Month: February 2015

Master Gardeners to sponsor class March 5

The Wyandotte County Extension Master Gardeners are sponsoring a plant propagation class from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 5.

This class, open to the public, will present information about various methods available to propagate plants. In a “hands on” setting, the class presenters will cover things to consider in starting plants from seed, and will demonstrate various vegetative propagation methods including cuttings, air layering, and plant division.

Class presenters are Lynn Loughary, the Wyandotte County Extension horticulture agent, and Grace Troeh, who has been a certified Master Gardener since 2002.

Registration is not required. There is free admission to active Master Gardeners. The cost will be $5 per person, for all others. The class will be conducted in the Sunflower Room, Wyandotte County Extension Office, 1208 N. 79th St., Kansas City, Kan.

Weather warms up a little today

The weather warms up a little to a high near 43 today, according to the National Weather Service.

A west southwest wind today of 7 to 13 mph will become northwest in the afternoon, the weather service said.

The temperature at 8 a.m. was 22 degrees, with a wind chill of 9, according to the weather service.

Today may be a great day to get out, before the chance of snow moves in on Wednesday.

The outlook for Tuesday night is partly cloudy with a low of 25, the weather service said.

On Wednesday, forecasters said there is a 40 percent chance of rain and snow after noon. The high on Wednesday will be near 40. Less than an inch of precipitation is expected, according to the weather service.

On Wednesday night, expect snow, likely before midnight, the weather service said. The low will be around 15, with an east southeast wind of 7 to 16 mph changing to the north after midnight, according to the weather service. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent, and there is a possible snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches, the weather service said.

Thursday, there will be mostly sunny skies with a high near 18, the weather service said. A north wind of 10 to 16 mph will gust as high as 22 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday night, the low will be around 4, according to the weather service.

Friday, the high will be near 20, and Friday night, the low will be 13. Forecasters said.

Saturday, there is a 50 percent chance of snow with a high near 26, the weather service said. Saturday night, the chance of snow is 60 percent, with a low around 26.

On Sunday, there is a 60 percent chance of rain, snow and sleet, according to the weather service. The high will be near 33.

Sunday night, there is a 30 percent chance of snow with a low of 21, according to the weather service.

Monday, the high will be near 31, the weather service said.

Kansas Insurance Department assessing effects of Anthem data breach

Beware of scams

The Kansas Insurance Department is looking at the effect of possible data-hacking of health insurance policyholders in Kansas as a result of a cyberattack that targeted Anthem Inc., according to Kansas Commissioner of Insurance Ken Selzer.

According to information from Anthem, there are 389,432 Kansans who are potentially affected by the Anthem data breach. That number includes members of Amerigroup Kansas (for KanCare Medicaid recipients), Anthem national and employer accounts, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and other Blue organizations.

“Kansans who have been affected will receive a mailed company notification in the coming weeks,” Commissioner Selzer said.

Those whose personal information was included in the database breach can visit a special website, AnthemFacts.com, to learn how to enroll in two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft repair services, provided by Anthem. The website also has a question and answer section for those wanting more information.

Members can begin accessing these services prior to receiving a mailed notification from Anthem. They may access these services at any time during the 24- month coverage period.

The free identity protection services provided by Anthem include the following:

• Identity Theft Repair Assistance: Should a member experience fraud, an investigator will do the work to recover financial losses, restore the member’s credit, and ensure the member’s identity is returned to its proper condition. This assistance will cover any fraud that has occurred since the incident first began.

• Credit Monitoring: At no cost, members may also enroll in credit monitoring, which alerts consumers when banks and creditors use their identity to open new credit accounts.

• Child Identity Protection: Child-specific identity protection services will also be offered to any members with children insured through their Anthem plan.

The breach was discovered in late January and may affect as many as 80 million Americans. Anthem is a member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Anthem stated that their investigation shows the information accessed includes member names, member health ID numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and employment information. Social Security numbers may also have been accessed.

No credit card information or confidential health information has been identified as being in the security breach.

“Insurance regulators throughout the United States are urging consumers to be wary of potential new attacks on their personal information,” Commissioner Selzer said, “including phone or email scams. If Kansans have any doubt about the origin of people soliciting your information, contact the KID Consumer Assistance Hotline, 800-432-2484, and talk to a consumer assistance representative first.”