Q: What is this year’s Mother’s Day Index? Who releases it? Has it increased every year?
—Lance DeLoach, Thomaston
A: The Mother's Day Index, which places a monetary value on a mother's daily responsibilities, is $65,284 for 2015, according to Insure.com, which releases the annual index.
The figure increased 3.7 percent from the 2014 total of $62,985 and 9.1 percent from 2013, when the index was at $59,862.
Insure.com takes the jobs that a mother does every day – “nursing, chauffeuring, cooking, accounting, investigating” for example — and then compares them to the salaries of people in those jobs using the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Of this year’s total, $23,088 is for child care and $8,964 is for summer activity planner.
The 2013 total of $59,862 decreased from $60,182 in 2012, which was less than $61,436 in 2011.
Q: There’s been a heavy presence of MARTA police officers in Forest Park since bus service began last month. What type of jurisdiction do they have?
—Scott MacLean, Forest Park
A: MARTA police officers have the full authority to operate within its service area, which includes Atlanta and Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties.
MARTA officers can make traffic stops and “have the same training, certification, rights and powers as any Georgia law enforcement agency,” itsmarta.com states.
MARTA dedicated 13 police officers to Clayton County when bus service began in March and the number of officers will be increased when routes are added later this year.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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