LAKEVIEW, Ore. - Oregon's Broadband Advisory Council says 82-percent of adults in the state have Internet access at home, which is well above the national average. But in rural areas, it's a different story.

In Paisley, for instance, the local Internet provider isn't signing up new customers. And for those already connected, the system is overloaded and slow, according to Lake County Commissioner Ken Kestner. He's made it his mission to bring better online access to southern Oregon.

Kestner says the providers don't see the profit in reaching out to small towns, so there's got to be another way.

"We're looking at any options we can FCC grants, USDA grants, whatever," says Kestner. "But still, there's a lot of up-front costs small communities cannot help the private enterprise to get over that hump, to come in and provide that service."

The latest Oregon Broadband Adoption Survey says Internet connection speed and quality "vary significantly across the state," and lack of access is a major factor in central, south central and eastern Oregon, plus the Willamette Valley and the northwest coast. A new report is due November first.

A national coalition, the Rural Broadband Policy Group, wants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to treat Internet access like phone service, as a common carrier, what is known as a Title II service.

Whitney Kimball Coe, coordinator of the National Rural Assembly at Center for Rural Strategies, says it would help ensure all Internet users are treated equally.

"It would uphold net neutrality, first of all, and secondly it would close the 'digital divide,'" she says. "Rural America already feels like it's out of sync with that sort of American idea of equal opportunity; and in the political sector, rural America feels like it's not being heard."

The FCC currently considers Internet access a Title I service, Coe explains, with fewer regulations for Internet providers and no requirement to build in rural places. Of the 19-million Americans who don't have Internet access, more than 14-million are in rural areas.

Kestner says Lake County's challenges include inadequate online resources for schools and a link between the hospital in Lakeview and its outlying clinics. He says growing the local economy requires getting online.

"A little town is attractive to many people who would love to come to the rural environment, if they could continue their work by Internet," he says. "That's one hold-back of drawing that class of people into our community."

In the meantime, he says he'll attend every meeting he can of the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council, as an in-person reminder to make rural Oregon a priority.


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April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud.

One problem on the rise in the Southeast is the "impostor" scam, when scammers represent themselves as fake government agents or bogus businesses. They are really on the prowl for your cash and personal info, costing victims in North Carolina almost $190 million last year alone.

Natalya Rice, Southeast Regional attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, listed some key red flags to look out for.

"Utilizing a payment app, sometimes even cryptocurrency, things like that," Rice noted. "Anyone who contacts you from what seems like it could be a legitimate company or business, if they're asking you to send them money or some type of payment through one of these type of payment methods, that is a red flag that you're dealing with a scammer."

Other warning signs include requests to transfer your funds or even demands for a verification code to access an account. If you have concerns, Rice advised it is best to stop communication and contact the actual company directly. Still other scams big in the Southeast include online shopping, investments and job offers.

Nationwide, a record $10 billion was lost to scams in 2023.

More than 25,000 North Carolina residents reported possible identity theft last year. Rice recommends acting promptly when you realize or suspect you have been scammed. The first step is to contact your financial institution and report the incident to its fraud department. She added it is crucial to notify federal and state agencies for further investigation.

"You can go to reportfraud.ftc.gov and fill out a report there and let us know what happened," Rice noted. "In the state of North Carolina, there's also another place you'll want to report it to, and that's the North Carolina Attorney General's Office."

If you suspect your identity has been compromised, Rice stressed the FTC can assist you in developing a recovery plan. She added getting your money back is never guaranteed but the sooner a scam is reported, the sooner it can be investigated and other people can be warned.


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Advocates are cheering the General Assembly for legislation protecting Marylanders' data privacy and are calling on Gov. Wes Moore to sign the bill.

The Maryland Online Privacy Protection Act of 2024 would limit data collection by tech companies as well as their ability to bury unfavorable terms in complex license agreements.

R.J. Cross, director of the Don't Sell My Data Campaign for the Public Interest Research Group, said the new law is a win for consumers.

"No one reads those long privacy policies. They're often vague and full of legalese and so, hiding what a company wants to do with your data there is pretty duplicitous and not being consumer friendly," Cross contended. "The Maryland law takes a very different approach and said it's not enough; you can't just hide things in your fine print. You need to have good data practices that protect people upfront."

She pointed out the Maryland law would be one of the strongest in the nation. If Gov. Moore signs the bill, it would go into effect in October 2025.

The bill gives consumers the right to have some personal data deleted and places limits on the kind of widespread monitoring used to generate targeted advertising. Cross noted such data collection is common.

"A lot of our favorite websites and apps are gathering things like what you've searched for online, every website you visited, your location, maybe even your entire phone contact list," Cross outlined. "It has turned around and sold that information to companies that you've probably never even heard of."

With data breaches consistently making news, Cross added the bill will improve Marylanders' personal security.

"A lot of what this will do is limit how much data is being collected about you and sold, which will help your personal security in a big way," Cross explained. "The more data that companies collect about you, and the more they sell it to other companies, the more likely it's going to be exposed in a breach or a hack."


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Florida residents can now file their simple income-tax forms for free and save time through the Internal Revenue Service's Direct File pilot program. It's estimated the simplified filing process could eventually save Florida taxpayers more than $530 million in filing fees every year.

With the April 15 income-tax filing deadline right around the corner, Adam Ruben, vice president for campaigns and political strategy at the Economic Security Project, said you can easily use the program by visiting the website Directfile.IRS.gov.

"It's an interview-based questionnaire," Ruben said. "So it's something that people can use on their phones on their computers available in English and Spanish that asks people questions and pretty much plain language, and you fill in the answers. And it fills in the tax form for you."

Florida is one of a dozen states where IRS Direct File is a pilot project. If it were to expand nationwide and be available to more taxpayers, Ruben estimated that within five years, it could save Americans $8 billion in tax-preparation fees and another $3 billion worth of time annually.

However, opponents have argued that the government is wasting resources and will snag business from professional tax preparers and programs that have lobbied against Direct File.

Chris Moreno, director of financial capability for Catalyst Miami, a nonprofit that works with communities through a variety of free services, said a stress-free filing process that can be done from the comfort of your home or the convenience of your phone is worth taking advantage of.

"If you are an average worker who gets a W-2 - you're employed for a company, you don't own any companies or businesses - you'd probably be the ideal candidate for someone to be able to use Direct File this year," Moreno said.

While a free-file program has been available, many taxpayers were unaware they had access to it. An investigation by ProPublica revealed tactics by Intuit, maker of TurboTax, to cloud the free-file program.

And state auditors, comptrollers and treasurers in 18 states - including Florida - sent a letter in March to the federal government urging the termination of Direct File. They claimed it might lead to confusion about state tax filings, potentially resulting in penalties and loss of state refunds.


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