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Cash Mobs ~ Collective On-the-Spot Buying Revives Local Businesses

In most areas of the country, small, locally owned retail businesses are the lifeblood of local economies, but rising cost of doing business often means they cannot compete with the lower prices of big-box retail giants that negotiate in volume. For several years, the growth and frequency of cash mobs have been breathing new life into struggling mom-and-pop businesses. Like a flash mob performing a dance or social protest, a cash mob gathers people together to have a tremendously positive effect on hometown businesses that may have served them and their families for decades.

Most cash mobs agree to meet on a particular day, with each participant committing to spend a specified amount, typically $20 or more. The benefits for local businesses far exceed a one-day influx of cash—new customers are found, previous customers are reacquired and a new appreciation for businesses that fuel a local economy is realized.

Participants can also have a little fun while further benefiting their communities as many cash mobs gather with old friends and new after a shopping frenzy at a local establishment for food and drinks.

Source: CashMob.com

 

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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