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This story was published July 19, 2005, during an internship at Richmond.com.

WiFi . Launched in 2000, it’s the coolest slang word since “tubular,” a major step in the all-American quest for efficiency and the cause for one man’s recent arrest.

WiFi, which stands for Wireless Fidelity, allows Internet users to access the web from any location, provided that area is linked to the nationwide WiFi network. Wireless networks make it possible for multiple computers under the same roof – in your home or a restaurant – to hook up to the Internet simultaneously, which, if you’re not careful, could include cheap neighbors or sneaky strangers. This past April, Florida resident Benjamin Smith was arrested on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network via WiFi, and he wasn’t even stealing anything. He was just a simple man sitting in his van, “stealing” WiFi outside of someone else’s house. Creepy.

If your WiFi network isn’t adequately shielded through encryption or passwords, anyone with a wireless card can view your personal information, credit card information and even send emails from your account. Though stealing WiFi is a third-degree felony, it is practiced on a regular basis.

Avoid formal charges by taking advantage of the many consumer-friendly restaurants and venues that are hooking up to a wireless network to allow their customers the convenience of the Internet anytime they want. Who wouldn’t want to browse online boutiques while sipping a cup of joe at your favorite coffee shop, or keep track of box scores while enjoying group yoga in the local park?

Once you’ve put in a few passwords and sufficiently protected your computer, take the old laptop into the warm summer air and enjoy some surfing – the water-free (and legal) kind. Here is a list of local areas that offer WiFi access. Café Gutenberg

1700 East Main Street

((804) 497-5000 C3 Creative Change Center

1801 East Cary Street, Third Floor

(804) 474-3639 Monroe Park

Fan District

(804) 254-2928 World Cup

26 North Morris Street

(804) 359-5282 Baja Bean

1520 West Main Street

(804)257-5445 Baker’s Crust

3553 West Cary Street

(804) 213-0800 Mars Bar

115 North 18th Street

(804) 644-MARS McDonald’s (in Carytown)

3410 West Cary Street

(804) 355-4123 Shockoe Espresso and Roastery

104 Shockoe Slip

(804) 648-3734 Stir Crazy Coffee Shop

4015 MacArthur Avenue

(804) 864-0204 Stony Point Fashion Park

9200 Stony Point Parkway

(804) 560-SHOP Panera Bread

4701 Brad McNeer Parkway

11649 Midlothian Turnpike

11703 West Broad Street

9200 Stony Point Parkway

(804) 560-9700 Virginia Commonwealth University

Fan District

(804) 828-0100 University of Richmond

28 Westhampton Way

(804) 289-8000 Starbucks

Any of the 17 Richmond-area locations

(800) 782-7282

This story was published August 5, 2005, during an internship at Richmond.com.

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPARx) , a nationwide program designed to help patients without prescription coverage get the medications they need, launched its Virginia chapter Thursday morning. As a chapter of the national program, PPARx Virginia will provide a single point of access that will aid in providing nearly 2,500 prescription drugs to people in need. Jane Woods , Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources, said, “The sad news is that about a seventh of our population is uninsured, a tragedy… but one about which we can do something! Of that seventh, which is close to a million Virginians, we estimate that about 25 to 30 percent of those folks have to choose [between] food, paying for electricity to keep the air moving and buying meds. Here in America, that is simply not acceptable.”

Patients are eligible for PPARx aid based on their age or income. Some patients qualify for private programs that offer prescription medicines for free or nearly free. One of PPARx’s objectives is to bring together biopharmaceutical research companies, doctors and other healthcare providers, patient advocacy organization and community groups to help locate the right program for citizens in need. Dr. Daniel Jannuzzi , medical director for Cross Over Ministry , said, “By working together, we hope to build a more healthy community, to reduce health disparities and to alleviate the unnecessary suffering and premature death that the poor all too often suffer in our society.

“As you know, about 20 percent of Virginians aged 18 to 24 have no health insurance,” he continued. “The lack of health insurance means a lack of prescription drug coverage and this erects a major barrier to life-enhancing therapy to those in need. In Richmond alone we have perhaps 40,000 to 50,000 residents who are low income and without insurance who struggle every month to afford their medications.”

PPARx has worked to gain sponsorship and partner status with various programs. To date, their list of partners includes the American Lung Association , the American Cancer Society , the Virginia Center on Aging and the Fan Free Clinic , among others.

“The Partnership for Prescription Assistance of Virginia provides a single point of access – those are magical words to all of us – to more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by the pharmaceutical companies,” Woods said.

“Together, the assistance programs will offer access to nearly 2,500 brand-name medicines and a wide range of generic medications…We’re only as strong as those who are having the hardest time in every community in Virginia, so the stronger we are together – through partnerships – the better Virginians will be.” If you do not have prescription coverage and are having trouble affording your medications, call the Partnership for Prescription Assistance at (888) 477-2669 or visit www.pparx.org. You should be ready to provide your age, zip code, estimated gross annual household income, number of people living in your household and the brand name of any medications you are currently taking.