Friday, June 30, 2006

U.S. political divide reveals two distinct Americas, say researchers

Political polarization will be the subject of an ABC News special tonight at 10, with a report based on the research of demographer Robert Cushing and journalist Bill Bishop, who is writing a book about the topic.

Cushing and Bishop, an adviser to the Center for Rural Strategies and the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, have developed and analyzed data that indicates the nation is becoming more politically, economically, and socially polarized. The two have dubbed their theory "the big sort," and it hypothesizes that Americans are segregating themselves, basing their choice of residence partly on their political beliefs.

"The nation has gone through a big sort, a sifting of people and politics into what is becoming two Americas. One is urban and Democratic, the other Republican, suburban and rural," Bishop wrote in the Austin American-Statesman on Sept. 20, 2004. "Although the split isn't true in every case, divisions between city and countryside nationally are stark, widespread and rapidly growing." Click here for the Rural Blog Archive for September 2004, which has an item on the article and a link to it.

New Medicaid rule to require 50 million people to prove citizenship

A new Medicaid rule going into effect tomorrow will require 50 million-plus poor Americans to prove they are U.S. citizens or they will lose medical benefits or long-term care. Many of them could be in rural areas, especially African Americans who were born in the segregated South.

The rule, aimed at reducing the amount of fraud being committed by illegal immigrants, requires that a passport or a birth certificate must be offered when a person applies for Medicaid benefits, or during annual reenrollment in the program for the poor and disabled, reports The Washington Post.

"Critics fear that the provision will have the unintended consequence of harming several million U.S. citizens who, for a variety of reasons, will not be able to produce the necessary paperwork. They include mentally ill, mentally retarded and homeless people, as well as elderly men and women, especially African Americans born in an era when hospitals in the rural South barred black women from their maternity wards," Susan Levine and Mary Otto write.

Attorney Clifton Elgarten filed a lawsuit to contest the rule's constitutionality yesterday in federal court ion Washington on behalf of the nonprofit social services organization Bread for the City and individual plaintiffs. The lawsuit seeks to prevent its implementation in the nation's capital, where 140,000-plus residents get Medicaid, report Levine and Otto. (Read more)

Isolation from facilities, institutions raises risk of obesity in rural U.S.

"Residents of rural communities who feel isolated from recreational facilities, stores, churches and schools are more likely to be obese than those who believe they are closer to facilities, new St. Louis University research finds," reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

The study is thought to be the first to examine how obesity and the environmental factors within rural communities are linked, and it involved 2,500 residents of 13 rural communities in Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas. Factors influencing obesity included distance from recreational facilities and other destinations, feeling unsafe from crime and traffic and poor aesthetics of the neighborhood. People concerned about traffic safety were more likely to be obese, notes Newswise. (Read more)

About a quarter of the people in the South and Midwest live in rural areas, where obesity tends to be more common than in metropolitan areas. A second Newswise item about the same study talks about an urban-rural connection: "The environmental attributes that promote obesity are generally the same in rural communities as those previously found in urban and suburban areas." The item points out, though, that such barriers are reported more frequently in rural areas. (Read more)

Rural economies see growth in middle of changing times, says report

Rural economies are still outpacing metro economies, but a new report in The Main Street Economist explores whether old development policies are best suited for ensuring continued progress.

"The rural economy has enjoyed a strong upturn since 2003. Growth in income and jobs has been stronger in rural America than in metro areas (Chart 1).1 In ’04 and ’05, rural incomes grew 2.8 percent a year (vs. 2.5 percent in metro areas). Jobs were added at a 1.3 percent annual pace (1.2 percent in metro areas).The rural growth appears broad-based, though clearly paced by growth in high-skill jobs and new activity in recreational areas," write Mark Drabenstott and Jason Henderson.

The report notes rural America's reliance on commodity agriculture, natural resource extraction, and labor-intensive manufacturing. "Globalization challenges all three—forcing U.S. producers to slash costs to stay competitive. Thus a pattern of consolidation is the norm throughout the countryside. Farms get bigger and fewer. Coal mines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin produce more coal with bigger shovels and trucks, but fewer workers. Taken together, these shifts mean fewer and fewer rural communities can tie their economic future to the economic engines of the past," write Drabenstott and Henderson. (Read more)

Ethanol craze seen as possible benefit for cattle industry; support mixed

Corn is becoming quite a hot crop in the Midwest, as states such as Iowa start producing ethanol as an alternative fuel. At the same time, the nation's cattle industry sees an opportunity to gain nutritious feed.

"For ethanol plants, like the 50-million-gallon facility being built in this southwest Iowa town (Shenandoah), it's beneficial to sell the co-product locally instead of having to ship it to different parts of the country. Therefore, the opportunity is there for increased feedlots and larger cow/calf operations," writes Mike McGinnis, markets editor of Agriculture Online. Speculation is that the cattle industry will try to negotiate for good prices, because the feed from the plants produces more energy than corn. (Read more)

With ethanol being proposed as something to help alleviate concerns over high gas prices, there is discussion on the federal level about supporting production plants. "Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Friday that ethanol doesn't need its federal subsidy, given the current high prices that the corn-based fuel is fetching. But he said that some subsidies will still be needed to attract long-term investment after the current 51-cent-per-gallon tax credit expires in four years," writes Philip Brasher in the Washington Farm Report. (Read more)

The Wisconsin State Legislature's Joint Finance Committee recently rejected a proposal from Governor Jim Doyle to provide grants to encourage gasoline stations in the state to install more gas pumps equipped for ethanol use. "In March, the State Senate basically killed a bill that would have required all regular gasoline sold in the state contain at least 10 percent ethanol," writes Bob Meyer of The Brownfield Network. (Read more)

Rural bookstores, other retailers thrive in Iowa via power of the Internet

Rural Iowa is home to an emerging trend where storefront businesses are thriving in sparsely populated areas by opening their doors to sales on the Internet, with some doing 95 percent of their business online.

When one such bookstore opened up in Soldier, residents and businesses found they could buy anything they wanted. "Small-town librarians showed up with their limited budgets and started buying books. Rural folks who needed a mystery or a self-help book suddenly found the place," writes Mike Kilen of Gannett News Service.

Many retailers are seeing a connection between an online presence and a good reputation, reports Kilen. online presence created a welcome surprise. "The store lends credence to our Web site," said Brad McKee, owner of Amish Corners in Drakesville, a spot in the road in southeast Iowa. "It tells people we are a business and I'm not doing this out of my basement. That shores up their confidence." (Read more)

Scottsburg, Ind., is prime example of public-sector broadband access

"Scottsburg, Ind., Mayor Bill Graham didn’t want to be in the telecommunications business, but what options did he have? Unable to get the high-speed Internet service they needed, businesses in his town of 6,040 were about to leave. And unable to get the private sector to provide that service, it fell to the town to build its own system," writes Thomas D. Rowley, a fellow at the Rural Policy Research Institute.

"Even more depressing, 18 months of studying the situation led only to the conclusion that it would cost $5 to $6 million to hard-wire a fiber-optic loop around Scottsburg. Needless to say, the town didn’t have that kind of money to spend. Finally, and fortuitously, Mayor Graham found a company that could build a wireless system to serve Scottsburg for a fraction of the cost of fiber -- $275,000, to be exact. And by spending a bit more ($385,000 total), the town was able to cover the whole county and two smaller towns nearby as well," he continues.

"They projected 100 paying customers in the first year; they got 500. Indeed, the system worked so well and was so well received, that they’ve now expanded it to serve seven counties," Rowley concludes. "As reported here last week, 13 state legislatures (including Indiana) have turned a sympathetic ear toward the whining of private providers seeking to trample the rights of municipalities to ensure broadband service and all the benefits it brings for their citizens. Fortunately, all but one of those legislative attempts have been rebuffed and the 13th — in Nebraska — is being reconsidered." (Read more)

Columnist: Small-town newspapers thrive by focusing on local news

"As metropolitan newspapers throughout this country report decline in circulation, newspapers such as this one, which focus on local news, thrive. Except for an occasional feature and for spot news in the Nashville paper, the local newspapers are where we find local news," opines J.B. Leftwich for The Lebanon Democrat in Tennessee.

“'Local' is circulation area. If The Tennessean is circulated in Cookeville, there should be Cookeville and Putnam County stories in its pages. Local news is the reason the small-town newspapers thrive," he writes.

Leftwich reflects on the Democrat's past: "Inside pages were filled with personal item columns written by correspondents in Gladeville, Centerville, Taylorsville, Route 7. Society editor Margaret Brown filled other pages with social tidbits. The staff crammed seven days of news into one edition. Now, that was local news. Nobody wants to return to those days, but the mantra local news' should always prevail." Click here to read both columns under the newspaper heading in our reports section.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Senate panel blocks limits on Internet access fees, or 'net neutrality'

A Senate committee rejected an amendment Wednesday to a bill that sought to prevent telephone and cable-TV companies from charging businesses that want to provide customers with high-speed Internet.

The "Internet neutrality" amendment, to a bill making it easier for telephone companies to sell television service, failed on an 11-11 vote in the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, reports Bloomberg News. According to the roll call, the vote was along party lines except that Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine voted for it. (Read more)

Proponents argued that not enacting the measure hurts the Internet's open nature. The amendment is expected to appear again when the bill goes before the entire Senate. If you care about this issue, now is the time to report where your senators stand on it and perhaps editorialize on the subject. The Rural Blog reported on this issue earlier this month; click here and go to the June 8 blog to see the archived item.

Weekly newspaper in North Carolina starts free wireless Internet service

The Pilot of Southern Pines, N.C., will start a wireless Internet service for southern Moore County to "bind the community together in a dynamic and compelling way with The Pilot's products and Internet service," the three-times-a-week newspaper announced in a story yesterday.

"The Pilot wants southern Moore County to unplug and access the Internet's infinite space unburdened by wires," wrote online coordinator Ryan Tuck, who paraphrased Publisher David Woronoff as saying the service will be accessible at no cost to everyone in the newspaper's service area, whether readers of the 15,300-circulation paper or not. "It's just another example of our commitment to serving Moore County in a complete and comprehensive fashion," Woronoff said.

The paper's Web site averages about 5,000 unique visitors and 23,000 page views per day. "The online push has energized The Pilot's staff, providing new and exciting tools to tell the community's stories," said Steve Bouser, the paper's editor. "We're determined to think about The Pilot as more than a newspaper. It's an information portal. The main thing readers will notice is that there'll be lots of opportunities online to dig deeper into stuff they'll read in the paper." (Read more)

Later in the year, the newspaper will launch a fee-based high-speed wireless broadband network to complement the WiFi network," Tuck reports. "Woronoff predicts that the launch of such a network, which will utilize the cutting-edge WiMax technology, will be complete by the end of the year." The Pilot's Web site says it has been owned since 1996 by Woronoff, Frank Daniels Jr., Frank Daniels III, Jack Andrews and Lee Dirks,.all previously associated with the News & Observer of Raleigh.

Rural veterans travel long distances for treatment, due to few options

Veterans living in rural areas are driving long distances for care they need to treat post-traumatic stress and physical injuries, rural health specialists told the U.S. House veterans subcommittee Wednesday.

"While the VA has more than 700 outpatient clinics, only about 100 are in rural counties. And only 10 percent of physicians, but a fourth of all Americans, live in rural areas. Veterans' mental-health issues include combat stress, readjustment problems and the need for family counseling," writes James W. Crawley of Media General News Service.

The Free Clinic of Goochland, Va., only treats those veterans who seek dental care and who do not have health benefits. Executive Director Sally Graham said more rural health services are needed for veterans, who have founded complaints about driving long distances, reports Crawley. (Read more)

Minnesota youth hurt by pollution, cleanup could save money, group says

Minnesota is spending $1.6 billion per year on children experiencing asthma, cancer, birth defects and learning disorders caused by environmental pollution that could be prevented, a new Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy report estimates.

"In one part, the report's authors use previously tested scientific formulas to determine that the mercury from coal-fired power plants alone costs the state about $30 million annually in neuro-developmental problems in children. This year, Minnesota lawmakers passed tough new mercury reduction limits for power plants that will be phased in over the next decade,"reports John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune.

A 2004 Minnesota Department of Health study showed that 13 percent of rural children reported having asthma and another 13 percent reported symptoms without actually being diagnosed. (Read more)

Arizona detective stresses meth evidence as key to protecting children

About 75 Kentucky police detectives and narcotics investigators learned this week about protecting children in methamphetamine cases and preserving crucial evidence during a workshop with an Arizona detective at the Rural Law Enforcement Technology Center in Hazard.

The officers learned about interview techniques, proper surveying of the crime scene and how meth affects children. Detective Tim Ahumada of the Phoenix Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit urged officers to document cases where adults abuse the children and to file charges, reports Barbara Isaacs of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"One of the details Ahumada recommends gathering for evidence is the height of the child, his or her height when reaching with an arm and the distance in the home between the child's belongings and the meth lab supplies. Often, he said, defense lawyers contend that the child didn't have access to the meth lab supplies," writes Isaacs. Workshop sponsors included the Rural Law Enforcement Technology Center; the Kentucky Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, which is based at the University of Kentucky; and Operation UNITE, a regional anti-drug program. (Read more)

American beautyberry plant keeps pesky insects away, study finds

As biting bugs swarm the U.S. and concerns over insect-borne diseases continue, a traditional folk remedy that has been used in Mississippi for more than a century may help.

"Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service housed at the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi have isolated compounds in the American beautyberry plant, Callicarpa americana, that may keep chomping insects away," reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

Charles Cantrell, an ARS chemist in Oxford, said, “Traditional folklore remedies many times are found to lead nowhere following scientific research. The beautyberry plant and its ability to repel mosquitoes is an exception. We actually identified naturally occurring chemicals in the plant responsible for this activity." To make a repellent for mass consumption, a product must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and there needs to be a cost-effective manufacturing procedure, notes Newswise. (Read more)

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Rural Georgia teacher won battle to teach evolution thanks to standards

"Occasionally, an educational battle will dominate national headlines. More commonly, the battling goes on locally, behind closed doors, handled so discreetly that even a teacher working a few classrooms away might not know. This was the case for Pat New, 62, a respected, veteran middle school science teacher, who, a year ago, quietly stood up for her right to teach evolution in this rural northern Georgia community, and prevailed," writes Michael Winerip of The New York Times.

New does not know how many people at Lumpkin County Middle School questioned her teaching of evolution, but at least a dozen parents, teachers and administrators and several students in her seventh-grade life science class sent e-mails and letters, stopped her in the hall, called board members, demanded meetings, and requested copies of a video shown in class, reports Winerip.

During an April 2005 meeting with Principal Rick Conner, New recalled: "He took a Bible off the bookshelf behind him and said, 'Patty, I believe in everything in this book, do you?' I told him, 'I really feel uncomfortable about your asking that question.' He wouldn't let it go.'" New said Conner told her, "I accept evolution in most things but if they ever say God wasn't involved I couldn't accept that. I want you to say that, Pat."

Throughout the school year, New asked her supervisors to read Georgia's science standards, which include calls for teaching evolution. After she filled out a complaint to initiate a grievance under state law, stating she was being "threatened and harassed," she encountered no more problems. "What saved me, was I didn't have to argue evolution with these people. All I had to say was, 'I'm following state standards,'" she told Winerip.

Gerry Wheeler, director of the National Science Teachers Association, told Winerip that surveys of the group's members have indicated that one-third of teachers "have been challenged on evolution, mainly by parents and students. "A survey of state science standards by the Fordham Institute, a conservative policy research organization that supports teaching evolution, rated 20 states, including Georgia, with 'sound' evolution standards in 2005, down from 24 states in 2000." (Read more)

$1 billion coal-fired power plant to bring jobs, money to West Virginia

A $1 billion coal-fired power plant approved by West Virginia's Public Service Commission is touted to provide Monongalia County with 60 jobs and financial benefits totaling $105 million over 30 years.

The PSC said work on the Longview Power Plant must start within three years and finish within eight on a site near Allegheny Energy’s Fort Martin plant in northern West Virginia. “The PSC laid out conditions to placate three citizen groups that have fought the project for years, including a noise-control plan, proof the developer has the required financing and a $3 million performance bond in case the money runs out before construction is completed,” The Associated Press reported.

The developer is GenPower LLC of Needham, Mass., which specializes in advanced-technology power plants. The plant appears to be the first coal-fired plant owned by the company, which also wants to build one in McDowell County, in southern West Virginia. The state's approval of the site is “a sellout to out-of-state developers, a tax scam, and a threat to our health and well-being,” said a statement from Citizens for Alternatives to Longview Power, Citizens for Responsible Development and the Fort Martin Community Association.

PSC spokeswoman Sarah Robertson told reporters, “The commission believes this project could potentially have great impacts not only on West Virginia, but on the country as a whole concerning energy and the productive use of the state’s energy resources.” She said the need for Longview is “bolstered by the commission’s belief that the United States is overly dependent on foreign oil, has supplies of coal sufficient to meet the country’s needs well into the foreseeable future and that those supplies can be used to produce energy to meet other appropriate socioeconomic objectives.” (Read more)

Natural-gas company gets criticized for storming into West Virginia forest

Natural-gas production is booming because of high energy prices, but Equitable Production has some West Virginians enraged after it ignored an existing road to reach a new drilling site and carved a new mile-long path through Kanawha State Forest, in Kanawha County south of Charleston.

"Kanawha State Forest and Equitable officials say an agreement is being finalized to compensate the forest for trees destroyed in building the road," writes Rick Steelhammer of The Charleston Gazette. "Kanawha State Forest Foundation Vice Chairman Julian Martin, a frequent hiker in the 9,300-acre preserve, said he counted the rings of one of the felled trees found alongside the unauthorized haul road and found it to be 108 years old."

Kanawha State Forest is the only state forest where timber harvesting is prohibited. The state Legislature passed a law in 2000 banning logging in the preserve, reports Steelhammer. (Read more)

Backyard ponds attract unwanted critters, but create booming industry

Backyard ponds are becoming a craze in both rural and urban America, but homeowners are finding their creations attract unwanted animals such as raccoons and aggressive, diving birds.

"The number of backyard ponds in the U.S. could reach six million this year, estimates Aquascape Designs, a pond manufacturer based in St. Charles, Ill., up from two million in 1996. But as more homeowners build backyard oases, more animals are treating those ponds as watering and feeding holes, as they dine on the expensive plants and decorative fish," writes Jane Costello for The Wall Street Journal. Ways to combat the animals include water-spraying scarecrows and plastic bird decoys, and even home remedies such as hair clippings and mothballs.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 15 percent of U.S. homes have water features, reports Costello. Sales of water-gardening products have doubled to $870 million per year during the past decade, according to the National Gardening Association. (Read more) Thanks to Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute for leading us to this story.

Wisconsin county's rural housing plan clusters homes, keeps open space

A proposed residential development in St. Croix County, Wisconsin's fastest growing county, would be the first project under a new rural housing plan that aims to preserve an agricultural appearance.

"The relatively new type of housing development allows for a concentrated cluster or clusters of houses on a large piece of real estate, with the remaining land being conserved for use by all residents. It replaces the traditional lay-out for rural housing developments that carve up the land in individual chunks of land," writes Jeff Holmquist of the New Richmond News.

Rolling Hills Farm would include two miles of eight-foot trails for residents, a public park, a wetland overlook and native prairie grasses. The homes would be equipped with environmentally-friendly aerobic septic systems, and pairs of homes would share a well, reports Holmquist. (Read more)

Ohio farmer busted for selling raw milk says law violates religion

An Amish dairy farmer in Mount Hope, Ohio, is going to court for selling raw milk to an undercover agent, but the man says the law forbidding such a sale violates his religious beliefs, which call for him to share the milk he produces.

Arlie Stutzman, who lives a pastoral region in northeast Ohio that has the world's largest Amish settlement, had his license revoked by the Ohio Department of Agriculture in February. "In April, he got back his license, which allows him to sell to cheese houses and dairies, but received a warning not to sell raw milk to consumers again," reports The Associated Press.

Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Dairy Association report that raw milk poses health risks to humans because it is not heated to kill bacteria. Raw-milk sales are banned in 25 states, notes AP. (Read more)

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Rural states rank poor on annual child welfare list; solutions sought

Rural America is lagging behind urban areas in the health and welfare of its children, according to an annual report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore.

Ten predominantly rural states finished in the bottom ten in overall child well-being including, from 41st to 50th: North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi. The overall rank was based on factors such as poverty, low birth weights and child death rates. For the entire rankings, click here.

Nationwide, about 13 million children are living in poverty, and rural states are suffering from poor economic conditions such as parents lacking secure employment. In a story focusing mainly on Kentucky and Indiana, The Courier-Journal reports that state leaders see better preparing students for college and the work force as one key to overcoming poverty. (Read more)

U.S. Supreme Court to rule on greenhouse gases; may affect power plants

The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering whether the government should regulate greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide from motor vehicles, and its ruling could affect several industries.

The court will rule on whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is required under the federal clean air law to treat carbon dioxide from automobiles as a pollutant harmful to health. A dozen states filed a lawsuit to try and force the EPA to curtail such emissions just as it does cancer-causing lead and chemicals that produce smog and acid rain, reports H. Josef Hebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.

"While the case doesn't specifically involve carbon releases from power plants, environmentalists said a court decision declaring carbon dioxide a harmful pollutant would make it hard for the agency to avoid action involving power plants which account for 40 percent or the carbon dioxide released into the air. Cars and trucks account for about half that amount," writes Hebert. (Read more)

Al-Jazeera reporters run into prejudice in North Dakota, producer says

"In a country's hinterlands, a distant region seldom visited by outsiders, a television crew investigates why so many residents are fleeing the area. When local officials catch wind of the crew's presence, they begin interrogating people the journalists interviewed, and pressure others not to talk. Russia? Uzbekistan? China? No. This incident took place in North Dakota, in the heart of the United States," writes Joanne Levine, executive producer of programming for the Americas at al-Jazeera International.

"When the sheriff of Crosby, a town [in North Dakota] near the Canadian border, heard about it, he contacted the U.S. Border Patrol. An agent soon showed up at the local newspaper, asking for the journalists' names. Other agents asked whether they 'seemed like U.S. citizens.' The journalists are Peggy Holter, Josh Rushing and Mark Teboe. They are all experienced reporters, and they are all U.S. citizens. So what was it that raised officials' antennae? The channel they work for: al-Jazeera," continues Levine.

"Say that name in the United States and, likely as not, the listener will practically shudder in revulsion. Many Americans automatically think 'terrorist TV,' or 'Osama bin Laden's network.' They see al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language channel based in Qatar, as the al-Qaeda leader's mouthpiece, broadcasting his videotaped messages of jihad," opines Levine.

"Yet the truth is that al-Jazeera is a pioneer of news independence that the U.S. government once lauded for bringing freedom of the press to the Middle East. Now it's planning to broadcast worldwide, including in the United States. But as its Arab owners work to make that a reality, the prejudice here persists, and those of us who work for the network find ourselves running, at every turn, into resistance, rejection and racism," she concludes. (Read more)

Iowa leaders search for solutions to stop declining rural population

New U.S. Census Bureau figures have officials in Iowa worried about its declining rural population, with some counties having lost at least 5 percent of their population from 2000 to 2005.

"Without enough new workers, the average age is rising in nearly every part of those counties, while school enrollment is declining," writes Dan Gearino of the Globe Gazette. "Local and state leaders are fighting to reverse the trend with a two-prong strategy. First, they are using incentive payments to attract high-wage jobs and encourage existing employers to expand. Second, they are devoting more time and money to improving recreational amenities and revitalizing main streets, in the hope of attracting more young families."

Shirley Phillips, the economic development director in Sac County, said the state's rural counties are hurt by economic challenges. Such areas lack four-lane highways to transport goods to major cities, and she is joining in an effort to push the state to expand U.S. Highway 20 across western Iowa. "The two-lane portion of U.S. 20 is a major thoroughfare in three of the slowest growing counties, Calhoun, Ida and Sac," reports the newspaper in Mason City. (Read more)

Copper-theft craze continues across U.S.; cities are fighting back

"Call it black market alchemy. Water pipes, utility wires, floral vases and rain gutters — all made of copper — are being turned into cash at scrap yards by thieves profiting off the metal's record market prices," writes Christopher Baxter of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa.

Copper thefts are occurring daily in the U.S., and the metal is fetching $4 per pound, compared to less than $1 three years ago. Copper is considered the premier metal for making everything from wiring to money, and replacing it expensive with copper water piping costing about $18 per pound, or about $6 per foot, reports Baxter. (Read more)

Municipalities across the U.S. are trying to crack down on the thefts and one example is in Tuscon, Ariz., where city officials say trading in stolen metals for cash at scrap yards and junk dealers helps methamphetamine users pay for their habit. City law now requires secondhand dealers to keep more detailed records and report transactions involving items such as scrap copper to police within two business days, notes Baxter. Thanks to Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute for leading us to this story.

Tennessee's Leaf-Chronicle reports on all Iraq stories involving locals

"Since the Iraq War began more than three years ago, The Leaf-Chronicle (circulation 21,154) of Clarksville, Tenn., has seen it all. As the closest daily paper to the Fort Campbell Army post, where tens of thousands of soldiers in Iraq from the 101st Airborne Division are stationed, the Leaf-Chronicle has reported on deaths, deployments, and disputes from Washington, D.C. to Baghdad," reports Editor & Publisher. The daily,owned by Gannett Co., covered last week's stories about three Fort Campbell-based soldiers facing murder charges for alleged misconduct in Iraq, and two others once considered missing but then determined to have been murdered, reports Joe Strupp.

Leaf-Chronicle Executive Editor Richard Stevens told Strupp that covering such stories can overwhelm readers: "It is getting pretty weary here dealing with a lot of sad stories, a lot of sensitive stories. A kidnapping story can present a long, protracted search. Both of these have the potential for being very sensitive stories. Our community and newspaper staff is getting pretty weary of the drumbeat of trouble." (Read more) The Kentucky New Era (circ. 11,090), a smaller, independent daily in Hopkinsville,Ky., on the other side of Fort Campbell, used coverage from The Associated Press for both stories.

Kentucky governor bans his employees from Web sites to boost work

Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher is attempting to boost workers' efficiency by blocking access to specific Web sites on state computers, including at least three Jewish-related sites and several newspaper blogs.

"Last week, officials blocked state employees from surfing various Internet categories including entertainment and humor, online auctions and Web logs, known as 'blogs.' The state also blocked employees from viewing [Mark] Nickolas' www.BluegrassReport.org, after he was quoted in a New York Times article being critical of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration," reports The Associated Press.

State officials also blocked The Rural Blog, published by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. The director of the institute, Al Cross, who is an occasional commentator on Kentucky politics, was quoted in the Times story. "Cross said he would not 'presume any motive' on why the site was blocked but said it was ill-advised. The blog on the site is not political in nature, Cross said," writes AP's Joe Biesk. A poster on another blog said he was a state employee whose access was not blocked, and other posts indicate that the blocking appears to vary among agencies. (Read more)

The Courier-Journal reports that the state's effort to block sites is troubled by inconsistency. The state has not successfully blocked all TV, humor and sports sites, "as shown by a reporter's sampling of 50 sites yesterday on a state computer," writes Tom Loftus of the Louisville newspaper. (Read more)

Monday, June 26, 2006

Ethanol boom creates concern over food supplies, livestock costs

Dozens of new distilleries across the U.S. are using corn to make the gasoline substitute ethanol, but an extensive New York Times package uses data, graphs and an energy-balance sidebar to illustrate the trend's possible negative effects on agriculture and food prices.

"The ethanol phenomenon is creating some unexpected jitters in crucial corners of farm country. A few agricultural economists and food industry executives are quietly worrying that ethanol, at its current pace of development, could strain food supplies, raise costs for the livestock industry and force the use of marginal farmland in the search for ever more acres to plant corn," writes Alexei Barrionuevo.

"By the middle of 2007, there will be a food fight between the livestock industry and this biofuels or ethanol industry," said Dan Basse, president of AgResources, an economic forecasting firm in Chicago. "As the corn price reaches up above $3 a bushel, the livestock industry will be forced to raise prices or reduce their herds. At that point the U.S. consumer will start to see rising food prices or food inflation."

"If that occurs, the battleground is likely to shift to some 35 million acres of land set aside under a 1985 program for conservation and to help prevent overproduction. Farmers are paid an annual subsidy averaging $48 an acre not to raise crops on the land. But the profit lure of ethanol could be great enough to push the acreage, much of it considered marginal, back into production," notes Barrionuevo. (Read more)

Mine-safety advocates say all workers deserve methane gas detectors

"Methane is the chief suspect in the explosion that killed five miners at Kentucky Darby Mine No. 1 in Eastern Kentucky, but only foremen and roof bolters carried detectors to warn of dangerous gas levels. Some safety advocates, union officials, and the families of miners killed at the Darby mine in Holmes Mill say all miners need to have detectors," writes James R. Carroll of The Courier-Journal.

Federal regulators and coal industry officials said the Darby blast and the Jan. 20 methane explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia that killed 12 miners do not warrant more detectors. Federal and state laws already require testing for methane every 20 minutes, and mines must also test before every new shift and before resuming cutting for coal, reports Carroll.

A portable device that can detect the colorless and odorless gas costs about $650, compared to the breathing devices given to each miner that cost on average $582. There are other detectors available for use that will cut off power to machines when dangerous levels are detected. The new mine safety law signed by President Bush did not address methane detectors, notes Carroll. (Read more)

Young reporters replace vets, 'get snookered' by officials, opines professor

A generational shift is occurring in newsrooms across the U.S. with veteran reporters being replaced by young journalists, and a lack of knowledge about past events is hurting the product, opines Edward Wasserman , Knight professor of journalism ethics at Washington and Lee University.

"Pruning news staffs has become a managerial routine, and shedding higher-earning -- meaning, longer-serving -- employees a mark of fiscal prudence. They're getting six months', maybe a year's pay, and they're gone. So are their Rolodexes, their intuition, the stories they did or meant to do and their deep familiarity with their communities. With the growth in journalism positions concentrated in the burgeoning Internet sector -- where the focus on attracting the youth demographic is at its most intense -- the new jobs that are opening up are likely to be filled by people a generation or more younger than those being shown the door at old media operations," writes Wasserman.

"I had a conversation a year or two ago with an ex-reporter, who had long experience covering national security, about why his newspaper, one of the country's best, had fallen into lockstep in reporting credulously on the run-up to the Iraq war and had underplayed fierce dissent within our government. He said, essentially, that the coverage decisions were being made by people who weren't acquainted with the Gulf of Tonkin incident or the Iran-contra affair, or the other landmark late 20th century instances of official U.S. deceit or ineptitude. So they got snookered," continues Wasserman.

"That was a disturbing answer. It made me realize that managing generational change is a delicate matter of achieving a balance of memory and energy, the seasoned and the fresh, certainty and skepticism. It's a matter not of lowering costs, but of carefully calibrating a newsroom culture. And it's a challenge that, I'm afraid, is being blown," concludes Wasserman. (Read more)

Wal-Mart to upgrade 1,800 stores, build 1,500 new ones across U.S.

Wal-Mart Supercenters are constantly springing up in rural, urban and suburban locations in the U.S., and the pace is expected to continue, influx with 1,500 new Wal-Marts slated to open in the next five years.

Almost two-thirds of the locations will come as Supercenters, meaning they will include groceries, gas pumps, drive-up pharmacies and banking and auto services in addition to general merchandise items, reports Jeffrey Sheban of The Columbus Dispatch. Wal-Mart also plans to remodel 1,800 stores during the next 18 months, which includes transforming many older locations into Supercenters.

"In suburban areas, where most of the nation’s 2,022 Supercenters are located, Wal-Mart is building them closer together than ever. In some markets, particularly Dallas, the large stores are two or three miles apart. That’s compared with the previous 15 to 20 miles apart Wal-Mart thought was appropriate when its stores were mostly in small towns and rural areas," writes Sheban. (Read more)

East Texans fight to prevent purchase of rural college's classical station

In the oil country of East Texas, Kilgore College's classical music radio station KTPB has just been sold to a California-based company that plans to eliminate local programs and instead broadcast a feed of Christian music and other religious programming 24 hours a day.

Educational Media Foundation Broadcasting will pay the financially strapped college $2.46 million over 10 years, and its plans are already attracting complaints. Classical enthusiasts have formed Save Our Arts Radio and generated at least 175 letters, many of them forwarded to the Federal Communications Commission, which must approve the acquisition, reports The New York Times. (Read more)

"The loss of a classical KTPB would be the latest footstep in the decline of classical music radio in the United States. Doomsayers see the trend as part of a broader diminishing of the art form, although new sources — satellite and digital radio and Internet streaming — are emerging. In 1990, about 50 commercial stations were on the air; the number is closer to 30 now," writes Daniel Wakin. For additional background on this story, click here for an article by Lester Murray of the Kilgore News Herald.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Small-town newspapers thrive with innovation, avoid dailies' pitfalls

Lee Enterprises Inc. owns 58 newspapers and is one example of a chain where smaller newspapers -- like the Waterloo Courier in Iowa or the Missoulian in Montana -- are outdoing larger publications.

For some data confirming that small papers are outperforming big ones, the Audit Bureau of Circulations shows that "weekday circulation over a six-month period fell 4.7 percent at Colorado's Denver Post, but rose 2.5 percent at the Grand Junction Sentinel; Florida's Orlando Sentinel dropped 8.3 percent, but the St. Augustine Record rose 11.2 percent; California's Los Angeles Times dropped 5.4 percent, but the Stockton Record rose 1.2 percent," reports Reuters.

"In many ways, community newspapers are still enjoying the advantages that big metropolitan dailies such as the New York Times or Chicago Tribune have lost," writes Paul Thomasch. "Readership has held up better, and fewer people have defected to the Internet for news and classified ads. The trick for smaller newspapers is to keep that advantage, particularly as more local content becomes available on the Internet, be it from bloggers or other media companies."

Small-town newspapers are using innovation such as The Monroe in Wisconsin, which allows companies to run ads on one page with a related "how-to" advice article on the facing page. The News-Press in Oklahoma prints its city's visitors guide for free, uses some of its own photos in the publication, and then gets the ad revenue, notes Thomasch. (Read more) In another example of innovation, The Rural Blog reported on June 8 about leaders in Jonesborough, Tenn., paying the community's weekly Herald & Tribune to send a copy to every resident. Click here for the archived item.

New weekly supplements show up in newspapers, enjoy success

Rumors of print media's demise may be premature. Just ask Gannett Company, the nation's largest owner of newspapers, which just witnessed a spinoff of its magazine supplement, USA Weekend, bring in more than $3 million in ad revenue.

The new USA Weekend HealthSmart was distributed by 76 of the 600 newspapers that carry USA Weekend (circ. 22.7 million), meaning it reached an estimated 7.5 million readers with articles on allergies, asthma, cholesterol and migraines, reports Stuart Elliott of The New York Times. Through the first five months of 2006, 338 new magazines came out, down slightly from 395 during the same period last year, according to Samir Husni, chairman of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi, who tracks start-ups on his Web site. (Read more)

"USA Weekend competes against magazine supplements distributed each week through newspapers that include American Profile, owned by the Publishing Group of America; Life, from Time Inc.; and Parade, part of Advance Publications. Mr. Husni noted that the Publishing Group of America recently introduced a sibling for American Profile, called Relish, a monthly that covers food and is also distributed through newspapers," writes Elliott. American Profile is distributed largely in smaller and rural markets.

Pennsylvania reporter gives armor used in Iraq to sheriff's deputy

When a reporter for The Daily Item in Sunbury, Pa., returned from covering the Iraq War, the paper did not want his armor to collect dust. Solution: Give it to Montour County Deputy Sheriff Daryle McNelis.

McNelis will use the armor for training purposes and for his duties with the Northumberland/Montour Drug Task Force and the Columbia/Montour Strategic Tactical and Response Team. Replacing armor that was at least 10 years old, the new armor is less than a year old, weighs about 17 pounds and can stop a bullet from an AK-47 at 100 yards, writes The Daily Item's Eric Mayes, who wore the gear in Iraq.

Janet A. Tippett, president and publisher of The Daily Item (circ. 24,226), said the donation sprung out of discussions about ways to put the armor to good use. The donation saved McNelis's supervisors more than $1,500, reports Mayes. (Read more)

Martha's Vineyard stands at crossroad between rural past, urban future

Martha's Vineyard, Mass., is a hub for growth complete with new vacation homes and plenty of commercial offerings. However, a family with long-time ties to the area wants its rural lifestyle preserved.

Multiple generations of the Mayhew family have lived in Martha's Vineyard, and now brothers Jeremy and Todd are speaking out in an effort to preserve some of the growing community's past. "When the time comes to raise a family, Jeremy Mayhew hopes that his children will be able to enjoy the same small-town, rural lifestyle that he has shared with many generations of Mayhews before him. He wants them to be able to leave their keys on the car seat, without locking the door, and to be able to see all the stars at night," writes Ian Fein of The Vineyard Gazette.

Todd Mayhew talked about why Martha's Vineyard attracts people: "It's a safe haven. That's why a lot of people love it here; it's away from the rest of the world. But it feels like it's being leached away, bit by bit. Each loss might be small, but if you think ahead, in 100 years that's a lot of change." The Martha's Vineyard Commission is about to start the public phase of its Island Plan that aims to chart the Vineyard's direction for the next 50 years and a public forum is scheduled for Saturday morning at the Sailing Camp Park in Oak Bluffs, Mass., reports Fein. (Read more)

Wisconsin Newspaper Association prints final hard-copy newsletter

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association's weekly Bulletin is going completely electronic, after recently printing its final hard-copy issue. Other state newspaper associations already publish electronic-only newsletters. Will more follow suit, and is it a harbinger of the future for newspapers themselves? Now the Bulletin will be available only at this Web site, where 165 subscribers already receive the weekly reports on Wisconsin's papers and on valuable reporting resources. WNA Executive Director Peter Fox attributed the move to the $50,000 spent on printing and mailing the newsletter.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Cell and Internet phone users will help subsidize rural phone service

Internet phone service firms must start paying a percentage of their revenue to a federal program that subsidizes telephone service for rural and low-income customers, according to a Federal Communications Commission ruling issued Wednesday.

The Universal Service Fund pays for programs to connect schools and libraries to the Internet, and the FCC requires phone companies to contribute 10.5 percent of a portion of their revenue. The ruling increased the taxable portion of that revenue by 9 percentage points for wireless firms and it means that Internet phone services will be taxed on 65 percent of the same revenue source. Vonage officials said the ruling would add a $1 fee to their customers' $25 monthly bills, writes Sara Kehaulani Goo of The Washington Post. (Read more)

A second FCC decision raised the amounts that cell-phone carriers contribute to the fund, which will most likely cause an increase in customers' bills. "Telecom and media analyst Rebecca Arbogast of [the brokerage firm] Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. said cell-phone customers who average a $50 monthly bill could see 50 cents added," the Post reports.

Biomass energy's time may have come, if oil prices remain high

Ambitious plans are in motion in Washington and in state capitals to run the nation's transportation system mainly on alcohol produced from bulk plant material, steering the U.S. away foreign oil and its accompanying problems such as wars, global warming and terrorism.

"Scientists have projected that in the long run, ethanol made from biomass could be cheaper than gasoline or corn ethanol, costing as little as 60 cents a gallon to produce and selling for less than $2 a gallon at the pump," writes Justin Gillis of The Washington Post. "But right now it would be more expensive than gasoline, and the low prices are likely to be achieved only after large plants have been built and technical breakthroughs achieved in operating them. Perhaps the biggest issue is this: Time and again, the country has grown interested in alternative fuels only to drop the subject as soon as oil prices fell. Will the United States be able to make a plan and stick with it for the long haul?"

One key question is how practical it will be to gather hundreds of millions of tons of bulk material to supply ethanol factories. Eastern Idaho produces plentiful crops of wheat, barley and potatoes, and the Canadian company Iogen Technologies LLC is eyeing the Snake River Valley as one possible source of biomass. A big source of biomass may be the leaves, stalks and stubble left over when corn is harvested -- a material called "corn stover." A group of young farmers in Imperial, Neb., won federal and private grants exceeding $3 million to study how to corn stover can fit into ethanol dream, reports Gillis. (Read more)

Government accepts petitions to protect forest land in Va., N.C., S.C.

Federal officials on Wednesday accepted Virginia's petition to protect nearly 400,000 roadless acres in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

Petitions also were accepted from North Carolina and South Carolina to protect forest land in those states, and now the U.S. Forest Service and state officials will develop rules and take public comments on governing those roadless areas during the next year. The Bush administration proposed last year to open one-third of remote national forest lands that were protected from road building, logging and other commercial developments, reports John Cramer of The Roanoke Times.

The 1991 Roadless Area Conservation Rule prohibited road building in unless necessary for public health and safety. "Mark Warner, Virginia's former governor, was one of the first governors in the country to voice opposition to the Bush proposal. Virginia has the most roadless acreage of any state east of the Mississippi," writes Cramer. (Read more)

Anti-strip mining activists seek end to mountaintop removal in Virginia

Activists opposed to strip mining are protesting in Wise County, Virginia, for stricter regulations and an end to mountaintop removal. State officials say their criticisms might be directed at the wrong people.

National and regional groups opposed to surface mining met last week with county residents to discuss taking action. Proposed activities include: Protesting at surface mine permit hearings where permits are approved; demanding to accompany state mine inspectors at surface mine sites; and urging Gov. Tim Kaine and state lawmakers to restrict blasting activity, prohibit late-night mining and ban mountaintop removal, writes Jeff Lester of The Coalfield Progress in one of two stories on the issue. (Read more)

In a second story, the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy said it does not rubber-stamp surface mine permit proposals or give coal companies whatever they want. State officials said modern technology helps enforce mine regulations, and critics need to realize some issues cannot be dealt with on the state level. Blasting standards used nationwide were developed decades ago, and the DMME's proposal for a federal study of possible revisions awaits funding, reports Lester. (Read more)

Homeland Security ranks West Virginia last in disaster preparation

Federal homeland security officials, under fire from big cities for not giving them the money they wanted, ranked West Virginia last during a recent assessment of how well states are prepared to handle disasters.

The Department of Homeland Security reviewed every state's plan for combating a catastrophe, such as a large hurricane or a terrorist attack. A team of federal officials reviewed several factors, including plans for evacuation, health care and communication during a disaster. West Virginia was rated “not sufficient” on 60 percent of the factors tested, the highest percentage in the nation. "Forty percent of factors were “partially sufficient” and none were sufficient," writes Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette.

Louisiana finished second to last by getting "not sufficient" on 29 percent of the factors, partially sufficient on 67 percent and sufficient on 4 percent, reports Finn. (Read more) For the entire report, click here.

Slow farm vehicles and impatient drivers colliding more in Ohio

Although the amount of farms in Ohio is shrinking, the remaining ones are growing in size, and farmers are traveling long distances on tractors -- much to the dismay of automobile drivers.

"Last year, 434 crashes in Ohio involved farm vehicles and equipment, the State Highway Patrol reported. Eleven involved fatalities, up from six in 2004. Wayne County in northeastern Ohio led the state with 20 crashes, eight of which caused injuries. Under state law, tractors marked with an orange, slow-moving-vehicle emblem cannot travel the roads faster than 25 mph. That has caused some problems for those using modern tractors designed to go faster," writes Dana Wilson of The Columbus Dispatch.

State Rep. Jim Carmichael, R-Wooster, plans to propose a bill that would allow tractors to travel faster and thus deter some drivers from feeling the need to pass them on narrow roads, reports Wilson. The bill would require that the operators have a driver’s license and that they post their tractor’s top speed on a speed-indicator sign. (Read more)

Rural Nevada newspaper endorses legalization of marijuana possession

A newspaper in rural northern Nevada raised some eyebrows this week by endorsing a ballot measure to decriminalize adult possession of limited amounts of marijuana through regulation and taxation.

"In a state where prostitution is legal in certain counties, bars are not required to close and children can legally possess and use tobacco, objections to marijuana legalization on a moral basis seem hypocritical," opined the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard on Tuesday. "Those who view marijuana as a blight on society have yet to offer an effective solution of how to stop its spread through society or better fund law enforcement. Continuation of the ill-funded, halfhearted campaigns of the past is little more than veiled acceptance of its current widespread and illegal use."

"The Regulation of Marijuana Initiative will appear on ballots in November. It would allow those 21 years old and older to legally possess, use and transfer one ounce or less of marijuana. Penalties are also stiffened for those who drive under the influence of marijuana or sell it to minors. Use in public would be prohibited. For a $1,000 annual license fee, state-licensed retailers would be able to sell marijuana. The latest proposal would allow adults to possession up to 1 ounce," continued the newspaper. (Read more)

State Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, expressed surprise over the newspaper's support for the Nov. 7 ballot question. "It surprised me that a rural newspaper would do that," he told The Associated Press, noting northern Nevada's conservative ideology. Nevada voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the medicinal use of marijuana in 1998 and 2000. Click here for the AP story.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Rural experts urge senators to include broadband in next farm bill

Smaller communities must get broadband access to spur economic development, a panel of rural experts said during a hearing of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on Tuesday in preparation for a new farm bill.

Jane Halliburton, of the National Association of Counties and the National Association of Development Organizations, told senators, "Rural communities are forced to make do with technologies of yesterday. For rural America to compete in today's global economy, there must be implementation of broadband Internet connections."

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, agreed that broadband access is key: "Broadband Internet access is no longer merely a desirable option in today's world," he said. "It is absolutely vital for businesses to operate productively and competitively, as well as for the education of our children and a host of other activities in rural communities." The 2002 farm bill allocated $100 million in loans for broadband infrastructure development, but that was repealed later, reports Jared A. Taylor of AXcess News. (Read more)

Grass-fed cattle gives consumers best beef, benefits rural economies

Most U.S. cattle are fed protein supplements (steroids) and pesticide-treated silage, grains and hay, but that is not the case at Long Meadows Grass Beef farm in Knox County, Ohio where cattle feed on grass and ultimately become high-quality beef.

Using that farm as an example, Aaron Beck of The Columbus Dispatch describes a model that is starting to attract more farmers and beef eaters: "Cattle drink water from a well that was drilled 180 feet below surface. . . . The animals graze a temporarily fenced area of the hilly pasture until they’ve eaten the grass to 4 or 5 inches above the soil." Farmers then move fences so that cattle will gravitate toward a new patch of grass. That ensures animals are getting the best grass, and humans are getting natural beef.

Jo Robinson, founder of Eatwild.com, said that people who buy grass-fed beef are helping farmers survive. "When you do that, you’re supporting your local rural economy. You’re helping to preserve a beautiful landscape and you’re making it possible for small farmers to survive in your area. You also begin to understand the hard work involved in creating a good-quality product," she told Beck. (Read more)

'Food insecure' Appalachians risk becoming obese, diabetic, says study

"Members of rural Appalachian households who lack access to food or experience hunger are more likely to be obese and have diabetes, according to an Ohio University study," reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

Researcher David Holben found that subjects from households with greater levels of “food insecurity” had a greater body mass index (30.3) than those with smaller levels of food insecurity (29). People from food insecure households were also more prone to having diabetes (37.9 percent) and being overweight (48.1 percent) than those in food secure households (25.8 percent and 35.1 percent).

A total of 2,580 people participated in the study, with 72.8 percent from food secure households and 27.2 percent from food insecure households. In 1999, the year the Ohio University study took pace, 10.1 percent of U.S. households fell under food insecure. Food insecurity can lead to stress, obesity, diabetes and heart disease, and also poor management of chronic disease, reports Newswise. (Read more)

Indian casinos raked in revenue of $22.7 billion last year; schools benefit

Native American-run casinos and resorts are a booming industry in the U.S., with Indian tribes and state governments seeing billions of dollars in the revenue column.

Indian gaming brought in $22.7 billion in revenue in 2005, up 15.6 percent from 2004, according to the Indian Gaming Industry Report. The independent industry report found that state and local governments in the 30 states with such casinos netted $1 billion-plus from fees and revenue-sharing agreements, a 20 percent increase from 2004, writes Kavan Peterson of Stateline.org. (Read more)

States and Native American tribes are finding that gambling can generate money for schools and other public services. Indian gaming got a boost when Congress voted in 1988 to uphold tribes' right to operate casinos on reservations. Since then, 227 tribes have opened 420 facilities in 30 states, reports Peterson.

Iowa children near livestock farms risk getting asthma, says study

"Children who attend school near large-scale livestock farms known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) may be at a higher risk for asthma, according to a new study by University of Iowa researchers," reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

"Previous research has shown increased rates of asthma among children living in rural areas of Iowa and the United States," said Joel Kline, M.D., professor of internal medicine at Iowa. "Given that CAFOs release inflammatory substances that can affect the health of workers at these facilities and the air quality of nearby communities, we were interested in whether there was a connection between CAFOs and increased rates of asthma among kids in rural areas."

Researchers found 12 children (19.7 percent) with physician-diagnosed asthmafrom the study school located near a CAFO and 18 children (7.3 percent) from the control school. Using the broadest definition of asthma (physician diagnosis, asthma-like symptoms or asthma medication use) the rate was 24.6 percent at the study school and 11.7 percent at the control school. Iowa's overall rate of physician-diagnosed asthma is 6.7 percent, reports Newswise. (Read more)

Rural living: Kentucky developers create small-town feel with amenities

In a fast-growing corridor of Scott County, Kentucky one residential development is aiming to provide all of life's necessities within walking distance, as an example of growth guided by "new urbanism."

New urbanism is occurring in several areas of Kentucky, and the rising price of gas is spurring this trend, reports Marcus Green of The Courier-Journal. Architect Steve Austin, a consultant and president of Bluegrass Tomorrow, a Central Kentucky planning group, said, "As gas goes towards $3 a gallon, having anything that you can walk to in your neighborhood is a cost-saving amenity." (Read more)

"New urbanism traces its roots to the 1970s and 1980s, when planners and architects began conceiving neighborhoods with town centers harkening back to earlier American cities. The movement has spawned projects such as Florida's Seaside, the coastal development awash in pastel colors where the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show was filmed. But some projects have drawn criticism for establishing neighborhoods cut off from larger communities -- all while gobbling up undeveloped land," writes Green.

Magnets give numbers for reporting spill, weight problems in coal country

Fired up by blackwater spills in eastern Kentucky, members of Mountain Justice Summer are distributing magnets with two 800-numbers for government enforcement agencies to coalfield residents.

"The first number is a 24-hour hotline for reporting blackwater spills to the Kentucky Emergency Response Team (1-800-928-2380). The second number is for reporting overweight coal trucks to Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement (1-800-928-2402)," according to a press release from the group. The magnets are an effort to increase awareness and enforcement of legal violations common among coal companies.

According to the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources Web site, blackwater spills "are of great concern due to their effect on the environment and the citizens who live in Kentucky's coalfield regions. Spills impact water quality, harm aquatic life and damage environmental health." Overweight trucks pose threats to motorists and they damage publicly-owned roads and bridges.

Mountain Justice Summer aims to end mountain top removal mining and includes members in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. For more information, click here.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Nation sees 30 percent drop in meth lab seizures, positive drug tests

Methamphetamine use is a major problem in rural America, but reports released Monday show a big drop in seizures of manufacturing labs and in the number of people testing positive for the drug in the workplace.

"The number of meth lab busts plummeted more that 30 percent last year as most states put in place laws to restrict the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines used to make meth, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Intelligence Center," reports The Associated Press. Quest Diagnostics Inc., the nation's largest drug testing company, reported that the number of job applicants and workers who tested positive for meth dropped 31 percent during the first five months of this year based on 3 million tests.

Meth lab seizures totaled 12,185 last year, down from 17,562 in 2004, with the predominantly rural states Oklahoma, Montana and Washington posting some of the biggest drops. Several states passed laws last year restricting the sales of cold medicines, which contain ingredients used in making meth. At present, 37 states have such laws, notes AP. (Read more)

Crack cocaine joins meth as drug problem for rural West Virginia

"Methamphetamine has ravaged many West Virginia communities in recent years. Now rural areas are coping with a scourge more associated with big cities: crack cocaine," writes Michael A. Jones of the Daily Mail in Charleston.

Mason County Sheriff Scott Simms sees crack cocaine usage as "10 times the problem meth is," and he attributed the drug's presence to the increasing influence of big-city crack dealers relocating to rural areas. In many cases, law enforcement officials think the dealers start off in bigger cities and then find the nearby rural areas, reports Jones.

West Virginia police have experienced great success in stopping the spread of meth, but they find crack cocaine dealers are relentless in trying to turn a profit. Many rural law enforcement agencies also struggle with low staffing numbers that hinder their drug-fighting efforts, writes Jones. (Read more)

Wal-Mart changes rural Arkansas town from Bible Belt to melting pot

Arkansas's northwest corner is traditionally seen as its Bible Belt, and Benton County boasts 39 Baptist, 27 United Methodist and 20 Assembly of God churches. However, with the retail giant Wal-Mart in town, the times, they are a-changin'.

"Recruited from around the country as workers for Wal-Mart or one of its suppliers, hundreds of which have opened offices near the retailer's headquarters here, a growing number of Jewish families have become increasingly vocal proponents of religious neutrality in the county. They have asked school principals to rename Christmas vacation as winter break (many have) and lobbied the mayor's office to put a menorah on the town square (it did)," writes Michael Barbaro of The New York Times.

"Wal-Mart has transformed small towns across America, but perhaps its greatest impact has been on Bentonville, where the migration of executives from cities like New York, Boston and Atlanta has turned this sedate rural community into a teeming mini-metropolis populated by Hindus, Muslims and Jews," reports Barbaro. The county's first synagogue opened two years ago and its roughly 100 members represent a religion that continues to mystify the rural area. (Read more)

Indian tribes