Galveston Capital Tourism Best Shopping

Hendley Market offers antiques, such as books and medical equipment, but the real draw is the store's large selection of nativities and santons. Shoppers will find over 200 nativities from far away places like Bethlehem and Germany. The santons, or small collectible figurines often associated with religious themes, come mostly from Mexico. Located in the 1891 Van Alstyne House, The Gingerbread House features 14 different rooms adorned with eye-catching antiques. Items include china, crystal, furniture, and jewelry, as well as Victorian dolls and hats. Historic cities always seem to have a local artist who dedicates time and energy to capturing the spirit of the city's past. Pam Heidt specializes in Galveston's rich Victorian history, and J. Bangle Gallery specializes in her artwork. Heidt's oils and watercolors are not all that shoppers find, however. The gallery also offers frames and a respectable collection of coins and other antiques.

Wherever you travel, it's always interesting to see what regional artists are producing. Buchanan Gallery is your best bet for a wide range of contemporary art, including paintings, sculptures, and a variety of other media. A traditional beach-town souvenir shop, Lafitte's Beat presents over 2,500 square feet of gift items, beachwear, and nautical-inspired merchandise. In the early 1800s, the store remains rooted in its coastal surroundings. Shells and local coral are popular souvenirs, but shoppers can also find ship's wheels and lamps. Of course, as in most stores of its kind, you can also buy shot glasses, children's toys, and salt and pepper shakers. During the 1800s and early 1900s, The Strand Historic District was the most affluent area of town and still features many of the city's upscale establishments. Visitors can choose from one of over 100 shops and restaurants to pass their time, or take a horse-drawn carriage ride to enjoy the romantic charm of the neighborhood.

Galveston Capital Tourism and Marketing best nightlife

We offer a carefully vetted selection to let you explore Galveston nightlife on your own. If time is really tight, though, and you don't have the leisure to look through all our offerings, we present our Galveston Best Nightlife list. Here, we distill the best businesses down to a special selection of ten. These places promise a stellar experience and a taste of the city that you just can't miss. Located on Galveston's Seawall just steps from the beach, Captain Jack's is the only outside bar with a view of the ocean. The tiki bar atmosphere and live music on weekend nights make it a relaxing choice for a night out.

One of four bars that make up Galveston's Island Famous, Tiki Bar serves up more than 50 varieties of beers and a cocktail menu featuring Tiki's signature Pina Colada. Come watch a game on the flat screen TVs while you kick back over a cold beverage. For a more upscale nightlife experience in Galveston, Drip is the place to be. With bottle service and a DJ, expect to dance the night away. Drinks are reasonably-priced, especially during happy hour, and the beach views are the cherry on top of this great find. A nicer alternative to its sister bar, The Spot (located next door), Drip enforces a dress code. Don't expect to get through the doors wearing a swimsuit.

Online Info Blog Strategies against identity theft and financial fraud

Identity theft is all around us, even in Joliet and Will County. It seems that almost every week, we read about an identity theft arrest or a warning on the latest scam. From an unsolicited phone call requesting financial information to an email seeking your Social Security number to claim a prize, it’s likely that many of us have experienced an attempt at identity theft or financial fraud. Make sure to regularly scan statements for any unusual charges, as that can help with early detection. In addition, take advantage of requesting the three free credit reports you are entitled to each year.

There is no doubt we live in an age of technology. Almost everything can be done from the comfort of our own computers or on a smartphone, but keeping up with all the advances can be difficult, and technology can also represent new points of access for identity thieves. It is not uncommon for identity thieves to get creative in locating personal information. How many of us think twice before throwing away a paper statement or bill? It may not seem like a big deal, but these types of documents contain a wealth of personal information that can be used to perpetuate fraud.

Online Info Blog: How to prevent hackers from stealing your W-2 tax forms

The warning follows several incidents in which hackers sent company officials what appeared to be legitimate requests for copies of their workers’ W-2s. Renovate America, a solar financing company in Rancho Bernardo, inadvertently gave a hacker sensitive tax information for about 800 current and former employees. Such “phishing” attacks are increasing — and can be avoided, said Kevin O’Brien, chief executive of GreatHorn, a Boston-based security company. O’Brien discussed the problem and what to do about it during an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune.

If you read the IRS' advice, it’s largely about what to do when a business user recognizes one of these attacks. Sadly, relying on folks who are just doing their jobs — and who are likely under pressure as tax season rolls around — to somehow identify sophisticated spoofing attacks and then flag them is a fool’s errand. The reality is that even with strong, foundational security in place, nearly 1 percent of all emails that get around existing security tools businesses invest in have indicators of fraud within them. That sounds small until you realize that by the end of this year, over 132 billion emails will be sent every single day. That’s a lot of malicious messages that could trick someone into giving up your family’s most private data.

Online Info Blog: Beat the scammers

We must remember a mind-boggling array of passwords and PINs to survive the technological challenges of the 21st Century. According to credit-checking agency Experian most of us use at least two dozen of these online codes on a daily basis. They are required not just for regular tasks, such as getting in to a computer, paying a utility bill and online shopping. But they are also necessary for using mobile phones, chatting on social media, club memberships and watching online TV. It is not surprising a majority of us struggle to juggle different passwords in our head. Indeed, a quarter of us forget at least one login detail every day. This means we often adopt easy-to-remember ‘weak’ passwords that use familiar names such as a beloved pet or a family member.

 

Security experts believe this is a dangerous strategy and a relatively easy one for criminals to crack. It is suggested ‘strong’ passwords of up to a dozen characters randomly chosen – letters, numbers and even symbols – offer much better security. Three-quarters of us also use the same password for more than one account. But to stop fraudsters getting hold of your details it is recommended each service you use has its own password. There are ways you can create and remember secure passwords – in imaginative ways that will not leave you worried or with a headache.

Eastern Alliance Insurance Geographic Expansion

Eastern Alliance Insurance Group (EAIG) has announced it will open an office in Grandville, Michigan, as part of the company’s geographic expansion plan. The Grandville office, located at 3980 Chicago Drive, is the company’s first office in the state of Michigan. “I am pleased to announce the opening of our new Grandville, Michigan office,” said Michael Boguski, President of EAIG. “Through this newly established office, we will service businesses in Michigan with a fresh outlook and customized approach to their workers’ compensation insurance programs.” 

 

The Grandville, Michigan site is a satellite location of EAIG’s Carmel, Indiana Midwest regional office, and will be staffed with underwriting, marketing, claims and risk management professionals. The company has appointed 14 agency partners in Michigan since entering the state in 2011. EAIG offers an innovative line of workers’ compensation products and services, as well as exclusive brands and programs including: ParallelPay “pay-as-you-go” premium payment plan, unite individualized underwriting and services for small business, Inova alternative market insurance, and ecovery Return to Wellness. Billboards, announcing the arrival of Eastern Alliance Insurance Group with “fresh outlooks, better outcomes,” will begin appearing throughout the Grand Rapids region in July.

 

Founded in 1997, EAIG is a specialty underwriter of workers’ compensation products and services for businesses and organizations in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Gulf South regions of the United States. EAIG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly-held ProAssurance Corporation, and has offices in Lancaster and Wexford, Pennsylvania, Charlotte, North Carolina, Carmel, Indiana, Franklin, Tennessee, Richmond, Virginia, and Madison, Mississippi.

Online Info Blog Love scams a big worry

The police have made some headway in beating online scams that cheat victims of their money, but some Internet cons are proving stubbornly resistant. While commercial crime decreased by 0.6 per cent overall, Internet love scams hit an all-time high last year with 636 cases, up from 385 in 2015. The total amount cheated was also the highest by far at $24 million - double the $12 million victims were fooled into giving in 2015. The largest amount from a single victim was $1.7 million. In most Internet love scams, offenders befriended their victims on social media or online chat apps, charming their way into these strangers' lives before making off with their money.

  

Commercial crime, which counts Internet love scams, e-commerce cheating and other impersonation scams, are crimes that deceive victims into handing over goods or money through forgery and impersonation. But with public education and cooperation from international agencies, anti-scam efforts bore fruit in other areas, the police said in a press conference yesterday. E-commerce cheating decreased from 2,239 cases in 2015 to 2,105 last year. Victims lost $1.5 million compared with at least $1.9 million in 2015. A scam which surfaced in April last year in which conmen pose as officials from China to dupe victims into remitting money has also tapered off.