PBS Passport is the only streaming service I need

This coming Sunday evening, May 4, Miss Austen, a four-part series highlighting the bond between the novelist Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra, will premiere on public television.

Being a huge Janeite, I’m thrilled. After the first episode, those of us who have PBS Passport — which comes with a $60 annual contribution to WTTW or your local PBS station — will be able to stream the other three episodes at our leisure.

Passport is the only streaming service I pay for. I’m out of the loop during conversations about programs on other platforms, but Passport is enough for me. 

After a lemon of a homeowners insurance bill, I went for Lemonade

How much has your homeowners or renters insurance gone up?

Note I didn’t ask whether it’s gone up. With all the claims from wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, and floods and with increases in rebuilding costs, insurance companies have increased homeowners premiums an average of 24% over the past three years, according to the Consumer Federation of America. In Illinois, the three-year increase is 50%, the second highest in the country.

Too savvy to be scammed? I was mistaken.

If you are an AARP member, you received its March/April Bulletin with FRAUD in three-inch red letters on the cover. Inside, five articles discussed the increasing problem of scams.

I didn’t read them, thinking I was too savvy to be scammed.

The week after putting the issue into the recycle bin, I fell for a scam. I’m embarrassing myself by telling about it in the hope that my story will warn others.