Numbers in the news

41

Cost of mailing a letter will go up to 41 cents on May 14, but postal customers will able to lock in that price indefinitely by buying the new "forever stamp." That stamp will be valid for mailing a letter no matter how much rates increase.

The 41-cent rate is for the first ounce, but each additional ounce will cost just 17 cents, down from the current 24 cents. That means a two-ounce letter will cost 58 cents to mail, compared with 63 cents now.

Forever stamps will sell for 41 cents apiece, but they won't have a price printed on them and they will remain valid for sending a letter regardless of any future rate increases.

14

Citizens protesting real estate tax increases in the City of St. Marys have placed petitions in 14 area businesses so far. They're asking City Council to roll back the 3.5-mill increase that took effect this year.

12

Emporium isn't the region's only proud "Tree City." For the twelfth year in a row, Shinglehouse Borough has been named a Tree City USA community by the National Arbor Day Foundation to honor its commitment to community forestry.

The award will be presented during Shinglehouse's Arbor Day Ceremony in April by representatives of the Susquehannock State Forest.

To qualify for the Tree City USA designation, a community must have a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance.

24

School directors in Kane are working on a package of incentives to persuade veteran teachers to take early retirement. Those who retire at the end of the current school year will receive an extra $20,000. Twenty-four of the district's 95 teachers would be eligible for the retirement incentive this year. The incentives are being offered a cost-savings measure, since departing teachers will be replaced by those whose salaries are lower.

18

The average doctor allows a patient to describe his symptoms for 18 seconds before cutting him off. Dr. Jerome Groopman of Harvard Medical Center says that has to change. "Fifteen to 20 percent of all patients are misdiagnosed," Groopman said, "and in half of those cases it causes serious harm and sometimes death."

Patients need to tell their doctors, "Don't stereotype me," Dr. Groopman suggested.