deal anotherstate oers, so the incentives willallow Virginia to compete withother states like Georgia, New York and almost all neighboringstates.”
Clint Eastwood on the set of “J. Edgar” in Fauquier County.
April 7 – May 3, 011• Te Sherando imes • Page 3Read all issues in their entirety FREE on www.Sherandoimes.com
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Strength training is the real deal
A recent study at the University o Michigan has convinced meto get started at the gym again.It concluded that while muscleloss is to be expected with age,we don’t have to accept it. Re-searchers even pinpointed exactly what we need to do to regain lostmuscle tone and strength: resis-tance exercises, also known asstrength training.With strong muscles we cancontinue to climb stairs andmountains, dig in the garden androw a kayak into advanced years.With muscle loss we might ex-perience shaky balance, alls andbone ractures -- which can leadto loss o independence.Te study rom UM’s PhysicalActivity and Exercise Interven-tion Research Laboratory talksabout how ew seniors take partin strength training, and aultsprevious studies or not makingit crystal clear just how great thebeneit is. Maybe this is whathas sent me back to the gym: theresearchers’ absolute certainty that resistance training can bringgains in strength and develop-ment o lean muscle mass. Tey were even able to speciy how much muscle we lose: nearly ahal pound per year ater the ageo 50.So, I made an appointmentwith a personal trainer at thegym. He was very young -- but very smart: His rst question waswhether my doctor had approvedmy exercise plan. (Answer: yes.)Ten he let me set my own initialweight levels on the machines andincorporated those into an overallplan o repetitions and sets or thenext six weeks, at which time we’llreview.Even though many o us stopand restart exercise programs, themain thing is that we keep tryingagain, right?Matilda Charles regrets that shecannot personally answer readerquestions, but will incorporatethem into her column wheneverpossible. Write to her in care o King Features Weekly Service,P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL3853-6475, or send e-mail tocolumnreply@gmail.com.
(c) 011 King Features Synd., Inc.
SENIOR NEWS LINE
by Matilda Charles
Restaurants can let customers bring wine
By Alexander ChangCapital News ServiceRICHMOND – Under a new state law, Virginians will be al-lowed to bring their own wineinto a restaurant – i the diningestablishment allows.Senate Bill 19, which takeseect July 1, will allow any ABC-licensed restaurant to permitcustomers to bring a bottle o wineinto the establishment and drink iton the premises.Restaurants that have such poli-cies will be able to bill customersa “corkage ee” – a service chargethat usually ranges rom $10 to$75.Currently, 6 states, includingNorth Carolina and the District o Columbia, have corkage ees laws,according to Sen. Je McWaters,R-Virginia Beach, who proposedSB 19. He said the legislationwill benet both patrons and res-taurants.“People who are collectorso wine (will) have to make thechoice: Stay home, cook dinner,mess up the kitchen and drink thatbottle o wine; or take that specialbottle o wine to a nice restaurantand have them cook or you,” Mc-Waters said.“We’re the th-largest state inwine production, but we’re theonly state (among the major wineproducers) that doesn’t allow orthis.”McWaters said Virginia restau-rants have been losing businessto neighboring states that havelegalize corkage ees.McWaters’ bill stirred a littlecontroversy during the Gen-eral Assembly’s recent session. Itpassed 7-13 in the Senate and78-18 in the House. Gov. BobMcDonnell signed the bill into law last week.Restaurant owners are dividedover the idea.A restaurant could lose custom-ers i it doesn’t oer a corkage eeoption, said John Van Peppens,owner o Fleming’s Richmond, asteakhouse and wine bar. But therestaurant could lose wine sales i it does oer one.Moreover, corkage ees may be higher than customers expectbecause they must oset brokenstemware and other expenses.“When a guest calls me to bringin a nice bottle o wine and we haveto tell them that it’s going to be a$0-$30 corkage, the guest is goingto wonder in their mind, ‘Why do Ihave to pay that much money or abottle o wine I paid or and drinkit in your restaurant?’” Peppenssaid.“o me, there are a lot o nega-tives beore the guest even arrivesat the ront door.”At the same time, corkage eelaws can help small, independentrestaurants compete with chainrestaurants.ed Doll, owner o Zeus Gallery Caé in Richmond, said chain res-taurants ear corkage ees becausea lot o their revenue comes romselling wine purchased directly rom wineries.“What chain restaurants do isbasically ensure to a winery thatthey’re going to sell X amount o cases a year, and buy it nationally and cut out two middlemen beorepaying or a product,” Doll said.Independent restaurants, on theother hand, can make a prot by letting customers bring in wineand charging them a corkage ee,Doll said.“It might be some o the purestmoney I can make, in that I don’treally have to stock anything ex-cept or a glass and a corkscrew.”
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