Heard on the Street

AUTOMATED OPT-OUT INFO

Anyone who wants to can request personal information from credit bureaus, including one's address and telephone number. But by dialing 888-567-8688, then following the prompts, a person can opt out of the information release of four major credit bureaus in the United States Experience, Equifax, Inovice and Transunion. It only takes a couple of minutes to do, and one can take care of anyone else in the household by inputting his or her Social Security number. Be sure to listen closely because the first opt-out offer on the "1" key is only for two years. Wait until the prompt says to press "3" on the keypad to opt out for good.

HOSPITAL BUYS THRIFT STORE

St. John's Health Systems Inc. has purchased the Lyons Thrift Store at 2120 W. Kearney near St. John's Northwest Family Care Clinic, 2212 W. Kearney, according to Mike Peters, hospital spokesman. Renovation will start this fall on the building which has 12,000 square feet of usable space, Peters said. It will house rehabilitation and occupational therapy services for the health system.

THE SKY ISN'T FALLING

Missouri Department of Revenue reports that corporate income tax collections decreased this past year, but general revenue was up by 4.3 percent, so "Chicken Little" warnings about the budget make no sense. At least that's what House Republican Leader Catherine Hanaway said in a recent news release. Individual income tax collections were up 7.4 percent while sales and use tax collections were up 1.7 percent, Hanaway said. Corporate income taxes dropped, the revenue department said, because of the recent reduction in the corporate franchise tax. Overall, corporate income taxes make up a small amount of state revenues $364 million compared to sales taxes of $1.8 billion and individual income taxes of $4.6 billion. "The governor has been alleging that there is a state budget crisis, but the revenue collection numbers clearly show that the sky is not falling," Hanaway said. "Over the past decade, the state budget has more than doubled, and that trend is definitely holding true this year with a budget growth of 14 percent." She questioned why the Gov. Bob Holden felt it necessary to slash the budgets of state agencies by $200 million.

AD CLUB HUMOR

From the Springfield Advertising Association's July newsletter is this tasty morsel: When you've been told to pick up the company car at a lot, this is how you know it's the right one:

it travels faster in all gears, especially reverse, which also can be

engaged while going forward;

it only burns the cheapest gas available;

it can be driven up to 100 miles with the oil warning light on;

it can take speed bumps at twice the speed of private cars;

it has no alarm to worry about because the driver just leaves the

keys in the ignition.

TROPICAL FLORA AT BULL SHOALS

An exotic species of zooplankton, Daphnia lumholtzi, has invaded Bull Shoals Lake, a fact which puzzles local students who are studying it. Tina Tamme, a Southwest Missouri State University student, is conducting experiments on the zooplankton that was first found in the United States in Texas 11 years ago. Tamme is working at the Bull Shoals Field Station, a center for research and education adjacent to the 6,000-acre Drury-Mincy Conservation area. A native of tropical and subtropical lakes in east Africa, east Australia and the subcontinent of India, the zooplankton may have arrived in the U.S. with shipments of Nile perch from Lake Victoria in Africa.

SLICE OF NICE

Although schoolchildren may feel it's too hot to think about returning to the grind of school, some adults want to make it easier for them, especially if their parents' pockets are none too full of cash for school supplies. Aug. 13 at Price Cutter Park, the Springfield Hotel/Motel Asso-ciation and the Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks are encouraging baseball fans to bring school supplies for kids. The supplies donated during the association's employee appreciation night "An Evening at the Ballpark" will be turned over to the Springfield Public Schools, said Greg L. Walker, association president. Mean-while, the Discovery Center of Springfield is joining the Sal-vation Army to get similar donations of school supplies from the community. A barrel is located inside the center's lobby where supplies can be dropped off through Sept. 1. Supplies needed include back packs, pens and pencils, glue, scissors, paper, rulers and calculators.