Southern California Gas Company Offers Safety Tips for Earthquake Preparedness Month

In honor of Earthquake Preparedness Month, Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company) reminded customers that advance preparation is critical during an earthquake emergency.

The natural gas provider offers these safety tips to help reduce the possibility of injuries or damage to property that may occur during a quake:

Before an earthquake

• Follow the rules contained in current plumbing codes, requiring that water heaters be secured to the wall studs to prevent them from moving or toppling over. The water heater should be fastened securely to the wall studs in two places—the upper and lower one-third of the tank—with heavy bolts and metal straps. A quake may cause an unsecured water heater to move, possibly breaking the gas connectors, which may result in a fire. The loss of a water heater also would deprive a home of a valuable water source that may be needed for cooking and drinking.
• Replace semi-rigid (aluminum or copper) gas appliance connectors with approved connectors made of corrugated metal. These are less likely to crack during an earthquake. Connectors and water heater strapping kits are available at most hardware and home improvement stores.
• Have a 12-inch or larger adjustable wrench handy to manually turn off the gas meter should it be necessary.

After an earthquake

• Do not turn off the gas meter after an earthquake, unless there is the smell or sound of gas escaping.


• If an appliance appears to have a leak, turning off the valve between the appliance and gas line may stop the leak. If this does not stop the leak, the gas should be shut off at the meter.


• If there is the smell or sound of gas escaping, do not light a match, candle or cigarette, and do not turn electrical devices—not even a light switch—on or off. (If calling the Gas Company for assistance, call from a safe location, away from the leak.) The gas should be manually turned off at the meter. Using an adjustable wrench, make a quarter-turn of the valve, moving it from a vertical position to a horizontal position. This will shut off the flow of gas. (A diagram and instructions for turning off the gas meter are printed in the "Survival Guide" section of most telephone directory white pages).


• If the gas is shut off at the meter, do not attempt to turn it back on without the help of The Gas Company. Gas service should not be restored until The Gas Company determines that the customer's facilities, appliances or other gas equipment have been made safe.

Share these tips with family and friends to be sure everyone is prepared in the event of an earthquake. For more information, check out the Southern California Gas Company press release.

XM Announces Baseball 'Call Stars'

XM says it is now offering baseball fans the opportunity to send personalized voice messages from baseball stars Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Cal Ripken, Jr. to their friends and family.

"Call Stars" is geared to enhance baseball fans' awareness of XM's comprehensive coverage of Major League Baseball. XM airs every MLB game for every team from Opening Night to the World Series.

Fans can visit www.xmradio.com/mlb to send a customized voice message from the New York Yankees' Jeter, Boston Red Sox slugger Ortiz, or Hall-of-Fame-bound Ripken. When fans arrive at the site, they choose a ball player and enter a friend's name, favorite team, hobbies, and other details. Friends will receive the voice message on their phone, email or by AOL Instant Messenger.

"Call Stars" offers the baseball fan a wide variety of choices for creating a personal message from Jeter, Ortiz, or Ripken. Messages from Ortiz are available in Spanish or English. This campaign marks the first time that this type of audio service has been available in Spanish.

"With baseball season underway, XM is truly thrilled to provide fans an interactive way to get excited about the game," said Vernon Irvin, Chief Marketing Officer at XM. "This viral marketing campaign engages fans in a way that is fun and effective, and it provides XM an ideal platform to
communicate directly to consumers."

In addition to carrying the games, XM has the nation's only 24-hour talk radio channel dedicated to Major League Baseball, MLB Home Plate (XM Channel 175). The channel covers every aspect of the sport 365 days a year with call- in shows, round-the-clock news updates, specials, and classic games.

For more information, check out the XM press release.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio Now a Factory Installed Option from MINI USA

MINI USA and SIRIUS Satellite Radio last week announced that SIRIUS is available as a factory installed option with a lifetime subscription on the all-new 2007 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S hardtops produced beginning this June. The lifetime subscription is transferable with the car from one owner to the next.

The factory-installed SIRIUS radio with a lifetime subscription will be available for an MSRP of $950. MINI USA will also offer SIRIUS, with a lifetime subscription, as part of its upgraded Audio Pack that also includes MINI's Hi-Fi sound system, for an MSRP of just $1,400.

"We are excited to offer our customers factory-installed SIRIUS radio with a lifetime subscription." said Rich Steinberg, head of MINI Product Strategy, "Now it makes the choice even easier for them to enjoy SIRIUS radio in their new MINI."

"With over 130 channels of The Best Radio on Radio, SIRIUS offers the ultimate choice in radio," said Doug Wilsterman, Senior Vice President and General Manager OEM Division for SIRIUS. "By including a lifetime subscription, owners can listen to SIRIUS for as long as they own their MINI."

Read the SIRIUS press release for more details.

Verizon Wireless and TiVo Team Up to Offer Remote Scheduling

TiVo and Verizon Wireless recently announced the availability of TiVo® Mobile scheduling, a downloadable application available only through Verizon Wireless. TiVo Mobile scheduling allows subscribers to purchase the mobile service through select Verizon Wireless handsets and schedule recordings on their Series2™ or Series3™ TiVo boxes.

TiVo and Verizon Wireless say they are bringing consumers the convenience of scheduling television recordings while away from the living room. Whether you are away from home or discussing TV at the water cooler, all that is needed is a select Verizon Wireless Get It Now®-enabled handset to schedule recordings on your TiVo box.

"TiVo continues to transform and revolutionize the way people control and watch television," said Jim Denney, vice president of product marketing at TiVo. "TiVo Mobile scheduling gives Verizon Wireless customers unprecedented control of their television experience and provides that control wherever they are."

Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital media for Verizon noted, "TiVo built its reputation by making television relevant to its customers, while Verizon Wireless built and maintains the nation's most reliable wireless network. This innovative service adds a new layer of relevance and immediacy, so even when they're thousands of miles away from their televisions, TiVo subscribers can program their favorite shows."

TiVo Mobile scheduling uses the award-winning TiVo interface to give subscribers the ability to easily search for and browse through listings to find shows that they want to record. Subscribers to the TiVo Mobile scheduling service will also have access to premium entertainment content that is updated daily, including a customizable channel lineup, the most popular and most recorded shows and a current list of recommendations from TiVo.

TiVo Mobile scheduling is available for $1.99 monthly access on select Get It Now-enabled phones, including the Samsung SCH-a950, Chocolate by LG and LG VX8300.

For more information, see the TiVo press release.

PG&E to Provide Customer Bill Credits for Winter Gas Savings

Pacific Gas and Electric Company recently announced that, for the second consecutive year, the company is rewarding customers who successfully took steps to cut their natural gas usage during the winter compared with their usage over the prior three winters. Customers who qualified for the company's 10/20 Plus Winter Gas Savings Program will receive bill credits expected to total approximately $50 million. An estimated 42 percent of eligible residential and business customers qualified for the credit, which will appear on their March or April PG&E bill.

Qualifying residential customers are expected to receive an average credit of $20, small commercial customers are expected to receive an average credit of $109, and large commercial customers are expected to receive an average credit of $4,537.

"We developed and launched the 10/20 Plus Program two years ago as an incentive mechanism to help our customers conserve natural gas during the winter months," said Helen Burt, PG&E senior vice president and chief customer officer. "This year, we enhanced the program to provide even more customers the ability to earn a credit, account for colder weather and compare usage over a three-year period. We are pleased with the early results, which show that our customers want California to continue being a leader in energy conservation."

Pacific Gas and Electric Company created the 10/20 Plus Program as a conservation incentive to encourage customers to reduce natural gas use during the winter, which in turn helps keep the overall market price of natural gas down. The incentive, a bill credit of up to 20 percent, was available to almost all natural gas customers.

To earn the 10/20 Plus Program credit, qualifying customers simply had to reduce their cumulative natural gas usage during January and February below the three-year historical average at their home or business. For every 1 percent decrease in usage, customers received a 1 percent credit up to 9 percent. Customers who reduced their usage by 10 percent or more received a 20 percent bill credit. Almost all PG&E customers were eligible and automatically enrolled in the 10/20 Plus Program.

PG&E says it is also helping customers reduce their energy use, through conservation and energy efficiency programs, including rebates for energy efficient appliances, on-line energy audits, and through programs to help low income households.

For more information, read the PG&E press release.

Verizon Foundation Announces $31 Million Investment in Thinkfinity.org

The Verizon Foundation last week announced a $31 million investment to provide free online educational resources to teachers, students and community organizations through Thinkfinity.org, Verizon's comprehensive online portal to 50,000 standards- based, K-12 lesson plans and other educational resources provided by some of the nation's leading educational organizations.

The $31 million commitment, which will be distributed over three years, will allow leading educational organizations to continue to produce and expand the number of interactives and other educational resources available at www.thinkfinity.org.

The Verizon Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, which is deploying the most advanced wireline and wireless broadband networks in America. Thinkfinity is the Verizon Foundation's signature educational and literacy program, and includes the program formerly known as Verizon MarcoPolo, and the Verizon Literacy Network.

"Thinkfinity is a tremendous asset for teachers, students, parents and community organizations," said Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president - public affairs, policy and communications. "It's appropriate that our foundation supports a literacy and education program that is built on the technology that Verizon is deploying. The broadband networks we are building can provide a student anywhere, anytime access to the world's richest educational content created by the leading experts in the fields of history, science, mathematics and the arts."

Content for Thinkfinity is provided through the following leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Reading Association, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Council on Economic Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society and ProLiteracy Worldwide.

Also on Tuesday, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History was announced as Thinkfinity's 11th content partner. The museum's electronic outreach program creates experiences that incorporate qualities of a museum visit with the flexibility and interactivity of online tools. As a partner, the museum plans to help create family and after-school offerings on Thinkfinity.org.

"Producing interactive, engaging lessons plans is a necessity to reach our children in the classroom today," said Charmona Whitfield, an instructional technology teacher for grades K-6 at Mosby Woods Elementary School in Fairfax, Va. "Because our kids have iPods, cell phones and X-boxes, they need to truly interact with what they are learning. To simply stand in front of them and talk is not enough. Thinkfinity makes learning fun."

Whitfield said Thinkfinity also provides practical benefits to teachers. "It's a time saver," she said. "It's concise, easy to navigate. You have very quick access to tried-and-proven lesson plans."

Thinkfinity combines authoritative, standards-based K-12 educational content and robust professional development with research and evidence-based resources and practices for literacy across the lifespan.

Research published in the Peabody Journal of Education (2006) showed that providing state-of-the-art educational resources had a positive effect on student achievement, especially in schools that traditionally lacked such resources.

"Thinkfinity is an exemplary online platform for delivering high-quality resources to a wide range of stakeholders that support lifelong learners in school and beyond the school day," said Dr. Trina Davis, president-elect of the International Society for Technology in Education. "Taking an integrated approach in providing stellar resources and focused professional development assures that the needs of 21st century learners will be met in schools and communities across the country."

For more information, check out the Verizon press release.

AT&T and USA Gymnastics Announce 'Behind the Team' Online Series

AT&T and USA Gymnastics recently announced their effort to give a behind-the- scenes look at the nation's top gymnasts in a 25-episode online series, USA Gymnastics: Behind the Team, as they prepare to represent their country on the world stage through 2008. The series will be included as exclusive content available on the AT&T blue room Team USA site

"Behind the Team will provide an insider's look at the USA Gymnastics story over the next 17 months," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "This series will chronicle the athletes, coaches, events and training activities that combine to produce some of the finest gymnasts in the world and prepare them for international competition. Behind the Team will also help people understand how the sport and the U.S. training system have evolved over time."

"Through more than two dozen webisodes, this series will explore the world of one of the most watched sports in the Olympic movement," said Jason Simpson, director of Olympic integration, AT&T. "With such great consumer demand for Olympic sports content, AT&T is thrilled to exclusively offer this compelling program leading up to the 2008 Beijing games."

The Behind the Team online series will include interviews with current and former athletes and coaches, as well as video of training camps and competitions. The first webisode will debut on the AT&T blue room in April 2007, with new webisodes introduced through August 2008. Webisodes will also be archived on the site.

AT&T is an official partner of the U.S. Olympic Team and USA gymnastics, providing financial support, products and services to America's athletes. AT&T will serve as the official telecommunications services partner of the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

For more information, check out the AT&T press release.

More Advice on Tax Credits for Energy-Efficient Home Improvements from Jackson Hewitt

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service® focused its weekly series "Jackson Hewitt Tax Time Tips" on reminding homeowners about the tax credits available for certain home improvements.

This Week's Tip: Homeowners who made energy-efficient renovations in 2006 should take advantage of several tax credits when filing their 2006 tax return.

"2006 was the first active year of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, allowing homeowners who made certain types of improvements to claim beneficial credits on their 2006 tax returns," notes Mark Steber, Vice President, Tax Resources of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. "The Act recognizes a wide range of improvements, from replacing leaky windows to adding insulation. Owners of multi-family units, single family homes, condominiums, co-ops and town houses are all eligible, and improvements must have been made to a primary home within the United States between Jan. 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2006 to qualify."

Tax credits vary based on the type of improvement. Qualified energy efficiency improvements and qualified residential energy property costs have a total lifetime limit of $500 and may include certain other limitations. Qualifying expenses and improvements include:

• Adding insulation, exterior doors, and installing metal roofs with a cost-efficient coating allows you a tax credit of 10 percent of the cost.
• Exterior windows are eligible for a tax credit of 10 percent of the expense up to lifetime total tax credit of $200.
• The cost of purchasing and installing qualified heat pumps, central air conditioners, circulating fans, furnaces and hot water heaters is not limited to 10 percent. Heat pumps and central air conditioning units are limited to $300 while furnaces and hot water heaters are limited to $150 and circulating fans are limited to $50.

A tax credit of 30 percent of the cost, up to $2,000, of installing solar water heating systems and solar panels used to generate electricity in your home is available. Additionally, you are eligible for an additional credit of $500 for each half kilowatt of production capacity from fuel cell equipment installed in your home each year.

Steber reminds homeowners that home-related expenses—often the most significant items on a tax return—offer taxpayers the opportunity to itemize a wide range of deductions as well as enjoy other tax benefits. "Working with a tax preparer can help consumers uncover the extra value in a home as it relates to filing their annual tax returns," he said.

Information on all of the credits and deductions relating to a home can be accessed by visiting www.jacksonhewitt.com.

California PUC Awards AT&T Video Franchise

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) formally approved AT&T California's application for a state-issued authorization to provide video service in California as part of "The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006," which became law on January 1, 2007.

"The CPUC's approval of our application brings Californians one step closer to finally having a real choice to cable TV," said Ken McNeely, President, AT&T California. "After more than 40
years of the status quo, Californians are now beginning to see the benefits of a competitive marketplace for both TV/video and other broadband services."

"At AT&T, we're hard at work with cities across California as we upgrade our fiber-optic network to bring consumers the most advanced Internet Protocol (IP)-based TV/video services and faster Internet access speeds. Harnessing the power of IP, we're helping usher in a new era of innovative, next- generation services and new choices for Californians. We look forward to rolling out our TV/video service—AT&T U-verse(SM)—in cities throughout [California] as soon as possible."

For more information, see the AT&T press release.

GSA Awards Qwest Part of $20 Billion Networx Universal Contract

The General Services Administration (GSA) today awarded Qwest Communications International Inc. a stake in Networx, the largest communications services contract in the world. Qwest will participate in the U.S. government program that is valued at approximately $20 billion over the next 10 years to provide leading-edge voice, data and video services, including managed and secure advanced data networks, to federal agencies nationwide.

Today, Qwest is a leading provider to more than 50 federal government agencies, including the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury. The Networx Universal award enables Qwest to aggressively compete for billions of dollars of additional federal government communication business.

"This is a big win for Qwest that complements our progress over the last five years and is a testament to Qwest"s status as a leading, national, tier-one communications provider," said Qwest Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard C. Notebaert. "All Qwest customers across the nation will see benefits. Qwest already is offering to its business customers many of the advanced features that are required in Networx and customers will continue to benefit from Qwest"s investments in broadband technologies to support next-generation applications that are anticipated by GSA."

The Networx program will provide comprehensive, best-of-breed communications and networking services and technical solutions to all federal agencies. It will allow the agencies to focus resources on building a seamless and interoperable operating environment while GSA ensures agency access to the best technology industry has to offer.

"Although Qwest is already a leading supplier to the U.S. government, this award enables us to grow our federal business," said Diana Gowen, senior vice president and general manager of Qwest government services. "It"s also good for government customers because including Qwest in Networx provides federal agencies with more choices, which will enable creative solutions and excellent price performance for the U.S. government and the taxpayers."

"A Networx Universal spot is akin to a 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval' for data and voice product portfolios, customer service and national network capabilities," said analyst Mark Winther, vice president of worldwide telecommunications at IDC. "Networx Universal winners secured the endorsement of one of the most discriminating customers in the world, in one of the most complex and thorough communications proposals ever. Networx winners will attract additional business and residential customers that want to work only with the best."

In addition to Networx, Qwest recently has received other large awards from the U.S. government. In November, Qwest was the winner of a contract worth up to $100 million from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to provide bandwidth transmission services for connecting military installations located across the West to the Global Information Grid (GIG) over the next 10 years. And last month, Qwest announced it will be the sole provider of telecommunications services to federal agencies in nine Western states in a contract from the GSA worth at least $10 million.