Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006

Supreme Court to hear Ohio tax-incentive case; money helps rural areas

An appeal of a ruling that struck down some economic-development incentives in Ohio will go before the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow.

"Critics of tax incentives say states are needlessly sacrificing revenues to placate businesses that aren't really influenced by the offers. States and companies that have received tax breaks say the programs help generate jobs and keep companies operating in this country. The Supreme Court will hear arguments over two issues in the case -- whether the plaintiffs had the right to sue in federal court and whether such tax breaks violate portions of the U.S. Constitution that forbid erecting trade barriers between states," writes Robert Schoenberger of The Courier-Journal.

In its defense, Ohio claimed that although incentives offer preferential treatment for companies that build or expand in specific locations, they don't hurt companies that build or expand elsewhere. In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the state's lawyers wrote that the Constitution "prohibits barriers, not welcome mats," reports the Louisville newspaper. (Read more)

Incentives have been important in attracting jobs to rural areas. To help rural journalists cover this and other issues, the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues will present a workshop, “Covering and Guiding Rural Economic Development,” in Murray, Ky. on April 7. (Click here for details)

Governors worried about National Guard funding, prescriptions for seniors

All 50 governors signed a letter opposing what they view as cuts in National Guard funding in Bush's fiscal 2007 budget as well as fears that the government is slow to replace equipment in Iraq.

The Bush administration has since committed to funding the Guard at the fully authorized level, and to replacing and upgrading equipment sent to Iraq, writes Dan Balz, chief political writer for The Washington Post. That commitment received mixed reaction from governors who met with Bush on Monday. Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Republican co-chairman of a National Guard committee of the National Governors Association, said, "I appreciated the president saying he's committed to the full strength, but the money is not in there. They must find the money."

Under the administration's plan, there will be a cut in the number of National Guard units involved in heavy combat and an increase in units devoted to engineering and policing, Balz writes. Officials said such changes would reduce costs to reequip Guard units. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), the NGA vice chair, said, "It's something that governors are going to be paying very, very, very close attention to, to make sure that those oral representations are adhered to."

Governors have started speaking about more the National Guard since its units were heavily deployed in Iraq. A disproportionate number of National Guard enlistments come from rural areas. Those deployments have caused stateside unit numbers to shrink, which governors say hurts their ability to handle domestic problems, notes Balz. (Read more)

Senior drugs and rural druggists: During the meeting with Bush, several governors brought up concerns about the federal government's new prescription drug program for seniors that started in January. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly, began paying for prescriptions that previously had been paid by Medicaid, the state-federal program that services the poor and disabled.

"North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley (D) said he is concerned about the effect the new drug benefit will have on rural pharmacies, which might get reimbursed at a lower rate by the federal government than they did when states were paying part of low-income seniors' drug costs through Medicaid. Easley said he would like to see the federal government develop a tiered reimbursement system that takes into account the increased cost of delivering drugs in rural areas that often are still served by mom-and-pop operations rather than large chains," write Kathleen Hunter and Mark K. Matthews of Stateline.org. (Read more)

Maverick biologist banks on genetic material for new sources of ethanol

J. Craig Venter, the maverick biologist who mapped the human genome, returned from a three-year yacht trip with an idea about using genes from the sea to turn switch grass and cornstalks into ethanol.

Since forming Synthetic Genomics Inc., Venter has called upon Aristides Patrinos, who directed the U.S. Energy Department's biological and environmental research and was a force behind President Bush's mention of switch grass in the State of the Union address. Venter has an extensive collection of genetic material from his sea journey, which is the raw material for his alternative fuel project, reports Michael S. Rosenwald of The Washington Post.

"In the case of energy, the problems are well known. Oil prices have skyrocketed. There are national security concerns over relying so heavily on foreign oil sources. Energy companies are pursuing any number of alternatives, including increasing production of ethanol. The problem with current production methods is that they rely on using corn kernels, which are converted into sugar, fermented to produce alcohol and then distilled into ethanol. Meeting the country's energy needs using that method could eventually strain the food supply, particularly for animals that feed off corn," writes Rosenwald.

Ethanol can be produced by using plant matter such as switch grass, cornstalks or corn husks and breaking it down into cellulose using a combination of enzymes. There are no commercial-scale facilities available yet, but one in Spain could open this fall. "This will not happen tomorrow. Venter's scientists will need at least several years to sift through the millions of organisms he collected on his around-the-world yacht trip, which ended last month. The hope is that something in that menagerie will provide the key to more efficient energy," writes Rosenwald. (Read more)

Does logging after fires harm national forests? Oregon study says 'yes'

If fire ravages a national forest, the Bush administration supports loggers taking the marketable trees before the replanting of a healthy forest. One university's study poses some concerns about such logging.

An Oregon State University study says logging burned forests harms recovery. "What the short study did not say -- but what many critics of the Bush administration are reading into it -- is that the White House has ignored science to please the timber industry. The study is consistent with research findings from around the world that have documented how salvage logging can strip burned forests of the biological diversity that fire and natural recovery help protect," reports Blaine Harden of The Washington Post.

The study, "Post-Wildfire Logging Hinders Regeneration and Increases Fire Risk," focused on a section of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest damaged during a 2002 fire that damaged a half-million acres. It suggests that seedling regeneration was reduced by 71 percent because of post-fire logging, reports Paul Fattig of the Medford [Ore.] Mail Tribune. (Read more)

A bill pending in Congress would ease procedures for post-fire logging in federal forests, which is becoming more important to the bottom line of timber companies. "It generates about 40 percent of timber volume on the nation's public lands, according to Forest Service data compiled by the World Wildlife Fund, and accounts for nearly half the logging on public land in Oregon.," writes Harden. (Read more)

Tennessee stops non-citizen driver cards; many applicants bring little proof

Tennessee has suspended a program that allowed immigrants to legally drive, less than two years after it started as a possible model for other states.

The "driving certificate" program could eventually be done away with, because of the large number of undocumented immigrants applying and a staff of state workers who often questioned the legitimacy of identities, writes Trent Seibert of The Tennessean. Less than a month ago, federal agents revealed a bribery scheme where hundreds of people were illegally directed to a driving school, which then paid off safety workers for the "students" to obtain fraudulent cards. (Read more)

"Of the 51,000 people who signed up for the one-year certificates, 90 percent might not pass the newer, tougher standards that will be in place for the certificates starting March 6," writes Seibert. Prior to that, a blue-ribbon panel will study the concept and ways to improve it.

Vermont anti-meth bill would place cold medicines under lock and key

Law enforcement and public health officials in Vermont hope to prevent a methamphetamine epidemic by restricting access to cold medicines used in the manufacturing of the drug.

The state House is expected to vote this week on a bill that would require pharmacies and other retailers to restrict sales of several common cold medicines. There would be 24-hour and 30-day limits on the amounts of the specific ingredients that can be sold to individuals, reports Nancy Remsen of the Burlington Free Press. (Read more)

The Vermont bill is similar to laws passed in several states last year. In addition to the 24-hour and 30-day limits, Vermont's bill proposes having a log that customers would have to sign and requiring them to present identification. If signed into law, the new measures would take effect Sept. 1, notes Remsen.

West Virginia governor calls for rescue chambers in state's coal mines

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin is pushing for rescue chambers in all of his state's 315 underground mines with enough air, food and water for at least 24 hours.

The proposal would amend emergency rules previously filed as part of the state's new mine-safety law. Sixteen miners have died in West Virginia accidents this year. In Canada, airtight chambers helped 72 people survive a underground fire in a potash mine last month, but critics argue that such chambers might fail in coal mines, reports The Associated Press. Coal mines possess a long-lasting supply of fuel and there is the threat of secondary explosions.

Manchin's proposal would need approval from the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training, and all safety equipment must be OK'ed by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Manchin hopes to form a six-member Mine Safety Technology Task Force with labor and management representatives to examine whether his proposal is feasible, reports AP. (Read more)

The State Journal in Charleston has a comprehensive story on the state's coal deaths this year and the subsequent industry and government efforts to improve safety. (Read more)

Building bridges to Indiana would delay 80 road projects in Kentucky

A plan to build two bridges between Louisville and Indiana could delay 80 road projects in Kentucky, causing a rift between the state's largest urban area and its country cousins.

"The project would gobble up $789 million in federal highway dollars for Kentucky over the next six years in the new state highway construction plan recently proposed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher. That's up from $168 million for the bridges in the previous road plan released two years ago. It amounts to 10 percent of the $7.8 billion total spending within the plan on the state's 27,000-mile highway system," writes Tom Loftus of The Courier-Journal.

Since the bridges would be federally funded, that means taking away money planned for the 80 projects. Those projects would now be in competition for a limited amount of state funds, reports the Louisville newspaper. Lawmakers question why many projects in their districts are in doubt.

Kentucky Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert told lawmakers last week that the federal funds have to be spent to meet agreements with Indiana and the Federal Highway Administration that want the bridges finished by about 2020. However, many Kentucky counties were counting on the 80 road projects to improve safety and ease traffic congestion, notes Loftus. (Read more)

For examples of a local paper covering officials' efforts to get a local project moved up on the state schedule, click here and here for stories by Mike Wynn in The Winchester Sun.

Poynter starts new online ethics column; looks at reporting on MySpace.com

The Poynter Institute for Media Studies has started Everyday Ethics, a new online column by Ethics Group Leader Kelly McBride and her colleagues. "The column includes reports on ethical decision-making in newsrooms big and small, and will provide shorter, more frequently updated posts than we offered with Ethics Journal," says Poynter's Bill Mitchell.

McBride's first column is on the handling of stories about MySpace.com, the Web site for children that can become a magnet for sexual predators. She salutes our friend Steve Israel of the Times Herald-Record of Middletown, N.Y., for "a more thoughtful approach" than some others. Israel consulted with McBride before writing his story, "What you must know about MySpace.com." To read it, click here.

To read McBride's column, click here. You can sign up to receive an e-mail whenever the column is updating by clicking here.

George Washington media professor gets dean spot at UNC-Chapel Hill

Jean Folkerts, a media professor at George Washington University, will be the next dean of the University of North Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

UNC Chancellor James Moeser said Folkerts "has demonstrated a broad depth of knowledge about the rapidly changing field of journalism and mass communications," especially electronic media, reports The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.). On July 1, she will replace Interim Dean Tom Bowers, who took over last July when Richard Cole returned to the faculty after 26 years as dean.

Folkerts joined George Washington's Media and Public Affairs program in 1990. She previously worked as a general assignment reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal; editor of Perspective, a magazine published by The Menninger Foundation, a psychiatric research and hospital institute; and assistant press secretary to the governor of Kansas, notes The Herald-Sun. (Read more)

Newspapers, communities to honor open government with Sunshine Week

From March 12 through 18, newspapers and their communities will celebrate Sunshine Week, which is dedicated to observing the public's right of access to government information.

National Newspaper Association President Jerry Reppert, a member of the national steering committee leading the Sunshine events, said open government is more important in 2006 than ever. "The public is expressing more concern about open government than in recent years," Reppert said. "Perhaps the shock of 9/11 has worn off a little and we are back to the hard business of remembering that in a democratic society, the public still needs to hold the reins, even if we have to be more careful in how we manage some types of information," reports Tonda Rush, NNA public policy director. (Read more)

During Sunshine Week, daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, online sites and broadcasters will provide an assortment of stories on the importance of open government. More information is available at the NNA Web site and the Sunshine Week Web site.

Monday, Feb. 27, 2006

Rising economy and land values signal a brighter 2006 for rural America

The Center for the Study of Rural America's annual report predicts a good year for small communities.

"A slowing national housing market may take some of the wind from the sails of the rural land boom, but most analysts expect land values to keep rising, though perhaps at a slower pace. A quick glance at the economy, therefore, suggests another good year for rural America in 2006. Still, there are some significant clouds on the horizon that bear watching," according to the center.

The report highlights some trends worth watching this year including: energy prices that may lead to opportunities for alternative fuel industries in rural areas; a budget climate that makes partnering and regional approaches important; and sprawl, which is an issue for rural and urban areas.

The 16-page report also highlights several innovative approaches being taken in the rural business world. One innovation included the City of Columbia, Mo., and nearby rural communities partnering up for the Mid-Missouri Technology Business Incubator. (Read more)

Rural broadband gap narrowing, but many areas still left out, Pew says

Rural Americans are still much less likely to have high-speed Internet connections than people living in other parts of the country, but the gap is narrowing, reports the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

At the end of 2005, 24 percent of adults in rural areas had high-speed connections, compared to 39 percent in urban and suburban areas. "In 2003, only 9 percent of rural residents had home broadband service. Their city counterparts were more than twice as likely to have service - 21 percent for urban dwellers and 23 percent for suburban dwellers," notes the Dallas Morning News.

But, because broadband providers are reluctant to extend the service to sparsely populated areas, and some state legislatures have prohibited local governments from offering the service, "High-speed Internet service is still just a dream for many Americans who live in rural areas and find themselves beyond the reach of DSL or cable broadband lines," Terry Maxon writes.

"Rural homes often are too far from telephone company offices to get DSL service, and usually aren’t served by cable companies. That leaves them with few options for high-speed service. One possibility is for Internet service from satellite providers, but at a substantial cost. Electric utilities have investigated 'broadband over power line' (BPL) service that would provide Internet service delivered through electrical outlets. But its use has been hampered by technological issues, particularly BPL’s potential interference with radio signals by amateur radio operators and others. Wireless companies have begun offering Internet service in some rural communities, but its spread is still limited.

The speed of a DSL line falls steadily as it goes out from a switching office [so] a lot of rural homes must rely on dial-up service, which is significantly slower than broadband service. . . . The higher percentage with dial-up service -- 29 percent for rural Americans as opposed to 21 percent for others -- means that a rural resident is less likely to use the Internet as intensely than his city counterparts." (Read more)

“Rural broadband users are no different than home high-speed users elsewhere; they go online more often and do more online activities than dial-up users,” John B. Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet Project and principal author of the report, said in a release. All-speed Internet use is at 62 percent in rural areas and 70 percent elsewhere. "This 8 percentage point gap is about half the rural-non-rural gap at the end of 2003," Pew says.

There are differences in how the Internet is used. "Rural Internet users are more likely to take classes for credit online, download screensavers, and download video games," Pew says. (Read the release)

Coal executive's memo makes miners wonder if production trumps safety

The president of America's fourth largest coal company, and the largest in Central Appalachia, told mine superintendents recently that they should ignore any orders from middle managers "to do anything other than run coal . . . We seem not to understand that the coal pays the bills.”

The memo from Massey Energy Co. CEO and President Don Blankenship, leaked to the Appalachian News-Express of Pikeville, Ky., "is creating a stir in the coal mining community," writes Rachel Stanley, a reporter for the the thrice-weekly newspaper. "Some miners say they believe the memo illustrates a common complaint - that the industry focuses too much on profit."

The memo, dated Oct. 19, told underground mine superintendents,“If any of you have been asked by your group presidents, your supervisors, engineers or anyone else to do anything other than run coal (i.e. - build overcasts, do construction jobs, or whatever) you need to ignore them and run coal." Overcasts ensure proper air flow, so retired miner Irvin Smith of McCarr told Stanley that line bothered him. “Safety should come first, before the first lump of coal,” he said. “Anybody that's worked underground knows that you have overcasts built to have the proper air. That's a very serious safety issue.”

"Company officials say they addressed the miners' concerns with a follow-up memo, sent a week later," Stanley reports. "The second memo was also sent from Don Blankenship and addressed to all deep mine superintendents, and begins with a statement that safety is the company's first responsibility." The memo says, "If you have construction jobs at your mine that need to be done to keep it safe or productive, make every effort to do those jobs without taking members and equipment from the coal producing sections that pay the bills.” (Read more)

Stanley notes, "It is the second time this month that a Massey document has gotten a negative response from coal miners. In early February, a document distributed to the state Mining Board by Sidney Coal Co. President Charlie Bearse was made public. Sidney is a subsidiary of publicly traded Massey. Coal miners were outraged by the text of the document, a portion of which stated, 'It is common knowledge that the work ethic of the Eastern Kentucky worker has declined from where it once was. Attitudes have changed among the existing work force, which effects attendance, drug use, and ultimately, productivity.'”

Coalfield publisher calls for dialogue between coal firms, news media

Appalachian News-Express Publisher Marty Backus wrote in an editorial that Massey Energy's Don Blankenship and other coal executives in the region need to be more open with reporters, and Backus suggested a roundtable discussion among journalists in the region and those who operate its coal mines.

"Until the coal industry and the news media find some way of communicating, it's always going to be the media beating up on the companies," Backus writes. "First off, the reporter who is gathering the news generally doesn't know the first thing about the coal industry and they take any bit of information they can dig up from anywhere. It's usually not from a coal-company official, because they have no trust in the media, which means they keep themselves away from providing facts -- on any subject, whether it be good or bad for the coal industry.

"It's a shame both sides can't get together and air their grievances and come to some understanding. Maybe the media can learn more about what a coal operation is and not be so critical in their reporting. There's two sides to every story, which I think reporters often miss in getting the company's side. However, you can't get the facts when the information door is always closed." The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues is inviting coal industry leaders in the region to a roundtable with news outlets.

"For example, it's practically impossible for the local coal-region news media to get an audience with the coal bosses, such as Don L. Blankenship, the chief executive of Massey. But let the Wall Street Journal from New York City come along and they appear to get anything they want, such as a front page story in their Feb. 13 issue. As I've written before, The Appalachian News-Express is not an enemy of the coal companies. All we want is a dialog with them, and it appears that's not in the cards." (Read more)

The Wall Street Journal story on Feb. 13 was not a puff piece. It detailed Blankenship's huge and controversial spending on political campaigns and referenda, and noted, "In 2001, a report commissioned by then-Gov. Bob Wise said the company's accident record 'would be among the highest' if contract workers were included. . . . In recent weeks, four workers have died at Massey-owned mines in West Virginia, two of them in a fire on Jan. 21. . . . Rep. Lidella Hrutkay, a Democrat from the county where the accident occurred, criticized Mr. Blankenship on the floor of the House, saying he should have poured millions of dollars into improving safety at Massey's mines instead of into state politics." (Read more)

Pittsburgh paper looks at West Virginia foes of mountaintop-removal mining

"In a state that has bred some of the country's most storied citizen battles against the powers that be, mountaintop mining has matured as a galvanizing issue in West Virginia," reports Diana Nelson Jones of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In 2004, only 70 of West Virginia's 544 coal mines involved removal of mountaintops, but those mines accounted for 26 percent of coal production in the Mountain State that year, according to the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

"Our wells, our land, our homes, our culture, our very lives are being threatened. Will it take a tragedy for us to be heard?" asks Maria Gunnoe, who tells Jones that her yard has been washed away by water from a nearby mountaintop-removal mine.

Nelson relates such concerns to more recent news about safety in underground mines: "The dangers of mountaintop removal usually do not present horrifying dramas featuring a rescue team, a ticking clock and a countable number of lives at stake. And you can't even see most of West Virginia's topless mountains unless you board a plane or drive to the top of a peak with a view. But according to Vivian Stockman, an organizer for the Ohio Valley Environmental Council, who claims that 'Over the last several years, at least 12 people have died in floods exacerbated by mountaintop removal.'"

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, told Jones that mountaintop removal is "a responsible method of mining, recognized in state and federal surface mining acts. It is a methodical, well engineered, sophisticated method and it does its best to protect the environment. ... There's not a drop of water that doesn't go through treatment." Raney said there may be "a reduction in elevation," but, Jones paraphrases, "coal gets extracted and West Virginia gets valuable pieces of flat real estate." (Read more)

Eastern Iowa faces an unlikely outbreak of heroin use; meth replacement?

"The case of a 13-year-old runaway from Minneapolis who was kidnapped and brought to eastern Iowa has led to investigations of child prostitution and heroin trafficking, rare crimes in rural America," reports Erin Jordan of The Des Moines Register.

Jordan writes the probe is "a window into a drug ring connected to a rash of heroin deaths and overdoses in eastern Iowa, law enforcement officers said. . . . When the drug was first popular in the 1970s, it was less than 10 percent pure. The purity of heroin found recently in eastern Iowa has been as great as 80 percent, said Rick LaMere, a federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent in Cedar Rapids."

The purer product "can be snorted instead of injected," avoiding "the risk and stigma of needles," Jordan reports. Now law-enforcement officers are wondering if new laws to suppress methamphetamine use and production have created a niche for heroin. (Read more)

Illinois Farm Bureau restarts 'Crime Stoppers in the country;' meth a factor

At least 36 counties in Illinois are participating in "a new program designed to encourage people to report crimes committed against farmland and other agriculture-related property in rural areas," reports Karen Walters of The Pantagraph in Bloomington and Normal, Ill.

"It's Crime Stoppers in the country," Walters writes. "A $1,000 reward will be paid to an informant who provides a tip leading to a felony conviction. Farmers can post signs on their property saying they support the program. Livingston County Sheriff Bob McCarty said farmers need to make sure machinery and other equipment, like anhydrous ammonia tanks, are secure." Anhydrous ammonia is used to make methamphetamine, still a scourge in many rural areas.

"The program mimics one the organization operated in the 1970s that lasted about 10 years. Members paid 10 cents per year and displayed [an Illinois Farm Bureau] decal saying their farm was under watch," Walters reports. "Farmers are encouraged to be proactive in preventing crimes by locking and shutting items, as well as providing good lighting." (Read more)

Wal-Mart, fast-food chains top list of Ohio firms with workers on Medicaid

"Wal-Mart and McDonald's top a new state list of Ohio employers who send the most people to the Medicaid, food stamp and welfare rolls," according to a state study, reports The Plain Dealer.

"The much-anticipated Ohio Department of Job and Family Services review was ordered amid pressure from legislators, advocates and the press, questioning why Medicaid spending is eating up an ever-increasing share of the state budget," reports Julie Carr Smyth for the Cleveland newspaper. The study "did not distinguish between full-time and part-time employees." (Read more)

After Wal-Mart and McDonald's, the Ohio employers with the most workers and relatives on Medicaid were Yum! Brands, parent of KFC, Taco Bell, A&W, Pizza Hut and Long John Silver's; and Wendy's and Bob Evans, two restaurant chains that started in Ohio. "The list includes many retailers, restaurants and health-care companies, including the Cleveland Clinic," reports Catherine Candisky of The Columbus Dispatch. (Read more)

Yesterday, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott told the National Governors Association that legislation requiring the company to spend more on health benefits "may score short-term political points, but they won't solve America's health care challenges." He said the company's "health plans were 'not perfect' but that the company was committed to improving the health care system by expanding its benefits and by opening low-cost medical clinics for workers and the public in its stores," reports Michael Barbaro of The New York Times. (Read more) To read Scott's full speech, click here. For a broader look at the governors' meeting, from Daniel C. Vock of Stateline.org, click here.

Religious older women stay more active than male counterparts, says study

A new study suggests that older women who are religious are more likely to stay active.

Older women who attend religious services are more prone to being physical active, according to the study from researcher R. Frank Gillum, M.D., a physician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The association between physical activity and devotion did not show up for older religious men or religious younger adults, reports Newswise, a news and public relations service for higher-education and research firms.

The study analyzed data for 11,820 people from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It is the first national examination of the link between religiousness and physical activity, Gillum said. The analysis did not explore why older religious women are more active, but social scientists know that women age 60 and older are the nation's most religious group, notes Newswise.

In Gillum’s study, people who reported that they attended services at least one a week were grouped together as one measure of religiousness. (Read more)

Rural Californians want addresses to remain a factor in insurance rates

"Urban and rural interests clashed Friday at a hearing on proposed state regulations that would bar insurers from using ZIP codes to determine auto insurance rates," reports the San Jose Mercury News.

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi says a previous commissioner, by allowing addresses to be used in determining rates, violated a law voters passed in 1988. The law requires that driving record, experience and miles traveled be the main factors.

"At a hearing Garamendi held Friday in San Francisco, elected officials from rural counties argued that the proposed rules would subsidize urban drivers at the expense of their constituents," writes Matthai Chakko Kuruvila. "Insurance industry officials believe that ZIP codes more accurately determine a person's risk of filing a claim than driving ability and other factors. Urban areas have higher concentrations of people, car thefts and vandalism and thus more insurance claims, said Bob Downer, the former chief actuary for Farmers Insurance. He also said urban residents are more likely to sue if they're injured in an accident, raising costs for insurers. But groups representing Latinos, African-Americans and urban senior citizens argued that ZIP code-based insurance rates discriminated against them." (Read more)

Bird flu found in France; China warns of possible 'massive outbreak'

China's agriculture minister is warning of a possible "massive bird-flu outbreak" as the country announced two new human cases of the H5N1 flu strain, raising to 14 the number of human-infections reports since October, reports The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, "The European Union's first outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in commercial poultry was confirmed Saturday in France, the EU's largest poultry producer. But President Jacques Chirac sought to ease fears by insisting that eating poultry is safe and that panic is unjustified," AP reports. "Japan and Hong Kong temporarily suspended imports of French poultry." (Read more)

Birmingham News prints unseen civil rights photos unearthed by intern

Hundreds of photos from the civil rights era were lost, sold, stolen or stored in archives at The Birmingham News. Some of those pictures appeared Sunday for the first time in the newspaper in a section titled "Unseen. Unforgotten."

"The section is the result of research by Alexander Cohn, a 30-year-old former photo intern at The News. In November 2004, Cohn went through an equipment closet at the newspaper in search of a lens and saw a cardboard box full of negatives marked, 'Keep. Do Not Sell,'" writes Barnett Wright of The Birmingham News (Read more). Dozens of the pictures are available on this Web site.

Some of the images will be on display starting March 13 at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. To read The Associated Press story, click here.

Lee Enterprises Inc. names Joyce Dehli vice president for news

Joyce Dehli, director of editorial development at Lee Enterprises Inc., has been promoted to vice president for news. Dehli, 47, has run the company's journalism training programs since last April. Previously, she was editorial training manager, and before that, managing editor of the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, where she had held several reporting and editing jobs. Earlier in her career, she worked at The Courier-Journal and the old Louisville Times.

Dehli succeeds David Stoeffler, who took a leave of absence from the company several months ago. Lee, based in Davenport, Iowa, owns 52 daily newspapers and more than 100 weeklies, and has a joint interest in six other dailies. It has more than 300 weeklies, shoppers and classified and specialty publications.

Rural Calendar

Mar. 1: Signup deadline for National Farm to School Training in New Orleans

The National Farm to School Program, a collaboration of the Center for Food & Justice, a division of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, and the Community Food Security Coalition, is offering the National Farm to School Training for farm to school practitioners of all levels who would like to establish new programs or improve existing programs with new tools and strategies. Training is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 13 at the Garden District Hotel in New Orleans. Registration deadline is March 1. For information call 323-341-5095, or e-mail ajoshi@oxy.edu.

March 2-3: Navigating the Global American South, UNC-Chapel Hill

The University Center for International Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the university's Center for the Study of the American South and support from Quintiles Transnational Corp., invites you to explore the economic, political and social impact of globalization in the American South. For more information, please check www.ucis.unc.edu/globalsouth/conference06. For the schedule, click here. For registration, click here. You can contact the University Center for International Studies at globalsouth@unc.edu.

March 3-4: Training for solar water heater installers in Louisville

The Kentucky Solar Partnership and University of Louisville Energy Center are sponsoring a two-day workshop March 3-4, 2006 in Louisville to train installers of solar water heaters. The course is geared to plumbing and heating contractors and other interested persons. For more information and to register contact solar@kysolar.org.

March 8: Panel, film on how to help rural families avoid 'the money trap'

Many rural families work hard but struggle to meet day-to-day expenses or to build a cash cushion for unexpected financial blows. Money traps such as payday loans, high-interest car loans, tax-refund anticipation loans, and other predatory financial practices make their struggle to pull even or move ahead more difficult. This briefing will provide new research and tools to address money traps and other obstacles to building family financial stability and success. Current policy initiatives and innovative approaches to address these issues will be discussed.

Ralph Smith, senior vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, will speak on "Leveling the Field for Rural Working Families: A Commonsense Consensus." His comments will be followed by a premiere of the 25-minute documentary Avoiding the Money Trap and a panel discussion among nationally-renowned experts, including Cynthia M. "Mil" Duncan of the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire and Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America.

The event will be held Wednesday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to noon in Room 233-235 of the Hall of the States at 444 North Capitol Street NW in Washington. Reservations are required. RSVP to Helina at 301-656-0348 or helina@thehatchergroup.com.

Friday, Feb. 24, 2006

Small high schools often unfairly criticized about costs and academics

"A new study . . . skewers the common assumption that large high schools cost less to build than small schools. In fact, the study found that smaller high schools, on average, cost about the same per student to build as larger high schools and they cost less per square foot than larger high schools. The findings hold true across rural and suburban areas," reports Rural Policy Matters.

"As research evidence supporting small schools has accumulated -- confirming better academic and social outcomes for students and equivalent operating costs when compared to larger schools-prevailing wisdom has continued to assert that economies of scale are achieved in larger construction projects. As a result, many state policies push large new schools on economic justifications. The study found that smaller schools cost the same per student and less per square foot to build than larger schools." (Read more)

The study was done by education researcher Craig Howley. Click here to read it.

The latest edition of Rural Policy Matters also has a story titled, "What's the Beef with Small High Schools in Iowa?" Despite small high schools in Iowa being criticized for failing to provide adequate course offerings and educational programs, this article reports that smaller districts actually provide more computers per pupil, and offer smaller class sizes than do larger districts. (Read more)

Rural schools undergo demographic change with jumps in diversity

Rural America has been diverse for centuries, but that mix is increasing dramatically in some states.

The Rural Trust analyzed data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Census Bureau to investigate demographic changes in rural communities. The NCES tracks students in five NCES-designated racial/ethnic categories-American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and White Non-Hispanic.

In 1993-94, enrollment in rural schools nationally was 2.57% American Indian/Alaskan Native; .37% Asian/Pacific Islander; 8.30% Black Non-Hispanic; 3.16% Hispanic; and 84.55% White Non-Hispanic. By 2002-03, those percentages had shifted to 2.97% American Indian/Alaskan Native; .55% Asian/Pacific Islander; 7.92% Black Non-Hispanic; 4.98% Hispanic; and 80.94% White Non-Hispanic.

The ten states that experienced the most growth in the numbers of Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native students in rural schools are North Carolina (10,955 more students in rural schools), Oklahoma (+10,919), Texas (+10,145), California (+7,963), Kansas (+4,092), Florida (+3,604), Colorado (+3,352), Washington (+3,223), Wisconsin (+2,505), Missouri (+2,501), and Minnesota (+2,450). (Read more)

Senators back bills to open unused TV channels for wireless broadband

New legislation in the U.S. Senate would direct the Federal Communications Commission to open unused television channels in each local market for unlicensed wireless broadband access.

"These tremendously valuable — and presently dormant — TV band frequencies represent the much-needed rocket fuel that rural and other under-served areas need for affordable broadband deployment. Vacant TV channels are perfectly suited for WiFi and other unlicensed wireless Internet technologies. . . . Access to TV spectrum will allow commercial ISPs, municipalities and non-profit community efforts to deploy wide-area wireless broadband networks quickly and at a low cost," reports Spectrumpolicy.org.

In 2004, the FCC began rulemaking procedures to accomplish this task, but progress stalled with the departure of Chairman Michael Powell. (Read more)

"Both new bills would instruct the FCC to move more quickly on concluding those rulemaking procedures," writes Anne Broache of News.com. "The agency would have to come up with technical rules and guidelines for those operating on the unlicensed spectrum, with an eye toward preventing 'harmful interference' from the new devices." (Read more)

Minnesota governor pledges to provide everyone with broadband access

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday he'll support a plan to make his state a world leader in high-speed Internet access, reports John Reinan of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

"The United States trails many Asian and European nations in the speed and price of its high-speed broadband connections, with countries such as Japan and South Korea offering Internet connections as much as 100 times faster than those available here. In some rural Minnesota communities, consumers and businesses have access only to slow dial-up connections," writes Reinan.

Pawlenty supports a plan developed by a group of state leaders led by the Blandin Foundation, which focuses on Minnesota. It aims to develop Japanese-style broadband service throughout the state, and to make it available to every resident, business and institution at affordable rates, notes Reinan. (Read more)

Wal-Mart plans to expand health insurance, but offers few specifics

Wal-Mart Stores, a big employer in rural America, says it will soon allow part-time employees to enroll their children in a health insurance plan and cut the waiting time for new part-time employee to be eligible for benefits. The company declined to say how the waiting period will be cut.

Currently, only full-time workers can have health coverage for children, and part-timers must wait two years before enrolling, while full-timers must wait only six months. Wal-Mart's workers average less than $20,000 in pay per year, and they will still pay monthly premiums and big deductibles, writes Michael Barbaro of The New York Times.

Wal-Mart insures fewer than half of its 1.3 million U.S. employees, and critics say its policies place the burden of providing health care on state governments. The Maryland Legislature has passed a law that would force Wal-Mart to expand its benefits, and a dozen other states, including California, Colorado and Rhode Island, are considering similar measures.

Wal-Mart says 75 percent of its workers have health insurance, either through the company, a spouse or a previous job. "Wal-Mart has never said how many of its employees' children rely on company insurance, but an internal memo written by M. Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart's executive vice president for benefits, disclosed that 46 percent of them were uninsured or on Medicaid," writes Barbaro. (Read more)

Virginia and Maryland hew to heritage, reject indoor smoking bans

Virginia, where the tobacco industry began in 1619, and Maryland, another state with a tobacco heritage, have rejected legislation against indoor smoking.

"Flirtations with smoking bans in Virginia and Maryland came to abrupt ends yesterday, as legislative panels in each state rejected bills that would have made restaurants and virtually all other public places smoke-free," write Rosalind S. Helderman and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post.

Eleven other states have approved smoking bans, backed by evidence about the health risks of breathing secondhand smoke, report Helderman and Marimow. (Read more) Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights says there are more than 11. To see its list, click here.

In Virginia, a House subcommittee unanimously rejected a bill that already had Senate approval. "The House instituted rule changes this year that allow subcommittees to kill legislation before it reaches a full committee," raising questions, report Mason Adams and Michael Sluss of the The Roanoke Times. Senate Floor Leader Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg, told them he respected the "sovereignty of the House to adopt rules," but "I do think that a bill that has come out of the Senate with a significant vote, and a bill that is a significant policy decision where reasonable people can differ, probably should be afforded an opportunity before the full committee." (Read more)

Rural North Carolina needs $1 billion to improve water, sewer systems

North Carolina's legislature should consider a $1 billion bond referendum to help the state's poorest regions upgrade aging water and sewer systems, a state policy center suggested Thursday.

"The money will help the state catch up on an estimated $6.85 billion in projected statewide repairs and improvements needed over the next five years, officials of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center said. Voters would have to approve the bonds in a statewide election that could come as early as November," reports Gary D. Robertson of The Associated Press. (Read more)

The center recommended creating a permanent revenue source to pay for water, sewer and stormwater runoff system needs. Rural areas have a hard time securing repair funds, and poor systems make it difficult to attract industry, notes AP. "This state is growing and all of our infrastructure was put in by FDR," said Sen. John Kerr, D-Wayne, referring to Depression-era projects. "These pipes are older than we are."

Hunting game: New Hampshire lawmakers set sights on elk, deer

New Hampshire's House passed a bill Wednesday "that would allow hunters or other game meat buyers to go onto a farm where red deer or elk are raised and choose their animal. They could then shoot it and take the carcass home for meat," writes Jason Schreiber of The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.

Supporters say the measure would support an alternative form of livestock farming since the cost to take animals to federally approved slaughterhouses is high. Also, farmers who raise red deer and elk are no longer allowed to ship animals to other states because of worries over contagious chronic wasting disease that kills deer, notes Schreiber.

The bill, which goes to the Senate next, has been opposed by hunting advocates and the state Fish and Game Department. Opponents call it an unfair form of hunting, and they say it only props up a business that might be failing, reports Schreiber. (Read more)

Northern Kentucky's Sunday-only 'voice' shuts down after 20 months

A Sunday-only newspaper called "A Voice for Northern Kentucky" has spoken for the last time.

The co-owner and the publisher of The Sunday Challenger announced last weekend that the paper for Cincinnati's Kentucky suburbs had printed its last edition. Co-owner Bill Butler, who launched the Sunday Challenger in July 2004, blamed the closing on increased efforts by the Cincinnati Enquirer and that paper's parent, Gannett Co., acquiring the Community Recorder weeklies in northern Kentucky, reports Mark Fitzgerald of Editor & Publisher.

The Sunday Challenger home-delivered 60,000 copies with another 5,000 copies distributed in racks and store drops, according to a report in The Cincinnati Post. President and Publisher Donald J. Then called the closure "a matter of pure economics," reports Fitzgerald.

Butler said he hoped the Gannett papers keep up their improved coverage, saying, "From where I sit, it's truly important that you don't short-change the public's right to know with wire-service tripe to squeeze every dollar you can for corporate profit." (Read more)

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006

'Covering and Guiding Rural Economic Development' seminar April 7

Many local news outlets have played a role in bringing jobs to their communities, both with stories and editorials and with civic leadership. Today, they and their communities face new challenges. For example, globalization has made it more difficult for American communities to attract and retain jobs, and many rural communities face technological obstacles in keeping up with the rest of the country and the world.

To help rural journalists cover these issues and provide responsible civic leadership, the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues will present a workshop, “Covering and Guiding Rural Economic Development,” in Murray, Ky. on April 7. The conference at Murray State University will be held in conjunction with the spring meeting of the West Kentucky Press Association; the fee, which includes lunch, will be $25 for WKPA members and $50 for non-members.

Confirmed speakers include Hilda Legg, who recently headed the federal Rural Utilities Service and is keen on the issue of getting high-speed Internet to rural areas; Brian Mefford of ConnectKentucky, a business-government alliance that promotes technology development; Mickey Johnson, district director of Murray State's Small Business Development Center, which encourages entrepreneurship; Paul Monsour, former Union County Advocate editor, who now heads the county economic development foundation; Justin Maxson of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, which encourages local entrepreneurship and questions the effectiveness of state economic-development incentives; Keith Rogers, executive director of the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy, which oversees Kentucky's spending of tobacco-settlement money for agriculture; and Laura Skillman, an award-winning journalist who heads news services for the agricultural-communicatins unit at the University of Kentucky.

Invited speakers include Ron Hustedde of the UK Cooperative Extension Service, who runs an Entrepreneurial Coaches Institute to develop and encourage entrepreneurs to create jobs in rural areas; Kathy B. White of Rural Sourcing of Jonesboro, Ark., and Durham, N.C.; and state Sen. Dorsey Ridley, a Henderson banker.

Sessions are planned on access to broadband and other technology, entreprenurship, local and state incentives to recruit and retain jobs, the evolution of rural economies from farming to manufacturing to services, new ways to make money in agriculture, the investment of the tobacco settlement, how to manage conflicts in journalistic and civic roles, and ways communities can cooperate to attract jobs.

Detailed registration information will be issued soon, but you may pre-register by clicking here.

Republican senator joins fight against plan to sell pieces of national forests

Opposition is growing to the Bush administration's proposal to sell public lands and use the revenue to fund rural schools and roads, with one Republican senator breaking ranks and joining Democrats in the fight.

Now, "U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., says the proposal to sell federal lands to pay for reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act is 'dead in the water,'" writes Perry Backus of The Missoulian. Although he is now joining Democrats, Burns co-sponsored the original Secure Rural Schools Act legislation in 2000 and does not want to use public land to reauthorize that. (Read more)

Burns' staff recently met with representatives of the Montana Wilderness Association, National Wildlife Federation and county governments. Burns said he was no longer interested in supporting the Bush administration's proposal. Burns chairs the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.

For The Rural Blog's initial report on this issue, which has received much coverage in the last two weeks, click here.

Research finds newspaper readership, including on-line accessing, growing

If you count on-line readers, a study shows, newspapers are a growing source of information.

"Even in the newspaper industry, no problem is ever quite black and white. Despite a tsunami of competition from radio, TV, cable, the Internet and now podcasting, more than half of American adults read a daily newspaper," writes Brian Deagon of Investor's Business Daily. The figure jumps to 75 percent when counting those who read a paper once or twice a week, usually for special sections, Scarborough Research found.

Gary Meo, a vice president at Scarborough, told Deagon, "The state of the newspaper business is not as dramatic as stories report. Declines in newspaper circulation have been slow and steady, but it is not catastrophic." Meo added that when print and online audiences are combined, newspaper readership is growing. Meo said, "The newspaper business has recognized their future is digital."

The research showed that no major newspaper companies reported "near-death'" earnings last month. All were in the black and analysts were more concerned about new products, writes Deagon. (Read more)

Judging contest recharges editor's batteries, and one entry gives him a buzz

Ed Jones, editor of The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va., writes that judging entries in the American Society of Newspaper Editors contest last week recharged his batteries.

"My judging stint gave me a booster shot of new admiration for journalists across the nation," Jones writes. "All I are a couple of steps back from the day-to- day hurly-burly of putting out a newspaper to rediscover why I love journalism so much. At its best, journalism is a breathtaking force for good."

Jones recounts the good work of mostly large papers, but concludes, "The most eye-catching entry came from Mike Trimble, the opinion editor of the Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle, who's not in the habit of mincing his words. Reacting to Gov. Rick Perry's suggestion that homosexual war veterans from Iraq should move to some 'more lenient' state, Trimble reasoned: 'We do not want our governor to be a bigot. We fervently hope he just said something stupid again. We can live with stupid.'" To read Jones's column, click here. To read Trimble's editorial, click here.

UPDATE: Trimble won the ASNE award for distinguished editorial writing.

Paper in heart of Appalachian coalfield tackles coal-mining issues

Small newspapers in Central Appalachia do relatively little reporting on environmental issues, unless there is a disaster, but the Williamson Daily News is breaking out of that mold. It recently published a three-part series on the coal industry and its labor issues, a reporter's column criticizing the area's main coal company for its attitude toward news coverage, and a two-part series on coal-waste impoundments like the one that burst in 2000, creating the largest environmental disaster in the Southeast.

"Billions of gallons of coal slurry and water sits behind earthen dams throughout southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. What would happen if one of these facilities were to break above a populated community?" asks reporter Kyle Lovern, who attended the "Covering Coal" seminar held by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues in November.

"The Mountain State has over 130 coal slurry impoundments, many in the southern counties. In neighboring Kentucky, several impoundments are located in both Pike and Martin counties," Lovern reports for the 8,760-circulation daily, which also covers parts of Kentucky. "The www.coalimpoundment.com Web site has information on all of the slurry dams throughout the region. It is complete with contact information for the coal companies, emergency services and evacuation routes."

To read Lovern's work, click here.

Illinois farm group opposes mining method known to make land subside

Farmers in one Illinois county have formed a coalition of landowners to oppose plans for "longwall" coal mining, fearing the practice will cause their land to subside.

"The Longwall Mining Action Project is not against mining in the area, according to representatives of Montgomery County's farm bureau and soil and water conservation district. But the group hopes to avoid possible surface subsidence caused by the longwall method," writes Daniel Pike of the Springfield State Journal Register.

Longwall mining is a more advanced method that increases the chances of subsidence beyond that of the original "room-and-pillar" approach, in which corridors are mined through a seam and the unmined area creates pillars that support the mine roof and other rock strata above.

Farm Bureau manager Bob Lentz told Pike, "Our concern is, how can it be exactly like it was before it was pre-mine when it's already going to be subsided four to five feet?" The Montgomery County Board agreed in 2004 to sell 120,000 acres of coal reserves to Colt LLC of West Virginia, a deal that could mean about $7.2 million and 600 jobs for the county.

Colt vice president Jim Morris told Pike that if enough farmers oppose longwall mining, the company would have to employ the room-and-pillar method. (Read more)

Court nixes judge's ruling barring report of testimony on his misconduct

The Supreme Court of Arkansas struck down yesterday a judge's restraining order prohibiting the Helena Daily World "from reporting testimony made in open court about the judge's alleged misconduct," reports the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

More than a year ago, on Jan. 6, 2005, Phillips County Circuit Judge L.T. Simes II ordered the parties, attorneys, the newspaper and anyone at the open hearing not to relay "in any fashion whatsoever . . . any information heard or received at the said hearing," a seven-judge panel noted.

"Although we are sensitive to the concerns raised by the respondent, we find that, in this particular case, they are insufficient to counterbalance the public interest in the knowledge of what has transpired at judicial proceedings that are open to the public," wrote Justice Betty C. Dickey wrote for the court.

"Simes' order came during a hearing in a highly publicized case between West Helena Mayor Johnny Weaver and the city council over Weaver's attempt to oust the city's police chief," says the Reporters Committee. "In the hearing, Weaver requested to have Judge Simes recused from the case. He alleged that Simes had improperly started conversations with him about the case without the opposing party present in which the judge asked the mayor to deal leniently with the police chief, and had an interest in a radio station that broadcast council meetings." (Read more)

TVA sets date for Chattanooga-area land sale with one qualified bidder

The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to auction 578 acres on the shores of Nickajack Lake near
Chattanooga Tuesday for one of the largest private developments along the Tennessee River.

TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci told reporters, "Chattanooga developer John 'Thunder' Thornton's Nickajack Shores LLC development group is the only qualified bidder," reports The Associated Press. For the original Chattanooga Times Free Press story, click here ($1.95 cost).

Martocci also told reporters, "We responded to nine requests for information (from other possible
bidders) and of the nine, only one group submitted a bid package to TVA." She would not identify the potential bidder but did say said it failed to meet requirements.

AP reports the minimum bid is $7.2 million which includes fair market value for the land, mitigation fees and administrative costs associated with the auction. The buyer must offer about 1,100 acres of exchange land that "supports diverse recreational opportunities, habitat and historic resources." (Read more)

Alaska governor paves way for gas pipeline, may overhaul oil taxes

In a rural state full of pristine vistas, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski has announced a deal that could clear the way for a natural gas pipeline and has introduced legislation to change how oil companies are taxed.

"The Murkowski administration has been working for the better part of two years on a deal that would clear the way for construction of a natural gas pipeline. Today, the governor announced that BP and ExxonMobil agreed in principle to a gas pipeline contract. ConocoPhillips agreed to the contract
terms several months ago," reports KTUU-TV of Anchorage.

The administration's plan would replace the present system that taxes oil production in favor of a tax on profits. The change could mean an extra $1 billion a year for the state. Murkowski said, “We want to enable and encourage smaller producers and that’s what we’ve done,” reports KTUU-TV. (Read more)

Strange bedfellows: Rare alliance forged to protect Wisconsin waters

Conservation groups, regulatory agencies, farmers and University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are making an unprecedented effort to preserve Wisconsin's lakes, rivers and streams.

"For three years, the consortium -- known as the Wisconsin Buffer Initiative -- has pondered how best to combat ecological offenders such as phosphorus, nitrogen and the sediments that seep from agricultural lands into state waters," reports the university, via Newswise, a news and public relations service for higher-education and research firms. Recommendations include a watershed ranking system which divides the state into 1,600 18 square-mile hydrological units based on their ability to handle restoration measures.

Riparian buffers, or strips of vegetated land that lie adjacent to water, have been the center of discussion. "Scientists have known for years that among other ecological benefits, buffers serve as effective natural filters that can absorb pollutants from farmland runoff," writes the university.

But the Wisconsin Buffer Initiative wants to know where in the state's diverse agricultural landscape the buffers would have the greatest impact for the lowest cost. UW-Madison's team of soil scientists, ecologists and agricultural engineers have studied the matter for several years. Pete Nowak, a UW-Madison professor of rural sociology who chaired the WBI process, said, "We hope this project will reestablish Wisconsin as a leader in natural resource management." (Read more)

Kentucky communities eyes smoking ban; advocacy group releases study

In a state where tobacco once reigned supreme, some Kentucky communities are eyeing a smoking ban for public places, while another city's leaders are against the idea.

Oldham County, just up Interstate 71 from Louisville, may follow in its "footsteps and snuff out smoking in restaurants. A group of school and health officials and others is pushing for a smoking ban in public buildings. And if the group gets its way, there will be few if any exceptions to the rule," writes Andrea Uhde of The Courier-Journal of nearby Louisville.

Dori Livy, an employee of the county health department and member of the Oldham County Tobacco Awareness Coalition, told Uhde, "We're a different community. We will be looking at it differently." Livy hopes the Fiscal Court will pass an ordinance before the November elections. Judge-Executive Mary Ellen Kinser will hold a meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday at the courthouse in La Grange, 100 W. Jefferson St., so restaurant owners can get information. (Read more)

In Ashland, a group pushing for a smoking ban has released a study on the effects of second-hand or "sidestream smoking" on restaurant employees and non-smoking patrons. "Indoor air pollution in Ashland restaurants and bars that permit smoking is 10 times higher than similar locations in smoke-free cities [nationwide], according to a study," writes Mike James of The Independent. But the results are not persuading city leaders to consider a ban. The Greater Ashland Smoke-Free Policy initiative conducted the study by visiting 15 restaurants and bars with portable air-monitoring equipment. (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Tonight: Panel on coal at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts

"Un/Natural Intervention: Changed Lands and Transformed Lives" is a panel discussion that focuses on coal, the communities that it affects, and the land from which it comes. Panelists include Barbara Freese, attorney and author of Coal: A Human History; Robin Webb, a former miner who now serves as a state legislator in Kentucky; and Hillary Hosta of Coal River Mountain Watch, a West Virginia-based environmental organization that illuminates the natural and unnatural environmental aspects of mining.

The conversation is intended to honor the lives of miners who died in recent disasters in West Virginia and the many coal workers around the world who die each year in mining-related accidents. It is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Art Building at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for directions, here for a map.

Tomorrow: Forum at UNC-Chapel Hill on religion in the public schools

Several of the most prominent voices in the national debate over religion in public schools will take part in a daylong symposium on Feb. 24 sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review. Admission to the symposium (including a continental breakfast) at the Carolina Inn, adjacent to the UNC campus, is free, but a $25 fee applies for those who wish to have lunch on-site. Pre-registration is required; information is available at http://falr.unc.edu/register.html.

The symposium is certified for six hours of CLE credit at a cost of $13.50 for registrants. Designed for attorneys, educators and the public alike, the symposium will feature panel discussions centering on three of the most pressing issues related to religion in public schools today.

The keynote speaker will be William Van Alstyne, Lee professor of law at the College of William and Mary and a nationally regarded expert on constitutional law. Speakers will discuss constitutional questions associated with the teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms; the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and government-sponsored religious exercises in public schools; and the possible reintroduction of religious symbols in classrooms in light of a reconstituted Supreme Court.

Members of the legal, religious and education communities will give remarks regarding these issues. Dr. Michael Newdow, plaintiff and attorney in the cases challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, will be a panelist. Two prominent scientists also will discuss the validity of the theories of intelligent design and evolution.

Other panelists include Anthony R. Picarello Jr., president and general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is trying to reverse a California federal judge's injunction prohibiting recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools; Dr. Scott Minnich, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho, who recently testified as an expert witness in support of the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes in a Pennsylvania case where a federal judge rules such teaching unconstitutional; and Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented plaintiffs who opposed such teaching. For a full list of expected panelists and information on registration, visit http://falr.unc.edu/symposium.html.

Tomorrow: Entry deadline for Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism

Now in its seventh year of honoring the high ethical standards of print, broadcast, and new media journalism, the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism is seeking entries by the Feb. 24 deadline.

Administered by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the Payne Awards include $1,000 stipends each for the Individual, Organization and Student categories in print, broadcast, and new media, reports Editor & Publisher in a staff report. (Read more)

Last year’s winners included: The Denver Post (adhered to established privacy policy by not naming alleged rape victim even though competing media did); Kevin Sites (responded thoughtfully, including use of his blog, when his war footage generated negative reaction); Jon Lieberman (special citation for speaking out when he disagreed with his employer, even at the risk of being fired); The State Press (the staff of the Arizona State University student newspaper worked well with administrators when they and alumni reacted to a photo accompanying a story).

Other past winners include Jay Harris, KOMU-TV, and Voice of America (2002); Paul DeMain (2003); Virginia Gerst and The Bakersfield Californian (2004). For more information, visit the Web site, payneawards.uoregon.edu, by e-mail, payneawards@jcomm.uoregon.edu or call 1-888-644-7989.

Saturday: Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering in Kearney, Neb.

The Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering will be held in Kearney, Nebraska, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, in the student center. For more information visit www.cfra.org/events.htm.

Feb. 27: 'Unlocking Washington's File Cabinet' seminar in Austin, Texas

Washington, for all its virtues and faults, is mainly a giant file cabinet brimming with information. Through the Internet and other means, this wealth of information is now available to enrich the work of journalists everywhere -- if you know where to find it! You can learn at a day-long seminar Feb. 27 at the Austin American-Statesman, presented by the National Press Foundation and Congressional Quarterly.

The seminar will cover strategies for extracting information from Washington. Seasoned journalists will share expertise in tapping into online resources and cultivating political and governmental contacts at the national levels. Participants will get year-long access to Congressional Quarterly databases.

Presenters include Jill Barshay, economics specialist for CQ Weekly; James R. Carroll, Washington correspondent for The Courier-Journal of Louisville; Patricia Edmonds, formerly head of the online news operation at National Public Radio and a reporter for USA Today and the Detroit Free Press; Isaiah J. Poole, U.S. House leadership reporter for Congressional Quarterly; David Rapp, Editor of Congressional Quarterly, and Nolan Walters, program director for the National Press Foundation.

Sessions will focus on: Public Security: A to Z; Capitalizing on Congressional Connections; Untangling the Social Safety Net; The Business of Government is Business; and Strategies for Tapping into Washington.

There is no cost, but reservations are required. Lunch and breakfast will be served. To reserve a seat, e-mail intern@nationalpress.org or call 202-663-7286. Provide name, affiliation, address, phone and e-mail.

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006

Immigration problems prompt bills to shift responsibility to employers

Businesses that hire undocumented workers are becoming a new target for state lawmakers looking to make hiring them more costly, reports Mark K. Matthews of Stateline.org.

"In Iowa, state Democratic leaders want the attorney general to investigate companies that hire undocumented workers. In Arizona, Gov. Janet Napolitano is backing a bill that would impose heavy fines on companies that employ illegal immigrants," notes Matthews.

Matthews writes that similar proposals have been discussed in a growing number of states, including Colorado, Indiana, Maryland and New Hampshire, as legislators increase efforts to deal with illegal immigration by targeting those who hire illegal immigrants, not just at workers."

Iowa state Rep. Pat Murphy (D), the House minority leader, told Matthews, “We’re going after those that mistreat illegal immigrants with low-paying jobs." Click here to view state-by-state estimates of undocumented migrant populations. Matthews notes, "The results have been a rash of new state laws and more legislation in 2006 targeting where illegal immigrants can live, work and learn, he writes. (Read more)

National Public Radio's All Things Considered host Debbie Elliott has an Illegal Immigration Analysis with Roberto Suro of the Pew Hispanic Center about what various states are doing to deal with illegal immigration, as Congress struggles to reform the system. (Click here, then click "listen"). NPR also aired a story on a Georgia bill that targets illegal immigrants' wire transfers, by Georgia Public Broadcasting. (Click here)

Rural papers should cover immigration issues, weekly editorialist says

Georgia is among the states that may crack down on illegal immigration, and community newspapers should cover the issue, writes Dub Joiner, a staff writer and editorial-page editor for The Times-Courier of Ellijay, Ga., in this month's Georgia Press Bulletin of the Georgia Press Association.

"Editors whose counties have industries that employ large numbers of Hispanics should keep an eye open. In the days ahead, there could be a drop in the number of Hispanic workers if the General Assembly approves certain immigration-related bills [that would] not only prevent illegal aliens from getting drivers' licenses, but also address employers who hire illegal aliens," Joiner writes, adding that immigration issues could also play a role in this year's elections.

Immigration is a local issue "when no action to stop the flow of illegal aliens seems to be taking place," Joiner argues. "Editors may also want to take a look at the amount of money that local hospitals have to write off each year for indigent care, a large percentage of which is for care to Hispanics treated in the emergency room."

To get in touch with Hispanic communities, Joiner suggests visiting churches with Hispanic congregations, and retailers that cater to Hispanics. He asks, "Shouldn't we do our part to inform our readers of the situations in our communities, and what is and is not happening about it?"

Twenty states ask feds for flexibility in 'No Child Left Behind' school law

The U. S. Department of Education has agreed to review requests from 20 states to alter significantly the way they measure student progress under the No Child Left Behind Act.

"The move comes as the number of schools across the country deemed substandard under that law grows by the thousands. The requests would allow states to judge schools by tracking the progress of individual students over time," writes Diana Jean Schemo of The New York Times. Currently, schools must show improvement in successive grades of students.

The states that have applied to make the changes for the current school year are Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have asked to apply changes next year. Only 10 states will be permitted to make the changes in assessing this year's test results, notes Schemo.

"How much growth is ambitious enough that you're being fair to kids versus what's fair to schools and school systems?" asked Ross Weiner, policy director of Education Trust, a group formed by colleges to assist school-reform efforts. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Director Lou Fabrizio said under their proposal the number of their schools deemed failing last year would have dropped to 810 schools from 932. (Read more)

Neighbors concerned about safety of existing, proposed anti-terror labs

Proposals to build new high-security bioterrorism "hot labs" have unsettled residents around the country.

"Residents in Boston filed a still-pending lawsuit alleging officials underestimated the potential effect of a germ release from a proposed research lab at Boston University," writes Greg Kocher of the Lexington Herald-Leader in a follow-up report to yesterday's story on a Kentucky-Tennessee bid to get a $451 million anti-bioterrorism lab that will be built somewhere in rural America.

The new lab would study the most dangerous diseases, requiring the highest level of security. Residents who live near proposed labs elsewhere have had time to question their security, the possible release of pathogens, and whether the labs would become targets for terrorists, writes Kocher.

Health and safety concerns prompted the Davis, Calif., council to oppose a lab at the University of California campus. UC-Davis did not get the project. Citizens groups in Hamilton, Mont., successfully sued the government over another new lab, alleging it withheld information during the environmental review process. Mary Wulff, a leader of the effort, is not comforted by official assurances that there has never been a release of deadly pathogens into the environment. She told Kocher, "The potential still exists, whether it's happened or not." (Read more)

Federal biologist quits, saying bosses' policies make him a 'biostitute'

A Washington Post review of bureau documents and comments from its officials has revealed the Bureau of Land Management routinely blocks its own biologists from monitoring wildlife damage caused by surging energy drilling on federal land.

"The officials and documents say that by keeping many wildlife biologists out of the field doing paperwork on new drilling permits and that by diverting agency money intended for wildlife conservation to energy programs, the BLM has compromised its ability to deal with the environmental consequences of the drilling boom it is encouraging on public lands," writes Blaine Harden.

Steve Belinda, 37, who last week quit his job as one of three wildlife biologists in the BLM's Pinedale office, told Harden, "The BLM is pushing the biologists to be what I call 'biostitutes,' rather than allow them to be experts in the wildlife they are supposed to be managing. They are telling us that if it is not energy-related, you are not working on it."

According to the review, the BLM is neglecting its congressional mandate to manage federal lands for "multiple use." For years the BLM has reallocated money Congress intended for wildlife conservation to spending on energy. A national evaluation by the agency of its wildlife expenditures found three years ago that about one-third of designated wildlife money was spent "outside" of wildlife programs, notes Harden.

An BLM study has found this widespread diversion of money has caused "numerous lost opportunities" to protect wildlife, writes Harden. The agency's Wyoming director, Bob Bennett, told Harden that officials are "doing our level best to deal with the impacts" of energy development on wildlife.(Read more)

Mine safety legislation would increase fines; key senator tours mine

Mine operators who violate safety standards would face greatly increased penalties under legislation introduced by U. S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

"The legislation would increase fines to $500,000 from the current $60,000 for failing to eliminate violations that cause death or serious injury and would prohibit administrative law judges from reducing fines for violations termed flagrant or habitual," writes Dan Nephin of The Associated Press.

Specter told reporters the deaths of 12 miners at the Sago Mine in West Virginia and nine others this year underscore the danger of mining. He introduced the bill as Pennsylvania's other senator, fellow Republican Rick Santorum, a co-sponsor, toured a Consol Energy Co. mine to see safety conditions.

Santorum, who addressed reporters after touring the longwall mine 700 to 900 feet below ground, told them, "One more mining death is one too many. We need to take prompt action to take a serious look at making this industry as safe as it can be." Santorum, the grandson of a coal miner, said he was committed to ensuring the safety of miners everywhere. (Read more)

Former Sago Mine foreman indicted for falsifying '04 inspection reports

A former Sago Mine foreman has been indicted on federal charges he falsified inspection reports at the mine in 2004 and was never certified as a miner or mining foreman.

"The 116-count indictment against Robert L. Dennison is not related to the Jan. 2 explosion that led to the deaths of 12 miners. Dennison, 35, was hired in May 2004 by the mine's former owner, Anker Energy, and was fired in August of that year after the company learned he was not certified to do safety inspections, according to the indictment," writes Vicki Smith of The Associated Press.

U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Johnston told reporters, "This type of allegedly fraudulent activity has no place in the mining environment, especially when the safety of miners is placed at risk." If convicted, Dennison could face up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines for each of 113 counts and up to five years and $250,000 in fines for each of the remaining counts, writes Smith. (Read more)

Kansas legislative panel to unveil increased school financing bill today

Kansas House members plan to unveil a school finance bill today that would phase in a funding increase of about $500 million.

The plan will use ideas from committee hearings and high-level negotiations between legislative leaders and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Legislators late yesterday weren't detaling the exact costs or the number of years to phase in the increase, reports John Milburn of The Associated Press. Rep. Kathe Decker, chairwoman of the school finance committee, said it would likely be a multiyear plan, notes Milburn.

Last year, legislators raised school spending by $290 million to more than $3 billion. The Kansas Supreme Court said education funding was still short and indicated it would order more money absent legislative action in 2006. A legislative report concluded the state must spend as much as $470 million more each year to meet judicial and constitutional mandates, writes Milburn.

House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, told reporters "We're trying not to penalize any part of the state. Anybody with at-risk students would benefit." Attorney Alan Rupe said, "Everything that is being discussed falls short of what the court has ordered, what the Legislature determined to be the cost of an adequate education." (Read more) For more information, click on the Kansas Legislature Web site.

Prescription: Groups donate $15 million for doctors in rural North Carolina

Two health care groups are putting up $15 million to bring more doctors to rural areas in North Carolina where they are needed most.

"The organizations hope their grants bring 60 doctors to underserved areas by 2010. The doctors would be part of the N.C. Medical Society Foundation's Community Practitioner Program, which was started in 1989," writes Cleve R. Wootson, Jr. of The Charlotte Observer.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and the NCMSF announced the $10 million donation at Gaston Memorial Hospital, in Gastonia yesterday. The program is to help with the medical school bills of doctors who practice in rural and underserved areas, up to $10,000 a year for five years. The NCMSF expects to raise $5 million in matching funds for the endowment, notes Wootson.

Charlles Wilson, president of NCMS, told reporters at the announcement, "Not only do we not have enough nurses and physician's assistants, we need a new generation of practitioners to replace those who are getting older. One of the biggest barriers is the fact that (new doctors) have all this debt. We don't want doctors to think 'I can't go back to Gastonia,'" writes Wootson. (Read more)

With more than 1 million uninsured North Carolinians living in rural communities, areas that are often economically depressed, medical professionals say these places unappealing to doctors. They say there's no profit in practicing there, reports WRAL-TV in Raleigh. (Read more)

Missouri announces funds for rural information-technology program

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has announced a $156,660 state grant for Macon County to fund renovations at the Macon Area Vocational Technical School to accommodate a new rural information technology program to help stem the tide of rural brain drain, writes the Macon Chronicle Herald in a staff report.

Blunt told reporters, “By encouraging new skill development and training for our rural work force, we can help reverse the trend to outsource these good family-supporting jobs offshore so that Missouri's local economies and families benefit,” writes the Chronicle Herald. (Read more)

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved the $156,660 Community Development Block Grant on behalf of the Macon Area Vocational Technical School. The funds will be used to help renovate classrooms to provide new technology, computer labs and lecture centers.

Vermont bill would use tobacco settlement cash to pay for health reform

The Vermont legislature is considering a proposal to tap two pots of tobacco money to raise $66.2 million over four years to cover the cost of proposed health reforms.

"The House Health Committee has recommended the state establish a new program called Catamount Health that would provide subsidized health coverage to about one third of the Vermonters currently without insurance by 2010. The committee's bill also promotes better management of the treatment of individuals with chronic diseases," writes Nancy Remsen of the Burlington Free Press.

The health reforms proposal would cost $132.2 million over four years with half the funding coming from federal coffers and calls for increasing the cigarette tax by 60 cents per pack to $1.79 beginning July 1. This increase would raise about $11.7 million in the first year, with the income expected to decline to $10.5 million a year by 2010, notes Remsen.

Rep. David Allaire, R-Rutland, noted the cigarette tax is a declining source of money and the special tobacco payments run out in 2018. He told reporters, "Once you offer a program such as this," he said, "it is very difficult to take it back."

Steve Klein, the Legislature's chief fiscal officer, said there was no assured plan for paying for any of the state's subsidized health care programs after 2010 when the current five-year agreement with the federal government expires. He told Remsen, "We will see our whole health care world change." (Read more)

Kentucky auditor calls on state to take control of 'overspending' county jails

Kentucky should start planning to take control of 70 county jails in the next six to 10 years, State Auditor Crit Luallen said yesterday.

At a news conference to release what she called the first comprehensive audit of local jail spending, Luallen told reporters rising costs threaten local budgets. Standardized practices would allow the state to operate jails for less than counties, although the amount is not clear, writes Elisabeth J. Beardsley of The Courier Journal. Luallen told reporters, "Kentucky taxpayers are spending too much for our county jails."

Luallen said currently some counties lose money and others profit by keeping 6,300 state inmates housed in county jails. She said legislation and possibly a state constitutional amendment would be necessary for a state takeover, since jailers are constitutional officers, notes Beardsley for the Louisville newspaper.

Kentucky Department of Corrections Commissioner John Rees said he favors more uniform jail management but supports local control. He said a state takeover would be costly and raise questions about the role of county jailers, who are elected officials. Rees feels counties should keep some responsibility for the thousands of jail inmates held on misdemeanor charges, writes Beardsley (Read more)

Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Jack Brammer notes in his story that Luallen's entire report can be found on the Internet at http://www.auditor.ky.gov.

Mountains have big ears for controversial counter-terrorism eavesdropping

The issue of the federal government's ability to eavesdrop on Americans who may be having conversations with terrorists overseas has sparked controversy, so the listening facility deep in the West Virginia mountains has worldwide ramifications, reports Dan Heyman of West Virginia Public Radio.

There are only two listening stations that pick up this kind of data, notes Heyman -- in Yakima, Wash., and Pendleton County, W. Va. Chances are you won’t see any signs of the facility if you go through the tiny community of Sugar Grove, but its reach extends throughout the world, according to journalist and author James Bamford, Heyman reports in a documentary almost 30 minutes long. To listen, scroll down to Big Ears in the Mountains and click on the speaker icon. (For story-related pictures, click here)

The Rural Blog reported earlier this month on a story The Roanoke Times did on the same facility, including a podcast in which Assistant Managing Editor Dwayne Yancey speaks with reporter Chris Winston about their story and how it was reported. For an Editor & Publisher article about podcasting, by Steve Outing, click here.

Bush officials say journalists can be prosecuted for having secret files

The Bush administration, in a court filing made public this week, has said journalists can be prosecuted under current espionage laws for receiving and publishing classified information but that such a step "would raise legitimate and serious issues and would not be undertaken lightly."

"There plainly is no exemption in the statutes for the press, let alone lobbyists like the defendants," Justice Department lawyers wrote in response to a motion filed last month seeking to dismiss charges against Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee," writes Walter Pincus of The Washington Post.

The government said Rosen and Weissman, as lobbyists, "have no First Amendment right to willfully disclose national defense information ... we recognize that a prosecution under the espionage laws of an actual member of the press for publishing classified information leaked to it by a government source, would raise legitimate and serious issues and would not be undertaken lightly, indeed, the fact that there has never been such a prosecution speaks for itself," writes Pincus.

Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, who first disclosed the government filing on his Web site, told Pincus, "The idea the government can penalize the receipt of proscribed information, and not just its unauthorized disclosure, ... characterizes authoritarian societies, not democracies." (Read more)

University of Tennessee explores cultures by evolution of 'hillbilly' instrument

A new exhibit at the University of Tennessee's McClung Museum displays 55 instruments that have been picked and plucked around the world, from African villages and American slave quarters to Victorian parlors and the hills of southern Appalachia, where bluegrass music was born, reports Duncan Mansfield of The Associated Press.

Banjo maker Dave Ball, among those lending banjos to the show, told Mansfield, "It is fascinating to think of whose hands that instrument has been in." Curators say that the exhibit, "Banjo: From Africa to America and Beyond," is the largest collection of pre-bluegrass banjos ever in the South and "brings full circle what many thought was only as a 'hillbilly' instrument," writes Mansfield.

The exhibit and occasional banjo performances runs to April 30. It is free, but accepts donations, notes Mansfield. Matt Morelock, 26, a cultural anthropologist, told Mansfield, "It is arguably the most influential joining of cultures ever." Morelock put the exhibit together from collections in Toronto, Baltimore, New York, Boston, Stockholm and the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tenn. (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 23: Panel on coal at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts

"Un/Natural Intervention: Changed Lands and Transformed Lives" is a panel discussion that focuses on coal, the communities that it affects, and the land from which it comes. Panelists include Barbara Freese, attorney and author of Coal: A Human History; Robin Webb, a former miner who now serves as a state legislator in Kentucky; and Hillary Hosta of Coal River Mountain Watch, a West Virginia-based environmental organization that illuminates the natural and unnatural environmental aspects of mining.

The conversation is intended to honor the lives of miners who died in recent disasters in West Virginia and the many coal workers around the world who die each year in mining-related accidents. It is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Art Building at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for directions, here for a map.

Feb. 24: Forum at UNC-Chapel Hill on religion in the public schools

Several of the most prominent voices in the national debate over religion in public schools will take part in a daylong symposium on Feb. 24 sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review. Admission to the symposium (including a continental breakfast) at the Carolina Inn, adjacent to the UNC campus, is free, but a $25 fee applies for those who wish to have lunch on-site. Pre-registration is required; information is available at http://falr.unc.edu/register.html.

The symposium is certified for six hours of CLE credit at a cost of $13.50 for registrants. Designed for attorneys, educators and the public alike, the symposium will feature panel discussions centering on three of the most pressing issues related to religion in public schools today.

The keynote speaker will be William Van Alstyne, Lee professor of law at the College of William and Mary and a nationally regarded expert on constitutional law. Speakers will discuss constitutional questions associated with the teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms; the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and government-sponsored religious exercises in public schools; and the possible reintroduction of religious symbols in classrooms in light of a reconstituted Supreme Court.

Members of the legal, religious and education communities will give remarks regarding these issues. Dr. Michael Newdow, plaintiff and attorney in the cases challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, will be a panelist. Two prominent scientists also will discuss the validity of the theories of intelligent design and evolution.

Other panelists include Anthony R. Picarello Jr., president and general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is trying to reverse a California federal judge's injunction prohibiting recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools; Dr. Scott Minnich, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho, who recently testified as an expert witness in support of the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes in a Pennsylvania case where a federal judge rules such teaching unconstitutional; and Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented plaintiffs who opposed such teaching. For a full list of expected panelists and information on registration, visit http://falr.unc.edu/symposium.html.

Feb. 24: Entry deadline for Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism

Now in its seventh year of honoring the high ethical standards of print, broadcast, and new media journalism, the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism is seeking entries by the Feb. 24 deadline.

Administered by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the Payne Awards include $1,000 stipends each for the Individual, Organization and Student categories in print, broadcast, and new media, reports Editor & Publisher in a staff report. (Read more)

Last year’s winners included: The Denver Post (adhered to established privacy policy by not naming alleged rape victim even though competing media did); Kevin Sites (responded thoughtfully, including use of his blog, when his war footage generated negative reaction); Jon Leiberman (special citation for speaking out when he disagreed with his employer, even at the risk of being fired); The State Press (the staff of the Arizona State University student newspaper worked well with administrators when they and alumni reacted to a photo accompanying a story).

Other past winners include Jay Harris, KOMU-TV, and Voice of America (2002); Paul DeMain (2003); Virginia Gerst and The Bakersfield Californian (2004). For more information, visit the Web site, payneawards.uoregon.edu, by e-mail, payneawards@jcomm.uoregon.edu or call 1-888-644-7989.

Feb. 25: Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering in Kearney, Neb.

The Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering will be held in Kearney, Nebraska, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, in the student center. For more information visit www.cfra.org/events.htm.

Feb. 27: 'Unlocking Washington's File Cabinet' seminar in Austin, Tex.

Washington, for all its virtues and faults, is mainly a giant file cabinet brimming with information. Through the Internet and other means, this wealth of information is now available to enrich the work of journalists everywhere -- if you know where to find it! You can learn at a day-long seminar Feb. 27 at the Austin American-Statesman, presented by the National Press Foundation and Congressional Quarterly.

The seminar will cover strategies for extracting information from Washington. Seasoned journalists will share expertise in tapping into online resources and cultivating political and governmental contacts at the national levels. Participants will get year-long access to Congressional Quarterly databases.

Presenters include Jill Barshay, economics specialist for CQ Weekly; James R. Carroll, Washington correspondent for The Courier-Journal of Louisville; Patricia Edmonds, formerly head of the online news operation at National Public Radio and a reporter for USA Today and the Detroit Free Press; Isaiah J. Poole, U.S. House leadership reporter for Congressional Quarterly; David Rapp, Editor of Congressional Quarterly, and Nolan Walters, program director for the National Press Foundation.

Sessions will focus on: Public Security: A to Z; Capitalizing on Congressional Connections; Untangling the Social Safety Net; The Business of Government is Business; and Strategies for Tapping into Washington.

There is no cost, but reservations are required. Lunch and breakfast will be served. To reserve a seat, e-mail intern@nationalpress.org or call 202-663-7286. Provide name, affiliation, address, phone and e-mail.

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2006

Bidding opens to build $451 million bioterrorism research lab in rural America

Bidding opened Monday for a $451 million federal "bio-agro-defense facility," and anti-terrorism research lab, which would have to be located in a sparsely populated area because of the nature of the research.

Kentucky and Tennessee political and academic leaders have joined forces and have announced the first bid to compete against other states, proposing the lab be built near Somerset, Ky., about 25 miles east of Interstate 75 at London. Backing the effort is U.S. Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who chairs the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. "About 400 workers, including more than 200 highly paid scientists, would study some of the world's most dangerous pathogens in the planned 500,000-square-foot lab," write John Stamper, Greg Kocher and Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"Rogers said the Kentucky-Tennessee proposal is the first to be made public but other states are expected to vie for the lab," James Bruggers of The Courier-Journal reports, quoting Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen: "The competition will be fierce." (Read more)

The lab will research bioterrorist threats, foreign animal diseases and other emerging public health threats. The average salary at the facility would be about $74,000, which Kentucky officials say would create $1.5 million in state income tax revenue each year. The lab is expected to attract scientists and technicians from around the world, write Stamper, Kocker and Estep. (Read more)

Wyoming tax-break bill to attract synthetic-fuel plants criticized

"With some of the nation's largest energy companies already eyeing Wyoming as a possible site for construction of coal gasification and liquefaction plants, some people question proposed legislation that would give firms massive tax breaks on plant construction," writes Ben Neary of The Associated Press.

Neary adds: "A House bill sponsored by the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee calls for giving companies a tax exemption on the sale or purchase of equipment used to construct any of the new, high-tech plants. It's already cleared two votes in the House, and could move into the Senate as early as this week."

Wyoming is competing with Montana and other states to net contracts for the plants. "The U.S. Department of Energy and an international coalition of energy companies announced last year that they intend to construct a $1-billion coal gasification plant. Called Futuregen, the plant is proposed to serve as a model for future clean-coal plants," writes Neary.

Dan Neal of the Equality State Policy Center, a watchdog group, said builders of the plants don't need tax breaks. "Our first argument is these people aren't coming here to build these plants because we're giving them a tax break; they're coming here because Wyoming has easily accessible coal, and the transportation system to move it," Neal told Neary. (Read more)

Free speech, assembly: Sympathetic bikers drown out funeral protesters

The Patriot Guard Riders are angered by a Kansas-based fundamentalist church picketing military funerals, and now the bikers are shielding families from protesters and belting out patriotic chants, writes Ryan Lenz of The Associated Press. (Read more)

Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain, told Lenz, "The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares." Across the nation, Patriot Guard Riders number more than 5,000. Kurt Mayer, the group's national spokesman, said, "These soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms."

At least 14 states are considering laws aimed specifically at the funeral protest group led by the Rev. Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kan., who believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that harbors homosexuals, writes Lenz. Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps and an attorney for Westboro Baptist Church, told Lenz neither state laws nor the Patriot Guard can silence their message.

New York Times provides update on states' efforts to curb eminent domain

"In a rare display of unanimity that cuts across partisan and geographic lines, lawmakers in virtually every statehouse across the country are advancing bills and constitutional amendments to limit use of the government's power of eminent domain to seize private property for economic development purposes," writes John M. Broder of The New York Times. (Read more)

This is an update of what was noted here on Feb. 7 in an item headlined, Forty states re-examining eminent domain after Supreme Court decision. (Click here for archives)

OBITUARY

'Cowboy at the Mike,' legendary sports announcer Curt Gowdy dies at 86

Curt Gowdy, a native of rural Wyoming who defined sportscasting for a generation, died yesterday at 86. "He was the smooth voice of sports history, a welcome companion who brought listeners Ted Williams' last home run, the first Super Bowl and dozens of other dramatic moments," writes Howard Ulman of The Associated Press in a tribute to Gowdy, pictured above on the Green River in Wyoming.

Gowdy called 13 World Series, 16 All-Star baseball games, numerous Rose Bowls and the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Through a rickety old radio and later through TV, Gowdy transported generations of young sports fans in small towns and cities to faraway places where sports giants lived large and battled mightily. He began his play-by-play career in subzero temperatures in 1944, sitting on a box with his microphone on another box at a six-man football game in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Gowdy worked as the Boston Red Sox play-by-play announcer from 1951-1965, then did a 10-year stint on NBC's "Game of the Week" through 1975, writes Ulman. (Read more) For a 2000 interview with Curt Gowdy, "ASA Hall of Famer and Former Voice of ABC Sports," by Lou Schwartz, click here. For comments about his death from AP, click here. For a Wyoming peerspective, click here. For a commentary by Gowdy fan Ron Walton of The New River Valley [Va.] Today.com, click here.

Meth addiction taking its toll on businesses in Arizona, California

"The illegal methamphetamine trade is linked to increased property crimes, shoplifting rings and identity theft. Businesses also are seeing lost productivity, increased insurance costs and diminished worker performance," writes Mike Sunnucks of The Business Journal of Phoenix.

Law enforcement and state officials -- including Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas -- say crystal meth is a leading cause of crime in Arizona. Meth addicts often bankroll their habits via credit card fraud, forgeries, commercial burglaries and robberies, and they shoplift cold medicines and other products used to cook the addictive chemical stimulant.

Glendale Police Department spokesman Michael Pena told Sunnucks, "People will do anything they need to do to get their fix." Addicts often target their own employers, stealing computers or embezzling money. Addicts and those who produce the illegal drugs also are tied to the state's rising identify theft problem, prostitution and violent behavior, reports Sunnucks. (Read more)

State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, chair of the California Senate Select Committee on Methamphetamine Abuse and Dr. Richard Rawson of the UCLA School of Medicine, write in the San Jose Business Journal, "Treatment assistance for Californians addicted to meth is part of a solution, but ... a vigorous and effective public information campaign about the health risks of using meth is critical." They call for cooperation from the Mexican government and tougher smuggling laws. "The meth epidemic is not going to go away anytime soon. It's time to wake up," they write. (Read more)

Ohio University students focusing on area poverty, hunger through February

Appalachian poverty and hunger awareness are the main focus of activities sponsored by Ohio University student groups and local nonprofit organizations throughout the rest of February.

"Appalachian Poverty and Hunger Awareness Month is a movement hoping to educate Ohio University students about the problems of poverty and hunger that plague our neighbors in the area," writes Jen Lennon of The Athens News.

Kelsey McCoy, president of OU's Students for Peace and Justice, told Lennon, "In the long term, we are searching for a way that students can unite with community organizations to create sustainable change." She said her organization's members "would like to learn where the potential for sustainable change in the economic environment lies in regard to our local area."

Students for Peace and Justice along with InterAct, Positive Action and People Might, a new local nonprofit organization, have sponsored many events throughout the month. McCoy told Lennon the group is conducting a petition drive for an Ohio Constitutional Amendment to raise the minimum wage. The petition is available at event movies. Tomorrow, the group will air the final movie in their series, Matewan, which dramatizes a historic coal workers' strike, writes Lennon. (Read more)

West Virginia '01 flood brings waves of litigation, paperwork, headaches

On July 8, 2001, in less than six hours, more than five inches of rain brought flood devastation to eight counties in central and southern West Virginia. Now, the Raleigh County Courthouse is being flooded with paperwork and attorneys before one of West Virginia’s largest mass litigation cases begins next month, writes Audry Stanton for The Register-Herald in Beckley.

Circuit Court Clerk Janice B. Davis told Stanton, “It’s nothing we haven’t been able to handle so far.” More than 5,000 plaintiffs claim some 400 defendants, including coal and timbering companies, landowners, lessors, railroads and gas companies involved in various ways with the removal of natural resources, used their land in a way that contributed to massive flood damage. (Read more)

Davis’ office manager, Paul Flanagan, told Stanton the office has scanned and filed some 60,000 pages from more than 6,000 documents for this case since the fall of 2004. More than 20,000 pages were filed between Dec. 16, 2005, and Jan. 24. Flanagan told Stanton, “It’s a massive undertaking and a unique undertaking for the whole Raleigh County court system.” Davis’ office estimates it will be dealing with some 10,000 exhibits. "An extra 435 jurors have been subpoenaed to the Raleigh County Armory — the courthouse isn’t big enough to accommodate them all — on March 6 for juror orientation," writes Stanton.

Plan to protect, relocate endangered Florida panther reopens identity debate

The Florida panther roams what's left of the state's cypress swamps and other wilds, and enjoys almost mythic status in her native state. But questions about the purity of the panther's bloodlines, and thus its identity as an endangered species, have started an uproar.

Scientists believe there are only about 80 panthers left in Florida, writes Peter Whoriskey of The Washington Post. The draft recovery plan for the Florida panther, issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, proposes to export some out of state. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama are being considered. Wildlife biologists say the Florida panther roamed those states long ago, and reintroducing it there could enable it to ward off extinction. But some wary officials argue for all practical purposes the Florida panther is identical to the cougar, a far more common animal that lives in much of western North America.

David Goad, deputy director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, who opposes bringing the animal to Arkansas, told Whoriskey, "I'm not even sure ... that a Florida panther, as a subspecies, exists." But, David Maehr, an associate professor of conservation biology at the University of Kentucky who has written about the Florida panther said, "I think the genetic tools have not yet been discovered that will show what makes a Florida panther a Florida panther. But those differences are there, otherwise humans wouldn't be able to see them." Maybe it takes a Kentucky Wildcat to classify a wild cat. (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 23: Panel on coal at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts

"Un/Natural Intervention: Changed Lands and Transformed Lives" is a panel discussion that focuses on coal, the communities that it affects, and the land from which it comes. Panelists include Barbara Freese, attorney and author of Coal: A Human History; Robin Webb, a former miner who now serves as a state legislator in Kentucky; and Hillary Hosta of Coal River Mountain Watch, a West Virginia-based environmental organization that illuminates the natural and unnatural environmental aspects of mining.

The conversation is intended to honor the lives of miners who died in recent disasters in West Virginia and the many coal workers around the world who die each year in mining-related accidents. It is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Art Building at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for directions, here for a map.

Feb. 24: Forum at UNC-Chapel Hill on religion in the public schools

Several of the most prominent voices in the national debate over religion in public schools will take part in a daylong symposium on Feb. 24 sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review. Admission to the symposium (including a continental breakfast) at the Carolina Inn, adjacent to the UNC campus, is free, but a $25 fee applies for those who wish to have lunch on-site. Pre-registration is required; information is available at http://falr.unc.edu/register.html.

The symposium is certified for six hours of CLE credit at a cost of $13.50 for registrants. Designed for attorneys, educators and the public alike, the symposium will feature panel discussions centering on three of the most pressing issues related to religion in public schools today.

The keynote speaker will be William Van Alstyne, Lee professor of law at the College of William and Mary and a nationally regarded expert on constitutional law. Speakers will discuss constitutional questions associated with the teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms; the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and government-sponsored religious exercises in public schools; and the possible reintroduction of religious symbols in classrooms in light of a reconstituted Supreme Court.

Members of the legal, religious and education communities will give remarks regarding these issues. Dr. Michael Newdow, plaintiff and attorney in the cases challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, will be a panelist. Two prominent scientists also will discuss the validity of the theories of intelligent design and evolution.

Other panelists include Anthony R. Picarello Jr., president and general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is trying to reverse a California federal judge's injunction prohibiting recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools; Dr. Scott Minnich, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho, who recently testified as an expert witness in support of the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes in a Pennsylvania case where a federal judge rules such teaching unconstitutional; and Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented plaintiffs who opposed such teaching. For a full list of expected panelists and information on registration, visit http://falr.unc.edu/symposium.html.

Feb. 24: Entry deadline for Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism

Now in its seventh year of honoring the high ethical standards of print, broadcast, and new media journalism, the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism is seeking entries by the Feb. 24 deadline.

Administered by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the Payne Awards include $1,000 stipends each for the Individual, Organization and Student categories in print, broadcast, and new media, reports Editor & Publisher in a staff report. (Read more)

Last year’s winners included: The Denver Post (adhered to established privacy policy by not naming alleged rape victim even though competing media did); Kevin Sites (responded thoughtfully, including use of his blog, when his war footage generated negative reaction); Jon Leiberman (special citation for speaking out when he disagreed with his employer, even at the risk of being fired); The State Press (the staff of the Arizona State University student newspaper worked well with administrators when they and alumni reacted to a photo accompanying a story).

Other past winners include Jay Harris, KOMU-TV, and Voice of America (2002); Paul DeMain (2003); Virginia Gerst and The Bakersfield Californian (2004). For more information, visit the Web site, payneawards.uoregon.edu, by e-mail, payneawards@jcomm.uoregon.edu or call 1-888-644-7989.

Feb. 25: Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering in Kearney, Neb.

The Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering will be held in Kearney, Nebraska, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, in the student center. For more information visit www.cfra.org/events.htm.

Feb. 27: 'Unlocking Washington's File Cabinet' seminar in Austin, Tex.

Washington, for all its virtues and faults, is mainly a giant file cabinet brimming with information. Through the Internet and other means, this wealth of information is now available to enrich the work of journalists everywhere -- if you know where to find it! You can learn at a day-long seminar Feb. 27 at the Austin American-Statesman, presented by the National Press Foundation and Congressional Quarterly.

The seminar will cover strategies for extracting information from Washington. Seasoned journalists will share expertise in tapping into online resources and cultivating political and governmental contacts at the national levels. Participants will get year-long access to Congressional Quarterly databases.

Presenters include Jill Barshay, economics specialist for CQ Weekly; James R. Carroll, Washington correspondent for The Courier-Journal of Louisville; Patricia Edmonds, formerly head of the online news operation at National Public Radio and a reporter for USA Today and the Detroit Free Press; Isaiah J. Poole, U.S. House leadership reporter for Congressional Quarterly; David Rapp, Editor of Congressional Quarterly, and Nolan Walters, program director for the National Press Foundation.

Sessions will focus on: Public Security: A to Z; Capitalizing on Congressional Connections; Untangling the Social Safety Net; The Business of Government is Business; and Strategies for Tapping into Washington.

There is no cost, but reservations are required. Lunch and breakfast will be served. To reserve a seat, e-mail intern@nationalpress.org or call 202-663-7286. Provide name, affiliation, address, phone and e-mail.

Monday, Feb. 20, 2006

Hours remain for Backyard Bird Count to spot species, reporters to report

Here's a story that many reporters can go out and do this afternoon: The annual four-day Great Backyard Bird Count concludes today.

According to the event's Web site, this activity "engages bird watchers of all levels in counting birds and reporting their results to create a mid-winter snapshot of the numbers, kinds, and distribution of birds across the continent."

As the count progresses online, anyone with Internet access can see what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. Participants may also send in photographs. After the count, scientists analyze the results and post summaries. The Great Backyard Bird Count is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, with help from Wild Birds Unlimited.

This Web site provides information on how journalists can find local contacts for the story. Thanks to Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute for the column that reminded us of the count.

Florida gov. urges residents to prep for bird flu attack, stock up on groceries

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush expects his state to be one of the first places hit by a possible bird flu pandemic.

Bush said, "We have lots of international air travel. We have cruise ships. We have interaction with the rest of the world the likes of which is quite unique. This is a really high priority for us, maybe more than other states," reports Letitia Stein of the St. Petersburg Times.

Bush kicked off a state summit on the topic. He urged Floridians to be ready for a pandemic, and said after eight hurricanes in two years, residents have a head start in creating a "culture of preparedness," writes Stein. Bush called for every family to make a household plan and stockpile groceries. "The federal government has allocated $4.6 million for Florida to start preparing. The World Health Organization reports that bird flu has killed 91 people since 2003," writes Stein. (Read more)

"When avian flu is detected in a single chicken on a farm, the entire flock -- often tens of thousands of chickens -- must be killed. So, what to do with all those dead birds?" asks William Wan of The Washington Post. "Enter the humble compost heap. ... After trying to burn the bodies (too expensive), burying them (an environmental hazard) and trucking them to rendering plants (risking further spread of the disease), poultry experts believe that the safest means of disposal might be to roll the dead birds into a small hill and let the blistering heat of decomposition burn away the disease inside." (Read more)

Supreme Court to hear complaints about wetland law curbing development

"More than half of the nation's streams and wetlands could be removed from the protections of the federal Clean Water Act if two legal challenges started more than a decade ago by two Michigan developers are supported by a majority of the newly remade Supreme Court," reports The New York Times.

John Rapanos, a developer in Michigan, is challenging the government's authority over a wetland that he filled with sand to make way for a shopping mall in Midland. The second was brought by would-be condominium developer June Carabell who applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to fill a wetland in Chesterfield Township and was denied, writes Felicity Barringer.

Oral arguments in the cases — the first before the newest justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr. — are set for Tuesday. "The central question is where federal authority ends along the network of rivers, streams, canals and ditches. Also at issue are who draws those lines — and how — and who decides what the Clean Water Act means by 'navigable waters' and 'the waters of the United States,'" reports Barringer.

The developers argue that the government is overreaching by asserting jurisdiction in areas where it has no authority. In response, the government says these cases could threaten a decades-old regulatory system, Barringer reports. (Read more)

States give roads more priority, turn to tolls; will rural roads get help?

Several states are planning big road projects to improve their transportation systems, which are most wanting in rural areas, but they are wondering where to find funding.

"To fill the gap, states more than ever are turning to toll roads, and in the latest twist, considering leasing those roadways to private companies in exchange for cash up-front. The latest example is Indiana, where lawmakers are debating a proposal from Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) to lease the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road to a consortium of foreign companies for $3.85 billion. Chicago, Texas and Virginia already have privately run toll ways," writes Eric Kelderman of Stateline.org.

The federal gas tax has lost one-third of its value since 1993, when it was raised to the current rate of 18.4 cents a gallon, according to a study funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Only Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina and West Virginia have state gas taxes with any adjustments for the price of fuel or inflation. "Gas tax revenues will fall $1 trillion short of meeting transportation needs by 2015, the Chamber's study predicts," reports Kelderman.

A third of the nation's roads are substandard, and 27 percent of bridges are deficient or obsolete, reports the American Society of Civil Engineers. Traffic congestion costs an estimated $67.5 billion annually in wasted time and fuel, according to the society. (Read more)

Rural roads are in worse shape than those urban or suburban areas. To find an earlier Rural Blog story on rural roads in the Southeast being the nation's deadliest, click here. To read a comparison of how many miles motorists travel on urban vs. rural roads, click here.

A reminder: Farming ranks above mining as the most deadly occupation

"Agriculture -- which includes farming, logging and hunting -- is ahead of mining as the most deadly occupation in the United States, accounting for 30.1 fatalities per 100,000 workers in 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics," reports Greg Edwards of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

For a state-by-state breakdown of this data from the Bureau for Labor Statistics, click here.

Virginia's Farm Bureau safety manager, Bruce Stone, has been compiling an unofficial record of Virginia farm fatalities since 1994. Since then, 199 people have been killed working on Virginia farms, including 83 who died from overturned tractors, the leading cause of farm deaths. The use of a factory-built roll bar or cage and a seat belt provide a 95 percent or higher survival rate, Stone told Edwards.

This story is no longer on the Times-Dispatch Web site. To read The Associated Press story, click here. For the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention, click here.

Ethanol fuels farming, but will sources of corn be maxed out in a decade?

Ethanol, a form of alcohol added to gasoline, has been touted as a way to reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and now it is giving some farmers a lucrative future.

"There are 34 new plants under construction, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, an industry trade group," reports Justin Blum of The Washington Post. "Eight of the 95 existing plants are expanding. And 150 more new plants or expansions are in the planning stages."

However, the industry "expects that in a decade it will max out available corn and grain crops, producing 15 billion gallons of ethanol a year from those sources." In Missouri, ethanol plants are expected to buy a third of the state's corn crop in a few years. The industry hopes to increase production using cellulosic ethanol, a slightly different type made of wood chips and corn stalks. That process is seen as too expensive to be competitive, but President Bush recently called for research to improve it.

Also, there is debate over whether more energy is used to grow corn and produce ethanol than it provides as a fuel. But for farmers in places like South Dakota, "It's just kind of a dream come true, really, for us," David Diedrich, who farms 4,500 acres and sells corn to the recently expanded VeraSun Energy Corp. facility in Aurora. It has become one of the country's largest ethanol plants, running around the clock and churning out 120 million gallons per year. That still is not enough to meet the demand from oil companies that mix the additive with gasoline, Blum reports. (Read more)

Legalize industrial hemp? Ag commissioners in four states say 'yes'

Agriculture commissioners from North Dakota, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Wisconsin met Friday in Washington, D.C., to support cultivating industrial hemp.

"The North Dakota Legislature has pushed for industrial hemp research and production since 1997, but federal drug laws greatly restrict efforts to cultivate the crop. Industrial hemp resembles marijuana, an illegal drug, but has only trace amounts of the chemical that makes a pot smoker high. Industrial hemp is used to make paper, clothing, cosmetics, rope and other products," reports The Associated Press.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials informed the interested states that the process of legalizing production would be complicated under federal law. Steve Robertson, a DEA special agent, said his agency enforces the law, instead of writing it, notes AP. "We're very aware of the dangers of any controlled substance or anything that smacks of a controlled substance," Robertson said. (Read more)

Got milk? Dairy farmers may soon become relics of the past in some places

Milk may make a body grow, but dairy farmers may soon be hard to find in Kentucky, reports John Friedlein of The [Elizabethtown, Ky.] News Enterprise.

Friedlein writes, "Milk is going the way of tobacco," which has become a less viable crop without the federal program of tobacco quotas and price supports. A little more than a decade ago, more than 30 dairies operated in Hardin County, Kentucky, but now just 17 remain, he reports.

Across Kentucky, that number has slid from 6,000 in 1985 to fewer than 1,300 last year. Reasons for the decline have included too many regulations, stagnant milk prices, a lack of dependable workers, neighbors' complaints and the demanding work load. (Read more)

Glendale dairyman Larry Jaggers told Friedlein health insurance drives many farmers to look for second jobs. Jaggers serves on the new Kentucky Dairy Development Council, funded by tobacco-settlement money set aside for agricultural efforts. The council will meet for the first time Feb. 28 in Cave City.

Wisconsin bill to ban teaching of intelligent design sparks headlines, blogs

"Religious conservatives around the country are up in arms over a Wisconsin bill that would ban the teaching of intelligent design as science in the state's public schools," reports Judith Davidoff of The Capital Times in Madison, Wis.

Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention, called the introduction of the bill by Democratic Rep. Terese Berceau "an unprecedented political move to protect evolution." Meanwhile, the University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists who helped draft the Wisconsin proposal see it as a way to set a "standard for science education," writes Davidoff. Intelligent design proposes that biology was shaped by an intelligent creator.

In an example of a reporter using new tools, Davidoff reports the bill has bogged down blogs since its introduction last week. A search on Google's new blog search provided 48 references to the bill.

William Dembski, a proponents of intelligent design, is offering a $1,000 award to the first Wisconsin teacher who would challenge the policy by teaching intelligent design as science at a public school. On his Web site, Dembski writes, "Wisconsin may well be evolution's Waterloo," notes Davidoff. (Read more)

Kentuckian, state say coal mine floods cemetery; company denies it

"It's been more than a year since a state mining investigator pinpointed an abandoned mine as the source of the flooding on Clayton Little's property. But the water keeps gushing out of the hillside behind his family homestead, as Premier Elkhorn (Coal Co.) continues to appeal a non-compliance order issued by the state," reports Rachel C. Stanley of the Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville, Ky.

Little noticed in 2003 the land was often soggy, so he filed a citizen's complaint. The Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet determined the water was coming from an abandoned Premier Elkhorn mine. The state ordered Premier Elkhorn to redirect the water into the company's discharge system, but the company appealed and its case won't be heard until August, writes Stanley. Meanwhile, Little sued the company, which has moved to dismiss the case. (Read more)

Little may have known about the ability to file a citizen's complaint without goign to court because he is a former state legislator. The newspaper's story may inform other citizens of that right.

Michigan minister recalls years spent working in West Virginia coal mine

Working at the Olga Coal Co. from 1973 to 1980 so changed Michigan Rev. Dan L. Martineau that he wrote a 146-page book, When I Was A Coal Miner, released in July 2005.

"The book recalls his life as a young West Virginia pastor who went to work in the mine to help support his growing family. At the time, his small church could only pay him $50 a month. A self-described 'city boy' who grew up in Flint, Martineau already was out of familiar surroundings at his church and town. But going to work in the mine forced him into a whole new, often frightening world. He faced darkness, dampness, rats, religious ridicule and physical exhaustion while working miles below or in the side of mountains," writes Claudia Linsley of the Battle Creek [Mich.] Enquirer.

The Olga Coal Co. shut down in 1985, but some of the friendships Martineau formed remain alive. The people of Appalachia have a special place in the minister's heart, reports Linsley. (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 23: Panel on coal at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts

"Un/Natural Intervention: Changed Lands and Transformed Lives" is a panel discussion that focuses on coal, the communities that it affects, and the land from which it comes. Panelists include Barbara Freese, attorney and author of Coal: A Human History; Robin Webb, a former miner who now serves as a state legislator in Kentucky; and Hillary Hosta of Coal River Mountain Watch, a West Virginia-based environmental organization that illuminates the natural and unnatural environmental aspects of mining.

The conversation is intended to honor the lives of miners who died in recent disasters in West Virginia and the many coal workers around the world who die each year in mining-related accidents. It is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Art Building at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for directions, here for a map.

Feb. 24: Forum at UNC-Chapel Hill on religion in the public schools

Several of the most prominent voices in the national debate over religion in public schools will take part in a daylong symposium on Feb. 24 sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review. Admission to the symposium (including a continental breakfast) at the Carolina Inn, adjacent to the UNC campus, is free, but a $25 fee applies for those who wish to have lunch on-site. Pre-registration is required; information is available at http://falr.unc.edu/register.html.

The symposium is certified for six hours of CLE credit at a cost of $13.50 for registrants. Designed for attorneys, educators and the public alike, the symposium will feature panel discussions centering on three of the most pressing issues related to religion in public schools today.

The keynote speaker will be William Van Alstyne, Lee professor of law at the College of William and Mary and a nationally regarded expert on constitutional law. Speakers will discuss constitutional questions associated with the teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms; the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and government-sponsored religious exercises in public schools; and the possible reintroduction of religious symbols in classrooms in light of a reconstituted Supreme Court.

Members of the legal, religious and education communities will give remarks regarding these issues. Dr. Michael Newdow, plaintiff and attorney in the cases challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, will be a panelist. Two prominent scientists also will discuss the validity of the theories of intelligent design and evolution.

Other panelists include Anthony R. Picarello Jr., president and general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is trying to reverse a California federal judge's injunction prohibiting recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools; Dr. Scott Minnich, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho, who recently testified as an expert witness in support of the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes in a Pennsylvania case where a federal judge rules such teaching unconstitutional; and Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented plaintiffs who opposed such teaching. For a full list of expected panelists and information on registration, visit http://falr.unc.edu/symposium.html.

Feb. 24: Entry deadline for Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism

Now in its seventh year of honoring the high ethical standards of print, broadcast, and new media journalism, the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism is seeking entries by the Feb. 24 deadline.

Administered by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the Payne Awards include $1,000 stipends each for the Individual, Organization and Student categories in print, broadcast, and new media, reports Editor & Publisher in a staff report. (Read more)

Last year’s winners included: The Denver Post (adhered to established privacy policy by not naming alleged rape victim even though competing media did); Kevin Sites (responded thoughtfully, including use of his blog, when his war footage generated negative reaction); Jon Leiberman (special citation for speaking out when he disagreed with his employer, even at the risk of being fired); The State Press (the staff of the Arizona State University student newspaper worked well with administrators when they and alumni reacted to a photo accompanying a story).

Other past winners include Jay Harris, KOMU-TV, and Voice of America (2002); Paul DeMain (2003); Virginia Gerst and The Bakersfield Californian (2004). For more information, visit the Web site, payneawards.uoregon.edu, by e-mail, payneawards@jcomm.uoregon.edu or call 1-888-644-7989.

Feb. 25: Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering in Kearney, Neb.

The Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering will be held in Kearney, Nebraska, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, in the student center. For more information visit www.cfra.org/events.htm.

Feb. 27: 'Unlocking Washington's File Cabinet' seminar in Austin, Tex.

Washington, for all its virtues and faults, is mainly a giant file cabinet brimming with information. Through the Internet and other means, this wealth of information is now available to enrich the work of journalists everywhere -- if you know where to find it! You can learn at a day-long seminar Feb. 27 at the Austin American-Statesman, presented by the National Press Foundation and Congressional Quarterly.

The seminar will cover strategies for extracting information from Washington. Seasoned journalists will share expertise in tapping into online resources and cultivating political and governmental contacts at the national levels. Participants will get year-long access to Congressional Quarterly databases.

Presenters include Jill Barshay, economics specialist for CQ Weekly; James R. Carroll, Washington correspondent for The Courier-Journal of Louisville; Patricia Edmonds, formerly head of the online news operation at National Public Radio and a reporter for USA Today and the Detroit Free Press; Isaiah J. Poole, U.S. House leadership reporter for Congressional Quarterly; David Rapp, Editor of Congressional Quarterly, and Nolan Walters, program director for the National Press Foundation.

Sessions will focus on: Public Security: A to Z; Capitalizing on Congressional Connections; Untangling the Social Safety Net; The Business of Government is Business; and Strategies for Tapping into Washington.

There is no cost, but reservations are required. Lunch and breakfast will be served. To reserve a seat, e-mail intern@nationalpress.org or call 202-663-7286. Provide name, affiliation, address, phone and e-mail.

Friday, Feb. 17, 2006

Rural America's health critical to U.S. economy, John Deere chairman says

Robert Lane, the chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Co. of Moline, Ill., a major farm-equipment manufacturer, said at a national forum Thursday that rural America not only has a role in feeding the nation and the world, "but its health also is critical to ensuring a vibrant U.S. economy in the future," writes Jennifer DeWitt of the Quad-City Times of Davenport, Iowa, in Deere's home metroplitan area.

Lane was among the speakers at the Department of Agriculture’s 2006 Outlook Forum in Arlington, Va. “The challenges faced around the globe from increased global competition in food, fiber and fuel markets require significant strategic investments in rural America’s future,” he said. “I would suggest to you that the challenges facing rural communities require, from all of us here today, a level of innovative thinking, risk-taking – and leadership.”

In a panel discussion, Lane said, “Rural development must be more than a concern for rural communities. Rural development must be a strategic national objective, one supporting a global objective of economic prosperity.” Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in the keynote speech to the conference, “A successful rural America is key to the success of this nation, and taking advantage of the forum gives us the opportunity to help guide and lay the groundwork for the future.” (Read more)

Update: For a later but more complete report on Lane's speech, from Delta Farm Press, click here.

Labor secretary seeks higher mine-safety fines, says system 'outdated'

"As Kentucky lost its third coal miner this year in an accident, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao urged lawmakers to increase the maximum fine for mine-safety violations to $220,000 from $60,000," writes James R. Carroll of The Courier-Journal. "We are concerned that MSHA's current penalty structure is outdated and may not always produce a sufficient incentive for compliance," Chao said.

Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, told Congress that federal mine regulators want to increase the minimum penalties and said the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration may examine how to improve the collection rate of fines.

Chao said the 25-year-old regulations governing fines need overhauling. Now, the minimum fine for a violation is $60. She said the new minimum penalty would be set during the rule-making process and MSHA also would examine the collection of fines, writes Carroll.

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., told Carroll that he and Rep. Major Owens, D-N.Y., "will be watching this process closely to ensure that it is not just empty rhetoric intended to provide political cover. Miners continue to die, so the administration must treat this with urgency." (Read more)

Kentucky newspaper lays out details of coal operators' unpaid fines

Kentucky coal operators have not paid millions of dollars in outstanding fines for health and safety violations, including many that placed workers at risk, federal records show, report Bill Estep, Jim Warren and Linda J. Johnson for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"For the 10-year period from January 1996 to last month, the current assessment of fines against Kentucky mining companies by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is $40.3 million, but only $24.6 million, or 61 percent, has been collected," according to a Herald-Leader analysis of MSHA's database. The story was a deeper analysis of a phenomenon reported earlier by other newspapers.

Neal Merryfield, the agency's current director of assessments, said MSHA ultimately collects 80 percent of cash penalties ordered against all mining companies. Merryfield said given factors such as how MSHA can proceed under federal debt-collection rules, "those really aren't bad numbers for collections," write Estep, Warren and Johnson. (Read more) For a list of the Kentucky companies that owe, and the amount of each fine, click here.

Journalists review happenings, or mishaps of covering Sago Mine disaster

A panel of experts made up of national, regional and local reporters at West Virginia University defended media coverage of the Sago Mine disaster, pointing to the unique nature of the story, the chaos of the event and the handling of information by the mine's owner.

"In 'Searching for a Miracle: Media Coverage of the Sago Mine Disaster,' national and regional journalists came to WVU as part of the school's 'Festival of Ideas' lecture series to talk about their experiences in Tallmansville and sometimes defend their role in spreading false information," writes Justin McLaughlin of the Times West Virginian in Fairmont, W.Va.

From the beginning, the journalists said they could tell Sago wasn't going to be like other stories, writes McLaughlin. Scott Finn, a statehouse reporter at the Charleston Gazette, said, "There was nobody in charge at Sago. We all just arrived and camped out on people's lawns. Some bad things happened to the families because of that." CBS producer Mike Solmson said, "They (the families) were our only source. There was no one source and nobody seemed to be getting it right." And, Derek Rose, a reporter from the New York Daily News, said "It was almost like mass hysteria."

The Poynter Institute's Kelly McBride moderated the discussion. She said, "I want to acknowledge that there's a lot of anger and frustration about how things unfolded that night in the media. We're not going to fix that. This isn't a witch hunt," writes McLaughlin. (Read more)

Kentucky museum plans underground mine replica to attract tourists

The Owensboro Area Museum of Science and History hopes to lure tourists and educate students with an exhibit that features the Western Kentucky coal industry.

The museum would offer a short film about mining, recorded voices of coal miners, hands-on displays and a trip inside a replica underground mine, reports The Associated Press based on a story in the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. (Registration and password required)

Burley Phelan, executive director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Tourist Commission, told the newspaper, "Something like that should bring people downtown. People like museums with unusual exhibits." Museum Director Jeff Jones told the Messenger-Inquirer the exhibit will cost $500,000. No timetable has been set, but Jones said the exhibit could be developed in as soon as 18 months. The coal mine exhibit is one of three being planned, AP reports. (Read more)

Cheney flap shows value of source development and 'smaller news providers'

"Old-fashioned sourcing and tireless questioning still work," writes Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher, citing lessons from Vice President Cheney's shooting of a fellow hunter and his media approach to the incident, which until yesterday was limited to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, circulation 57,000.

The owner of the ranch where the shooting occurred, Katharine Armstrong, "had known Caller-Times reporter Jaime Powell for several years," Strupp writes. "Powell, who had met the family during her time at the smaller Alice Echo-News Journal, had been the only reporter invited to the funeral of Tobin Armstrong," a major political figure in South Texas and Katharine Armstrong's father, last year.

More than 12 hours after the shooting, on Sunday morning, after consulting with Cheney, Katharine Armstrong "called Powell's cell phone. The veteran reporter, out of town at the time, told me earlier this week that she made a few calls on the run, headed back to the newsroom and got in touch with fellow reporter Kathryn Garcia. The two worked the phones and put out a Web story in just a few hours, beating all competition. True, they were the only ones who had been tipped off. But they worked quickly to check it out -- rousing the White House on a Sunday, no easy task, it turns out." (Read more)

The Caller-Times has stayed on the story, Strupp writes today, noting "an interview with Sheriff Ramon Salinas, who revealed that he did not go to the shooting scene Saturday night because he wanted to spend time with his family at an ongoing barbecue. 'That is not unusual in a small town, Garcia, 25, said about the sheriff's excuse. 'I think the questions are being answered.' The sheriff, in that article, had explained why he did not rush to the ranch that night. 'We've known these people (witnesses) for years. They are honest and wouldn't call us, telling us a lie,' Salinas said. 'I talked to an eyewitness who said it was a definite accident. We knew Mr. Whittington was being cared for.' . . . For Garcia, the job of the Washington reporters is 'to get to the bottom of things.' But, she added, 'I don't understand why they are so upset about it.' She also had a message for those larger news outlets who have hinted that the Caller-Times should not have been the first called with the story, and perhaps could not cover it completely: 'Sometimes it seems that they think we can't handle it, but we can and we did everything right.'" (Read more)

In his PressThink blog, New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen says, "Cheney did not make a mistake. He followed procedure — his procedure. ... The people yelling questions at Scott McClellan in the [White House] briefing room, like the reporters in the Washington bureaus who cover the president, are in Cheney’s calculations neither a necessary evil, nor a public good. They are an unnecessary evil and a public bad — ex-influentials who can be disrespected without penalty."

Rosen also wrote, "Cheney took the opportunity to show the White House press corps that it is not the natural conduit to the nation-at-large, and it has no special place in the information chain. Cheney does not grant legitimacy to the large news organizations with brand names who think of themselves as proxies for the public and its right to know." (Read more)

Rosen quotes a March 2005 editorial from The Economist (emphasis ours): "Power is moving away from old-fashioned networks and newspapers; it is swinging towards, on the one hand, smaller news providers (in the case of blogs, towards individuals) and, on the other, to the institutions of government, which have got into the business of providing news more or less directly. Eventually, perhaps, the new world of blogs will provide as much public scrutiny as newspapers and broadcasters once did. But for the moment the shifting balance of power is helping the government behemoth."

Sounds to us like those "smaller news providers" need to lift their sights and tackle the behemoth from time to time. One example to follow would be that of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which recently stationed a reporter in Kentucky's state capital to cover it for the chain's 12 papers in the state.

Institute Web site has student research papers on community journalism

Each fall semester, students in the Community Journalism class at the University of Kentucky, taught by Al Cross, the director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, complete comprehensive projects on a community media outlet, market, company or phenomenon. Those projects are now available on the Institute's Web site, under the Reports section.

The topics include: the promotional role of community newspapers; Paxton Media Group and its flagship paper in Paducah, Ky.; a new Northern Kentucky niche paper called The Sunday Challenger; the now-defunct Snitch, a crime-oriented publication in Central Kentucky; la Voz, a newspaper for Hispanic communities in Central Kentucky; Army Times; and WYMT-TV in Eastern Kentucky.

The Institute director teaches a class each semester to help aspiring journalists practice and appreciate rural and community journalism. These projects examine alternative perspectives on what defines community journalism, what challenges community journalists face in the changing media world, and what other journalists are doing to improve their communities.

The spring-semester class is a reporting project, this semester on Covering Rural Elections. Last year, the subject was The Future of Tobacco and Tobacco-Dependent Communities, several stories of which are also posted in the Reports section of the site, available by clicking here or the button above.

Rhode Island newspaper's bureau cuts sparks concerns about local presence

A Rhode Island newspaper's consolidation is yet another example of what journalists and media experts fear is the continued erosion of a vital local presence by the many of the nation's newspapers, as they downsize and retrench into metro areas, pressured by costs, competitiors and investors.

The Providence Journal, recognized for covering the state "like the morning dew," now has only three news bureaus, including one in Washington, D.C., writes Ian Donnis of the Providence Phoenix. Fifty years ago, it had 16 bureaus. After becoming managing editor in 1923, Sevellon Brown opened bureaus outside the city so reporters could reach stories in 20 minutes or less. "One wonders what Brown, who went on to serve as the Journal’s publisher from 1942 to 1954, might think now," Donnis writes.

Providence Newspaper Guild president John Hill told Donnis, “We’re concerned that this is going to make it harder for our members who [cover many of the communities outside of Providence] to do their jobs as well as they’ve been doing them, because you’re going to be further away.”

The Journal has had repeated cost cuts since the Dallas-based Belo Corp. acquired it in 1997 and has recently converted six reporter-intern positions into permanent reporters, writes Donnis. Metro columnist Bob Kerr told Donnis the office closings represent "a further decline in our news coverage. We are not going to cover those cities and towns as well as we used to, because we are not going to be in them as much as we used to." (Read more)

Illinois publisher Tom Phillips celebrates half a century at the same paper

In January 1956, there was a still-tenuous truce in Korea, Dwight D. Eisenhower was beginning the last year of his first term as president, and personal computers were decades away -- and a young man named Tom Phillips in Pana, Ill., began a news career that continues, more than 50 years later.

"As a teenager at Pana High School in the late 1940s, Tom Phillips knew that he would like to become a journalist," writes Rich Bauer, managing editor of the Vandalia Leader-Union, for the Illinois Press Association. In the Navy, Phillips received the training that would prepare him for a career in journalism. "And the interest he showed in the newspaper business while on a tour of the Pana News as a high school senior gave him the opportunity to return to the town he has always loved, in a career that he wanted as a youth," writes Bauer. In January, Tom Phillips celebrated 50 years at the Pana News-Palladium.

Near the end of his naval career in late 1955, Phillips got a letter from an owner of the Pana News, asking if Phillips was interested in returning to his hometown to write the copy for a booklet the newspaper was publishing to celebrate the community’s 100th birthday. Phillips told Bauer, "So, on the third of January in 1956, in the pre-dawn darkness at 7 o’clock, I came to work for the Pana News."

Phillips told Bauer, "I’ll never forget the first words he (Pauschert) spoke to me that day. He said, 'I pay for an eight-hour day, and I expect to get it.' He got his eight-hour days … and a lot of 10s, 12s and 16s." After "four or five years," Phillips was promoted to news editor, and in 1966 became publisher. At his 50th anniversary celebration, Phillips told Bauer, "This place is just like home. The people here are one of the reasons that I still look forward to getting up in the morning and showing up here." (Read more)

Former U.S. Marine's play about Iraq draws protesters in rural county

A play written by a openly homosexual former U.S. Marine about his experience in Iraq drew more than 18 times as many protesters as it did audience members in Casey County, Kentucky, last week.

Jeff Key performed "The Eyes of Babylon," based on a journal he kept while overseas, on Feb. 7 for 20 people at a community center. There were 369 protesters, from as far away as Tennessee, reports Linda Carmicle of the Casey County News. The play includes personal feelings about the war and some same-sex feelings he had while serving. Key said, "I'll soon be leaving Kentucky, but because of the 360 or more who showed up to protest the play, hundreds, if not thousands, more will now want to see my play."

Rev. Casey Davis, pastor of the Shady Grove Separate Baptist Church, was the leader of the protest.
"Forget what the Bible says, but (homosexuality) goes against nature," Davis said. "The moral make-up is for a man and woman to raise their children in a Christian-like manner. That in itself should tell people that homosexuality is wrong." Protestors also took issue with Key's protest of the war. Davis told Carmicle that every American should be supporting troops.

"Key, 40, said he knew in his heart that those against him were led to believe that 'The Eyes of Babylon' was a play written to promote same-sex relationships, but that isn't what it is about," Carmicle writes. "He said he grew up in a rural area in Alabama and he knew the risk of performing his play in a county that is much like the one in which he was raised. Rural areas are strong in their convictions and it was a risk he took to challenge those convictions with his own beliefs, he said." (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 24: Forum at UNC-Chapel Hill on religion in the public schools

Several of the most prominent voices in the national debate over religion in public schools will take part in a daylong symposium on Feb. 24 sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review. Admission to the symposium (including a continental breakfast) at the Carolina Inn, adjacent to the UNC campus, is free, but a $25 fee applies for those who wish to have lunch on-site. Pre-registration is required; information is available at http://falr.unc.edu/register.html.

The symposium is certified for six hours of CLE credit at a cost of $13.50 for registrants. Designed for attorneys, educators and the public alike, the symposium will feature panel discussions centering on three of the most pressing issues related to religion in public schools today.

The keynote speaker will be William Van Alstyne, Lee professor of law at the College of William and Mary and a nationally regarded expert on constitutional law. Speakers will discuss constitutional questions associated with the teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms; the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and government-sponsored religious exercises in public schools; and the possible reintroduction of religious symbols in classrooms in light of a reconstituted Supreme Court.

Members of the legal, religious and education communities will give remarks regarding these issues. Dr. Michael Newdow, plaintiff and attorney in the cases challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, will be a panelist. Two prominent scientists also will discuss the validity of the theories of intelligent design and evolution.

Other panelists include Anthony R. Picarello Jr., president and general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is trying to reverse a California federal judge's injunction prohibiting recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools; Dr. Scott Minnich, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho, who recently testified as an expert witness in support of the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes in a Pennsylvania case where a federal judge rules such teaching unconstitutional; and Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented plaintiffs who opposed such teaching. For a full list of expected panelists and information on registration, visit http://falr.unc.edu/symposium.html.

Feb. 24: Entry deadline for Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism

Now in its seventh year of honoring the high ethical standards of print, broadcast, and new media journalism, the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism is seeking entries by the Feb. 24 deadline.

Administered by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the Payne Awards include $1,000 stipends each for the Individual, Organization and Student categories in print, broadcast, and new media, reports Editor & Publisher in a staff report. (Read more)

Last year’s winners included: The Denver Post (adhered to established privacy policy by not naming alleged rape victim even though competing media did); Kevin Sites (responded thoughtfully, including use of his blog, when his war footage generated negative reaction); Jon Leiberman (special citation for speaking out when he disagreed with his employer, even at the risk of being fired); The State Press (the staff of the Arizona State University student newspaper worked well with administrators when they and alumni reacted to a photo accompanying a story).

Other past winners include Jay Harris, KOMU-TV, and Voice of America (2002); Paul DeMain (2003); Virginia Gerst and The Bakersfield Californian (2004). For more information, visit the Web site, payneawards.uoregon.edu, by e-mail, payneawards@jcomm.uoregon.edu or call 1-888-644-7989.

Feb. 25: Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering in Kearney, Neb.

The Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering will be held in Kearney, Nebraska, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, in the student center. For more information visit www.cfra.org/events.htm.

Feb. 27: 'Unlocking Washington's File Cabinet' seminar in Austin, Tex.

Washington, for all its virtues and faults, is mainly a giant file cabinet brimming with information. Through the Internet and other means, this wealth of information is now available to enrich the work of journalists everywhere -- if you know where to find it! You can learn at a day-long seminar Feb. 27 at the Austin American-Statesman, presented by the National Press Foundation and Congressional Quarterly.

The seminar will cover strategies for extracting information from Washington. Seasoned journalists will share expertise in tapping into online resources and cultivating political and governmental contacts at the national levels. Participants will get year-long access to Congressional Quarterly databases.

Presenters include Jill Barshay, economics specialist for CQ Weekly; James R. Carroll, Washington correspondent for The Courier-Journal of Louisville; Patricia Edmonds, formerly head of the online news operation at National Public Radio and a reporter for USA Today and the Detroit Free Press; Isaiah J. Poole, U.S. House leadership reporter for Congressional Quarterly; David Rapp, Editor of Congressional Quarterly, and Nolan Walters, program director for the National Press Foundation.

Sessions will focus on: Public Security: A to Z; Capitalizing on Congressional Connections; Untangling the Social Safety Net; The Business of Government is Business; and Strategies for Tapping into Washington.

There is no cost, but reservations are required. Lunch and breakfast will be served. To reserve a seat, e-mail intern@nationalpress.org or call 202-663-7286. Provide name, affiliation, address, phone and e-mail.

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2006

Cheney flap shows value of source development and 'smaller news providers'

"Old-fashioned sourcing and tireless questioning still work," writes Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher, citing lessons from Vice President Cheney's shooting of a fellow hunter and his media approach to the incident, which until yesterday was limited to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, circulation 57,000.

The owner of the ranch where the shooting occured, Katharine Armstrong, "had known Caller-Times reporter Jaime Powell for several years," Strupp writes. "Powell, who had met the family during her time at the smaller Alice Echo-News Journal, had been the only reporter invited to the funeral of Tobin Armstrong," a major political figure in South Texas and Katharine Armstrong's father, last year.

More than 12 hours after the shooting, on Sunday morning, after consulting with Cheney, Katharine Armstrong "called Powell's cell phone. The veteran reporter, out of town at the time, told me earlier this week that she made a few calls on the run, headed back to the newsroom and got in touch with fellow reporter Kathryn Garcia. The two worked the phones and put out a Web story in just a few hours, beating all competition. True, they were the only ones who had been tipped off. But they worked quickly to check it out--rousing the White House on a Sunday, no easy task, it turns out." (Read more)

In his PressThink blog, New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen says, "Cheney did not make a mistake. He followed procedure — his procedure. ... The people yelling questions at Scott McClellan in the [White House] briefing room, like the reporters in the Washington bureaus who cover the president, are in Cheney’s calculations neither a necessary evil, nor a public good. They are an unnecessary evil and a public bad — ex-influentials who can be disrespected without penalty."

Rosen also wrote, "Cheney took the opportunity to show the White House press corps that it is not the natural conduit to the nation-at-large, and it has no special place in the information chain. Cheney does not grant legitimacy to the large news organizations with brand names who think of themselves as proxies for the public and its right to know." (Read more)

Rosen quotes a March 2005 editorial from The Economist (emphasis ours): "Power is moving away from old-fashioned networks and newspapers; it is swinging towards, on the one hand, smaller news providers (in the case of blogs, towards individuals) and, on the other, to the institutions of government, which have got into the business of providing news more or less directly. Eventually, perhaps, the new world of blogs will provide as much public scrutiny as newspapers and broadcasters once did. But for the moment the shifting balance of power is helping the government behemoth."

Sounds to us like those "smaller news providers" need to lift their sights and tackle the behemoth from time to time. One example to follow would be that of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which recently stationed a reporter in Kentucky's state capital to cover it for the chain's 12 papers in the state.

Institute Web site has student research papers on community journalism

Each fall semester, students in the Community Journalism class at the University of Kentucky, taught by Al Cross, the director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, complete comprehensive projects on a community media outlet, market, company or phenomenon. Those projects are now available on the Institute's Web site, under the Reports section.

The topics include: the promotional role of community newspapers; Paxton Media Group and its flagship paper in Paducah, Ky.; a new Northern Kentucky niche paper called The Sunday Challenger; the now-defunct Snitch, a crime-oriented publication in Central Kentucky; la Voz, a newspaper for Hispanic communities in Central Kentucky; Army Times; and WYMT-TV in Eastern Kentucky.

The Institute director teaches a class each semester to help aspiring journalists practice and appreciate rural and community journalism. These projects examine alternative perspectives on what defines community journalism, what challenges community journalists face in the changing media world, and what other journalists are doing to improve their communities.

The spring-semester class is a reporting project, this semester on Covering Rural Elections. Last year, the subject was The Future of Tobacco and Tobacco-Dependent Communities, several stories of which are also posted in the Reports section of the site, available by clicking here or the button above.

Predominantly rural 'redneck' faithful fear NASCAR is ashamed of roots

NASCAR, with roots in running bootleg liquor in hot cars over country roads, has grown into a sporting and economic giant. Its unsophisticated beginnings have blossomed into a mega-marketing bonanza looking to expand its base -- at, some fans say, the expense of those who brought them to the dance.

NASCAR President Mike Helton recently told reporters, "We believe strongly that the old Southeastern redneck heritage that we had is no longer in existence," reports The Charlotte Observer.

Helton's comment riled Southern racing fans, some of whom wondered if NASCAR is taking its devotees for granted or has become publicly being embarrassed by them. "It's a new strain of the old tension between corporate NASCAR and its working-class fan base. And with the 2006 season beginning this week, it's an illustration of the sensitivities the sport still navigates nearly seven years after announcing a significant diversity effort," writes the Observer's writes Peter St. Onge.

Ruth Payne of Greer, S.C., a race fan for five decades, told St. Onge, "If it weren't for us rednecks, NASCAR would not be where it is today. [It] has become too commercialized for this redneck, so I will just keep my redneck butt home."

Lowe's Motor Speedway President H. A."Humpy" Wheeler sympathized with Helton, whom he noted is from the "hardly cosmopolitan" town of Bristol, Tenn. Wheeler said Helton didn't intend to malign his own roots. NASCAR has an audience of 75 million, and eight of NASCAR's top 10 TV ratings markets last year were in the South, writes St. Onge. (Read more)

Local governments, telecoms battle over who provides broadband access

Broadband is coming of age in more rural areas as officials view it as an economic must. Many fear being left behind as many American towns were during the Interstate boom of the 1950s and 1960s.

"Bardwell, Ky., ... is so isolated that only in the 1990s were its homes upgraded to private phone lines from a shared party line. Valerie Davis, a Bardwell resident who suffers from ... multiple sclerosis, wanted to telecommute on her worst days to her job as an information systems analyst at a hospital 35 miles away, but found her dial-up connection unreliable," writes Joseph Popiolkowski of Stateline.org. Davis turned to Connect Kentucky, a statewide high-speed Internet initiative, and a satellite provider extended broadband access to her farm.

While Kentucky has been a model of public-private cooperation in promoting high-speed Internet connections, other state and local governments have been locked in battles over the issue. Jim Baller, who represents a number of community broadband interests, told Popiolkowski there’s “a crazy quilt of different laws in different places.”

The American Public Power Association reports that as of 2005, 14 states restricted local governments' efforts to deploy public communications. Those in Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin face strict barriers to entry through administrative and legal hurdles, writes Popiolkowski. (Read more)

In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry recently announced plans to bring high-speed Internet to a number of rural areas, reports KBTV Channel 4 in Port Arthur-Beaumont. (Read more)

National Association of Counties plans to attack meth, a cheap high

The National Association of Counties has begun quantifying the effects of methamphetamine on communities nationwide by educating public and county officials and pushing for national legislation to deal with the epidemic, reports Kim Skornogoski of the Great Falls Tribune.

Jim Mulder, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Counties, told more than 100 Montana officials and community members at a recent conference, "This stuff is absolutely the worst stuff I've been around. In Minnesota, [as in most places] I can get high on meth cheaper than I can get drunk."

The Department of Justice has awarded NACo a $345,000 grant to fund meth research, including studies on treatment and the financial impact felt by emergency rooms. NACo President Bill Hansell told conferees three things will cut meth use: The government must close international markets for pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient; multi-jurisdictional drug task force grants must be restored; and local and national government agencies need to look at extending treatment.

Mulder said addicts crave meth for months, even years, after use and that traditional 12-step or 6-month programs won't help them. Cascade County meth task force member Kris Dunn said in reaction to Hansell's presentation, "We will not win this war on drugs until people realize that drug use is not a victimless crime," writes Skornogoski. (Read more)

Mementos, interviews, evocative layout bring end of the telegram home

Showing how smaller newspapers can localize national stories, the Kentucky New Era of Hopkinsville (circulation 11,000) published a feature about the beginning, middle, and recent end of the telegram.

In the early 20th Century, the telegram was the quickest and most reliable way to get information across distance in a time when long-distance telephony was expensive. When Western Union ended telegram service Jan. 27, few people noticed, wrote New Era reporter Jennifer Brown.

For most of the century, a telegram meant something as joyous as the birth of a daughter, or as sorrowful as the death of a son in war overseas. Brown wrote: "A telegram almost always meant that someone had died or that there was some cause for celebration -- a birth, a wedding, a job promotion." (Read more)

Brown's story reported when the first telegraph line came to Hopkinsville (1858) and the names of telegraph agents, and was accompanied by photos of residents with old telegrams, a Western Union sign and a layout with block, all-caps type like that used in telegram, with the headline "End of an Era. Stop."

U.S. Senate panel reviews safety technology for underground coal mines

Technology designed to help save trapped miners, including text-messaging systems and tracking devices that are not widely used in U.S. mines, was shown off on Capitol Hill yesterday.

"Lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee also got a look at the one-hour oxygen packs miners do rely on. There was broad agreement that the government ought to require operators to store extra oxygen in mines or outfit miners with longer-lasting packs," writes Nancy Zuckerbrod of The Associated Press.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has announced a temporary emergency rule that would require coal-mine operators to provide extra air packs. Several equipment manufacturers called for regulations clarifying what new technology should be used and asked for more development money.

Bruce Watzman, the top safety expert at the National Mining Association, said he wants the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to boost its mine safety research and development and the $30 million the agency spends annually is not enough. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. said, "As legislators responding to a crisis, we want to do whatever we can do to make mining safer, but we want to do it in an informed way and not a reactionary way." (Read more)

Eastern Kentucky coal-mine operator owes $800,000 in federal fines

Federal records show that mine operator Harold K. Simpson and his companies owe the federal government $807,975 in unpaid penalties for violating mine-safety laws.

The Eastern Kentucky operator "owes more than is owed by Kentucky mine operator Stanley Osborne, whom federal mine safety regulators sued a week ago for alleged nonpayment of more than $80,000 in fines since 2003, federal records show," writes James R. Carroll of The Courier-Journal. All the fines were less than $10,000, the threshold Carroll used for a story on unpaid fines several days ago.

Tony Oppegard, a former general counsel to Kentucky's mine-safety agency, told Carroll, "What if you had 2,500 parking tickets or 2,500 speeding tickets? You wouldn't have a car anymore." Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Caylor told Carroll, "There's no excuse for that." (Read more)

This morning, miner Tim Caudill died in a roof fall near Hazard, Ky., bringing to three the number of miners killed in the state this year and taking the national death toll to 20. For an AP story, click here.

Former miner alleges forced falsification of coal dust data, seeks damages

A West Virginia lawsuit may provide fresh evidence that coal companies falsified dust samples over three decades -- a double threat to the lives of those working underground, from explosions to chronic, often fatal lung ailments.

"Reggie Philyaw worked for Eastern Associated Coal Corp. for 28 years. Philyaw says he helped the company fake the tests ... meant to protect miners from dangerous levels of coal dust. Now, Philyaw says the experience caused his mental breakdown, and he is suing Eastern over his depression and anxiety disorder," writes Karl Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.(Read more)

In the early 1990s, "Peabody Coal, Eastern’s parent company, agreed to plead guilty to three counts of tampering with dust tests, pay a $500,000 fine, and show ... how its employees had tampered with the cassettes," Ward notes. Federal mine-safety laws limit dust in mines, partly to reduce miners' chances of getting black-lung disease, "but at least partly because of industry cheating on dust sampling, the law has fallen far short of its goal of eliminating the disease. In 1998, a series in The (Louisville) Courier-Journal documented that federal regulators knew for years about widespread cheating, but did little about it."

Hungry for jobs, W.Va. mining-academy recruits head off to coal mines

A recent string of disasters and deaths in the coal industry doesn't seem to have dampened the desire by many to fill the thousands of open mining jobs nationwide, according to enrollment, and enthusiasm at one mining training academy in Core, W.Va.

"Coal, once derided as a dirty fuel, is hot. Demand for coal to fuel power plants is growing as oil and natural gas prices soar. So is demand for miners. After more than 20 years of dwindling opportunity, miners' prospects are picking up," writes Tom Vanden Brook of USA Today.

The 17 current students at West Virginia University's Academy of Mine Training and Energy Technology talk about the disasters that have killed 16 coal miners in the state since their class began. But the promise of family-sustaining wages — maybe $12 an hour to start, but rising quickly to an average of $64,000 a year — is enough to draw a new generation of West Virginians underground, notes Brook.

Coal mining student Ryan Boyd told Brook he's weighed the dangers but he considers the risks minimal and said, "You're just as likely to get killed on the highway." Luke Popovich, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, told Brook the nation needs 50,000 new coal miners to replace retiring miners over the next 10 years. (Read more)

Ky. bill targets Wal-Mart costs to state health care, but appears doomed

A Kentucky legislative committee took retailing giant Wal-Mart to task yesterday, approving legislation to force the world's largest retailer to take better care of the 32,249 people it employs in the state.

The bill would require employers with more than 25,000 workers to spend at least 10 percent of their payroll costs on health insurance. The House Banking and Insurance Committee passed it 15-4, "but several legislators who voted for the bill said they still have serious concerns and might vote differently when the measure comes before the full House," writes John Stamper of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Even if the bill passes the Democratic-controlled House, it faces tougher sledding in the Republican-controlled Senate. Democratic Rep. J. R. Gray of Benton, a co-sponsor and strong ally of unions that are pushing such bills in many states, told Stamper, "It has a rough, bumpy road ahead, to say the least."

Wal-Mart has been lambasted for its health insurance policies, which critics say cause many of its employees and their families to rely on state-sponsored health care plans or go uninsured. The measure appears to affect only Wal-Mart. The company has 38 stores, two distribution centers and seven Sam's Club stores in Kentucky, which pay an average wage of $9.94 an hour. (Read more)

Feds say FOI requests prompted release of farmers' Social Security numbers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday announced it had accidentally released the Social Security and tax identification numbers of 350,000 tobacco farmers, reports The Associated Press.

The agency said the data was inadvertently released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests about tobacco-buyout payments to growers. The information went to eight different people or groups. Those who received the information agreed not to disclose it, to destroy any copies and to return computer disks containing the data, officials said. (Read more)

"The department is notifying growers who were affected and encouraging them to get copies of their credit reports to make sure their credit records have not been compromised," AP reports. People can request free copies of their credit reports at Annual Credit Report.Com or through the Federal Trade Commission's Web site. Most buyout money is going to North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Ken Hart dies at 88 after a long and varied career in New York and Kentucky

Kenneth W. Hart died Sunday at his home in Frankfort, Ky., after a long illness. He was 88. Hart was a reporter for The New York Times who also worked in New York theatre and moved into radio. He founded the Kentucky Coal Journal, an industry newspaper. He was former co-owner and manager of WFKY-AM in Frankfort and general manager of WLAP-AM in Lexington and WYND in Sarasota, Fla.

His body was cremated and his ashes will be interred in the Frankfort Cemetery. A memorial service was scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Rogers Funeral Home in Frankfort. Memorial gifts may be sent to Hospice of the Bluegrass, Franklin County, Frankfort KY 40601.

Longtime environmental lawyer-lobbyist Tom FitzGerald of the Kentucky Resources Council paid tribute to Hart: "Throughout the late '70s and '80s, as Kentucky grappled with the economic, political and cultural changes wrought by the implementation of the state surface mining program and the bust-and-boom cycles of the times, Ken's was a voice for the small coal operators. We at KRC will remember his good humored editorial ribbing (which was often at our expense), his thoughtful observations on the political process, his varied talents (including authoring of more than one Tin Pan Alley ditty), his advocacy on behalf of persons with mental retardation, and his friendship. In his memory we rededicate ourselves to the task at hand."

Rural Calendar

Feb. 17-18: Rails to Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington, Ky.

The Kentucky Rails to Trails Council invites you to the 2006 Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington on Feb. 17-18. for more information about both the Council and the Conference, visit www.kyrailtrail.org.

Feb. 17-18: Ky. Watershed Watch for Upper Green, Upper Cumberland

The conference for the Upper Green River Watershed will be held Friday in Bowling Green at the Western Kentucky University Faculty House. The meeting for the Upper Cumberland River will be held Saturday at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. For more information, and to register online, go to http://kywater.org/watch and click on your watershed of choice on the map.

Kentucky Watershed Watch has more than 3,000 members who give their time in an effort to improve waterways through a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring, skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations are contributing to the effort by providing volunteers, staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial resources, and more than 100 leaders organized in eight local Watershed steering committees carry out the work of the project.

Feb. 22, March 22: E-Scrap workshops in Kentucky on electronic trash

The Kentucky Division of Waste Management is sponsoring two workshops on managing e-scrap (electronic appliances): one at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton on Feb. 22; and the other at Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Powell County on March 22. The workshops are free but registration is required. For more information and to register on-line, go to www.waste.ky.gov.

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006

Small daily exposes California congressman's taxpayer-funded parks tour

In a story that shows how small papers can make a big difference as watchdogs on elected officials, the Tracy Press (circulation 9,800) in San Joaquin County, Calif., reports that U.S. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., took his family around the West in a recreational vehicle for two weeks at taxpayer expense. Bigger papers then jumped on the story.

Documents obtained by the Press show taxpayers covered most of his expenses, reporter Nick Juliano wrote. Pombo was reimbursed $4,935.87 to rent the RV. Committee spokesman Brian Kennedy told Juliano that House rules dictate “official travel may not be for personal … purposes,” but allows for members of Congress to bring family members along on official trips. Pombo said he took the trip to visit national parks, an area of committee responsibility.

Larry Noble, the executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told the Press that the trip gives the impression “that members of Congress are out of touch and feel entitled to things the average person doesn’t get,” even though he may have been doing some official business. Noble told Juliano, “I understand what he’s saying … but it does look like a family vacation, and the taxpayer has a right to ask, ‘Is this the best way to do this?’” (Read more)

Telecom lobby group drops opposition to government-provided wireless

A big telecommunications lobby has dropped its opposition to competition from government-sponsored, unlicensed wireless ventures. The shift by CTIA, which started life as the Cellular Telephone Industry Association, illustrates changing alliances in the field of municipal broadband, reports Technology Daily.

"What has changed is that we reflect our members and the industry. As our technology and our world has evolved, licensed and unlicensed [wireless] converge, and our members are a part of it," Senior Vice President Michael Altschul told reporter Drew Clark. He noted that Cingular Wireless has bid on providing unlicensed Wi-Fi service in San Francisco, and T-Mobile is offering Wi-Fi in Starbucks coffee shops and thousands of other "hot spots" to show that there are few companies "without a plan to deploy hybrid services." (Read more)

In many rural areas where companies have not provided broadband, governments have stepped in. Some state legislatures have prohibited that, and Congress is debating the issue.

Free preschool plan in rural area may offer preview for rest of California

A free public preschool that opened last fall in Nuevo in Riverside County near Perris, Calif., among the state's first so-called universal public preschools, will be replicated across the state if voters approve a June ballot initiative that would tax the wealthy to fund preschool for all children.

Nuview Union School District Supt. Jack O'Connell told Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times, "I really believe that preschool will be the great equalizer in terms of educational opportunity for students. We know the starting line is not the same for all students…. We have an achievement gap in California. If we wait to address it until high school, it's too late."

Kindergarten teachers who noted that preschool students had academic and social advantages pushed officials in the 1,550-student district to create the universal preschool. Kindergarten teacher Brenda Armstrong told Mehta, "The kids coming from preschool have a strong disposition where they want to learn and take the next step and take that risk to get to the next level…. Kids who had preschool experience were empowered by their knowledge."

The Nuevo preschool costs about $400,000 a year and us funded by a state cigarette tax local voters approved to help children in their first five years. Preschool enrollment in the fast-growing community is expected to more than triple in eight years, writes Mehta. (Read more)

Ohio state school board votes to remove critical analysis of evolution

The Ohio Board of Education yesterday stripped controversial provisions from science standards that critics said promoted the teaching of intelligent design.

"After narrowly rejecting a similar attempt last month, the board voted 11-4 to eliminate portions of its curriculum guidelines for 10th-grade biology and an accompanying lesson plan that called for the critical analysis of evolution. It also directed a committee to determine whether a replacement lesson is necessary," writes Catherine Candisky of The Columbus Dispatch.

The issue arose from two federal-court rulings last year, the Dispatch notes. First, a judge ordered schools in suburban Atlanta's Cobb County to remove from biology textbooks stickers that called evolution a theory, not a fact. Then a judge ruled the Dover, Pa., school board violated the constitutional separation of church and state by ordering biology students be taught intelligent design.

Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute, a leading proponent of the design movement, told Candisky, "There was no good reason to repeal this policy. It was all false threats that this was about intelligent design. This isn't over. You can't change the fact that there is skepticism about evolution." (Read more)
For the New York Times story on the Ohio vote, click here.

Study claims less going to faith-based grants; White House plans rebuttal

A study released yesterday reports that despite the Bush administration's rhetorical support for religious charities, the amount of direct federal grants to faith-based organizations declined from 2002 to 2004.

The study by the nonpartisan Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy examined 28,000 grants made by nine federal agencies over three years. It found that religious charities got an unchanging share -- about 18 percent -- of the money awarded each year, reports The Washington Post.

"White House officials immediately disputed the findings. They said they will release their own figures next month showing an increase in federal funding for religious groups," Alan Cooperman wrote.

Kay Guinane of the advocacy program at OMB Watch, a liberal watchdog group, said, "Faith-based initiative is really all about is de-funding social programs and dumping responsibility for the poor on the charitable sector." The Post article contained no direct response to Guinane. (Read more)

Pennsylvania court's blurring of Commandments in photo draws objection

In the midst of a national debate about Ten Commandments displays at courthouses, the Pennsylvania court system has decided to play it safe and blur the background of a photograph in a brochure about the state Supreme Court because it showed a courtroom mural depicting the Ten Commandments.

"The 2004 brochure became a controversy at a confirmation hearing for a court nominee [Tuesday]," writes Mark Scolforo of The Associated Press. Republican state Sen. Jeffrey Piccola told Allegheny County Judge Cynthia A. Baldwin that he objected to how the brochure obscured the words.

The photograph shows state Supreme Court justices with the mural behind them, notes Scolforo. Piccola asked Baldwin to prevent the painting from being blurred if an updated court portrait is produced. Baldwin is Gov. Ed Rendell's nominee to complete the term of a justice who was ousted by angry voters after lawmakers gave themselves and judges a raise. The raise was later repealed, writes Scolforo.

Art Heinz, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, told Scolforo he decision to obscure the mural was made by state court officials while state and federal court challenges on the display of religious texts at courthouses were pending. (Read more) To see the mural, click here.

North Carolina farmers struggle with tobacco buyout's tax impact

Former tobacco farmers and quota-holders across North Carolina are struggling with the tax implications of last year's $9.6 billion federal tobacco buyout.

The buyout was to reimburse growers for lost income, so payments to growers who did not own quota are being taxed as regular income. Meanwhile, former quota owners who did not farm are being reimbursed for the loss of value tied to the quotas they gave up. The payments they received under the buyout are considered capital gains, notes Norton.

Jake Parker of the North Carolina Farm Bureau told Frank Norton of the Raleigh News & Observer, "Folks are confused out there. This is a lot of money, so it's critical that they get the right advice." the payments are subject to up to three separate federal taxes.

Guido van der Hoeven, a buyout expert and agricultural economist at North Carolina State University, told Norton, "There are 78,000 quota holders in North Carolina alone. That means potentially 78,000 unique calculations on capital gains." (Read more)

Norton's story included these additional information sources: The N.C. State University Tobacco Economics, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Farm Service Agency and the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association of Lexington, Ky.

Florida farmworkers sue FEMA over denial of disaster aid to undocumented

A coalition of Florida farmworkers has sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency, alleging the government refused to help undocumented farmworkers displaced by hurricanes with housing because of their immigration status.

"Many farmworkers who were denied federal help after their homes was destroyed were forced to live in cars and other dangerous situations, while trailers intended for emergency housing went unused, according to a lawsuit filed last week," writes Denise Kalette of The Associated Press. FEMA declined comment.

The lawsuit claims that workers were denied short-term disaster housing during the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, including relocation to mobile homes or hotels, because they did not meet the government's definition of "qualified alien." The Coalition of Florida Farmworker Organizations and the Farm Worker Association of Florida maintain that federal law exempts short-term non-cash emergency disaster relief from restrictions based on immigration status.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction restraining the agency from denying emergency assistance to undocumented farm workers and asks the court to declare the policy illegal. (Read more)

Animal-rights groups sue to stop inspections that lead to horse slaughter

An animal-rights coalition and people who live near the nation's three horse-slaughter plants has filed suit to prevent the U. S. Department of Agriculture from providing horse meat inspections for a fee.

The groups alleged that USDA's plans to provide the inspections violates a law passed as part of the 2006 agriculture spending bill signed by President Bush. In that legislation, Congress cut funding for salaries and expenses of horse meat inspectors, reports Elaine Marsilio of InfoZine.

The plants say the law will cost jobs and economic benefits. The horses are slaughtered mostly for European and Asian consumers. The plants in question are Fort Worth-based Beltex Corp., Dallas Crown Inc., in Texas and Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Ill. notes Marsilio.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said, "Americans want horses treated with dignity and respect, not served up on a plate in Belgium or France. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is rewriting the rules as if ... the Congress and the American people don't even exist, " writes Marsilio. A USDA spokesman was not available for comment. (Read more)

Wild hogs rampaging all over Oklahoma; shoot a big one for a tasty treat

"For years, feral hogs have made their home along the Red River, rooting their way through farmers' crops and bottomlands. A few weeks ago, wild oinkers even committed the heinous crime of ripping up a cemetery," writes Louise Red Corn of the Tulsa World. (Not available on Web site)

"The feral peril, however, is not just southern Oklahoma's problem anymore. The state departments of Agriculture and Wildife believe that the porkers are now living in almost every Oklahoma county, and they are multiplying, going forth and wreaking havoc," Red Corn writes, adding that most are animals that have escaped from captivity or been illegally released. "Some have crossbred with wild Russian boars, huge critters that can top 600 pounds."

"They are superdestructive, they eat anything, and you can get a big bunch of them in a hurry," rancher Doyle Altaffer told Red Corn, who reported that Altaffer "is battling a posse of about nine known hogs." Altaffer said, "You get three or four of them, they each have five or six or more pigs, six months later they each have six more -- and pretty soon you have a pot load of them out there. And they get right after you if you run up on an old mama."

Feral hogs are fair game, and tasty. "Hunters said feral hogs who tip the scales at less than 150 pounds do make good eating -- more flavorful than the packaged pork from the supermarket," Red Corn reports.

Democratic leader kills Wal-Mart health-care bill in Washington state

"A controversial bill aimed at forcing Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health-care benefits appears dead" in Washington, The Seattle Times reports. "Despite a deluge of pressure from labor unions — and even some guarded last-minute support from one of the nation's largest grocery chains — Democratic House Speaker Frank Chopp refused to bring the bill up for a vote before a key deadline Tuesday."

Unions are lobbying for such bills in about 25 states, after passage of one in Maryland. The Washington bill would require companies with 5,000 or more employees to spend at least 9 percent of their payroll costs on health benefits. Wal-Mart says the legislation is political.

"Union leaders and their allies say Wal-Mart is dragging down living standards for millions of workers, especially in the retail sector, by offering meager health benefits to its employees," writes Ralph Thomas of the Times' Olympia bureau. "Critics also say Wal-Mart is essentially shifting a huge burden to taxpayers because thousands of its employees are on government-subsidized health care." (Read more)

Ken Hart dies at 88 after a long and varied career in New York and Kentucky

Kenneth W. Hart died Sunday at his home in Frankfort, Ky., after a long illness. He was 88. Hart was a reporter for the New York Times who also worked in New York theatre and moved into radio. He founded the Kentucky Coal Journal, an industry newspaper.

Hart was former co-owner and manager of WFKY-AM in Frankfort and general manager of WLAP-AM in Lexington and WYND in Sarasota, Fla.

His body was cremated and his ashes will be interred in the Frankfort Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Rogers Funeral Home in Frankfort. Visitation will be after 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorial gifts may be sent to Hospice of the Bluegrass, Franklin County, Frankfort KY 40601.

Publishers of chain-owned daily papers added to W. Va. Press Assn. board

Directors of the West Virginia Press Association have named the publishers of two chain-owned daily newspapers at the southern and western corners of the Mountain State to fill vacancies on the WVPA board. Appointed were Randy Deason, publisher of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, and Pete Zanmiller, publisher of The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington.

The Bluefield newspaper, which also serves part of Virginia, is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., based in Birmingham, Ala. The Huntington paper, which also serves parts of Kentucky and Ohio, is owned by Gannett Co. Inc., the nation's largest media company.

Deason and Zanmiller succeed Frank Spicer of the West Virginia Daily News in Lewisburg (Greenbrier County), who died recently, and Sandra Hurley, who is now publisher of The Sampson Independent in Clinton, N.C., after holding the same job at the Williamson Daily News, another Heartland Publications paper, since 1996.

Hurley previously was editor, ad director and publisher of a West Jefferson, N.C., paper that the Independent did not name in its story about her arrival. Heartland said it promoted Sherry Matthews, editor of the Independent since 1994, to the position of general manager but said she would "maintain her duties in the editorial department." (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Today: Register for Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training

The Kentucky county that was a site of the Hatfield-McCoy feud will be the site of a week-long institute to highlight the basics of mediation, negotiation, facilitation, and high-performance teamwork. The Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training will be held Feb. 27 through March 3 at the Pike County Extension Office. Participants will learn largely by doing through group exercises and role plays. To read more about the conference, click here.

Registration for the week-long event is $400, made payable to Pike County Extension District Board, and should be received by today. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available on a first-come basis, with first preference given to Pike County residents and then to Eastern Kentucky residents. Registration can be mailed to Tim Campbell, UK Cooperative Extension Service, 148 Trivette Drive, Pikeville, Ky. 41501, faxed to 606-432-2534, or e-mailed to tcamp@uky.edu. A detailed agenda is available at http://ces.ca.uky.edu/pike/news/HMIAT.htm.

Feb. 17-18: Rails to Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington, Ky.

The Kentucky Rails to Trails Council invites you to the 2006 Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington on Feb. 17-18. for more information about both the Council and the Conference, visit www.kyrailtrail.org.

Feb. 17-18: Ky. Watershed Watch for Upper Green, Upper Cumberland

The conference for the Upper Green River Watershed will be held Friday in Bowling Green, at the Western Kentucky University Faculty House. The meeting for the Upper Cumberland River will be held Saturday at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. For more information, and to register online, go to http://kywater.org/watch and click on your watershed of choice on the map.

Kentucky Watershed Watch has more than 3,000 members who give their time in an effort to improve waterways through a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring, skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations are contributing to the effort by providing volunteers, staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial resources, and more than 100 leaders organized in eight local Watershed steering committees carry out the work of the project.

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2006

PBS Frontline, Oregonian probe meth epidemic in special report tonight

It's called "speed ... meth ... glass. On the street, methamphetamine has many names. What started as a fad among West Coast motorcycle gangs in the 1970s has spread across the United States, and despite lawmakers' calls for action, the drug is now more potent, and more destructive, than at any time in the past decade," reports the Public Broadcasting System's documentary series Frontline.

With the help of The Oregonian, a Portland newspaper that has won awards for its research of the problem's rise from rural areas in the 1990s, Frontline will present "The Meth Epidemic" tonight at 9 EST on PBS (check local listings). The show "investigates the meth rampage in America: the appalling impact on individuals, families and communities, and the difficulty of controlling an essential ingredient in meth -- ephedrine and pseudoephedrine -- sold legally in over-the-counter cold remedies," (Read more)

A bipartisan Congressional coalition has called for international controls on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are essential ingredients for making meth. "Many states have forced cold medicines containing these ingredients off retail shelves and behind the pharmacy counter, a move that may become a national requirement," notes PBS. (Watch a preview)

Ohio state school board may drop call for critical analysis of evolution

Ohio school officials may revise today a biology lesson plan that questions evolution and that some consider to be an excuse to teach intelligent design.

"The push comes after a federal judge found in December that the Dover [Pa.] school board violated the Constitution when it ordered that students be taught intelligent design, the theory that some life-forms are so complex that an unnamed intelligence, maybe God, played a role," reports the Columbus Dispatch. "The decision does not apply in Ohio, but critics of state standards say it invites a similar legal challenge."

More than three years ago, Ohio was the first state to single out evolution for "critical analysis" in science classes. "A reversal in Ohio would be the most significant in a series of developments signaling a sea change across the country against intelligent design," writes Jodi Rudoren of The New York Times.

"Supporters say the standards and accompanying lesson plan promote analytical thinking and do not mention intelligent design except for the disclaimer: 'The intent of this indicator does not mandate the teaching or testing of intelligent design'," notes the Dispatch's Catherine Candisky. (Read more) But Rudoren notes, "Recently revealed Department of Education documents linking the course to the intelligent design movement have renewed threats of a lawsuit by opponents of the movement."

Board members have been pressured in recent weeks to toss out the lesson plan and the standards underpinning it, notes Rudoren. Today's "expected showdown comes a month after the board voted 9 to 8 against an emergency motion to delete the lesson plan," Rudoren reports.

A national group backing evolution has bombarded board members "considered crucial to a vote against the lesson plan with 30,000 e-mail messages over the past week," writes Rudoren. The president of the National Academy of Sciences yesterday urged the board to change the lesson plan and the underlying curriculum guidelines to "conform to established scientific standards," she writes. (Read more)

National symbol, the bald eagle, may soon lose endangered-species status

The bald eagle is moving closer to leaving the list of threatened or endangered species. "The federal Fish and Wildlife Service [has] announced a series of decisions toward declaring the bird's population safely restored, effectively jump-starting a process that stalled several years ago," writes Felicity Barringer of The New York Times.

Barringer notes the effort to remove the eagle from the federal lists began in 1999 but "became bogged down in debates over whether two other laws protecting the bird would actually prove more onerous for developers and landowners."

The Fish and Wildlife Service has issued new voluntary guidelines for ways to protect eagles' nests and feeding grounds, and has defined regulatory terms that determine protections under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The head of the service, H. Dale Hall, said of restoring the eagle population, "There is no clearer victory in the history of the Endangered Species Act," writes Barringer. (Read more)

AFL-CIO opposes federal mine-safety agency choice; W.Va. appointee closer

The national AFL-CIO has announced it opposes the confirmation of former coal company official Richard Stickler to run the nation’s mine-safety agency.

"John Sweeney, president of the group, sent letters to senators to urge them to vote against Stickler becoming the chief of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration," writes Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette. Sweeney said, “We cannot expect a regulatory agency to carry out a mandate of protecting miners when it is run by the very mine operators it was designed to regulate,” writes Ward.

Stickler, 61, spent about 30 years working for coal companies, primarily as a mine manager for Bethlehem Steel’s coal arm. The Marion County native worked briefly for Massey Energy, and then became chief of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, writes Ward. (Read more)

The Gazette's Tom Searls writes, "Gov. Joe Manchin’s proposal to change requirements for the state’s mine safety chief [has been] approved by the House of Delegates, but they would not allow the new requirements to take effect as soon as the bill is signed." (Read more)

Dead miner's daughter reveals 'smoke' letter to Sago probe committee

The daughter of a West Virginia miner who died in the Sago mine fire has revealed a letter written by her father that describes smoky conditions underground and his fading hope of being rescued.

"Holding back tears, Sarah Bailey, the daughter of George Hamner Jr., shared with a House panel a note her father left behind but which has not been previously publicized," writes Nancy Zuckerbrod of The
Associated Press. Hamner wrote in the letter about eight hours after the explosion occurred, "We don't hear any attempts at drilling or rescue. The section is full of smoke and fumes, so we can't escape."

The forum was organized by Democrats in the U.S. House. Hamner's wife and daughter were joined by other relatives of miners killed at the Sago accident and families of miners killed two weeks later at the Aracoma Mine near Logan, W.Va. Families of miners killed at a Jim Walter Resources mine in Alabama in 2001 also testified. (Read more)

Democrats from the Education and Workforce Committee said they convened the forum because Republicans denied requests to hold a mine safety hearing, writes Zuckerbrod. For Charleston Gazette's report on the forum, click here.

Georgia lawmakers want school buses powered in part by bio-diesel

The Georgia Senate has passed a bill that would require school systems to use environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel for a small portion of their gasoline needs.

"Under the bill ... at least 2 percent of the diesel fuel used in school buses and other local school system vehicles would have to be biodiesel by 2010. Sen. Brian Kemp, R-Athens, the bill's sponsor, said the effort would be a small step toward decreasing the state's dependency on foreign oil," reports The Associated Press. Kemp, who is running for state agriculture commissioner, told AP, "This is no longer an issue about lowering energy prices and a cleaner environment ... This is an issue of national security."

Biodiesel is a clean-burning fuel made from vegetable oils or animal fats. It can be combined with regular fuel in a diesel engine with only minor changes to the engine, if any, notes AP writer Doug Gross. Kemp said materials for the fuel can be raised by Georgia farmers and the final product can be made by existing Georgia companies.

Kemp said expanding Georgia's biodiesel industry could add over $1 billion and nearly 500 jobs to the state's economy. The bill exempts school districts where biodiesel fuel is not available, or where the cost of the fuel was more than 5 percent higher than the cost of regular diesel fuel, writes Gross. (Read more)

Tennessee Valley Authority boosts electric rates, citing rising fuel costs

The Tennessee Valley Authority has approved raising electric rates nearly 10 percent. "The increase of 9.95 percent begins April 1, exactly six months after a 7.5 percent rate hike took effect. TVA said the change will raise monthly bills between $4.75 and $8.75 for the average [home] customer," writes Duncan Mansfield of The Associated Press.

TVA Chairman Bill Baxter defended the increase saying the utility has "worked extremely hard to keep this increase as low as possible." The increase is expected to generate about $276 million more in revenue to offset rising costs, writes Mansfield.

Twelve of 14 utilities fed by the TVA bill their customers for fuel adjustment charges to account for changing fuel costs, but the Knoxville-based utility hasn't done that since the 1970s. For the TVA's 8.5 million residential customers, how much of the increase will be passed along will be up to TVA's 158 distributors in Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Most are expected to pass along the increase, writes Mansfield. (Read more)

Oregon proposal would force large employers to spend more on health care

Voters in Oregon may get to decide on ballot measure that would require employers with more than 4,500 workers to spend at least 9 percent of their payrolls on health insurance. The measure, similar to one the Maryland legislature passed recently, is aimed at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., says The Register-Guard of Eugene in an editorial.

"It would be hard to fill a phone booth with people who wake up in the morning feeling sorry for Wal-Mart ... So, when the AFL-CIO says Wal-Mart isn't paying its fair share of health insurance costs for its 11,035 Oregon employees, it's natural for people to be concerned for those workers," the newspaper opines. Critics of the company say its skimpy health-care spending costs taxpayers because some Wal-Mart employees make so little they qualify for Medicaid and other government help.

The editorial concludes, "It's unfair to whip Wal-Mart for the sins of the collapsing U.S. health care system, but ... if Wal-Mart were to use its renowned bargaining clout to convince Congress to act on a national health insurance plan, its current problem would be solved." (Read more)

Meanwhile, the documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price "captivated audiences and influential European distributors at the Berlin film festival" last weekend and "is expected to be released in Britain in April," reports Guardian Unlimited, the online service of the liberal British newspaper. It notes Wal-Mart's statement about the film last year: "Let's be clear about Mr Greenwald's intent: it is not to present a fair and accurate portrayal of Wal-Mart. It is a propaganda video designed to advance a narrow special interest agenda." (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 15: Register for Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training

The Kentucky county that was a site of the Hatfield-McCoy feud will be the site of a week-long institute to highlight the basics of mediation, negotiation, facilitation, and high-performance teamwork. The Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training will be held Feb. 27 through March 3 at the Pike County Extension Office. Participants will learn largely by doing through group exercises and role plays. To read more about the conference, click here.

Registration for the week-long event is $400, made payable to Pike County Extension District Board, and should be received by Feb. 15. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available on a first-come basis, with first preference given to Pike County residents and then to Eastern Kentucky residents. Registration can be mailed to Tim Campbell, UK Cooperative Extension Service, 148 Trivette Drive, Pikeville, Ky. 41501, faxed to 606-432-2534, or e-mailed to tcamp@uky.edu. A detailed agenda is available at http://ces.ca.uky.edu/pike/news/HMIAT.htm.

Feb. 17-18: Rails to Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington, Ky.

The Kentucky Rails to Trails Council invites you to the 2006 Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington on Feb. 17-18. for more information about both the Council and the Conference, visit www.kyrailtrail.org.

Feb. 17-18: Ky. Watershed Watch for Upper Green, Upper Cumberland

The conference for the Upper Green River Watershed will be held in Bowling Green, at the Western Kentucky University Faculty House. The meeting for the Upper Cumberland River will be held at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. For more information, and to register online, go to http://kywater.org/watch and click on your watershed of choice on the map.

Kentucky Watershed Watch has more than 3,000 members who give their time in an effort to improve waterways through a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring, skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations are contributing to the effort by providing volunteers, staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial resources, and more than 100 leaders organized in eight local Watershed steering committees carry out the work of the project.

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006

Indiana mayor, experts tout broadband Web service as economic necessity

A panel of community broadband experts has concluded that rural American communities without high-speed Internet access must be allowed to provide broadband themselves or risk economic failure.

"We had businesses and industries planning on leaving Scottsburg because of the poor telecommunications infrastructure," Mayor William Graham said of his Indiana city's reasons for municipal broadband, writes Drew Clark of National Journal's Technology Daily.

In 1988, Graham began to investigate the matter, after an employee at a local Chrysler dealership told him, "Chrysler tells us that if we can't get high-speed, secure Internet, we have to move the dealership." Graham also recounted how a local defense contractor and a plastics factory with international sales suffered because of poor Internet access, writes Clark. (Read more)

Montana senator offers legislation to bring broadband to rural areas

Rural telephone officials want subsidies for high-speed Internet access, and U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., is trying to oblige, reports Mike Dennison of The Missoulian in Missoula, Mont.

Burns has introduced a bill to revise the “universal service” program, which is funded by a charge on telephone bills and helps keep basic-service rates comparable to those paid by urban customers. Burns' bill would "allow universal-service funds to subsidize broadband and other high-speed telecom services [and] widen the net of telecom-related services that pay the universal-service charge, such as Internet voice, cable Internet and broadband services," Dennison reports. "More telecom customers are using services that don't pay the charge, putting the fund in financial jeopardy."

Burns said on the floor of the Senate last week, “Just as rural electrification in the 1930s led to a surge of economic growth and raised living standards across rural America, ‘universal service' plays the same role in the Internet era.”

Curt Fleming, general manager of Range Telephone Co-op, told Dennison that without universal service money, his 25,000 customers in Montana and Wyoming would be paying $70 to $80 a month for basic service. He also said Burns' bill could help co-ops offer more high-speed Internet services. (Read more)

Washington House votes to require petroleum vendors to sell biodiesel fuel

A bill approved by the Washington state House Friday would require 2 percent of diesel-fuel sales in the state to be diesel made from seed-based crops, or biodiesel.

If approved by the Senate, the bill would take effect Dec. 1, 2008, or before, if Washington farmers grow the amount of crops necessary to produce the mandated amount, reports Jason McBride of the Seattle Post Intelligencer. The primary sponsor, Rep. Jan Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, said the measure would give farmers a "new commodity market."

Some Republicans argued the final product could be unreliable. Rep. Jim Buck, R-Joyce, said, "The first time that one of these trucks goes down, the logger, the truck driver, is not going to come looking for the fuel company, he's going to come looking for me," writes McBride. (Read more)

Mine-safety agency checking reliability of tracking, communication gear

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration reports that since the Jan. 2 Sago Mine disaster, it has received about 50 proposals for underground communication and tracking equipment for coal miners.

"The agency is exploring the reliability of various technologies. Two major coal operators, Consolidation Coal Co. and Peabody Coal Co., have agreed to help MSHA test equipment," writes James R. Carroll of The Courier-Journal in his Sunday "Notes from Washington."

One device sends a text message to a small screen on a miner's lamp battery. Another enables them to be tracked from the surface. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has said the devices could be part of a legislative package of safety changes for the nation's coal mines, writes Carroll for the Louisville newspaper.

Acting MSHA Director David Dye said that while some of the few mines using the new communication technology were enthusiastic about its performance, others said it was not reliable. But former MSHA Director J. Davitt McAteer said the communication and tracking equipment worked and was in wide use in Australia and China. (Read more)

For an extensive Voice of America report on this year's mine disasters, "After Safest Year on Record, Coal Mining Deaths Raise Concerns," by Jerilyn Watson, click here.

Ministers preach evolution vs. creationism debate is a 'false dichotomy'

"On the 197th birthday of Charles Darwin, ministers at several hundred churches around the country preached against recent efforts to undermine the theory of evolution, asserting that the opposition many Christians say exists between science and faith is false," reports The New York Times.

Rev. Patricia Templeton of St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in north Atlanta told her congregation, "A faith that requires you to close your mind in order to believe is not much of a faith at all." In Evanston, Ill., the Rev. Mitchell Brown at the Evanston Mennonite Church preached that Darwin "forced religion to grow up, to become, really, faith for the first time."

"Evolution Sunday" is an outgrowth of the Clergy Letter Project, started in response to efforts to discredit the teaching of evolutionary theory in public schools, write Nella Banerjee and Anne Berryman. Michael Zimmerman, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, told them, "There was a growing need to demonstrate that the loud, shrill voices of fundamentalists claiming that Christians had to choose between modern science and religion were presenting a false dichotomy."

Zimmerman told the Times more than 10,000 ministers had signed the letter, which states the theory of evolution is "a foundational scientific truth." To reject it, the letter continues, "is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children." (Read more)

Are Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble spelling trouble for Christian bookstores?

Christian bookstores suffer when mega-retail chains like Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble rack up sales of The Purpose-Driven Life and the Left Behind series.

Books account for only 40 percent of sales in Christian retail stores, and shelves now include music, gifts, jewelry, stationery and church supplies, reports Rose French of The Associated Press. Bill Anderson, president and CEO of the Christian Booksellers Association, said independent retailers need to emphasize their wide selection, knowledgeable employees and partnerships with churches. Fewer than 2,300 stores belong to the association, and 337 Christian stores closed last year, according to the CBA.

"Religious books, primarily Christian, generated U.S. sales of nearly $338 million in 2003, which represented a 37 percent growth over the previous year. In 2004, the religious segment grew 5.6 percent while the overall book publishing industry was flat," notes French. (Read more)

Tennessee Valley Authority considers first mid-year rate increase in 25 years

The Tennessee Valley Authority today will consider its first mid-year electric rate increase in at least 25 years. The anticipated increase comes barely four months after TVA last boosted prices in response to escalating fuel costs, reports Duncan Mansfield of The Associated Press.

The nation's largest public utility, did not disclose the size of the proposed increase before today's directors' meeting. A 7.5 percent increase took effect Oct. 1. The new rates would be felt by about 8.5 million consumers who receive TVA power through 158 distributors in Tennessee and parts of Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, writes Mansfield. (Read more)

Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 11-12, 2006

Democrats lost in 2004 because they forgot about rural America, Reid says

Looking toward this fall's elections, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a recent visit to Colorado that in 2004, "Democrats lost around the country because we simply had forgotten about rural America. ... "We had a message that would have sold all over America, but Democrats had become complacent and thought they could win all of the elections by campaigning in the big cities."

"Democrats don't have to change their message, he said, they just need to don a good pair of boots and wade into the wheat fields of rural America to sell it," and editorial in The Denver Post paraphrased Reid as saying. Reid, who lives in rural Nevada, was on "a red-state tour, which recently made stops in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Nevada, with more to come," the newspaper reports.

The spokeswoman for the Colorado Republican Party, Rachael Sunbarger, told the paper that rural Americans vote their consciences. She said Democrats"might have this grand scheme to mimic our strategy and reach out to our base, but the bottom line is our message resonates with those voters," and a better economy will make it less likely they will conclude Republicans have abandoned them.

The Post editorial concluded, "We're glad to see both parties attentive to rural issues. Farm and ranching communities should be the beneficiary of invaluable political attention during the midterm campaigns and again in 2008." (Click here to read more)

National-forest parcels would be sold to keep money flowing to rural areas

"About 300,000 acres of national forest and grasslands would be put on the block to raise $800 million for schools and roads" in rural areas where the lands lie, reports Andy Mead of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Environmentalists were quick to find fault with the plan."

Others reported this, but Mead's explanation was quite clear: "Counties with national forest land aren't able to collect taxes on that land, so the federal government used to give them 25 percent of the proceeds from timber sales and other receipts. Because timber sales dwindled nationwide in the 1990s, Congress passed a law in 2000 that guaranteed payments to the counties regardless of sales. That law, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, expires at the end of this fiscal year in September. The administration wants to extend it for five years, but will ask Congress to allow land sales to pay for it."

"There aren't $800 million worth of funding cuts that we could find, which is why we are looking at this as a revenue raiser," Mark Rey, the Agriculture Department's undersecretary for natural resources and environment, told Mead, who wrote that "Payments would decrease over the next five years to wean rural areas from the program. . . . The money probably could be raised before all the land listed is sold, Forest Service officials said. The Forest Service owns more than 193 million acres." (Read more)

The state with the most acreage for sale would be California. For a report on that state and reaction from both sides, via the Tri-Valley Herald of Pleasanton, click here.

The Forest Service says the lands proposed for sale are "small tracts . . . that are isolated or inefficient to manage due to their location or other characteristics." The lands are in 34 states. To see a list, click here. Maps for most states are not available yet, but those for Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Oregon and Mississippi are available by clicking links on this Web page.

Alabama church fires rob rural communities of the centers of their lives

"Another Baptist church burned in West Alabama on Saturday, not long after investigators urged the arsonists believed responsible for a string of church fires across the region to contact authorities," reports Sarah Bruyn Jones of the Tuscaloosa News. "It’s not known if the fire that destroyed Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church on Saturday evening is related to the nine previous Baptist church fires, but investigators said they are suspicious." (Read more)

"The little rural churches of Alabama are like anchors for their small, often struggling towns, but nowhere more so than in this sparsely populated and predominantly black swath of the state's far western edge, home to four of the nine Baptist churches that arsonists have destroyed or damaged in Alabama during the last week," Rick Lyman wrote for the Saturday New York Times.

"Church is where the people come together out here," County Commissioner William Johnson told Lyman. "We marry there and we worship there and we bury our families there. But they're more than that. During the week we don't see each other so much, but on Sunday we get together, and church is where we do it."

Lyman reports that the arsonists passed by dozens of churches, "suggesting that they either knew the landscape or had taken time to scout their targets." Guy Thomas, an agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Since both black and white churches have been torched, officials believe the arsonists are driven not by racial hatred but "by other motives, perhaps thrill-seeking or some deep-seated hatred of religion in general and Baptists in particular."

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, the area's congressman, told Lyman, "Whatever their goals, what we want them to know is that they failed. If they wanted to harm the churches of these communities, they need to know that this coming Sunday the people will be worshiping, just as they always have, and we will rebuild all of these churches. So whoever they are, they have failed." (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 15: Register for Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training

The Kentucky county that was a site of the Hatfield-McCoy feud will be the site of a week-long institute to highlight the basics of mediation, negotiation, facilitation, and high-performance teamwork. The Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training will be held Feb. 27 through March 3 at the Pike County Extension Office. Participants will learn largely by doing through group exercises and role plays. To read more about the conference, click here.

Registration for the week-long event is $400, made payable to Pike County Extension District Board, and should be received by Feb. 15. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available on a first-come basis, with first preference given to Pike County residents and then to Eastern Kentucky residents. Registration can be mailed to Tim Campbell, UK Cooperative Extension Service, 148 Trivette Drive, Pikeville, Ky. 41501, faxed to 606-432-2534, or e-mailed to tcamp@uky.edu. A detailed agenda is available at http://ces.ca.uky.edu/pike/news/HMIAT.htm.

Feb. 17-18: Rails to Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington, Ky.

The Kentucky Rails to Trails Council invites you to the 2006 Trails and Greenway Conference in Lexington on Feb. 17-18. for more information about both the Council and the Conference, visit www.kyrailtrail.org.

Feb. 17-18: Ky. Watershed Watch for Upper Green, Upper Cumberland

The conference for the Upper Green River Watershed will be held in Bowling Green, at the Western Kentucky University Faculty House. The meeting for the Upper Cumberland River will be held at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. For more information, and to register online, go to http://kywater.org/watch and click on your watershed of choice on the map.

Kentucky Watershed Watch has more than 3,000 members who give their time in an effort to improve waterways through a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring, skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations are contributing to the effort by providing volunteers, staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial resources, and more than 100 leaders organized in eight local Watershed steering committees carry out the work of the project.

Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 11-12, 2006

Democrats lost in 2004 because they forgot about rural America, Reid says

Looking toward this fall's elections, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a recent visit to Colorado that in 2004, "Democrats lost around the country because we simply had forgotten about rural America. ... "We had a message that would have sold all over America, but Democrats had become complacent and thought they could win all of the elections by campaigning in the big cities."

"Democrats don't have to change their message, he said, they just need to don a good pair of boots and wade into the wheat fields of rural America to sell it," and editorial in The Denver Post paraphrased Reid as saying. Reid, who lives in rural Nevada, was on "a red-state tour, which recently made stops in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Nevada, with more to come," the newspaper reports.

The spokeswoman for the Colorado Republican Party, Rachael Sunbarger, told the paper that rural Americans vote their consciences. She said Democrats"might have this grand scheme to mimic our strategy and reach out to our base, but the bottom line is our message resonates with those voters," and a better economy will make it less likely they will conclude Republicans have abandoned them.

The Post editorial concluded, "We're glad to see both parties attentive to rural issues. Farm and ranching communities should be the beneficiary of invaluable political attention during the midterm campaigns and again in 2008." (Click here to read more)

National-forest parcels would be sold to keep money flowing to rural areas

"About 300,000 acres of national forest and grasslands would be put on the block to raise $800 million for schools and roads" in rural areas where the lands lie, reports Andy Mead of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Environmentalists were quick to find fault with the plan."

Others reported this, but Mead's explanation was quite clear: "Counties with national forest land aren't able to collect taxes on that land, so the federal government used to give them 25 percent of the proceeds from timber sales and other receipts. Because timber sales dwindled nationwide in the 1990s, Congress passed a law in 2000 that guaranteed payments to the counties regardless of sales. That law, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, expires at the end of this fiscal year in September. The administration wants to extend it for five years, but will ask Congress to allow land sales to pay for it."

"There aren't $800 million worth of funding cuts that we could find, which is why we are looking at this as a revenue raiser," Mark Rey, the Agriculture Department's undersecretary for natural resources and environment, told Mead, who wrote that "Payments would decrease over the next five years to wean rural areas from the program. . . . The money probably could be raised before all the land listed is sold, Forest Service officials said. The Forest Service owns more than 193 million acres." (Read more)

The state with the most acreage for sale would be California. For a report on that state and reaction from both sides, via the Tri-Valley Herald of Pleasanton, click here.

The Forest Service says the lands proposed for sale are "small tracts . . . that are isolated or inefficient to manage due to their location or other characteristics." The lands are in 34 states. To see a list, click here. Maps for most states are not available yet, but those for Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Oregon and Mississippi are available by clicking links on this Web page.

Alabama church fires rob rural communities of the centers of their lives

"Another Baptist church burned in West Alabama on Saturday, not long after investigators urged the arsonists believed responsible for a string of church fires across the region to contact authorities," reports Sarah Bruyn Jones of the Tuscaloosa News. "It’s not known if the fire that destroyed Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church on Saturday evening is related to the nine previous Baptist church fires, but investigators said they are suspicious." (Read more)

"The little rural churches of Alabama are like anchors for their small, often struggling towns, but nowhere more so than in this sparsely populated and predominantly black swath of the state's far western edge, home to four of the nine Baptist churches that arsonists have destroyed or damaged in Alabama during the last week," Rick Lyman wrote for the Saturday New York Times.

"Church is where the people come together out here," County Commissioner William Johnson told Lyman. "We marry there and we worship there and we bury our families there. But they're more than that. During the week we don't see each other so much, but on Sunday we get together, and church is where we do it."

Lyman reports that the arsonists passed by dozens of churches, "suggesting that they either knew the landscape or had taken time to scout their targets." Guy Thomas, an agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Since both black and white churches have been torched, officials believe the arsonists are driven not by racial hatred but "by other motives, perhaps thrill-seeking or some deep-seated hatred of religion in general and Baptists in particular."

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, the area's congressman, told Lyman, "Whatever their goals, what we want them to know is that they failed. If they wanted to harm the churches of these communities, they need to know that this coming Sunday the people will be worshiping, just as they always have, and we will rebuild all of these churches. So whoever they are, they have failed." (Read more)

Friday, Feb. 10, 2006

Modern media climate demands that journalists live, invest in communities

Community journalism must come from reporters who live and invest themselves in their communities. That was the consensus of some 200 journalists and students at a community journalism forum in Alabama called to discuss the roles of newspapers in their communities.

Those attending the "National Conversation on the Emerging Mind of Community Journalism" in Anniston, Ala., also discussed what a newspaper should and should not be in an age of changing media, writes Crystal Jarvis of The Anniston Star.

"Much of the conversation harkened back to fundamentals, the essentials of journalism. Face-to-face interviews, long the hallmark of reporting at smaller and medium-sized papers, were emphasized as the finest way to reach readers and reflect their interests and concerns. Conversations turned to the nuance of
news gathering, story development and the facile way a skilled hand could parlay readers’ thoughts into a representation for the printed – or World Wide Web – product," writes Jarvis.

Panelists and audience members expressed the need for many newspapers to implement the principles of community journalism, but there was no expressed consensus about just what "community journalism" means. Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, told the forum, "The definition of community journalism is how your readers see you, and if they see you as a community newspaper, you are. If they don’t, then you're not." (Read more - Subscription required, one-time, 24-hour access available free with registration.

Bush budget proposal would cut $417 million for anti-meth program

The Bush administration's $2.7 trillion budget proposal would eliminate a $417 million grant program that helps fund states' efforts to combat the nation's growing methampethamine problem.

This marks the second year in a row that Bush has proposed diverting funds away from fighting a problem that is running rampant through rural communities. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said local law enforcement agents should not bear the burden of fighting meth on their own. "Federal help is more important than ever," Lincoln said, reports Raam Wong of the Stephens Media Group.

Bush administration officials have justified the proposed cut by claiming no evidence exists that the grants reduced crime. Justice Department spokesman John Nowacki said the cut would "ensure that sufficient funding is available for counterterrorism and to reduce the overall budget deficit." (Read more)

Post-war jobs: Fifteen percent of vets ages 20 to 24 are unemployed

Many veterans are struggling to re-adjust to civilian life, and more than 15 percent of those 20 to 24 years old are unemployed.

That 15 percent unemployment rate is nearly twice the rate of non-veterans in the same age range, reports Military.com. The unemployment rate in rural areas may be higher since the armed services draw disproportionately from those areas. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said, "These rising unemployment numbers for these young veterans are startling to say the least," according to a Senate press release. The U.S. Department of Labor plans to give $162 million to state agencies this year to find veterans work.

In response to this unemployment news, Gulf War veteran William Bragg of Salem, Ore., writes on his blog, "That’s right. Join up. Become an ‘army of one’. Fight the good fight. War on Terror. Serve in Afghanistan or Iraq. Be a hero. But….um….don’t expect anything when you get home." (Read more)

Cheryl L. Reed of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Louisiana was No. 1 last year for hiring veterans and Illinois came in last, according to the Labor Department's Veterans Employment and Training Service. (Click here for complete rankings) In all, about 700,000 veterans are unemployed across the U.S., with 200,000 service members returning to civilian life each year, notes Reed. (Read more)

Al Tompkins' Morning Meeting column for the Poynter Institute highlighted the numerous problems facing veterans. (Read more) Rural media should contact employment offices and veterans-service agencies to do their own stories on the problem.

Coal industry's mine-safety fines rank as smallest of all federal penalties

A USA Today analysis has found coal companies pay some of the smallest fines of any industry for federal violations even as the nation tries to curb one of the deadliest periods in recent coal-mining history.

"The federal government levied a larger fine — $550,000 — for the 2004 Super Bowl showing of Janet Jackson's breast than it did for the 2001 deaths of 13 miners in one of the deadliest mine disasters in a quarter-century, and that fine, against Alabama mine operator Jim Walter Resources, was cut by a judge to $3,000," writes USA Today's Thomas Frank.

Federal law limits fines to $60,000 for each violation of a mine health and safety standard. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission can levy fines of $1 million or more for a single violation. Labor Department regulations require mining fines to be cut by 30 percent if violations are quickly abated, notes Frank

Steve Webber, who oversaw mining penalties for the federal government from 1999 to 2003, told Frank, "That doesn't make any sense. You're rewarding (mine) operators for correcting conditions that should not have existed in the first place."

Mining fines are particularly small compared with recent record profits in the coal industry. The 10 largest publicly-held coal companies reported combined profits of $2.4 billion last year on $24 billion in sales, writes Frank. Davitt McAteer, mine-safety chief in the Clinton administration, told a Senate panel recently, "The price of coal has increased dramatically and the price of penalties has not," adding that increasing fines "needs to be done and it needs to be done immediately." (Read more)

In midst of deadly 2006 start, coal industry reports banner-year expectations

The National Mining Association has expectations for a record production year despite mining accidents that have raised questions about industry safety.

NMA Senior Economist Connie Holmes reports, "Coal production is expected to reach 1.16 billion tons or 3.2 percent higher than last year. [And,] coal production in Appalachia, Illinois, Indiana and west Kentucky is expected to increase by 3 percent over last year. West Virginia is the nation's No. 2 coal producer," writes Ellyn Ferguson of the Gannett News Service.

Holmes told Ferguson, "Use of coal is going to set a fifth consecutive record. The production and use of coal is being driven by one factor -- unprecedented demand for electricity." She added utilities see coal as an economical alternative to using more expensive natural gas to generate electricity.

In response to stricter mine safety regulations being passed at both the federal and state levels, NMA spokesman Luke Popovich said the industry remains wary of potential government mandates and whether they would be effective in making mining safer, writes Ferguson. (Read more)

Kentucky House OKs wide-ranging mine-safety bill spurred by coal deaths

After the deaths of 18 people in Kentucky and West Virginia coal mines during the past five weeks, the Kentucky House has passed a bill that would increase safety equipment, bring bigger fines and prompt more underground mine inspections.

The measure passed unanimously and now heads to the Senate, where leaders have promised quick approval. Rep. Howard Cornett, R-Whitesburg, in the heart of the Central Appalachia coal country, told the Lexington Herald-Leader, "This legislation will save lives and I'm proud of that."

Kentucky has added funding for 14 additional inspectors since December 2003, although only seven of those positions have been filled. In all, the state Office of Mine Safety and Licensing has 54 inspectors, a job with a starting salary of $27,500, notes reporter John Stamper.

Kentucky led the nation last year in the number of mine deaths with eight killed, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, writes Stamper. (Read more) For The Associated Press version of this story by Bruce Schreiner, click here. For information on HB 503, click here.

UMW wants subpoenas for witnesses in Sago probe, presence in interviews

The United Mine Workers wants state and federal officials to subpoena witnesses for the ongoing investigation of the Sago Mine disaster, reports Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.

UMW officials say that subpoenas would stop witnesses who appear voluntarily from forcing union officials to leave the room during investigation interviews. UMW President Cecil Roberts asked for the action in a letter to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration and the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Roberts said in the letter. "An investigation that relies on voluntary statements will only work if the miners’ representatives can participate." (Read more)

Ward writes in a separate report, that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will examine foam blocks used to seal a closed-off mine area where the explosion that caused the Sago Mine disaster may have occurred. MSHA and the state Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training had asked NIOSH for special assistance in the investigation. Twelve miners died and another was critically injured in the Jan. 2 explosion, marking the state's mining disaster in nearly 40 years. (Read more)

Coal-dam project expands to Kentucky, Pennsylvania

The Coal Impoundment Location and Information System, a West Virginia-based Web site that monitors coal slurry impoundments, is expanding into Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

"The site features the latest information on 116 coal impoundments in Kentucky and 43 impoundments in [eastern] Pennsylvania," project director Davitt McAteer told Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.

The Web site is part of a pilot program developed by the National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling Jesuit University and several other entities. Impoundments are used to dispose of the solid and liquid waste generated by the washing of coal at preparation plants. The site provides alternatives for impounding coal waste. Support for the project comes from the Altria Foundation, Ford Foundation, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and the Rockefeller Foundation. (Read more)

FEMA: Housing still a hurdle along Texas Gulf Coast after Hurricane Rita

Shelter remains a challenge for those displaced along the Texas Gulf Coast by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, but hotel rooms for hurricane victims have started to clear with a change in the way federal payment for the temporary housing is handled, reports Beth Gallaspy of The Beaumont Enterprise.

Albie Lewis, a special assistant with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told reporters, "Beaumont is a more difficult case because of the total lack of housing."

FEMA has registered more than 478,000 Texas households needing help after Hurricane Rita and issued 426 authorizations for hurricane victims still staying in Beaumont area hotels. FEMA has paid for 4,444 hotel rooms around Texas. With the authorization code requirement, the number of those staying in hotels has dropped to 3,850, which means about 600 rooms statewide were vacated, notes Gallaspy.

Lewis also told reporters, "As we had expected, there were many that had other housing arrangements and took advantage of those arrangements." (Read more)

Bush budget proposal would make meat companies pay overtime for inspectors

The Bush administration proposed budget sent to Congress this week is renewing an attempt to have meat and poultry companies pay overtime costs for federal inspectors.

Processors, including Springdale, Ark.-based giant Tyson Foods Inc., would bear part of the estimated $124 million in extra costs. The proposal has been rejected in the past and is unlikely to pass this year, said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., writes Alison Vekshin of the Stephens Media Group. The proposed user fees would cover overtime, holiday and voluntary inspection services beyond an eight-hour primary shift, which is presently paid for by the government. (Read more)

Kentucky House 'In God We Trust' proposal passed after brief debate

A proposal to place the national motto "In God We Trust" in the Kentucky House of Representatives chamber has passed in the House.

"The proposal had been previously tacked onto a bill that lawmakers believe will allow posting of the Ten Commandments as part of historic exhibits in public buildings," writes John Stamper of the Lexington Herald-Leader. The amended bill passed 91-3 and now moves on to the Senate.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, said placing "In God We Trust" above the dais of the House speaker is "an opportunity to affirm what we all believe," and added the measure would make Kentucky a leading state in addressing the "oppression and censorship" of national history.

Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, scolded her colleagues and asked thm, "Will posting the Ten Commandments help ... kids? Will it buy them food? Will it cover them up at night?" Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington, urged legislators to post the Ten Commandments "in your heart." (Read more)

Beware of the trees: Nebraska landowners waging war on cedar infestations

"For decades, area landowners have waged a battle against one of the prairie's most ruthless enemies: Cedar trees," writes Rita Brhel, of the Yankton Press & Dakotan of South Dakota. "Now, with the help of the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project, the fight against this hardy, rampant weed should become much more effective."

Clayton Stalling of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission told Brhel that Eastern red cedar now dominates the state's grasslands. The Legacy Project hopes to change that, with a collection of groups interested in habitat and species conservation.

The NNLP's first task was to a wildlife conservation plan, completed in the fall of 2005. The next step is to implement the plan across the state's unique habitats. Certain areas were selected as pilot locations for their widespread cedar infestation, which is destroying grassland hills and oak-lined draws. "NNLP believes that improving the targeted area's habitat will impact a large amount of species and that its conservation efforts can be useful and easily repeated in other areas," Brhel explains.

Many landowners don't spray pesticide, chop trees or burn pastures, which allows cedars to spread to other properties. Stalling said at the project's public introduction, "We don't want this thing to linger for years. We want people to get involved now. Looking around the room, our most important partners are sitting right here," referring to local landowners. "Whatever we do, we got to make it work for here, and I don't think it'll be long until that happens." (Read more)

Ky. man's 'illegal hug,' alleged sex abuse, downgraded to disorderly conduct

Anyone feeling the need for a squeeze might think long and hard about requesting a hug from a stranger after a Corbin, Ky., man barely escaped sexual harassment charges following what he thought was a kind response to his perhaps romantic request.

Ricky Allen Baker found out he won't have to serve jail time after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, a lesser offense than his original charge of sexual abuse. His crime: an illegal hug.

"Baker was arrested Dec. 7 after he entered Tadpoles and Lillies, a childrens' clothing store on Main Street in Corbin, chatted with a 22-year-old female clerk for some time, then asked her to give him a hug," reports Trent Knuckles of the Corbin News Journal. "She obliged, and Baker left. He was captured by police a short time later after a worker at the store reported the incident."

Before the hearing was scheduled to begin, Baker reached a plea bargain, and agreed to a probated 30-day jail sentence. He is also forbidden to have any contact with the victim, 22-year-old Heather Cornett, or to return to the store. Cornett, said she agreed to the hug because of his odd behavior, and said she "feared for her life."

"I thought he was there to kill me and I figured if I didn't hug him, he would kill me," she told Knuckles. "He kept his hand in his pocket and it looked like he had something stuffed in his jacket. I thought it was kind of odd. I thought he was concealing a knife or something." (Read more)

California alt-weekly's meth story draws readers' anger, editor's apology

Jim Mullin, editor at New Times' San Luis Obispo, Calif., paper, is apologizing for "Meth Made Easy," a story that attracted angry letters, phone calls and personal visits.

Last week, the alt-weekly, circulation 40,000, published a story by Alice Moss that talked about how easy it is to make methamphetamine and even included "Meth Fun Facts." "A simple meth recipe can turn a $50 investment in cold pills and chemicals into an $8,000- to $10,000 profit," writes Moss. The article also documented meth's rise in popularity. "Meth is the drug of the hour. In recent years, its popularity has skyrocketed nationwide. In SLO County alone, law enforcement officials seized 9.7 pounds of meth in 2005, up from 2.5 pounds in 2004," reports Moss. (Read more)

In a written apology, Mullin describes the public backlash created by the story: "Many faithful readers vowed never to pick up New Times again. Businesses that for years served as distribution points told us they no longer want the paper in their stores. Other businesses withdrew advertising."

Many readers simply wondered what the paper was thinking, notes Mullin. To that, he replies, "The impetus for exploring the methamphetamine phenomenon was the January 5 bust of a meth lab in Paso Robles. We noted the incident in a brief story the following week, but a larger question lingered: Despite the well-publicized dangers of meth, law enforcement agencies continually arrest people for making it and using it. In fact, those arrests have become so common they barely register on the radar of the Central Coast’s media. But what did we really know about those 'laboratories?'"

Mullin is optimistic that something positive can come from this interaction with readers. "The outcry, the condemnations, the threats that followed have left us humbled and distressed. Yet we still have hope that this civic fury can produce something positive: a candid dialogue that leads to greater understanding — made possible by the power of knowledge," he opines. (Read more)

CNHI News Service names first of 10 'elite reporting program' fellowships

Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. has named Niagara (N.Y.) Gazette reporter Denise Jewell the first recipient of its Elite Reporting Program fellowship from the chain's news service.

Jewell, the city reporter for the newspaper, is the first of 10 "elite reporters" to be named this year. Each will spend four weeks on a CNHI News Service national reporting project that will provide multimedia packages for CNHI newspapers. The program begins Feb. 15.

CNHI Vice President of Editorial Brad Dennison said, “Denise has proven herself an extraordinary community journalist. Now she can take what she knows and apply it to national-scale projects with the help and support of some of the best editors anywhere.” Veteran journalist and vice president of news at The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass., Bill Ketter, will lead the first project. (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 11: Kentucky Watershed Watch conference for Licking River Basin

This conference will be held at Blue Licks Battlefield State Park between Maysville and Paris. For more information, and to register on-line, go to http://kywater.org/watch.

Kentucky Watershed Watch has more than 3,000 members who give their time in an effort to improve waterways through a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring, skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations are providing volunteers, staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial resources, and more than 100 leaders in eight local Watershed steering committees carry out the work.

Feb. 14: Agricultural pesticides safety workshop in Louisville

Agricultural pesticide applicators can attend a daylong educational workshop Feb. 14 in Louisville, then spend the next day browsing through the exhibits at the National Farm Machinery Show.

The workshop will begin at 8:50 a.m. at the Executive Inn, located just outside the gates of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, home to the annual machinery show. Information will be provided on regulatory and safety issues, crop biosecurity for dealers, and soybean integrated pest management issues and control strategies, reports Laura Skillman of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Communications Department. (Read more)

The meeting is sponsored by the University of Kentucky Pesticide Safety Program, Kentucky IPM Program and the AgriBusiness Association of Kentucky. The cost of the workshop is $35. Registration will be taken at the door but pre-registration is requested. To register, contact Tod Griffin at (502) 226-1122 or tgriffin@kyretail.com.

Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006

When the cat's away, the mice will play; legislators need more media cats

"For many members of Congress there's no local reporter keeping track of their golf buddies, legislative interests, campaign contributors, etc. They are never scrutinized. So who knows what they're up to? How many of you had huge parties in high school when your parents went out of town?" asked Shailagh Murray of The Washington Post in an e-mail chat about congressional politics yesterday.

She was answering a question from a Maryland reader who wanted to know "how plausible is it that there is only one Jack Abramoff? How plausible is it that there is only one Duke Cunningham?" Cunningham is the California congressman recently convicted of taking bribes. "The indications are that the case highlights a pattern," the reader wrote, then urged, "Keep digging!" (Read more)

Murray prefaced her reply with this observation: "I do think that the crusading spirit of many newspapers has been more or less snuffed out, either because the newspapers have disappeared, or because they have other priorities." In other words, they no longer have Washington correspondents or their local news staffs put less priority on covering state and federal legislators.

The result is that most members of Congress -- not just "many," as Murray guessed -- and the state legislatures do not have a reporter assigned to cover them on a regular basis. Modern technology, mainly the Internet, makes it possible to do much of that job without being in the capital. For example, campaign-finance and lobbying reports are easily available online. As the Maryland reader urged, "Keep digging!" If you need help, contact the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

Conference on community journalism opens in Anniston, continues today

"A National Conversation on the Emerging Mind of Community Journalism" began last night in the new offices of The Anniston Star and continues today at the Buckner Center in the eastern Alabama city. "It’s just the start of a discussion central to the survival of newspapers as well as a fully functioning democracy," according to an editorial in the newspaper.

The conference is just part of what organizers call "community journalism week" in the area, which began Tuesday with the first meeting of the advisory board for the Knight Community Journalism Fellows, a master's degree program that the University of Alabama will operate at the Star starting this fall, using it as a teaching newspaper, much as medical schools have teaching hospitals.

The program is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The president of the foundation, Alberto Ibargüen, spoke Tuesday night at the annual banquet the Star holds for writers of the best letters to the editor, and gave the annual Ayers Lecture, endowed by the Star's owners, at Jacksonville State University near Anniston yesterday.

Ibargüen, former publisher of The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, told the letter writers that they should value the freedom to get their views published, in light of the many murders of journalists in other countries. “I hope you appreciate the fabulous privilege that you have,” Ibargüen told the crowd. (Read more from the Star; subscription required) To read Ibarguen's full text, click here.

During yesterday's lecture, Ibargüen said the 26,000-circulation Star "exemplifies the best of community journalism" because it follows these principles: "Think reader, think big, make even stories from afar have local impact." He said Knight Ridder, the newspaper company whose original owners created the foundation, has been forced to put it up for sale to satisfy the demands of certain shareholders "who have shown no interest in journalism or in community."

Federal mine-safety agency unclear on timeline for implementing new rules

The federal agency in charge of the safety of miners has yet to say when it will implement new safety rules.

"The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said [Wednesday] it would enact an emergency rule to require additional emergency oxygen supplies in underground mines. MSHA also said it would require lifelines to guide miners out of mines, immediate notification by operators of accidents, and additional emergency training for miners. But MSHA has yet to release a complete copy of its plan and said they are not sure when a draft will be completed," writes Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.

MSHA critics noted most of the mine-safety items included in the agency proposal have been on the table but ignored or rejected for years. United Mine Workers of America spokesman Phil Smith told Ward, "We’re glad that MSHA is taking this action, but there is more to do."

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., told Ward, "It’s about time the agency responded. [But] these steps aren’t enough. We need more inspectors. We need tougher enforcement of mine safety violations." But, National Mining Association President Kraig R. Naasz told the newspaper, "We fully endorse the direction MSHA has taken with these measures and look forward to working toward their effective implementation." (Read more)

West Virginia fast tracks appointment of temporary mine-safety director

West Virginia senators have hurriedly passed legislation permitting the appointment of a person with no underground coal mine experience to head the state's Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training.

"The action is a step toward allowing Gov. Joe Manchin to temporarily appoint a West Virginia University professor to the post. Current law requires the director ... to have five years of experience as an underground coal miner. The new bill also allows for five years of 'education, training or experience in underground coal mining safety,'" writes Tom Searles of The Charleston Gazette.

Manchin plans to appoint WVU professor James Mitchell Dean, who conducts safety seminars at mines, to be director until a permanent replacement can be found for Doug Conaway, who announced he is stepping down. Sixteen miners have been killed in four incidents this year. (Read more)

For an Associated Press report, The sole survivor of the Sago [W.Va.] Mine disaster remains "in a fog," but is interacting with family members, click here.

Wisconsin bill would ban intelligent design from school science courses

Two Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban public schools from teaching intelligent design as science, saying "pseudo-science" should have no place in the classroom.

"The proposal is the first of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and comes as a debate over how to teach the origins of human life rages in local school districts," writes Ryan J. Foley of The Associated Press.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, has acknowledged an uphill fight in a legislature where Republicans control both houses. "The measure would force material included in science curriculums to describe only natural processes. The material also would need to follow the definitions of science adopted by the National Academy of Sciences," writes Foley.

Critics say intelligent design is a thinly disguised religion without scientific basis. A Pennsylvania federal judge agreed in December to strike down one school district's policy. Berceau told reporters, "Our children must be exposed to what science really is about ... free of political or religious connotations." Under her plan, parents could file lawsuits if their children's science teachers went beyond the curriculum to teach non-science-based theories, writes Foley. (Read more)

Parents, students say proposed Bible course in Alabama needs guidelines

Parents, students and a teacher in Athens, Ala., want to know if a state bill allowing a Bible course in high schools also mandates guidelines to teach the course without violating the separation of church and state.

"Legislation introduced by Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, and House Speaker, Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia, is set for a vote this legislative session to allow an elective course in public high schools called 'The Bible and Its Influence,'" writes Jennifer Hill of The News-Courier in Athens, Ala.

Individual school boards could then offer the course in each jurisdiction if the bill passes. The bill does not stipulate who would teach the course, nor does it offer guidelines for qualifications of that teacher. The Bible and its Influence, by Cullen Schippe-Chuck Stetson, the only textbook named in the bill, examines the Bible and its influences on art, literature and culture, but has drawn opposition from conservatives for its expansive approach.

High school science teacher Chris Faulkner told Hill, “There is no way to bring this into the classroom without getting into a discussion about belief. I think that before this happens there needs to be a required amount of hours of training. They’ve got to know what they can say or can’t say. A kid is going to raise his hand to ask ‘What do you believe?’ Can I tell them?” (Read more)

Anthony Harbin, a youth leader at a local Baptist church, told Hill, “Any exposure to the Bible is good ... if they can get in the basics ... with no denominational bias it’s better than not getting anything.”

Colorado lawsuit seeks public funding for Christian college scholarships

What started as an effort by Colorado Christian University to make students eligible for state-funded scholarships to pursue a "Christ-centered" education could set a precedent on how states can regulate the flow of government money to religious institutions.

"Colorado education officials decided that giving scholarship money to students of the Lakewood-based evangelical school would violate the principle of separation of church and state as defined in Colorado law. The denial prompted a federal lawsuit and national attention. In December, the U.S. Department of Justice's civil-rights division filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case -- and sided with the university," writes Alicia Caldwell of the Denver Post. (Read more)

University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor Doug Linder told the Post, "It's not too cynical to suggest that one of the important constituencies the DOJ needs to keep happy is the evangelical community." The Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the agency being sued by Colorado Christian, decided not to fight the intervention by the DOJ. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told the newspaper that decision sounded "curiously political." Lynn said 37 states restrict the flow of state money for religious purposes, including schools.

To listen to National Public Radio's Madeleine Brand interview with Slate magazine legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick about the lawsuit on yesterday's All Things Considered, click here.

Wash. report: Wal-Mart, other retailers cost state millions in health dollars

A report produced for two Washington state senators says Wal-Mart and other large retailers are pushing tens of millions of dollars per year in health costs onto the state's taxpayers. "Supporters of a bill that forces large companies to pay a minimum amount for health benefits planned to use the new data to press lawmakers for a vote on the measure," writes Curt Woodward of The Associated Press.

Wal-Mart officials and business groups have railed against the proposal, saying it is meant to punish certain businesses and will have no real effect for workers who need help paying their hospital bills. The report estimates that in 2004, Wal-Mart workers received more than $22.7 million in taxpayer-funded health benefits. More than $12.1 million of that came from Washington state’s coffers, notes Woodward.

The report also includes public-health cost estimates for three other large retail or grocery outlets: Safeway, with more than $10.8 million spent on its workers; Fred Meyer, with more than $7 million; and Target, with more than $5.8 million. "Officials computed an average monthly cost to the state of $182 for workers on Washington’s Basic Health Plan. Each worker who received Medicaid benefits was assumed to cost the state an average of $291 per month," writes Woodward.

The report did not calculate the additional taxpayer cost for dependent children of those workers, but said costs would increase by 20 percent for each Medicaid-eligible child supported by a worker, notes Woodward. (Read more)

Oklahoma legislator says state's rural areas 'REDI' for change

Oklahoma House Speaker Todd Hiett, an ardent Republican, and other legislators have announced the Rural Economic Development Initiative, a move to bring residents and jobs into areas in decline.

The Come Home Oklahoma Act would enact a five-year personal income tax exemption for any out-of-state person or family who moves into a REDI county or community and buys or builds a house for their primary residence. C. J. Montgomery, president of one county chamber of commerce, said, "Anything that helps rural Oklahoma, that was the stance they said they’d take," writes James S. Tyree of the Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. News Service.

The measure would cost the state $6 million in fiscal year 2007 and $60 million by fiscal year 2013. But the return would be much more, said Rep. Lee Denney of Cushing. Lee told Tyree, "If they get a job here then they buy a house and put their kids in schools here and they’re part of the economy, paying property and sales taxes, so it’s just a rippling effect." (Read more)

Kentucky governor reports progress in increasing broadband access

Citing an Eastern Kentucky teen who still faces technological obstacles in his work as a Web designer, Gov. Ernie Fletcher yesterday announced progress in expanding broadband service.

Fletcher told reporters, "In the past two years, more than 240,000 Kentucky households have gained access to broadband service, and 77 percent of Kentucky households can tap into the high-speed service, up from about 60 percent in 2003. The goal is to expand such availability to 90 percent of Kentucky households by year's end, and for full access in Kentucky by the end of 2007."

Kentucky has led the nation in growth of new subscribers to high-speed Internet in the last two years, writes Bruce Schreiner of The Associated Press. Home broadband use in Kentucky has increased from 22 percent to 32 percent. The ConnectKentucky progress report estimated full broadband development would add 14,000 jobs statewide and $5 billion to Kentucky's overall economy. (Read more)

Teen-ager Jarad Fugate told reporters he craves more speed for his Web design company, but high-speed broadband Internet service hasn't reached the Eastern Kentucky mountains. Instead, he uses a dial-up service with slower access. The 17-year-old Breathitt County high school junior said broadband service for his fledgling business, "would mean I could publish my Web sites quicker." Fugate received a technology award for his work. For the Lexington Herald-Leader story, by Jack Brammer, click here.

Lines drawn in Vermont over governor's exemption to state open records

A recently enacted exemption in Vermont's open records law, created by the state's governor to cover the deliberations of state officials, has riled a number of state legislators.

"A stream of state employees, lawyers and citizen advocates hammered away during a public hearing, trying to tear down an exemption to the open records law that has been invoked by the administration of Gov. James Douglas," writes Louis Potter of the Rutland Herald.

The administration says the exemption is needed to protect the deliberations of state workers. Administration officials said if lawmakers want to do away with it, "they must also curtail exemptions to public records law in the Legislature and in municipal governments." Former Vermont Attorney General Kimberly Cheney, who wrote the state's public records law, called the "leveling the playing field" argument "totally irrelevant." He said the exemption "doesn't belong in the law … it's a mistake," writes Potter.

Although executive privilege and attorney client privilege protect other documents from public view in some cases, the deliberative process exemption is not a part of the state's statutes. The exemption was recognized by a county judge last year, although the Vermont Supreme Court has not weighed in on the question of deliberative process yet, writes Potter. (Read more)

Kentucky lawmakers seek way to thwart thefts of key meth ingredient

A Western Kentucky farm store manager wants to help lawmakers stop a common crime in the state's Western grain belt, the theft of anhydrous ammonia, a chemical used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine. But he fears a solution could cause economic strain for farmers.

"[Jobee] Thrasher [has] some misgivings about a bill to require farm supply distributors to add a non-toxic dye to the product. Supporters see it as a way to halt the pipeline in which the stolen fertilizer winds up in meth labs," writes Bruce Schreiner of The Associated Press.

Thrasher said he isn't convinced a product exists yet to make anhydrous ammonia useless as a meth ingredient. He also thinks the legislation would put an unfair financial burden on the farm sector, notes Schreiner. He told the House Judiciary Committee, "We don't think it's fair for the retail industry and the farm community to bear all that cost since it is a societal problem."

GloTell Spokesman Truitt Clements told the committee, "If a thief steals anhydrous with the GloTell in it, it turns [meth] into a gooey mess." Clements said GloTell would cost about 82 cents an acre, or less than a half-penny a bushel. For farm supply retailers, it would cost about $9 per ton of anhydrous ammonia. Clements urged state lawmakers to seek federal funding to offset the cost to farmers. (Read more)

Rural Calendar

Feb. 11: Kentucky Watershed Watch conference for Licking River Basin

This conference will be held at Blue Licks Battlefield State Park between Maysville and Paris. For more information, and to register on-line, go to http://kywater.org/watch.

Kentucky Watershed Watch has more than 3,000 members who give their time in an effort to improve waterways through a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring, skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations are providing volunteers, staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial resources, and more than 100 leaders in eight local Watershed steering committees carry out the work.

Feb. 14: Agricultural pesticides safety workshop in Louisville

Agricultural pesticide applicators can attend a daylong educational workshop Feb. 14 in Louisville, then spend the next day browsing through the exhibits at the National Farm Machinery Show.

The workshop will begin at 8:50 a.m. at the Executive Inn, located just outside the gates of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, home to the annual machinery show. Information will be provided on regulatory and safety issues, crop biosecurity for dealers, and soybean integrated pest management issues and control strategies, reports Laura Skillman of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Communications Department. (Read more)

The meeting is sponsored by the University of Kentucky Pesticide Safety Program, Kentucky IPM Program and the AgriBusiness Association of Kentucky. The cost of the workshop is $35. Registration will be taken at the door but pre-registration is requested. To register, contact Tod Griffin at (502) 226-1122 or tgriffin@kyretail.com.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006

Some rural programs would be trimmed under proposed federal budget

In his proposed budget, President Bush is trying again to reduce funding for the Community Development Block Grant program, which is popular in small towns and inner cities, and to eliminate "food packages for the poor sponsored by the Agriculture Department," reports The Washington Post.

The administration "has been unwilling to identify the 141 programs the president is targeting for next year, for a total savings of $15 billion," Goldstein writes, then cites "budget documents and administration sources" to report that the overwhelming majority of the programs have been targeted in previous Bush budgets, and the cuts were at least partly rejected by Congress. "Just one in six of them are new targets," reporter Amy Goldstein writes.

Last year, the White House tried to eliminate the block-grant program, now run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and combine it "with 17 smaller programs in a new form at the Commerce Department," Goldstein writes. "The budget for next year would keep the grants at HUD but significantly reduce their funding." She also reports, "Among the reductions the budget proposes for the first time is a 25 percent cut in a rental housing program that provides grants to build, rehabilitate and operate homes for people who are elderly and poor." (Read more)

The budget also calls for "deep cuts, and the elimination in five years, of a program that has pumped more than $2 billion into rural states hit by logging cutbacks on federal land, but Jackson County officials expressed cautious optimism over the fact the president’s budget proposal included the program at all," writes Anita Burke of the Mail Tribune in Medford, Oregon. (Read more)

Small daily newspapers still prosper, but big boxes and broadband loom

"A tier of papers with circulations of 50,000 or less that is proving relatively resilient in the face of a prolonged slump among larger papers," reports Joseph Hallinan in The Wall Street Journal.

"While big newspaper companies are increasingly battling the Internet and other sources of information and advertising, small papers have been able to keep a hold on their markets, concentrating on local politics, sports and community events. Most rural areas don't yet have the same access to t