Dear Friends:
December is a wonderful month with holidays, family gatherings, year-end reflection, New Year’s resolutions, sporting events, and maybe even snowmen, snowball fights, and snow angels.  Whatever your plans for this month, we wish you good times.
We are keeping this month’s newsletter light.  Our focus is on the wonder of winter and staying safe.
From all of us at Bienstock Law, have a wonderful holiday and a happy and healthy 2026! Stay warm!
Your legal team,
Steve Bienstock
Josh Bienstock
Sheila Gindes
Lisa Jennings
Jaycie Boyle
Christine Burke
WINTER SAFETY
Are you ready for winter? You probably already know most, if not all, of these tips. But they bear repeating.
Around the House
- As necessary, caulk or weather-strip windows/doors and check insulation.
- Prepare for power outages and other emergencies (e.g., first-aid kit, medications, flashlight, extra batteries, manual can opener, non-perishable food, bottled water, fully charged phone, matches, lighter).
- Water Christmas trees and keep decorations at least three feet away from heat.
- Turn off electric decorations when you are sleeping and when you leave the home.
- Turn off space heaters when leaving the room.
- Install/test smoke detectors.
- Keep walkways and steps shoveled.
Vehicles
- Winterize – check fluid levels, tire treads, and battery life.
- Keep your gas tank at least half full.
- Replenish your car emergency kits (e.g., jumper cables, flares/reflective triangle, warm clothes, shovel, sand/salt for traction, phone, charger, first-aid kit, food/water).
Pet Safety
- Keep walks short.
- Use booties/coats for protection.
- Wipe paws to remove ice/salt/chemicals.
- Give dogs slightly more food (they burn more energy staying warm).
- Before starting the engine in your car, bang on the car’s hood to scare off cats or other animals seeking warmth.
- Don’t leave your pet alone in a car.
Health, Safety, and Security
- Check on vulnerable neighbors.
- Be aware of your surroundings–while shopping and always.
- Don’t drink and drive.
- Secure your home.
- Be on high alert for scams.
Weather Conditions
Stay on top of the weather:
- A weather watch means dangerous conditions are possible, so be prepared.
- A weather warning means severe weather is imminent or happening now, requiring immediate action. Watches cover larger areas and give advance notice, while warnings are for specific, immediate threats in smaller zones.
- A winter weather advisory means that winter weather conditions are expected to cause significant inconveniences that may be hazardous.
BELIEVE IT, OR DON’T!
- You can be charged with a misdemeanor for throwing snowballs in Provo, Utah.
- In Philadelphia, it is illegal to save a cleared parking spot with household items.
- You can get fined for letting your car idle too long on a cold day in Roseville, Michigan.
- In Nevada, throwing anything off a ski lift is illegal.
- Earth is actually closest to the sun in December, even though winter solstice is the shortest day of the year.
- The coldest weather ever recorded on Earth was -128.6 degrees F in Antarctica on July 21, 1983.
- Yakutsk, Russia is the coldest city in the world.
- The North Pole is warmer than the South Pole.
- Chionophobia.is the fear of snow.
- Snowflakes are always 6-sided and fall at about 3 mph.
- A single snowstorm can drop up to 39 million tons of snow.
Do you have a question for us?
Are there any topics you would like to hear more about?
Email our Paralegal, Sheila, at Sheila@bienstocklegal.com
or call us on 301-251-1600.