Rural
Blog Archive May 2005
Issues,
trends, events, ideas and journalism from the Institute for
Rural Journalism and Community Issues
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Massey Energy subject
of third lawsuit over delayed coal shipments
A third company is suing Massey
Energy over coal supply issues, reports The Associated Press. Massey's latest quarterly
filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission indicates
Coaltrade LLC has sued Massey Utility Sales Co. and seeks
unspecified damages. The complaint was filed in U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Coaltrade, previously known as Peabody
Coaltrade LLC, alleges Massey failed to deliver coal
under the terms of a coal-supply contract and then canceled
that contract. Massey is facing similar lawsuits from Wheeling-Pittsburgh
Steel Corp. and Harman Mining Group.
Massey is appealing a 2002 Boone County, W.Va.,
jury verdict that found Massey had forced Harman Mining out
of business and into bankruptcy by illegally taking away its
major long-term coal contract. The jury awarded Harman $50
million. Massey Energy Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship has
said labor shortages and transportation problems contributed
to supply issues. Massey is based in Richmond, Va.
Researchers find better
way to reclaim strip mines, but firms, landowners wary
University of Kentucky forestry
researchers are using a new method they say is faster and
more effective to recover and reforest strip-mined land, but
mining industry officials are reluctant to adopt the technique.
Lexington Herald-Leader environmental
reporter Andy Mead uses as an example a mountain in Pike County,
Kentucky, where UK researchers are trying a new, apparently
faster method of reforestation and rejuvenation, described
by as taking place on "barren rock and sand that looks
like the surface of Mars."
Mead writes, "Atop Bent Mountain ... a
mountain being leveled and stripped bare for its coal —
hundreds of tree seedlings have been planted ... and seem
doomed to die in the inhospitable terrain. (But) ...the researchers
have figured out how to regrow forests on land that has been
ripped open to get coal out." (Read
more)
The researchers have found by sticking seedlings
in loose material after mining, trees are growing faster,
reducing air and water pollution, reclaiming mined land more
cheaply, and reducing the environmental effects of mining.
But the researchers are having a hard time winning over coal
companies that fear loss of reclamation bonds and landowners
who want a quick payoff from pastures rather than a long-term
investment in forestry.
Mead also invites readers to "Go to Kentucky.com
from 12 to 1 p.m. Thursday for an online chat about mountaintop
removal with Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky
Coal Association." For more on the UK forestry
department, click
here.
Latino Republican county
official in Idaho targets illegal migrant workers
Robert Vasquez, a Mexican-American and Republican
county commissioner in Canyon County, Idaho, has mounted a
crusade against illegal immigration, what he calls "an
imminent invasion" from south of the border, and his
efforts are causing political tremors felt as far away as
Washington, D.C. (Read
more)
"Mr. Vasquez has tried to have Canyon County
declared a disaster area because of the strain from illegal
immigrants. He has also sent a bill to the Mexican government
for more than $2 million; that is the cost, he said, of Mexicans
who are in the county illegally," Timothy Egan writes
for The New York Times.
This month, Vasquez got his fellow commissioners
to use federal racketeering statutes against people who employ
illegal immigrants. "County officials have maintained
that illegal immigrants drain public funds ... (and) have
characterized the move as a effort to preserve jobs for legal
citizens and save county funds," Mike Butts of the Idaho
Press-Tribune, in Nampa, reported May 21. (Read
more)
Butts wrote that the county has "a particular
business or businesses in mind that they want to make an example
of," but Egan reports that the move "has angered
the solidly Republican business community and many of the
senior political leaders in this heavily Republican state."
Howard Foster, a Chicago lawyer advising the county, says
it is the only local government in the nation to use the racketeering
law against immigrants and employers.
Louisiana ministers making
their mark felt in debate over school board prayer
A school board is getting help from ministers
in the Tangipahoa Parish, a "pastoral exurb" of
New Orleans, as it fights for the right to start meetings
with a lengthy prayer noting Jesus. The board used to say
the prayer before the American Civil Liberties Union and one
parent objected in 2003, reports Adam Nossiter of The
Associated Press. (Read
more)
The ACLU, with support from a federal judge
in February, argues the prayer violates the constitution's
ban on government sanctioning of one religious doctrine over
another. The school board is relentless in its fight, though,
and is taking the issue to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
This continues the larger debate over prayer in schools, but
it is an unusual case because of ministers being so involved,
writes Nossiter. The school board is even receiving money
for its legal battles from the Alliance Defense Fund,
a Christian legal group.
Such battles with the ACLU are nothing new to
this school board. Previous struggles included a classroom
warning against evolution, a minister who delivered pizza
and sermons to students at lunch and prayers at football games.
Although the board lost its case every time, that bad track
record will not dissuade the members from barking up the legal
ladder. "It's just like a woman putting on a girdle,"
board member Sandra Simmons told Nossiter. "You squelch
religious liberties somewhere, it will pop up somewhere else."
Former school board member Howard Nichols worries
that a district with a mediocre state test ranking is focusing
too much time away from academics. "The people behind
all this are fundamentalist Christians," he said. "They
have stampeded the board by these massive demonstrations.
I think we are diverting a tremendous amount of time that
could be spent in improving test scores."
Judge providing worship
attendance as alternative to traditional sentences
District Judge Michael Caperton is giving repeat
drug and alcohol offenders in Laurel County, Kentucky, the
option to attend church or another house of worship for 10
services rather than go to jail or enter rehabilitation. Legal
experts said alternative sentencing is a national trend, but
they had not heard of the option of attending worship, reports
Alan Maimon of The Courier Journal. (Read
more)
"This is the first time I've heard of anything
like that," Bill Dressel, a former Colorado judge and
president of the National Judicial College
in Reno, Nev., told the Louisville newspaper. "Alternative
sentencing usually requires that people give something back
to society through public service."
Caperton, 50, a devout Christian, does not see
providing the option as a church-state issue: "I don't
think there's a church-state issue, because it's not mandatory
and I say worship services instead of church," he told
Maimon. Although any denomination is allowed, some civil libertarians
and constitutional scholars say the option inserts religion
into the courtroom and violates the Constitution's separation
of church and state.
David Friedman, a Louisville lawyer for the
American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky,
said, "The judge is saying that those willing to go to
worship services can avoid jail in the same way that those
who decline to go cannot. That strays from government neutrality
towards religion."
Tobacco turns: Burley
state raises tax, farmers adjust, industry faces more change
Times keep changing on Tobacco Road. Kentucky,
the state with the nation's lowest cigarette tax and largest
number of tobacco farmers is raising the tax tenfold tomorrow,
and officials say the state will produce a lot less burley
tobacco than last year. And though the federal tobacco program
is over, and growers are diversifying, the industry still
faces possible changes as a result of possible court and legislative
action.
Kentucky's cigarette tax is going from 3 cents
a pack to 30. Lexington Herald-Leader reporter
Jim Warren writes, "Health advocates predict ... the
tax will encourage some Kentuckians to quit smoking (but)
... more smokers might have been motivated if lawmakers had
approved a bigger tax increase." (Read
more)
Associated Press reporter Betsy
Verecky reports that health officials hope one penny of the
tax hike, earmarked for researchers at cancer centers in Kentucky,
"will help them better understand and treat cancer."
The state will split the money between the University of Louisville's
James
Graham Brown Cancer Center and the University
of Kentucky's
Lucille P. Markey Cancer Center. (Read
more) Kentucky has the nation's highest adult smoking
rate at nearly 31 percent, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. It has some of
the highest rates of tobacco-related tumors and lung cancer.
Meanwhile, from Washington, AP's Hilary Roxe
writes, "The decision by Congress last year to end Depression-era
price and production controls for U.S. tobacco didn't close
the federal debate. The future of tobacco is still under discussion
in court and on Capitol Hill, and the industry could still
face significant changes," especially if tobacco companies
are found guilty of civil racketeering in a trial expected
to end in June. The companies could face more suits, and more
attention from lawmakers, said Richard A. Daynard, president
of the Boston-based Tobacco Control Resource Center.
(Read
more) Scott Balin, a former American
Heart Association
attorney who helped organize a coalition of farmers and
health officials, tells Roxe, "The tobacco issue has
not been resolved. That's the bottom line."
AP's Bruce Schreiner reports from Louisville
that without the federal program, growers are moving more
cautiously into a free market. he cites a Department
of Agriculture report projecting a 31 percent
drop in burley acreage in Kentucky, which "traditionally
produces 70 percent of the nation's burley, the lighter-colored
tobacco that is combined with the darker flue-cured variety
in cigarettes," he writes. (Read
more) Production may not drop that much, because growers
are under pressure to improve yields in a market that will
pay them about one-fourth less per pound than last year, under
contracts with cigarette companies.
Herald-Leader reporter Beverly Fortune writes
of how some former burley farmers have turned to goats as
an alternative cash crop. Larry Yearsley, she writes, "bought
his first goats five years ago. Today he has a herd of more
than 80 nannies and kids on the farm where he grew up, renamed
Just Kiddin' Boer Goats Farm." (Read
more) Kentucky's goat population ranks sixth in the nation
with 70,000 animals, according to the Kentucky
Agricultural Statistics Service, up from 16,223
goats in 1997.
Meanwhile, the cable channel RFD-TV
is scheduled to telecast a news feature tonight on
Kentucky's cattle industry, the largest east of the Mississippi.
The report will be on The
Cattle Show at 9 p.m. EDT.
In Virginia, AP's Stephanie Stoughton nicely
summarized a complex phenomenon that "dramatically altering
the industry"-- small cigarette companies that started
after the 1998 settlement between states and big companies,
but are now being forced by state legislatures to pay into
the settlement. (Read
more)
Mobile health clinic
a welcome sight at 'pit stops' in rural Oregon, Nevada
A 79-year-old physician is delivering health
care via a mobile home in areas of Oregon where health care
is hard to find. The 79-year-old doctor, Dr. Robert Morrison,
dressed in all-black Western wear, parks his trailer in Fields,
a rural pit stop with a cafe, motel and store at the base
of Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon, writes Matthew Preusch
of The Associated Press (Read
more) He also makes similar trips to Crane, Drewsey and
Denio, Nev., with his son, Kern, hauling the trailer.
For many rural Oregon and Nevada residents,
visits to Morrison's trailer are the closest they'll get to
a hospital, writes Preusch. The ailments Morrison commonly
sees include hypertension, bronchitis, emphysema, diabetes
and high blood pressure, all of which require regular care
and can lead to serious illness. "He also spends a fair
amount of time pulling barnyard splinters from ranchers' hands
or mending busted-up buckaroos. He once cut a cancerous growth
off the face of an itinerant laborer," Preusch writes.
"Morrison's visits may seem a quaint throwback
to the days when country doctors made the rounds by horse
and buckboard," Preusch reports. "But the trailer
is also one answer to a modern health care conundrum common
in the wide-open West: how to provide care to scattered rural
residents. Lack of care is particularly acute in the area
Morrison services, an expanse of high desert roughly the size
of Connecticut that's home to about 300 people."
Kansas county commissioner
targets rural residents with tax proposal
Johnson County Commissioner John Segale's tax
proposal seeks to squeeze out funds from rural residents.
The levy would affect Johnson County's unincorporated areas:
houses in rural subdivisions and little acreages south of
Overland Park and Olathe, reports columnist Mike Hendricks
of Kansas City Star. (Read
more)
Segale argues that rural residents often demand
and receive city-like services, but they avoid a city tax
levy. Police protection and road maintenance in the unincorporated
areas are subsidized by city residents. That will remain the
same until rural areas are annexed or Segale’s proposal
passes, reports Hendricks. “I think that it’s
fair,” Segale told him. The Shawnee resident has no
unincorporated land in his district. “It was something
I promised to work on during my campaign and I’m not
giving up.”
Segale views his proposal as a way to level
the playing field, since city residents already pay for some
county services. Ninety-six percent of the Johnson County
population lives in cities, and rural residents don’t
pay for city street repairs or for police officers’
salaries. "Only in the unincorporated areas does the
county maintain roads and provide regular sheriff patrol (except
under contract with some cities)," writes Hendricks.
"The cost is $13 million a year. And every county taxpayer
foots that bill, not just the 15,000 who live in the county."
Plan for off-reservation
casino pits Oregon governor versus preservationists
Life is calm and serene in the historic mill
town of Cascade Locks, Ore., in the Columbia River Gorge,
40 miles east of Portland. The town's rural charm attracts
tourists, but local, state and Indian leaders foresee a more
lucrative future: a huge casino that they project could draw
3 million people a year and save a faltering economy, reports
Sam Howe Verhovek of the Los Angeles Times.
(Read
more)
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, strongly supports
the proposal, which would establish the first Oregon casino
built on non-Indian land and one of just a few off-reservation
Indian-owned casinos in the country. When the governor reached
an agreement last month with prospective owner and operator,
the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs,
controversy erupted over its location, Verhovek reports.
"Opponents say the idea is something close
to blasphemy, because the Gorge, a spectacular ribbon of waterfalls,
forested trails and stunning overlooks across the mighty Columbia,
is a federally designated national scenic area, and it is
intended to stay scenic," writes Verhovek. "But
proponents, including the governor and tribal leaders, say
a building can be designed in harmony with the view, and they
point to a major benefit to the cash-strapped state government
here: Under the agreement, 17 percent of casino profits would
be turned over to the state for tuition and health programs.
That could amount to $30 million or more annually."
The casino plan must clear some major hurdles
before it could be constructed in an industrial-zoned area.
The U.S. Interior Department, one of the
agencies involved in approving deals for off-reservation gambling,
recently said it would not make a final decision on the casino
until it approves a trust for the land used.
Environmental regulators
tighten ethics rules on air-pollution permit reviews
Kentucky environmental regulators are going
to require a more stringent conflict-of-interest policy for
private companies that review and draft air pollution permits.
"The decision follows criticism by a legislative oversight
committee over the hiring of two consulting firms by regulators
to help reduce a backlog of industry-requested permits,"
writes James Bruggers of The Courier-Journal.
(Read
more)
Mark York, spokesman for the Environmental
and Public Protection Cabinet, wrote, "Until
Secretary (LaJuana) Wilcher is confident with the process,
no work has been or will be assigned to either company."
Cabinet officials awarded contracts totaling
$700,000 in April and May to the two firms. It's the first
time state regulators have turned to private companies that
also work for industrial clients to help with pollution oversight
required under federal environmental laws. The contracts went
to Kenvirons, a Frankfort-based firm, and
New Jersey-based Enviroplan
Consulting.
USDA concludes University
of Nevada mistreated research animals
A seven-month federal investigation has concluded
that the University of Nevada mistreated
research animals, and the school will pay an $11,400 fine
to settle the case, reports The Associated Press.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the university's
Reno campus for 46 federal animal welfare violations between
May 2004 and March 2005. (Read
more)
Violations included repeatedly leaving 10 research
pigs with inadequate water and housing, poor sanitation at
animal care facilities, lack of veterinary care, and failure
to investigate animal neglect complaints. School officials
agreed to pay the fine, but did not agree with all the agency's
findings. University President John Lilley said in a statement
the school is "firmly committed to the appropriate treatment
of animals under our care."
The investigation began when associate professor
Hussein S. Hussein, an internationally-known animal nutrition
researcher, alleged research animal abuse in complaints to
the USDA last summer. The Reno
Gazette-Journal later reported that 38 pregnant
sheep died in October 2002 while locked inside a gate without
food or water for three days. Hussein filed two pending lawsuits
in federal court against the university, Lilley and other
administrators accusing them of reprisals and trying to fire
him since he complained.
PETA spy, no longer living
a lie, reveals her true identity and her regrets
For the past three years, Lisa Leitten applied
for jobs at animal businesses in Missouri, Texas and Virginia.
Although she gave biographical details about her real life,
Leitten left out the fact that she worked for People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and that she
liked to wear a hidden camera, reports Bonnie Pfister of The
Associated Press. (Read
more)
Leitten called her last assignment for PETA
her most wrenching: nine months in a Virginia lab owned by
Princeton, N.J.-based biomedical firm Covance Co.
There, she says, monkeys were denied medical care and hurt
by technicians. The company denies the claims and has accused
Leitten of illegally working under cover.
Two weeks ago, PETA presented Leitten's assertions
about Covance in video footage and a massive report to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food
and Drug Administration, and Virginia prosecutors,
calling for regulators to shutter the company's Vienna, Va.,
lab. "This was my third assignment, and my final one,"
Leitten said in a recent interview with The Associated Press,
the first time she has publicly revealed her identity. "You
never forget the things that you've seen."
The intrigue of undercover work had outweighed
Leitten's initial worries when she took the PETA job. "At
first I thought, 'There's no way.' The fear of everything,
of having to wear covert equipment and move around. But then
it sounded sort of exciting at the same time," she said.
Friday, May 27, 2005
FCC's top priority is
broadband expansion, Chairman Kevin Martin says
Expansion of high-speed Internet access, a growing
issue in rural areas, will be the "No. 1 priority" for Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin,
he said Tuesday in an interview with Drew Clark of National
Journal's Technology Daily (subscription required).
"Making sure that all consumers have the opportunity
and are connected to those advanced telecommunications services
increases productivity, allows more overall economic growth,
makes it easier for people to do work from home, take medical
information to and from home [and] communicate and gather
information in all kinds of ways," Martin said in the interview,
one of his first since taking the chair.
Getting broadband rules right "will involve
not only making sure we have the right regulatory framework
for that infrastructure, but addressing issues like what are
the services that ride over that infrastructure and what are
the social obligations that go along with that like the expectation
that people have to connect to local public safety officials,"
he said.
Chairman Martin is a native of Charlotte, N.C.,
and a graduate of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, Duke University
and Harvard University Law School. While
at Chapel Hill, he was student body president and president
of the North Carolina Association of Student Governments.
Two-thirds of attorneys
general support national shield law; see if yours does
Attorneys general of at least 34 states have
agreed to support a friend-of-the-court brief, to be filed
in the U.S. Supreme Court today, "to recognize a reporter's
right to keep sources confidential in the case involving the
leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity," The
Associated Press reports.(Read
more)
AG Mark Shurtleff of Utah, a Republican, is helping assemble
the bipartisan group and told AP he was working to recruit
more of his counterparts, whose support is a surprise, says
Editor & Publisher.
"Everybody's first reaction was, 'Wait
a minute. We're chief law enforcement officers of our states,
why are we going to support something that makes our jobs
harder?' But we've always recognized the importance of constitutional
protections," Shurtleff told Joe Fay in Salt Lake City.
"Society is better off with an open press and an informed
public. In addition, it's important everyone knows what the
rules are. Reporters in fairness need to know they're going
to be protected. That argument has turned a lot of AGs around."
The brief supports an appeal that seeks to overturn contempt
orders against New York Times reporter Judith
Miller and Time magazine's Matt Cooper. They
"face 18 months in jail for refusing to testify before
a grand jury as part of an investigation into who divulged
the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame," AP says. "The
attorneys general will ask the Supreme Court to adopt a balancing
test weighing the public interest of journalism against the
desire of law enforcement agencies to investigate the unauthorized
release of sensitive information. They want the court to settle
contradictory rulings of federal district courts and follow
the precedent set by some state courts that have recognized
a reporter's privilege." Journalists' right to keep sources
confidential is recognized" by law in all states but
Wyoming, which has had no cases on the issue.
Attorneys general from these states had agreed to support
the brief as of Thursday afternoon: Arizona, California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.
Sierra Club says pickup-truck
mileage, air quality can be improved
Farmers, carpenters, ranchers and other workers
dependent on trucks want better mileage, the Sierra
Club says in its report, "Shifting Out
Of Reverse: Making Pickup Trucks Go Farther on a Gallon of
Gas."
The report shows "by installing proven,
off-the-shelf technology, in light trucks, the average American
pickup truck can go farther – much farther – on
a gallon of gas. This would save the drivers money at the
pump, curb global warming, and decrease America’s dependence
on foreign oil," says the Sierra Club in a news release
on its Web
site. For the full report, in .pdf form, including average
driver and state savings data, click
here.
For example, "Kentucky pickup truck drivers
would have saved more than $314,371,149 at the gas pump last
year and cut global warming pollution by 2,528,696 tons if
U.S. automakers had used existing automotive technology to
improve fuel economy of pickups," according to the report.
With high gas prices this Memorial Day weekend,
the report and online gas savings calculator
"demonstrate that the technology exists to make all vehicles
— from sedans, to SUVs, to pickup trucks — get
better fuel economy to save money, curb global warming, and
cut oil consumption," says a news release from Aloma
Dew of the club's Midwest office. “The biggest single
step we can take for saving money at the gas pump and cutting
pollution is to make our vehicles go farther on a gallon of
gas,” she said. “Detroit has the technology to
make all vehicles, including pickup trucks, get better fuel
economy. It’s time to put that technology to work.”
Greyhound, often a rural
connection, cutting service to 260 more locations
Travelers in many rural communities will have
fewer places to hitch a ride on a Greyhound when the nation's
largest intercity bus company scales back its stops next month.
The announcement about Eastern states came after Greyhound
announced it would discontinue service to hundreds of cities
in the Southwest and Northwest.
Greyhound Lines will discontinue service at
260 stops, mainly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee,
Greyhound Lines spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee
said. Kentucky is losing more than half its stops; Indiana
is losing 22 of 52, reports The Indianapolis Star.(Read
more) In Kentucky, company officials told The
Associated Press the remaining stops have the highest
customer demand and passengers should see faster service between
major national destinations as a result. (Read
more)
Kentucky cities affected include Cadiz, Franklin,
Grayson, Hopkinsville, Horse Cave, Lebanon, Marion, Mattoon,
Mayfield, Morehead, Morganfield, Mount Sterling, Munfordville,
Park City, Sonora, Sturgis, Walton, West Point and Winchester.
Other stops affected include the Job Corps Center
at Morganfield.
Columnist: Redirect farm
subsidies to create fresh-food systems for urban areas
"Is the time ripe to take some of the billions
in subsidies now flowing to big commodity-crop operators and
focus instead on sustainable farm production in and around
the citistate regions where 80 percent of us live?" asks
syndicated columnist Neal R. Peirce. (Read
more, via The Seattle Times)
Peirce quotes Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.,
as saying farm subsidies, currently "flowing to six states
to produce 13 commodities that in the main we don't need,
like corn, wheat, cotton, and rice," should be redirected
"to build sustainable agriculture, create a farmer's
market in every community, help farmers protect our land and
water, preserve our viewsheds, foster land banks and control
erosion."
Peirce writes that the notion is easy to dismiss,
given the "hammerlock" of big-business agriculture
and President Bush's quick retreat from his proposal to limit
subsidies to indvidual producers -- but he also says millions
of Americans are looking for fresher, tastier and healthier
food, and reports that "several hundred school districts
throughout the nation have adopted forms of a 'farm-to-school'
program to introduce locally grown farm products." He
quotes the Community Food Security Coalition
as saying that when such programs are combined with nutrition
education, farm visits, school gardens and classroom instruction,
reports the "children can develop healthy eating habits that
will last a lifetime."
AG says Ark. meth law
working, but deadlier form arriving; Ala. gets similar law
Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe says the
state’s laws enacted to curb supplies of homemade methamphetamine
are working, but a home-brew is being replaced by a deadlier,
more refined form.
Beebe told a Fayetteville Rotary Club users
of the illegal drug are finding it more difficult to supply
their habit at home, but higher-grade methamphetamine from
large-scale, out-of-state suppliers is moving in to fill the
vacuum, reports Doug Thompson of Stephens Media Group's Arkansas
News Bureau. (Read
more)
Beebe supported laws passed in the last legislative
session to restrict the sale of cold medicines needed for
illegal methamphetamine cooking. Beebe told Rotarians, "Oklahoma
officials say the law has run the meth cookers off. Your sheriff
was complaining that it ran them off to Northwest Arkansas,"
but now the [Arkansas] cold medication laws are expected to
have a similar effect, Thompson writes.
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley signed into law a bill
requiring shoppers to show identification and sign a register
to buy Sudafed and other cold tablets, writes Kim Chandler
of The Birmingham News. (Read
more) Pseudoephedrine, often obtained from cold tablets,
is meth's key ingredient.
"There is an epidemic going on in Alabama
today, and it's a man-made epidemic," Riley said at the
bill-signing ceremony. Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi
recently approved similar proposals. Without such a law, Alabama
would become the hot spot for meth cookers, said Attorney
General Troy King.
Cigarette taxes continue
smokin' in several states, but revenue use debated
MAINE students flocked to the State House in
Augusta yesterday to support increasing the state's cigarette
tax and describe how they've been affected by tobacco-users,
reports WCSH-TV in Portland. (Read
more) "Supporters say the proposed $1.50-per-pack
increase would prevent 9,900 smoking-related deaths and save
the state $438 million in health costs," says Channel
Six News.
NEW HAMPSHIRE has the lowest cigarette tax in
the Northeast United States. Supporters say cross-border sales
are not an issue. They say there has been no evidence of New
Hampshire cigarette sales going up when Maine has increased
cigarette taxes in the past.
MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Pawlenty would dedicate the
entire $380 million from his state's proposed cigarette tax
increase to treat smoking related diseases, says Minnesota
Public Radio's Tom Scheck. (Read
more) Pawlenty has proposed a 75-cent increase and supporters
want all of the revenue sent to state health programs, writes
Scheck. Pawlenty is calling the charge a "health impact
fee," but critics are not happy that the "health
fee" wouldn't be spent entirely on health care programs,
reports Scheck.
In LOUISIANA, several health groups support
a proposed cigarette tax increase. The State Legislature is
considering increasing the state's cigarette tax by $1, reports
Bill Noonan of WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge. (Read
more) A recent poll shows 69 percent of Louisiana voters
support the increase. Also, more than 20 public health organizations
support it, including the American Cancer Society.
Thousands of MICHIGAN smokers are getting bills
in the mail because the state is trying to collect taxes not
paid by smokers who bough cigarettes online, reports WZZM-TV
in Grand Rapids. (Read
more)
In OKLAHOMA, a 55-cents-per-pack increase is
performing below state officials expectations, says Kevin
Sims of KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City, and a
law loophole may be to blame. (Read
more) State officials projected revenue to top $70 million,
but so far, the tax has generated about $23 million, Sims
reported. Stores don't have to pay the higher state tax on
products they already had in stock.
Nebraska governor to
be asked to fund rural air service called 'vital link'
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman will be asked today
to fund the Nebraska State Airline Authority Act -- a law
passed 15 years ago to let the state subsidize an intrastate
airline, a vital link between urban and rural land.
Bob Unzicker, a commissioner for the Nebraska
Department of Economic Development, told Tracy
Overstreet of the Grand Island Independent,
"I think all airlines will have to
have subsidies." (Read
more) Unzicker doesn't think a few select Nebraska cities
with commercial airports should be the only ones paying for
a statewide service, so he wants the Nebraska State Airline
Authority Act funded, writes Overstreet.
The act includes provisions for intrastate commercial
airline service, which was once funded before a seven-member
board was disbanded. The act states that lawmakers found the
state needed air transportation to link the rural and urban
areas that are separated by great distances, Overstreet writes.
North Dakota health-care
providers get federal grant to improve rural wellness
A group of northeast North Dakota organizations
has received a $460,000-plus federal grant to implement a
special health and fitness cooperative; the Wellness Interventions
Lasting a Lifetime (WILL) network.
Joyce Rice, project director, told Rona K. Johnson
of the Grand Forks Herald, "It's a collaboration
to encourage wellness, healthy lifestyles and to provide education
on disease awareness, management and prevention." She
said residents of Cavalier County, northwest Pembina County
and northern Ramsey County will be able to take advantage
of the network. The grant covers three years. (Read
more)
Rice and a consortium of health providers gathered
information from the different resources in the area, wrote
the application for the Rural Health Care Services Outreach
Grant and submitted it to the Office of Rural Health Policy
under the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, writes
Johnson
The network will concentrate on chronic disabling
diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and cardiac rehab, mental
health and occupational health. Rice told Johnson, "We
hope to go into the various businesses and give programs on
occupational hazards." The network also will focus on
sports injury prevention and education. Although some programs
already exist, the network will enhance those programs and
create more, she writes.
The
'governator' restores rural crime-fighting funds in California
budget
Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger cut rural crime fighting funds from
his original budget proposal as a way to cut costs, he said,
but has since reinstated $18.5 million for 37 sheriff’s
departments. "The $500,000 San Benito’s department
will receive through the Rural County Crime Prevention Act
- which funded a second south county deputy position, a correctional
officer and a school resource officer last year - will again
fund those staff positions in 2005-2006," writes Erin
Musgrave of the Hollister Free Lance.
(Read
more)
The local sheriff told Musgrave he was confident
Schwarzenegger would reinstate the critical funding. Otherwise,
he would have had to lay off deputies and freeze deputy positions.With
the money restored, the department can afford the approximately
$170,000 to fund the three positions, he told the newspaper.
Most law officials are designating the money
for staffing.The
California State Sheriff’s Association
was active in fighting to keep the funding, and expects to
fight the same battle every year, writes Musgrave.
Lawsuit to block tribal
gambling deals dropped by California horse track operators
California horse track operators have dropped
a lawsuit seeking to block Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $1-
billion casino deal with Indian tribes, freeing the state
to issue bonds to pay for transportation projects.
"The suit filed in Alameda County Superior
Court sought to nullify a deal Schwarzenegger reached with
five Indian tribes that gave them an unlimited number of slot
machines in return for paying the state additional revenue,"
writes Brian Melley of The Associated Press.
(Read
more) The deal was part of the governor's plan last year
to bring in more revenue while the state faced a multi-billion
dollar fiscal crisis.
Race tracks unsuccessfully fought to get slot
machines to compete with wealthy Indian casinos. The tracks
challenged the law that approved the first of two compacts
the governor negotiated with tribes. Tracks said the law was
unconstitutional because, among other reasons, it gave special
privileges to the tribes and would have prevented voters from
extending casino gambling beyond tribes, writes Melley.
Utah bio/chemical weapons
testing facility may be spared from base closings
A Utah military installation that specializes in testing weapons
of mass destruction may get a pass from the committee charged
with closing installations nationwide to save money.
“Dugway
Proving Ground military base in Utah's west desert
where defenses against deadly biological and chemical weapons
are tested is a constant target of closure rumors and speculation,”
writes Leigh Detham of the Deseret Morning News
in Salt Lake City. (Read
more) But one thing is certain — Dugway's mission
is valuable to the U.S. Department of Defense. The facility
received top rankings from the Pentagon in a report released
to the Base Realignment and Closure commission (BRAC), writes
Detham.
Rick Mayfield, executive director of the Utah
Defense Alliance, told Detham, "This is a sign
that somebody is finally paying attention that they do great
things out there." Mayfield also told her somebody wasn't
paying attention in 1995 when the Army admitted it used incorrect
data when recommending a Dugway realignment. The Army wanted
to move elements of Dugway's facility to Arizona, but BRAC
decided to keep the facility.
Daniel Boone logging
proposal has foresters, environmentalists at loggerheads
Environmentalists are opposing a move by the
U.S.
Forest Service
to cut trees and burn ground clutter near a pristine trout
stream in the southernmost portion of the Daniel
Boone National Forest.
"The latest battle between environmentalist
and foresters on how to best manage the federal land is taking
place on the hillsides around Rock Creek, which originates
in Tennessee and flows into Kentucky south of Stearns,"
writes Roger Alford of The Associated Press. (Read
more)
The plan is to cut trees on 1,619 acres, build
8.6 miles of roads, burn ground clutter on 7,560 acres and
spread herbicide on more than 1,000 acres, writes Alford.
Perrin de Jong, head of the environmental group Kentucky
Heartwood, told AP the group opposes any such activities
around Rock Creek, a stream so pure in its upper reaches that
the Kentucky Division of Water made it part
of the state's "Wild River" program.
The proposal's opponents asked for an impact
study to gauge the proposed project's effects. De Jong told
AP, "Rock Creek is too valuable ... for us to be logging,
road-building and spraying herbicides. We need to protect
it and make sure the place remains ... wild and scenic."
Rex Mann, a forest service spokesman in Winchester, Ky., told
AP no logging would occur near the stream and water quality
would not change.
As defendants sit in
West Virginia jails, the cost of housing them keeps rising
In two weeks, West Virginia's newest regional
jail is set to open in Randolph County, completing the transition
from 55 county jails to 10 regional facilities across the
state. This comes as several counties are complaining about
the cost of housing inmates and the justice system's snail-like
pace is to blame, reports Anna Sale for West Virginia
Public Broadcasting. (Click
here to listen)
One example cited by Sale involved Amanda Butler, arrested
in Huntington in October 2003 for suffocating her child with
a pillow, and finally getting her trial last Tuesday. For
more than two years, Butler has stayed at Western Regional
Jail, as a judge continued her trial at least three times.
The average person like Butler who was either denied bond
or could not pay, is sitting in a jail for an average of 13
months, Sale reports.
On May 20, counties paid $48.50 per inmate for
more than 1,900 inmates in regional jails, costing over $93,000,
reports Sale. And nearly 60 percent were awaiting trials on
felony charges, according to the Regional Jail Authority.
Meetings between counties and the authority have ended in
stalemates.
Other states have already taken legal action
to curb the problem of long stays in jail. Ohio law requires
that incarcerated pretrial felons go to trial within 90 days
of their arrest. In Maryland, each state court established
time standards five years ago. And in Kentucky, the attorney
general is traveling the state urging a rocket docket of their
own to encourage plea agreements before the sometimes lengthy
wait for indictments.
Appalachian Trail and
Blue Ridge Parkway gearing up for Memorial weekend
If you have some lightweight backpacking gear
and a crafty trail name, then the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail
might be your perfect Memorial Day weekend getaway, suggests
John Derrick of The Shelby Star in North
Carolina. You see, people generally come up with a unique
trail name before setting out and conversing with fellow hikers
is just as enjoyable as taking in the sights, he writes. (Read
more) One stop on the Appalachian Trail is Hot Springs,
"a neat little town with the AT running straight through
it, economically and socially very linked to hiking, rafting
and other hippie-pinko-weird activities I enjoy," writes
Derrick.
Just as warm weather brings in more hikers,
the spring season also seems to attract more travelers on
the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of its last two
roadblocks will be lifted at noon today near Mount Mitchell,
N.C., restoring nearly total access to the road just in time
for Memorial Day weekend. Rock slides and 20 inches of rain
from two September hurricanes initially closed almost half
of the 252-mile parkway, causing $8 million in road damage,
reports Dianne Whitacre of The Charlotte Observer.
(Read
more) All that remains closed is an 8-mile stretch near
Linville Falls and a 20-mile detour is in place. Last fall's
slides led to thousands of tourists staying away even as sections
of the parkway reopened, reports Whitacre.
Memorial Day Weekend:
A reminder of its meaning
The Bivouac Of The Dead - by Theodore
O Hara (first and last verses)
The muffled drum's sad roll has beat / the soldier's
last tattoo;
No more on Life's parade shall meet / that brave and fallen
few.
On Fame's eternal camping-ground / their silent tents are
spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round / the bivouac of the dead.
Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead!
Dear as the blood ye gave,
No impious footstep here shall tread
The herbage of your grave;
Nor shall your story be forgot,
While Fame her record keeps,
Or Honor points the hallowed spot
Where Valor proudly sleeps.
Thursday, May 26,
2005
Picturesque, small Western
towns, plagued by out-migration, facing extinction
Towns like Chugwater, Wyo. face big choices:
Grow or die. "As a population boom sweeps the West, communities
watch children leave for the cities, residents age and towns
fall off the map," writes Angie Wagner of The
Associated Press. "Some towns feel their rural
identities slipping away. They try to cling to the past, or
imagine a future as retirement havens, recreation hubs or
suburbs for growing cities." (Click
to read more)
William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings
Institution in Washington, D.C. told Wager, "The
West is clearly becoming the frontier in a different way now."
From 1990 to 2003, the growth rate of Western towns with 2,500
or fewer people was four times the rate for the rest of the
country, according to Census
Bureau figures. Jon Bailey, director of research
and analysis for the Center
for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Neb., told her, "So
many of (these communities) have the desire to be saved, but
it's going to have to come from within."
Chugwater is four blocks by seven blocks, but
has a Web site, on
which the locals tell the world, "Our
commitment to excellence and our progressive attitude is very
evident throughout the community." Wagner writes,
"You can fill your tank at the gas station at
the end of town or grab a bowl of famous Chugwater Chili --
the town's claim to fame -- but if you're looking for much
else, you've probably taken a wrong turn."
William Freudenburg, professor of environment
and society at University
of California-Santa Barbara and president of
the Rural
Sociological Society, told AP that Western towns
should market beautiful scenery and recreation opportunities
to newcomers such as software designers, architects, carpenters,
plumbers -- people who have made money elsewhere and can live
anywhere they want.
Tobacco settlement money
for anti-smoking ads diverted to senior-citizen program
The North
Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission,
funded by part of the state's share of the national tobacco
settlement, has canceled plans to greatly expand a teenager
anti-smoking campaign.
"The additional money is expected to be
diverted to N.C. Senior Care, a prescription drug program
for low-income senior citizens, according to a letter to the
state Division of Purchase & Contract written by Jim Davis,
executive director of the commission," writes David Ranii
of The News & Observer. The commission
also funds Senior Care, which, he writes, is experiencing
increasing enrollment. (Read
more)
Gov. Mike Easley is backing the move. Press
secretary Sherri Johnson, told the Raleigh paper, "The
governor and the Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission
made a commitment to our seniors to fund a prescription drug
plan. We need to make sure this commitment is met before other
educational efforts are planned.”
Poll shows support for
New Hampshire cigarette-tax and gambling proposals
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch's plan to balance
the budget with a higher cigarette tax posted high approval
ratings in a new Becker
Institute poll. The figures also showed significant
support for statewide gambling as a source of revenue, reports
Tom Fahey of the New Hampshire Union Leader.
(Read
more)
"Lynch wants to boost the 52-cent cigarette
tax by 28 cents. The tax hike had approval of nearly four
out of five respondents, 78 percent, who said it is the preferred
way to balance the budget. Sixty-four percent said they 'strongly'
approve," reports Fahey, the Manchester newspaper's statehouse
bureau chief.
"Gambling, the Senate's backup plan to
fill a deficit, also did well in the poll , with approval
ratings between 68 percent and 51 percent. Video slot machines
at the state's four race tracks got the highest approval,
while a private casino in the North Country including roulette,
slots and other games ranked lowest," writes Fahey.
Pastor removes anti-Koran
sign after congregants vote, convention objects
A North Carolina pastor who posted a sign in
front of his church saying "The Koran needs to be flushed!"
removed the sign Wednesday after his congregation voted to
do so, and apologized. The actions came after four Southern
Baptist Convention officials said the sign in Forest
City, 60 miles west of Charlotte, may be endangering overseas
missionaries, reports Ken Garfield of the Charlotte
Observer. (read
more)
Rev. Creighton Lovelace of Danieltown
Baptist Church at first refused to apologize for
the sign, "on one of the most heavily traveled highways"
in Rutherford County, US 221, reported Josh Humphries of the
Daily Courier in Forest City. For the 9,300-circulation
local paper's initial story and picture of the sign, click
here.
In a
followup story, Lovelace claimed he was doing God's work
and the sign would stay. "My Bible teaches me that I
am to stand and not be ashamed of the truth of God's word
and that this, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Jehovah's
Witness translation of the Bible, to me, that is not God's
word," he said Tuesday. But 20 members of the church
voted unanimously Wednesday to remove the sign, the Observer
reported.
The Daily Courier reported that Lovelace is
commander of the Rutherford Rifles, the recently
formed chapter of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans, and he praised the South
and chanted "Save the South" during a rally last
month at a now-closed Forest City store called The Southern
National Patriot. Lovelace said the Bible demands that southern
white Christians should be separated from other peoples, but
he denied promoting hatred of others. "I do not hate
people of other faiths, I merely hate the false doctrine,"
he said.
Seema Reilly, a Muslim who was born in Pakistan
and lives in Rutherford County, site of Forest City, told
the local paper she felt angered and threatened when she saw
the sign on Saturday. "We need a certain degree of tolerance,"
she told Humphries. "That sign doesn't really reflect
what I think this county is about."
University of Kentucky
restores rural home health effort in nine counties
The University of Kentucky
has reversed its decision to cut a program that provides home
health visits and medicine for rural residents in nine Western
Kentucky counties. The school changed its mind after hearing
from people who use the Kentucky Homeplace program and officials
in those counties, writes James Malone of The Courier-Journal
Western Kentucky Bureau. (Read
more)
Karen Troutman, a program recipient, told Malone
she had felt abandoned and "It was a little scary."
Troutman, 50, of Paducah, is a disabled horse trainer who
gets diabetes medicine. She told the newspaper, "Having
this service makes a difference. It means I can do something
in life other than buy medicine."
Judy Jones Owens, director of the UK Center
for Rural Health in Hazard, told Malone that UK had
notified six of the program's 39 employees their positions
would be eliminated because of a lack of state money. That
would have affected about 4,300 people in Ballard, Carlisle,
Crittenden, Greenup, Livingston, Marshall, McCracken, Union
and Webster counties. But yesterday, UK officials said they
would spend $175,000 to keep the positions through June 2006.
Owens told the Courier-Journal, "It's a
program of last resort for people with no insurance or high
deductibles, and when you cut a program there's not many places
for people to go." The $1.9 million Kentucky Homeplace
program serves about 15,000 people in 58 counties and is administered
by UK for the Kentucky
Cabinet for Health and Family Services, writes
Malone.
Pennsylvania newspaper
supports bill to ban on mountaintop-removal mining
Concern over mountaintop-removal mining is moving
from the pages of newspapers in Central Appalachia, main site
of the method, to papers in nearby states. It "is an
abomination that would be an outrage in a Third World country,"
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa., said
in an editorial yesterday, saying it "could very well
rank as the worst defilement of the environment to be found
anywhere in the country. .(Read
more)
"Amazingly, it has become mining as usual
in parts of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee,"
the paper says. "Literally removing the tops of mountains
to get at the coal seams below, filling in valleys and streams
in the process, is environmental destruction at the extreme.
And it's a financial and health disaster for the people living
nearby. The practice should be outlawed."
The paper endorsed a bill introduced by U.S.
Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn.,
called the Clean Water Protection Act, which would prohibit
the burial of waterways and thus stop the valley fills essential
to mountaintop-removal coal mining, which is allowed under
an exemption that was added to the 1977 federal strip-mine
law shortly before its final passage.
Miners testify firings
followed safety complaints; mine officials dispute claim
A coal miner with 11 years experience testified
at a federal mine-safety hearing yesterday in Pikeville, Ky.
he had never feared for his life until he was caught on a
runaway scoop heading toward three co-workers.
Wade Damron said, "I started hollering,
'No brakes! No brakes!' I had to put it into the rib (mine
wall) to stop it." He was "one of four miners who
testified before a federal administrative law judge that a
Letcher County coal company fired them for complaining about
safety conditions at the underground mine where they worked,"
writes Alan Maimon of The Courier-Journal.
(Read
more)
The U.S.
Department of Labor filed discrimination complaints
against Misty Mountain Mining Inc. on behalf
of the miners, who are seeking unspecified monetary damages
and reinstatement. The mine company owner and superintendent
testified safety was emphasized, Maimon writes for the Louisville
newspaper.
The three-day hearing continues today. A ruling
by Administrative Law Judge T. Todd Hodgdon is expected in
about three months, and could be appealed to the federal Mine
Safety and Health Review Commission. The Labor
Department is seeking fines of $40,000 -- $5,000 against Misty
Mountain and $2,500 each against Ratliff and Stanley Osborne,
the company's owner, for each of the cases involved.
Project will remove contaminants
from coal ash, turn it into additive for concrete
Researchers at the University of Kentucky
Center
for Applied Energy Research (CAER) will lead
a $9 million research project to remove contaminants and convert
coal ash into an additive that enhances concrete.
The CAER researchers are working with Louisville
Gas and Electric and the U.S.
Department of Energy on the project, which is
funded by a $4.5 million Energy Department clean coal power
commercial demonstration grant. Cemex Corp. is financing $3.6
million of the project, with CAER picking up the rest, reports
the Lexington Herald-Leader. (Read
more)
UK President Lee Todd announced the joint venture
as one of UK's "Commonwealth Collaboratives" projects.
He made the announcement as part of a statewide tour this
week. This project, designed to encourage economic development,
will convert costly coal ash burned at electricity-generating
plants into pozzolan, a saleable additive that enhances concrete
performance, strength and durability.
The commercial reuse of purified ash also can
help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide generated by burning
coal at power plants, Robl said. A demonstration plant is
expected to be in operation at Ghent in the spring of 2008.
Cemex Corp., a global cement company, has a license to use
the technology developed at and patented by UK and CAER to
create replica plants across the country, they report.
Scam artists target rural
Maine communities; warnings issued, money lost
Police are warning that con men and Internet
swindlers are targeting people in small, rural Maine communities.
Pittsfield police are investigating four alleged scams that
occurred in the past two weeks, the biggest involving an elderly
Pittsfield woman was taken for $25,000 that she willingly
wrote in checks to a man who befriended her and convinced
her to give him the money, reports The Bangor Daily
News. (Read
more)
In another case, a disabled Pittsfield man was
cheated out of nearly $5,000 after a different man befriended
him, moved into his home, stole a check and forged it. Police
Sgt. Timothy Roussin told the newspaper,"Con men aren't
just on television. They are right here in our neighborhoods."
Police are also investigating two alleged Internet
scams. One woman was told she had won a large portion of a
$1.8 million lottery prize out of Great Britain, while another
victim was told she had inherited $8,000 from somebody in
Florida, they write. The women lost several thousand dollars
between them that they sent to collect their money, but the
money orders and checks they received in return were bogus.
The FBI is assisting with the multi-state investigation.
In Eastern Maine, police said at least two people in Baileyville,
which has fewer than 1,700 residents, have lost money via
Internet scams, writes the Daily News.
Late spring, not bugs,
leaves Kentucky-Virginia border mountaintops bald
Eastern Kentucky residents haunted by the belief
that insects left their mountaintop trees leafless can rest
easy. Bugs didn't do it. U.S. Forest Service tree expert Steve
Kuennen, told Roger Alford of The Associated Press,
that insects aren't to blame and the mountaintops will turn
green in coming weeks. (Read
more)
"The barren trees on high peaks along the
Kentucky-Virginia border haven't yet taken on their spring
foliage because they were zapped by frost and snow in late-season
cold snaps," writes Alford. Kuennen told him people have
been calling his office in the Jefferson
National Forest to ask why the trees haven't
leafed out. Kuennen told AP, "They'll be OK. Some of
the trees are starting to bud back out now."
National Weather Service records
show Black Mountain in Harlan County, Ky., had eight inches
of snow April 4 and a low temperature of 25 degrees, followed
by four inches April 24 with a low of 20, Alford writes. Steve
Brooks, director of Virginia Forest Watch,
told Alford all trees on Clinch Mountain in Virginia normally
are leafed out in early May, but this year the ridge still
is barren.
Rural Calendar: Great
Smokies Beetle Blitz June 2-15
The Southern Appalachian Man and the
Biosphere Cooperative and Foundation is inviting
"all interested volunteers and scientists" to the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the
"ATBI Beetle Blitz" June 2-15. ATBI is the Great
Smokies All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, which will describe
all species of life, and their distribution, in the park.
Click
here for more on SAMAB including its strategic plan, activities,
and data and information on the region. Contact Robert S.
Turner, Ph.D., Executive Director, Southern Appalachian Man
and the Biosphere (SAMAB) at 314 UT Conference Center, Knoxville
TN 37996-4138, or 865-974-4585 (fax 974-4609).
Wednesday, May 25,
2005
Rural Midwest out-migration
exaggerated, revival misguided, say experts
The decline of large portions of the rural Midwest
has been framed as an epic out-migration, prompting numerous
proposals from government and policy-makers. Fifty-four of
Kansas' 105 counties have fewer people now than they did in
the early 1900s, but "A group of economists at Kansas
University says reports of the decline of rural Kansas
have been greatly exaggerated and that attempts to revive
the countryside have been misguided," writes Scott Rothschild
of the Lawrence Journal-World . (Read
more)
Peter Orazem, a Koch visiting professor of business
economics, told Rothschild, "A lot of rural areas are
doing really well, and the ones that are doing the best are
no longer rural areas." Orazem, Arthur Hall, executive
director of the KU Center for Applied Economics,
and Georgeanne Artz, an extension economist at Iowa
State University, have produced two recent studies
on rural development. Orazem argues the decline of rural Kansas
is misdiagnosed because many rural counties have thrived over
the past few decades.
The economists have detected a "statistical
curiosity" that has big policy-making implications. Every
decade, the Census Bureau classifies counties
as urban, metropolitan and rural. When rural counties grow
to a certain population, they are reclassified as urban or
metropolitan, Rothschild writes. That leaves policy-makers
examining the counties that aren't doing well to determine
what is wrong instead of trying to copy what the developing
rural counties, many of which grew faster than the national
average, did right.
This distortion, they say, can lead to some
wrong-headed policies to stop the reported decline in rural
population, argue Orazem and his colleagues. They say that
to see what is needed for rural counties, determine what the
common denominator is for the ones that have grown rapidly.
Rural info-tech outsourcing
called viable alternative to sending jobs offshore
A Minnesota high-tech industry official says
companies should think about going to the 'North Shore' (
the Great Lakes area) rather than offshore when they're outsourcing
their information technology (IT) services.
Jim Gufstafson says outsourcing IT to rural
America can be a cost-effective alternative to places such
as India and can help boost the economies in cities such as
Duluth, writes Larry Oakes, of the Minneapolis Star
Tribune. Gustafson is chief executive of Saturn
Systems, a Duluth software engineering company that
hopes to capitalize on a "Rural IT Outsourcing"
marketing strategy that is getting attention in other struggling
cities such as Greenville, N.C., and Jonesboro, Ark., Oakes
reports. (Read
more)
Advocates say that while surveys show almost
half the nation's companies have gone offshore for IT services
or are considering it, they may save not much by doing so.
Gufstafson says time-zone differences, language barriers,
cultural divides and data-security concerns all reduce the
offshore advantage, Oakes writes. A study commissioned by
New Jobs for New York, a not-for-profit economic
development organization, shows that while many U.S. companies
say they've cut their bill almost in half by going offshore,
the actual savings is more like 20 to 25 percent when the
extra cost of doing business long-distance is factored in.
That makes domestic rural outsourcing sensible
for many companies, said Kathy Brittain White, president of
Rural Sourcing Inc. in Jonesboro, Ark. She
told Oakes, "I grew up in rural Arkansas, and I saw a
huge untapped potential in talented people who were unemployed."
Next month her company will open an office in a former textile
mill in Greenville, another area with unemployed or underemployed
IT professionals.
White said Rural Sourcing charges less than
half for software engineering, compared to urban U.S. companies.
She contends, "That makes us an alternative for smaller
companies and for large companies with smaller projects."
Rural Sourcing and Saturn Systems have forged partnerships
with local colleges to set up a flow of interns eager for
experience. Saturn hooked up with the University of
Minnesota-Duluth, writes Oakes.
TOBACCO
Without federal program,
many Kentucky farmers are getting out of tobacco
When someone has farmed for decades, change
of any kind is hard. The end of a way of life for many in
tobacco states is very hard, especially Kentucky, where tobacco
has deep economic and historic roots.
"You could be talking
about the death of a culture," Franklin County Agriculture
Agent Keenan Bishop tells veteran Lexington
Herald-Leader reporter Jim Warren, no stranger in
the heart of tobacco country. Warren writes a sensitive and
vivid picture of survival, skepticism and surrender at the
end of the 65-year federal program of tobacco quotas and price
supports, and a return to the free enterprise system. (Read
more)
Warren profiles farmer Terry Lunsford, who has
decided to change: “Lunsford would be setting burley
tobacco about now on his Jessamine County farm, laying down
perfectly spaced rows of young, green plants ready to grow
into gold. But without the backing of the federal tobacco
support program, which ended after last growing season, Lunsford
has decided not to raise tobacco. Not this year, and maybe
never again."
Lunsford, 50, told Warren, "I guess it's
the first time in 85 years there won't be any tobacco raised
on this farm. We've got the greenhouses to raise the tobacco
plants, and the barns to house the tobacco, but they're all
empty. It feels a little funny." Madison County farmer
Evan McCord told Warren he isn't raising tobacco this year
either: "You can't take away something that's been a
part of your whole life and not feel different."
McCord and Lunsford have company. Across Kentucky,
many farmers are bailing out of tobacco, reluctantly abandoning
a crop that for generations has been the mainstay for the
state's farm families, Warren writes: "Most
are deserting tobacco because they fear that raising the traditional
crop will be too risky without the price supports and other
guarantees that the old federal program provided."
Debate ensues over using
tobacco-settlement money to help tobacco growers
Kentucky lawmakers have learned from a top state
agriculture official there is dissent over a proposal to set
aside for tobacco production part of the tobacco-settlement
money that the state earmarked for agricultural development
-- including helping tobacco growers diversify into alternative
crops and livestock.
Keith Rogers, executive director of the Governor's
Office of Agricultural Policy, told legislators
Monday, "I've learned the General Assembly, the agricultural
community and to some extent the Agricultural
Development Board are divided on this issue."
The board, which spends the half of settlement money that
the legislature earmarked for agricultural development, could
vote on the proposal at its June meeting.
The growers' plan -- conceived as a way to help
farmers who choose to continue growing leaf in the free market
created by last fall's tobacco buyout -- includes a farm-improvement
program for tobacco similar to 13 other model programs, writes
Marcus Green of The Courier-Journal. (Read
more).
Supporters argue that by funding tobacco, the
board would give tobacco farmers the same opportunity others
have received. They point to North Carolina's recent decision
to use tobacco-settlement money to explore the production
of burley tobacco -- a hill-country crop grown mainly in Kentucky
-- in eastern North Carolina.
Mississippi trying to
take tobacco-settlement funds from private health group
A Mississippi judge has postponed proceedings
in a lawsuit attacking $20 million in annual funding to the
private Partnership
for a Healthy Mississippi for its anti-tobacco
programs. Circuit Judge Jaye Bradley said she would await
a legislative study of whether the state's tobacco-settlement
funds are being spent wisely and whether the anti-tobacco
programs should continue, reports The Associated Press.
(Read
more)
Gov. Haley Barbour, state Medicaid officials
and the Mississippi Health Care Trust Fund
want the $20 million cut off. A Jackson County judge in 2000
ordered the $20 million diverted to the Partnership, an anti-smoking
group founded by a former state attorney general. Some lawmakers
question the funding, but Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and House Speaker
Billy McCoy have endorsed it, adding that parties representing
the governor, Medicaid and the Health Care Trust Fund should
be heard, and will be it becomes necessary.
John Corlew, an attorney for the governor's
office, told the judge that legislators have failed in the
past to address the issue. Corlew told Judge Bradley, "This
is an issue for your court and the Mississippi Supreme Court
to address. We vehemently object to these delay tactics."
Barbour has said the state constitution gives the Legislature,
not the court, the authority to appropriate state money.
Louisiana governor proposes
dedicating cigarette-tax hike to teacher pay raises
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, trying to revive
her ailing $1-a-pack cigarette tax in the Louisiana House,
has proposed it all be used for a $3,300 teacher pay raise,
a $500 annual raise for school support workers and 5 percent
pay hike for college faculty, writes John Hill of The
Times of Shreveport. (Read
more)
The state's nearly 59,000 public school teachers
and administrators would get a $2,300 raise this fall and
another $1,000 the following year as the full cigarette tax
proceeds came into the state treasury. That would raise Louisiana's
average teacher pay from $38,300 to $41,600, close to the
southern average, writes Hill.
The plan is dependent on the state school board
revising the formula for distributing state funds to local
schools. Blanco, a Democrat, said new estimates, showing the
state with $169 million in unexpected revenue for the fiscal
year beginning July 1, would plug holes in the health care
budget but not cover teacher raises.
ENVIRONMENT
Energy prices fuel Tennessee
coal comeback, Alaska re-mining by Idaho firm
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources
says increasing prices for coal have prompted plans by Idaho
company Knoll Acres to "re-mine"
the waste left behind by previous coal companies at a mine
near Jonesville, writes Rindi White of the Anchorage
Daily News. (Read
more) Reclaiming coal from waste has been done in the
Lower 48, but not in Alaska, Bruce Buzby of the natural-resources
department told White.
Operating as Sutton Partners,
Knoll plans to crush the waste, or tailings, and harvest useable
coal. Company spokesman Brooks Potter, "Jonesville coal,
by nature, is a relatively high-Btu, low-sulfur coal."
The high-Btu coal is rare in Alaska, writes White. Potter
told her the current energy market, with its high fuel and
natural gas prices, makes it a perfect time to get cleaner-burning
coal to market.
Meanwhile, Scott Barker of the Knoxville
News-Sentinel reports that both miners and environmentalists
in Tennessee are closely watching the rising interest in the
coal industry. (Read
more) "Tennessee’s coal industry, spurred by
skyrocketing coal prices, new technologies and the Tennessee
Valley Authority’s possible leasing of its
mineral rights in Campbell and Scott counties, could be poised
for a comeback," Barker writes.
New operators have bought coal property and
millions of dollars worth of new equipment, Barker reports,
but "With the new activity comes renewed resistance."
Environmentalists are mobilizing against mountaintop-removal
mining, which has become common in the adjoining Cumberland-Allegheny
Plateau region of Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, which
Barker notes has "some of the oldest mountains on earth."
New land-management rules
won't save wild horses from slaughter, say critics
Critics charge safeguards adopted by the Bureau
of Land Management to protect wild horses removed
from federal lands in the West are not strict enough to keep
the mustangs out of slaughterhouses.
Nancy Perry, vice president of the Humane Society
of the United States, told Scott Sonner of The Associated
Press, ""The protections are very weak,
surprisingly weak. They will not stop horses from being sold
for slaughter." (Read
more)
Advocacy groups want the Senate to pass a bill
the House passed last week, to reinstate full protection for
the horses under a 1971 law -- prohibiting sales outside the
BLM's adoption program, writes Sonner. The House amendment
by Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia and Republican
Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky would repeal the language that
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., inserted in a spending bill in
December.
The Burns measure allowed the BLM to sell 8,400
of the oldest horses in long-term holding facilities and reduce
what the agency and ranchers say is an overpopulation of horses
on the range. As a result at least 41 mustangs sold ended
up being resold and slaughtered at an Illinois meatpacking
plant, Sonner writes.
Fires at chemical-weapons
disposal plants raise concern about process elsewhere
Recent fires at chemical-weapons destruction
plants in Oregon and Arkansas are raising safety concerns
about a part of the process to be used at the Blue
Grass Army Depot chemical neutralization plant
in Kentucky.
But a potential change in that process, under
study as a way to cut costs for the depot, also is being viewed
as a possible safety measure, writes Peter Mathews of the
Lexington Herald-Leader. Members of the Chemical
Destruction Community Advisory Board got a briefing yesterday
on that and other proposals to make the plant smaller, reduce
equipment purchases and change some processes. (Read
more)
Officials hope to trim the $2 billion dollar
project by $200 million to $400 million . The most potentially
controversial change is a proposal to ship the waste products
that remain after chemical weapons are neutralized, out of
state for processing. The move could save about $40 million,
Mathews writes.
Rockets at the Kentucky installation containing
nerve agents GB and VX will be cut into pieces. During that
process, fires have broken out at incinerator sites at Pine
Bluff, Ark., and Umatilla
Chemical Depot in Oregon. Processing has resumed
in Pine Bluff, but the Oregon plant is still closed. Causes
of the fires haven't been found, writes Mathews.
Appalachian town wants
stagnant reservoir, 'Lake Mistake,' cleaned up
A mile-long channel of water left from a U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project
in the southeastern Kentucky community of Loyall has become
a nuisance and the locals want it cleaned up.
Residents say the water has become a smelly
breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects that make
outdoor activities miserable, writes Roger Alford of The
Associated Press. The disgruntled residents call
the body of water "Lake Mistake" and "the Brown
Lagoon." (Read
more)
Congress and the Corps began working to remedy
flood problems in the area after a flood in 1977. Loyall's
portion of the flood-control project involved a new channel
around the town to relocate the Cumberland River, writes Alford.
Wayne Huddleston, project manager, said an inlet and outlet
were created so fresh river water would prevent stagnation,
but, Harlan County Judge-Executive Joe Grieshop said the system
has never worked effectively. The county is responsible for
maintaining the project.
Environmental 'diplomat'
Leslie Cole retires; staffed Ky. commission since '85
Leslie Cole, who has been called "diplomat,
researcher, administrator, fair to all sides, and passionate
about the environment," is retiring as executive director
of the Kentucky Environmental
Quality Commission.
"For two decades, she has led the group
that advises the governor and state regulators on environmental
issues while also serving as a watchdog," writes James
Bruggers, environmental reporter for The Courier-Journal.(Read
more) She told him the job hasn't always been easy:"Environmental
issues are more often than not controversial, and subject
to debate, constantly criticized by some and targeted for
elimination by others."
But the Lexington resident, with a forestry
degree from the University of Kentucky, said
the key to the commission's survival is finding common ground:"When
you have a commission comprised of industry, environmental
and citizen members, you look for ways where people can work
together." Cole, who has served under five governors,
says she wants to spend more time with her family. As she
leaves, people often on opposite sides of environmental issues
are praising her performance and contributions, Bruggers writes.
SARCASM
Happy Memorial Day to
the military from the news media, says columnist
St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist
Mark Yost has some Memorial Day weekend food for thought.
As the nation remembers those who have fought and died to
preserve freedom, Yost contends the news media have delivered
another slight to the men and women of the military, who are
disproportionately from rural America.
“Just in time for Memorial Day, the brave
men and women of the U.S. military get another swift kick
in the groin, courtesy of the U.S. media," writes Yost,
noting that Linda Foley, national president of The
Newspaper Guild, which represents unionized reporters,
editors and other newspaper workers, has accused U.S. troops
of purposely targeting journalists in Iraq. (Read
more)
"Journalists are not just being targeted
verbally or politically ...(but) for real in places like Iraq,"
Foley said during a recent panel discussion. In an interview
in Editor & Publisher, she clarified
her position: "I was careful of not saying troops, I
said U.S. military." Yost writes, "I'm sure that
makes everyone in uniform feel much better." Yost believes
Foley "is verbalizing the mindset of many reporters:
The U.S. is bad, therefore the U.S. military is bad, therefore
the soldiers must be up to no good."
THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 1925:
John T. Scopes was indicted in Dayton, Tenn., for teaching
Darwin's theory of evolution. (Courtesy
of SPJ Press Notes)
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Minnesota pharmacist
training campaign gets $2 million; many jobs in rural areas
Minnesota has a statewide need for 300 pharmacists,
with many vacancies in the rural areas of the state. The
University of Minnesota announced today the receipt
of a $2 million grant, the lead gift in a capital fund-raising
campaign to expand pharmacist training at its Duluth campus,
reports Robert Franklin of the Star Tribune.
(registration / required)
Mary Speedie, dean of the college, told Franklin,
“Based on this lead gift… we’re trying to
build on a huge amount of community support in rural areas.”
The capital fund drive is “part of an
effort to fill gaps left by the loss of drugstores, many of
them in rural areas, as pharmacists age and small-town populations
dwindle,” writes Franklin. “Speedie and others
say Minnesota is among the states with the most unmet needs."
More than 100 pharmacies outside the Twin Cities
of Minneapolis and St. Paul closed between 1996 and 2002,
Franklin writes. Todd Sorenson, an associate professor of
pharmacy, said a study revealed 126 Minnesota communities
have only one pharmacist. And, Sorenson said the study showed
the average distance to the next-closest pharmacy was 23 miles.
Governors of Minnesota,
Iowa call for higher tobacco taxes
Governor Tim Pawlenty has called for the Minnesota
legislature to enact a 75-cents-a-pack "health impact
fee" on cigarettes. The new charge would net $380 million
over two years and pay for health care. It would free other
state resources to increase school funding, writes
Patrick Sweeney and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger of the St.
Paul Pioneer Press. Pawlenty told them, "I
believe this is a user fee. Some people are going to say it
is a tax. I'm going to say it is a compromise and a solution."
Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans dismissed
the notion that the 75 cents a pack would be anything other
than a tax. Pawlenty said he will call legislators back for
a special session to finish their main work — fixing
a $466 million deficit and writing a new two-year budget,
the paper reports.
If Iowa's anti-smoking advocates want to persuade
lawmakers to raise the cigarette tax next year, Gov. Tom Vilsack
says it will take a more impassioned effort. Vilsack told
Des Moines Register reporters and editors
that advocates "have to get together and develop a much
more effective strategy. . . . It's not even enough for me
to advocate for it. You really have to have a public effort
that says this is important to us." Vilsack added, "This
is not about revenue. This is not about the intricacies of
the state budget. It's about saving lives."
Vilsack proposed an 80-cents-per-pack tax increase
in his budget to pay for health care services for the poor.
A poll found 70 percent of Iowans favored increasing the tax.
Tennessee tobacco tax:
State worker pay or buy meds? Bills would net $29 million
Tennessee lawmakers may help pay for expensive
anti-psychotic medication for people with severe mental illnesses,
or boost state employees' pay.
“Lawmakers could decide to use an extra
$29 million toward a 3 percent raise for state employees,
more than the 2 percent that Gov. Phil Bredesen has proposed,”
writes
Bonna de la Cruz of The Tennessean.
Either choice would rely on a new 50-cent-per-pack "add
on" to the cost of off-brand cigarettes.
The General Assembly will put the finishing
touches on the proposed 2005-06 state budget as they wrap
up their session this week or early next week. Two bills approved
by the Senate Finance Committee yesterday would raise about
$29 million. One bill would put a 50-cent tax on off-brand,
low-cost cigarettes and the other bill corrects and clarifies
parts of the state's tax code.
The proposal would provide $27.5 million for
a "safety net" for the sick, elderly and mentally
ill TennCare enrollees slated to be cut from the program,
said Sen. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, the Senate majority leader.
About $6 million would help 30,000 people with severe or persistent
mental illness. "They would lose TennCare benefits, but
the state could help them purchase anti-psychotic drugs that
often cost $300 per month," state Finance Commissioner
Dave Goetz told The Tennessean.
Lawmakers want to give state workers and higher
education employees a 3 percent raise, with teachers remaining
at 2 percent. The Tennessee State Employees Association wants
a more expensive program to hike pay for longtime employees.
Western N.C. teachers
want more nutritious food in school vending machines
North Carolina educators want to curb snack
food sales to combat rising childhood obesity rates. They
are asking lawmakers to follow Connecticut's lead, which is
on the verge of adopting the nation’s most far-reaching
ban on soda and junk food in public schools.
“Similar health concerns are driving discussions
on the nutritional value of what’s available in vending
machines in North Carolina schools, according to educational
leaders in Western North Carolina and Raleigh,” writes
Michael Flynn of the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Doug Jones, health and physical education coordinator
for Asheville and Buncombe County schools, told the newspaper,
“It’s something that has to be considered in light
of the obesity situation in children today.” North Carolina
elementary and middle schools must have health advisory committees,
but school boards must pass changes to vending and other nutrition
policies, explains Flynn.
N.C.
Healthy Weight Initiative Coordinator Sheree
Thaxton Vodicka told Flynn legislators have discussed setting
nutritional standards for food sold out of vending machine
and outside of school lunch programs. One proposal would increase
the proportion of healthy options available to students. But,
Andrews High School Principal Olin O’Barr, like others,
said restricting vending machine sales can cost schools money,
Flynn writes.
Wildlife director discourages
use of new scientific studies in Southwest
The southwestern regional director of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service has told his staff
to limit their use of new studies on endangered plants and
animals' genetics when deciding how to preserve and recover
them.
At issue is what happens once a fish, animal,
plant or bird is included on the federal endangered species
list as being in danger of extinction and needing protection,
writes
Felicity Barringer of The New York Times.
Dale Hall, the director of the southwestern
region, said decisions about how to return a species to robust
viability must use only the genetic science in place at the
time it was put on the endangered species list -- in some
cases the 1970s or earlier -- even if there have been scientific
advances in understanding a species' genetic makeup and its
subgroups in the ensuing years, Barringer writes. Hall's instructions
can spare states in his region the expense of extensive recovery
efforts. The regional office, in Albuquerque, covers Arizona,
Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.
Base closure panel begins review visits;
Fort Knox commander optimistic
Ten days following the news of 36 major military
installation closures around the country, a number of affected
communities are reviewing how the loss will affect them. Some
are beginning to see glimmers of light where at first darkness
was feared.
In Elizabethtown, Ky., near Fort Knox, The
News-Enterprise reports Col. Keith Armstrong, Fort
Knox's garrison commander, believes the Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) recommendations announced on May 13 are a good
move for the military.
Armstrong told the Radcliff Rotary Club the
recent BRAC decisions were still subject to change, although
based on past BRAC rounds, he doesn't think significant changes
will occur, writes
News-Enterprise reporter Erica Walsh. Armstrong wants the
community to know Fort Knox would gain permanent party personnel
consisting of 3,300 active duty military and about 1,800 civilians.
Armstrong told Walsh, "So from my position as garrison
commander, Fort Knox is a winner.”
Along with moving the Armor Center to Fort Benning,
Ga., the BRAC recommendations for Fort Knox included losing
a regional detention center and downsizing its community hospital.
In return, Fort Knox would get an infantry brigade combat
team, bringing 3,500-4,000 new active duty military members,
and be home of the Army's human resources command.
Hilary Roxe of The Associated Press
has a report
on the pending review Thursday of Fort Knox. Peter Hardin
of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports
on the review this week of a number of bases in Virginia.
And, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has
an announcement
on visits and meetings about bases in Georgia.
Minnesota lawmakers crackdown
on meth and sex offenders in public safety law
Minnesota lawmakers have reached a deal on a
massive crime bill that includes life sentences for some heinous
sex offenders and a crackdown on the state's epidemic meth
problem.
Certain nonprescription cold medicines that
can be used to make methamphetamine will be available only
behind pharmacy counters and in limited quantities, according
to the agreement drawn up by a joint panel of the Minnesota
House and Senate. Lawmakers rejected a House plan to ban the
cold medicines completely, writes
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The bill approved by the public safety panel
also would increase sentences for some sex offenders and other
violent criminals. Many other sex offenders would receive
indeterminate, or open-ended, life sentences. The $1.7 billion
public safety measure would raise about $38 million worth
of fees and other new revenue, including increased charges
on parking and traffic violations and increased court fees.
For The Associated Press version of this
story, click here.
Wisconsin weighs more
stringent rules in wake of boating deaths
Five people have already died in boating accidents
on Wisconsin waters this year, after a record 24 people died
in the 2004 season. Now, the state legislature is considering
a bill that would require life jackets for children when they
are boating on state waters, as well as a mandatory boating
safety course for operators, starting with those who are now
16,
reports The Associated Press.
A federal law already requires life jackets
on federal waters for those who are 12 or younger.
The
North American Safe Boating Campaign has started
a national campaign to make 2005 a safe season on the water.
National boating fatality rates have dropped steadily in the
last few years, writes the wire service.
Wisconsin would be one of the last states to
adopt both the life-jacket law and the safety training law.
Ben Treml, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
warden for boating recreation in the Green Bay area, told
reporters it is overdue. "I see a lot of boater inexperience
on the water, and it leads to accidents."
Minnesota casino proposals
not dead yet; could resurface in special session
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a casino gambling
a key element in his first budget proposal and the issue could
resurface in a special legislative session that began today.
“Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, the sponsor
of a bill that would put a state-operated casino at the Canterbury
Park racetrack, said he planned to re-introduce the bill soon,”
writes
Patrick Sweeney of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Despite a strong Senate committee vote against
the plan and unsuccessful attempts by House Republican leaders
to find enough support votes, Buesgens said a possible $200
million or more in gaming licensing fees might attract lawmakers.
But legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, have so far
given little indication that a majority in either the House
or the Senate will support the casino.
Pawlenty proposes two state-operated casinos:
one partnership between the state lottery and Canterbury,
the other between the lottery and one or more American Indian
tribes. Both casinos would be built at the track. Tribes with
rural casinos want in on the Twin Cities market.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Broadband ‘crawling’
to exurbs and rural areas; government role debated
The challenge of bringing high-speed Internet
access to rural areas is highlighted in today's Washington
Post, with a report from rural areas near the nation's
capital -- including Loudoun County, Va., which is one of
the country's hot technology centers but has a large rural
area without broadband. (Click
here to read more)
Loudoun just appointed a broadband czar to bring
high-speed access to its farthest reaches. In Southern Maryland,
a regional group has commissioned a study to explore the same
goal, writes Amit R. Paley.
One of the thousands of ‘exurbanites’
whose Internet access is so slow it is often nonfunctional
is Alicia Stahl of Hughesville, Md., in Charles County. "It
just drives you absolutely crazy," said Stahl, 42. "That's
the main problem today in rural America: getting high-speed
Internet access." Paley writes that several companies
have left Southern Maryland because of the problem, and that
slow Internet access at home hurts rural students.
Telephone and cable companies wiring most of
the region to the Internet have yet to come to these rural
outposts, citing costs, and some suspect that they never will.
Joseph Sudo, a director at CCG
Consulting Inc. told Paley, "My recommendation
to folks in rural America is to be proactive rather than reactive.”
Sudo’s company plans to release a report
next month to outline how a regional wireless network could
be deployed throughout Southern Maryland by county governments
or by private businesses. In other states, telephone and cable
companies have raised concerns that publicly owned utilities
and local governments supplying broadband over power lines
have an unfair advantage over private companies. In response,
they have supported legislation that restricts what those
utilities and municipalities can do.
More than a dozen states have passed some type
of legislation limiting what governments can do to offer broadband
access, according to MuniWireless.com, an
online newsletter that tracks community-based wireless projects.
Nebraska is considering a measure that would prevent public
power utilities from selling broadband provided over power
lines.
The Southern
Maryland Electric Cooperative is launching one
of the first pilot projects in the country to determine how
affordably high-speed Internet can be carried over power lines
in rural areas. Broadband over power lines, a technology that
makes connecting to the Internet possible with an electric
outlet, already is deployed in more densely populated areas,
including Manassas, Va., and Potomac, Md.
Fewer than 10 percent of homes in rural America
have broadband access, according to the National
Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. Broadband
is available by satellite, but at considerable expense and
can be unreliable. Anne Whitaker, a government consultant,
told Paley that the satellite service used by her husband,
who provides technology support for librarians from their
home in Huntingtown, "would go down every time a strong
gust of wind blew by, and technicians would refuse to come
out to repair it."
Steve Collier, vice president of emerging technologies
at the co-op, told Paley federal subsidies probably will be
needed to ensure broadband for the most rural areas: "There
are certain things in this country that we believe people
have a right to have no matter where they are: clean drinking
water, paved roads, basic phone service, basic electric service.
I think ultimately, broadband Internet is going to be one
of those things."
Northern La. rural wireless
network set to go; colleges are heart of customer base
Ruston, La.-based Invisi-Wire
Broadband Networks is preparing to launch what
could be the nation's largest rural wireless network in North
Louisiana. The network will cover the adjoining towns of Ruston
and Grambling with subscription wireless Internet and telephone
access.
Invisi-Wire approached the communities about
creating the "Wi-Fi" network in the coverage area
of 60 square miles, according to Ray Watson, economic development
administrator for the city of Ruston, writes Scott Sternberg,
of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. (Read
more)
Watson said the potential of Ruston and Grambling
lies in the student populations of neighboring Grambling State
and Louisiana Tech universities. Watson said
there are about 17,000 college students in the area. Thom
Gould, vice president of customer relations for Invisi-Wire,
said he hopes the project can curb the problem of talented
young minds leaving the state. Additional details on the project
can be found here.
Lobbyists fight to soften
tough federal meth bill; opposition may be weakening
Drug companies, retailers like Wal-Mart
and Target and convenience stores
are seeking to soften a federal bill proposing sharp curbs
on the sale of cold medicines with a key ingredient used to
make methamphetamine, much like state laws passed by several
legislatures in the past year. But the opposition "seems
to be unraveling." writes Deirdre Shesgreen of the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch.(read
more)
Shesgreen's scene-setter is a February meeting
of lobbyists and Sens. Jim Talent, R-Mo., and Dianne Feinstein,
D-Calif., the bill's sponsors. The lobbyists pushed to undo
the bill's core proposal: putting cold medicines such as Sudafed
and Benadryl behind the pharmacy counter, where consumers
would have to sign a log and show an ID before buying them.
Those medicines include pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient.
When Talent and Feinstein unveil a new version
of their bill this week, there may be less opposition to the
measure, writes Shesgreen. "Some groups have softened
their opposition, while others have stepped back from the
legislative fray or are even supporting new limits,"
she writes, adding that 13 states, have passed such laws and
30 others are considering such a move.
Paducah Sun latest paper
to detail deadlier form of meth arriving from Mexico
Law enforcement officials are concerned about
the importation of a purer and deadlier mass-produced methamphetamine
moving into Western Kentucky. "Crystal meth" is
replacing a more common home-brewed, easier to manufacture
and less potent predecessor.
The drug is mass-produced in Mexican "superlabs"
and is more potent and faster-acting than its predecessor,
McCracken County Sheriff's Capt. Jon Hayden said, in the The
Associated Press version (read
more) of a story published by The Paducah Sun
(subscription required). "The vast
majority of meth isn't even being made around here anymore.
We're making a lot of meth busts, but it's more trafficking
and possession."
Hayden and Drug
Enforcement Agency agent Tony King said crystal
and its sister form of meth, "ice," are two major
problems for DEA. Contrary to their names, crystal usually
comes in powdered form and ice is generally crystallized.
Many regular users aren't prepared for the stronger forms,
King said, increasing risk of overdoses, injuries and death.
Hayden said one upside to the crystal meth influx is fewer
meth labs in the area.
Supreme Court upholds
checkoff program for beef advertising campaign
The Supreme Court rules today that the government
can force cattle farmers to pay for a multimillion-dollar
"Beef: It's what's for dinner" marketing program,
even though some oppose financing the campaign.
"The 5-4 decision is a defeat for farmers
in several agricultural sectors who oppose paying mandatory
fees for generic advertising," reports Hope Yen of The
Associated Press. Similar federal and state campaigns
for products including milk, pork and cotton are being challenged
on free-speech grounds.
"The government was sued by ranchers who
sell cattle in South Dakota and Montana," Yen writes.
"They won an appeals court ruling that found the 20-year-old
program violated the First Amendment." Other courts have
struck down financing of "the other white meat" ads for pork
and the "Got Milk?" campaign.
The beef ads are a form of "government
speech" that is not subject to First Amendment challenge,
the court said in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia
wrote and joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and
Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Clarence Thomas and Stephen
G. Breyer. (read
more)
A 1985 law requires cattle producers to pay
$1 per head of cattle sold. The fee generates more than $80
million a year for an industry group named by the Agriculture
Department to support ads and research
Coal operators beware:
Mountaintop removal protests planned in four states
A group fighting mountaintop-removal coal mining
wants volunteer protesters who are lawyers, writers, photographers,
artists and "science geeks" to meet at a training
camp Tuesday to prepare for Mountain
Justice Summer, a training and activism program
for the Southern Appalachian region.
Dave Cooper, a Mountain Justice Summer member
from Lexington, Ky., expects about 100 people to attend the
week-long training at the
Appalachian South Folk Life Center near
Pipestem State Park in West Virginia. Volunteers will take
mandatory classes in nonviolence and de-escalation, security,
dealing with threats and Appalachian mountain culture, writes
Jennifer Bundy of The Associated Press. (read
more)
Chris Irwin, a law student in Knoxville, Tenn.,
told AP hundreds of people from across the country are expected
to participate in "actions" this summer in West
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Members hope to
have at least 40 full-time volunteers working on events from
June through August.
Plans include rallies, nonviolent civil disobedience
such as chaining people to coal company gates, "listening
projects" involving interviewing residents, water and
plant surveys, public relations and lobbying, monitoring mining
permits and regulatory meetings, and aiding people affected
by mountaintop removal mining.
The group's Web site says its goals are to raise
awareness of mountaintop removal mining; escalate resistance
to it; build support, unify and strengthen regional groups
fighting surface mining; and encourage conservation and efficiency,
solar and wind energy as alternatives to coal. In mountaintop
removal, coal operators blast off entire hilltops to uncover
coal seams. Leftover rock and dirt is deposited into nearby
valleys, burying streams.
Fla. migrant workers,
emboldened by victory over Yum!, take on rest of industry
The Coalition
of Immokalee Workers, a group of mostly Guatemalan
and Mexican tomato pickers is celebrating a wage dispute victory
over one of the nation's fast-food giants, Taco Bell.
“The group led a four-year boycott against
the chain until it agreed in March to pay a penny more per
pound for Florida tomatoes and adopt a code of conduct that
would allow Taco Bell to sever ties to suppliers who commit
abuses against farm workers,” writes Mike Schneider
of The Associated Press. (Read
more)
The Florida farm workers group is now turning
to a larger target: the rest of the fast food industry. The
coalition has sent letters to executives at McDonald's,
Subway and Burger King asking
them to follow Taco Bell's lead, writes Schneider. Taco Bell,
a subsidiary of Louisville-based
Yum! Brands, estimates it will pay the
Florida tomato growers an extra $100,000, costs that won't
be passed on to customers.
Taco Bell, which buys 10 million pounds of Florida
tomatoes each year, agreed to help farm workers persuade other
fast food chains, and eventually supermarkets, to increase
pay and monitor suppliers to make sure workers aren't held
against their will, beaten or forced into indentured servitude,
writes Schneider.
Appalachian Kentucky
struggles to stop piping of human waste into streams
For decades many community leaders in Eastern
Kentucky have grappled with ways to end the use of so-called
“straight pipes’ that send human waste into rivers
and streams. The federal government has spent $106 million
in Eastern Kentucky to stop the flow of human waste directly
into streams, but levels of fecal bacteria remain so high
that residents are told not to swim in parts of several rivers.
Roger Alford of The Associated Press
gives this graphic description: "Each time a commode
flushes in one of about 40 homes in the Harlan County community
of Sunshine, another wave of feces and soggy toilet paper
flows into the upper reaches of the Cumberland River.".
Four years after state officials began a crackdown, local
leaders say the problem remains pervasive across the area.
(read
more)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
estimates the cost of eliminating straight pipes
in Eastern Kentucky at $300 million. Add to that the problem
of failing septic systems and the cost reaches $1 billion.
It says the problem in Eastern Kentucky presents an environmental
crisis, and that some residents are living under the same
unsanitary conditions as people in developing countries.
"Plans are now being drawn to replace the
Sunshine straight pipe with a connection to the Harlan sewage
treatment plant, a $1.9 million project funded largely by
PRIDE," or Personal Responsibility
in a Desirable Environment, started and funded by
5th District U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, R-Somerset.
Within three years, 25,200 homes in the region will have been
added to municipal sewer systems or will have been hooked
into new septic systems paid for through PRIDE. In addition,
6,200 homes that previously were flushing waste directly into
streams have received new septic systems at a cost of $19
million.
On N.C. barbecue, East
and West don't meet, except at the Gnat Line to argue
In the South and much of rural America, barbecue
is haute cuisine. For many, its origins, ingredients,
secret saucing, alchemy and culinary wizardry are the stuff
of legendary, palate-pleasing portions. Debates as to who
makes the best rival -- if not surpass -- religion and politics
as turf tip-toe-trod with great trepidation.
That is why a North Carolina measure creating
a state Barbecue Fair has fulminated into a full-fledged verbal
conflagration and cooking contest, dividing the eastern and
western parts of the Tar Heel State on which makes the best.
Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia
in a story
datelined Siler City, N.C., documents this cauldron of contention
threatening to boil-over and consume that state.
“The gloppy, gristly, just plain gross-looking
pile of vinegary, eastern-style pork barbecue on the foam
plate before him did not look pretty. Dennis Rogers -- a newspaper
columnist, but more important, North Carolina's self-appointed
Oracle of the Holy Grub -- shifted a bit in his seat. A subpar
batch of barbecue is tough to find in North Carolina,"
writes Roig-Franzia, then quotes former newspaper columnist
Jerry Bledsoe telling Rogers, "All right, let's get this
imitation barbecue out of the way."
And so it began, as it has countless times before.
Bledsoe and Rogers have been puffing up the barbecue feud
between eastern and western North Carolina for decades. Bledsoe,
now a best-selling crime book author, "is undeniably
Mr. Western-Style, extolling the virtues of melty-tender pork
shoulders glazed with a ketchup-based sauce. Rogers is adamantly
Mr. Eastern-Style, pontificating about the vinegar-heavy morsels
of whole hog favored Down East along North Carolina's coast,"
writes Roig-Franzia.
Rogers and Bledsoe don't need an excuse to eat
barbecue, but the state legislature just handed them one anyway.
A representative thought he would quietly ease a bill through
declaring the western-style capital of Lexington, a city claiming
the world's highest per-capita concentration of barbecue consumption,
with 17 eateries for 20,000 residents, site of the official
state barbecue festival. The bill got nowhere.
“That anyone would care about such silliness
as designating an official state barbecue festival says a
lot about North Carolina. Other states may content themselves
with a single dominant barbecue identity -- South Carolina
seems perfectly happy as the mustard-based capital of the
universe, Tennessee appears satisfied with being identified
primarily as the home of the sweet, tomatoey Memphis-style
barbecue. But North Carolina is torn asunder, its split barbecue
personality embedded in the state's cultural landscape,”
Roig-Franzia writes. He also describes the "Gnat Line"
as "an invisible barrier that separates the sandy soil
that attracted gnats to the east and the denser rocky and
clay soil of the Piedmont Region to the west."
Blogger’s note: Rural folk who value
their barbecue also recognize prosaic homage well written
-- to barbecue, and to all things rural blessed for that matter.
Kentucky youth finding
success in poultry business the old-fashioned way
A Lewisport, Ky., teenager has started his own
poultry business to build up a nest egg, but on a much smaller
scale than corporate poultry giants, and with much different
production methods.
“For the past few years, Carl Hill, 16,
has raised pasture-fed poultry. The birds aren't certified
organic, but they're the next best thing. His latest fuzzy
batch arrived in May and is soon headed for the frying pan,"
writes Renee Beasley Jones of The Messenger-Inquirer
of nearby Owensboro. (read
more)
Hill's flock eats grass, bugs and a mix that
includes kelp meal, corn and roasted soybeans. His chickens
sell for $2.50 a pound, more than double the grocery-store
price earlier this month of $1.12 a pound for whole chickens.
Environmentalist Aloma Dew, who ordered a dozen chickens from
Carl’s spring flock, told Jones, "It's well worth
it." She frowns on industrial-type farms that “pump
antibiotics into the food supply and appreciates knowing how
the meat on her plate was raised, right down to what it ate
and where it slept."
Hill is home-schooled. His chickens provide
a little profit and offer an educational component. He told
Jones, "Everything we do on a farm is educational."
Hill hopes to make $150 profit on the 50 birds he received
Wednesday. Within the next year, he plans to expand his operation
to include area restaurants, writes Jones.
Michigan town tries to
rid itself of Ku Klux Klan past, but sale brings it back
Like the ghost of a Confederate soldier, Robert
E. Miles still haunts the sleepy mid-Michigan town of Howell.
“It is hard for residents here to forget the times when
Mr. Miles, a former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, who
died in 1992, would invite fellow Klansmen to his farm outside
the city limits," writes Jeremy W. Peters in The
New York Times. (Read
more)
Although Miles's cross-burning gatherings took
place in a neighboring township, it was Howell that was branded
as a haven of white supremacist activity. When Miles held
rallies, Klansmen streamed through Howell, stayed at the Holiday
Inn and went to the farm for meetings. The gatherings largely
stopped by the 1980s. Since then, the town has fought to shed
its association with the Klan, Peters writes.
But Miles and the Klan, it seems, will not go
away, as evidenced yesterday when the Ole Gray Nash Auction
House began selling hundreds of items from the Miles estate.
Among the items up for auction were two black satin Klan robes
and a letter of commendation to Miles from Gov. George C.
Wallace of Alabama..
Residents like Victor Lopez, an accountant who
has lived in Howell for 32 years, said his children and their
friends looked at the Miles property as if it were a haunted
house. "They'd say, 'Ooh, look, it's Miles's place,'"
Mr. Lopez, 63, said as he sat at a coffee shop in downtown
Howell on Sunday morning. "That's the image we've been
trying to rid ourselves of for 20 years."
Friday-Saturday, May
20-21, 2005
Dateline NBC cites deadliest
roads, creates Web page for you to find yours
Dateline NBC has looked at
five years of data from 100,000 accident reports in an effort
to identify the deadliest roads in America, and created a
Web
page to find the most dangerous roads in any county.
The page was noted by Al Tompkins of the Poynter
Institute for Media Studies in his Morning
Meeting today. He writes that US 19 in south Florida is
the nation's leader in fatalities, and quotes "Dateline"
as calling it "a six-lane meat grinder running 30 miles
up Florida's Gulf Coast." Tompkins quips, “I suspect
you won't see that description in the Chamber of Commerce
brochures.”
"Dateline" found rural, often two-lane,
roads only carry 28 percent of the nation's traffic but account
for more than half of all fatal accidents. An expert told
the show that for too long the federal government has poured
money into interstates while dangerous rural roads have not
been upgraded, writes Tompkins.
Mississippi Delta advocates
push for more money, attention from feds
Five years after a regional authority was created
to help the impoverished Mississippi Delta, which has the
nation's highest concentration of poor African Americans,.a
grassroots caucus came to Washington this week to seek more
money and attention from the federal government.
“The Delta Regional Authority
was started a year after the Mississippi Delta Grassroots
Caucus visited Washington in 1999," writes Hilary
Roxe of The Associated Press. Federal money
allotted to the DRA has fallen to $6 million in 2005, from
$20 million in 2001, and Delta advocates say the federal-state
partnership that serves about 9 million people seems to be
the forgotten stepchild of regional authorities, writes Roxe.
President Bush requested level funding for next year, which
advocates took as a good sign.
Roxe notes the authority gets far less than
the $66 million given to the Appalachian Regional
Commission and the $55 million offered to Alaska's
Denali Commission, the other federal regional
commission with substantial funding. The authority is based
in Clarksville, Miss., and distributes money to stimulate
development in largely rural, economically depressed areas
of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri and Tennessee. Click
here to read more.
As with the Appalachian commission, the boundaries
of the Delta Regional Authority go beyond traditional geographic
definitions. For example, it includes Muhlenberg County, Kentucky,
in the state's hilly western coalfield. Just one county away
is Edmonson County, which was recently added to Appalachia.
S. Dak. Farm Bureau expels
county president over meat-labeling disagreement
The South Dakota Farm Bureau
has expelled a county president after he aired radio ads criticizing
the state organization for opposing country-of-origin meat
labeling and favoring Canadian beef imports.
The ousted president, Pat Trask, said he aired
the radio ads to alert members to a survey he was sending
out on the two issues. "In the ads, Trask accused the
state Farm Bureau board of reversing the labeling position,"
writes Steve Miller of the Rapid City Journal (Read
more)
Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal said his
board terminated Trask's membership because he was making
"inflammatory and misleading" statements. South
Dakota Farm Bureau members had voted over the past few years
at annual conventions to support mandatory country-of-origin
labeling, but the organization's national convention adopted
a policy favoring voluntary labeling, writes Miller.
When the South Dakota delegates returned home
from the convention, they reversed the state policy to go
along with the national organization. Trask said the state
Farm Bureau should have dissented from the national position.
VanderWal told the newspaper it is customary for state Farm
Bureaus to follow the national policies even if they disagree.
He said the state board tried to resolve the dispute with
Trask.
Trask told Miller his ads also criticized the
state and national Farm Bureaus for backing attempts to reopen
the U.S. border to Canadian cattle despite concerns over mad-cow
disease in that country.
Indiana drops murder
charge; man falsely confessed, made up meth-lab tale
Indiana prosecutors have dropped charges against
a man who confessed to murdering a 10-year-old girl, saying
she had been kidnapped to scare her after stumbling upon his
methamphetamine lab. Charles "Chuckie" Hickman had
become a symbol of the depravity and callousness that the
drug can wreak on a small town.
Capital-murder charges were filed Friday against
Anthony Stockelman, who previously had been charged with molesting
Katlyn "Katie" Collman. "It now appears that the alleged sighting
of a meth lab by Katie Collman was more false information
provided by Mr. Hickman," Jackson County Prosecutor Stephen
Pierson said.
"Yesterday's developments left Pierson
at a loss to explain why Hickman confessed to a crime he didn't
commit, and they brought charges of a rush to judgment from
Stockelman's family and lawyer," Harold Adams wrote
for The Courier-Journal. "Pierson said
it took nine weeks and tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars
to try to chase down Hickman's story," wrote Alex Davis
in a
sidebar story for the Louisville newspaper.
"Several legal experts said that false
confessions are all too common and that Hickman's story bore
some of the classic signs," Davis reported. "Steven
Drizin, legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions
at Northwestern University, said
false confessions are typically linked to two factors: aggressive
interview tactics by police and a vulnerable suspect."
Hickman still faces a child-molestation charge in an unrelated
case.
Measure banning wild
horse sales in 10 Western states approved by House
The federal government has announced it will
begin selling wild horses again in 10 Western states, even
as the House voted to revive a ban on such sales to protect
them from slaughter. The move raised "the hopes of critics
who contend the horses will not be protected by new safeguards
developed by the Bureau of Land Management,”
writes James R. Carroll of The Courier-Journal.
(Read
more)
Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Kentucky, a sponsor of
the sales ban that was added to an Interior Department
spending bill, told Carroll, "The ranchers do
not want any wild mustangs or burros on this land." And,
Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter, R-Idaho, said that selling
horses will save the government millions of dollars.
The sales plan would require buyers to sign
a statement promising humane care and stating the owner will
not knowingly sell the animals to anyone who intends to slaughter
them. Anyone who provides false information would be subject
to fines ranging from $100 to $250,000 and up to five years
in prison, Gorey said. Critics said the changes won't protect
the animals, writes Carroll. But Nancy Perry, vice president
of government relations for the Humane Society of
the United States, told him, "Horses will find
their way to slaughter, even under this new arrangement."
The society is among groups that want the ban restored.
There are about 27,000 wild horses and 4,000
wild burros on government land in the West. Before the sales
were suspended, 992 horses and burros were sold and delivered,
according to the bureau. An additional 950 had been sold but
delivery was held up when the program was suspended, Carroll
writes.
Ohio to get first AEP
clean-coal plant; W.Va. ‘good bet for second facility’
American Electric Power has
indicated it will build its first coal gasification power
plant in Meigs County, Ohio. A formal announcement of the
plan is expected before June 1. “A West Virginia site
… is the likely choice for a second identical facility,
said Mark Dempsey, vice president at AEP’s
Appalachian Power subsidiary in Charleston,”
writes Ken Ward, Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.
(Read more)
Dempsey told Ward construction on AEP’s
second Integrated Combined Cycle, or IGCC, plant should start
within two years. “If I were a betting man, I would
bet that will be at New Haven, West Virginia.” In an
IGCC plant, coal is converted into cleaner-burning gas. In
theory, such plants are more efficient and result in fewer
air emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides and mercury.
AEP has said, at peak construction, the first
new plant would provide about 1,900 jobs. After that, the
facility should employ about 125 permanent workers.
Mountaintop removal photos
in new art exhibit at W.Va. cultural center
“Dreams” are the common theme of
works by 13 artists that will open Sunday in the David L.
Dickerson Art Gallery in Tamarack, a state
center for Appalachian culture along the interstate in Beckley,
W.Va.
T. Paige Dalporto, a poet and photographer,
told The Charleston Gazette he will display
a set of new photographs, entitled “MTR RoarShock: Aftermath
and Prelude.” He said the work addresses his feelings
about the practice of mountaintop-removal coal mining in West
Virginia. Dalporto told the newspaper he hopes other state
artists will also use their talents to address their concerns
about the mountains.
The show will run through July 17, and there
will be a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Call Jorn Bork
at 1-888-262-7225 for more information. Click here to read
more from the Gazette.
House
panel reauthorizes funds for rural counties hurt by logging
cutbacks
The House Resources Committee unanimously
supported reauthorization of a five-year-old law that has
pumped billions into rural counties hurt by logging cutbacks
on federal land, especially in the West. The measure would
provide up to $350 million a year for schools, roads and other
infrastructure needs, beginning in 2006. reports The
Register-Guard of Eugene, Oregon. (read
more)
The county payments law was first adopted in
2000 as a way to help rural counties hurt by changes in federal
forest policy that restricted logging to protect endangered
species such as the spotted owl. Since then, the law has pumped
nearly $2 billion into Oregon and other, mostly Western states
for schools, roads and other purposes, the Register-Guard
reports.
Bill to curb junk food
in schools moving in Connecticut; national model?
The Connecticut House of Representatives has
voted to ban the sale of junk food in all public schools and
prohibit soda sales in elementary and middle schools, an issue
that has divided parents and school officials in rural areas
nationwide.
“Proponents say the bill, which would
also mandate more recess for children in public schools, is
landmark legislation nationally because legislatures in other
states have fought largely unsuccessfully to impose bans on
soda sales in high schools,” writes Christopher Keating
of The Hartford Courant. (read
more) The bill heads back to the Senate, where final passage
is expected. Lobbyists for Coca-Cola and
Pepsi had fought the bill, but backed off
after a compromise was reached allowing the sale of diet soda.
Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams said,
"This is the strongest bill for child nutrition in the
country." Some lobbyists and lawmakers said opponents
had the votes to defeat the bill last week, but lawmakers
said a compromise on diet soda and last-minute.
The Council of State Governments
offers information on the junk-food issue at
this site.
To land large hotel,
town must let restaurants end local Prohibition
A North Carolina development group is considering
building a six-story hotel in Pineville, Ky., if the town
allows sales of alcoholic beverages, catching the community
at the foot of Pine Mountain in a dilemma.
Elledge & Associates has
proposed building a $12 million hotel on state property across
from Wasioto Winds Golf Course of Pine Mountain State
Resort Park. But the developer said organizations
won't schedule conferences at hotels that don't serve alcohol,
so it is asking the town to approve the sale of alcoholic
beverages in restaurants that seat at least 100 people and
derive at least 70 percent of their revenue from food sales,
writes Christina Hendrickson of the Middlesboro Daily
News.
(Read more)
Developer Maurice Elledge told the newspaper,
"It is not a moral issue. It is an economic issue."
Petitions already are being circulated in support of a special
election. Councilman Kerry Woolum told Hendrickson the proposal
wouldn't permit liquor stores or bars in the town. The development
group has already received approval to purchase the property.
The Kentucky Division of Forestry would move
its Pineville offices to an off-track betting parlor that
would be placed next to the hotel, writes Hendrickson.
Woolum told the paper, "I do not know of
any time when somebody else has come into Pineville and offered
80 to 100 jobs. With coal going out of here, tourism is our
future." Other southeastern Kentucky towns
such as London, Corbin and Burnside have gone "moist"
under a 2000 state law that allowed local-option elections
to limit sales to bona fide restaurants -- rather than referenda
that opened the door to bars and package stores, images of
which led to defeat of "wet" forces in many towns
over the decades.
E&P profiles Tombstone
activist-editor; minuteman or vigilante?
A former school teacher turned newspaper editor
in Arizona is churning out copy and challenging readers to
be defenders of the nation security, post 9-11, because he
believes the federal government isn’t doing the job
right, writes Graham Webster of Editor & Publisher.
(Read
more)
“When the former California schoolteacher
got concerned about border security after the terrorists attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001, he bought a small rural newspaper in Arizona
and he also started his own border patrol.," Webster
writes. Chris Simcox, who runs the weekly Tombstone
Tumbleweed, told Webster his paper is a "challenge
(to the) federal government to do its job by threatening to
do it for them."
But Simcox, is best known as a co-founder of
the Minuteman Project, "a band of volunteers
-- heroes to some, vigilantes to others -- who supplement
the U.S. Border Patrol's staff by keeping watch on the border
with Mexico," Webster writes."Some have labeled
the group anti-Hispanic and anti-immigrant." Simcox told
E&P he thinks some of the newspapers in Arizona are "pro-illegal-immigrant."
Simcox said he keeps his reporting and his opinion
separate. "I guess in a sense that I follow strictly
the ethical canons of being a journalist," he told E&P.
"Yet he doesn't try to hide the connection between the
Minuteman Project and the Tumbleweed," Webster notes.
"Calling a phone number listed for the Tumbleweed to
arrange an interview with Simcox, a reporter was first directed
to a press agent with a Minuteman e-mail address. Asked if
the Minuteman Project and the Tumbleweed were "the same
thing," the woman answering the phone said plainly: "Yes."
Cross to remain head
of Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
Al Cross, former political writer for The
Courier-Journal in Louisville, has been named director
of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community
Issues, which publishes The Rural Blog. Cross, who
served as interim director for nine months, was chosen following
a national search. (Read
more)
Beth E. Barnes, director of the University
of Kentucky's School of Journalism and Telecommunications
, where the institute is based, said, "Al Cross has been
tireless in promoting the Institute. Al's professional journalism
credentials and vision for the Institute put him at the top
of the list." Cross is a native of Albany, Ky., and a
graduate of Western Kentucky University.
He will join the UK journalism school's faculty.
Cross is a former national president of the
Society of Professional Journalists, whose
Sigma Delta Chi Foundation gave seed money,
along with the Appalachian Regional Commission,
to help start the Institute. It hired Cross and other staff
last year with a $250,000 grant from the John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation and $50,000 from the Ford
Foundation. The institute's initial research area
is Central Appalachia, but it has a national scope and partners
at universities in other states (see below).
Arkansas fest to include
rediscovered woodpecker, crested haircuts!
Plans for the annual Big Woods Birding
Festival tomorrow in Clarendon, Ark., have been revamped
to celebrate the recent rediscovery nearby of the ivory-billed
woodpecker.
"The strikingly beautiful woodpecker, sometimes
called the Lord God bird, was thought to have been extinct
for decades before a kayaker found one in February 2004,"
reports Annie Bergman of The Associated Press.
(Read
more)
Last year's festival drew a crowd of almost
1,000, but the city is hoping the number will double this
year. "Local businesses are hoping to capitalize on woodpecker
mania during Saturday's festival," AP reports. Beautician
Penny Childs plans to offer a "woodpecker haircut."
Bergman writes, "The haircut is similar to a Mohawk,
but starts out flatter on the front of the head and then goes
up to a point at the back of the head, just like the woodpecker's
crest."
Additions to the festival include Phillip Hoose,
author of The Race to Save the Lord God Bird, and
Gene Sparling, "who is credited with the first sighting
of the bird since 1944," AP writes.
Thursday, May 19,
2005
Online learning major
source of education for rural communities
Nearly half of all rural schools
in America are using some form of on-line education, according
to a U. S. Department of Education study
entitled "Distance Education," reports National
Public Radio.
One tiny southeastern Colorado town has taken
advantage of this trend increasing its "virtual student
body" 15-fold, according to NPR's Steve Inskeep, in his
lead-in to a report by Stephen Raher of NPR member station
KRCC in Colorado Springs, which focuses on
Branson, Colo., a place with about 100 residents. But its
elementary school has nearly 1,000 students -- most enrolled
online.
The report looks at how online education has
made a difference in this community, which by example could
affect many others. Click
here to listen to the story. This leads to the story
page; then click on "Listen."
NYT series on class:
Appalachian woman rose from poverty, went back home
A team of New York Times reporters
has spent more than a year exploring ways that class -- defined
as a combination of income, education, wealth and occupation
-- influences destiny in a society that likes to think of
itself as a land of unbounded opportunity. Their latest installment
is a compassionate portrait of Della Mae Justice, an Eastern
Kentucky lawyer who grew up in abject poverty. We recommend
you read
the story.
After rising from poverty with the help of Berea
College and the University of Kentucky
law school to the largest law firm in Lexington, then returning
home to answer a family call for help, "Her journey has
transformed her so thoroughly that she no longer fits in easily,"
Tamar Lewin writes. "Her change in status has left Ms.
Justice a little off balance, seeing the world from two vantage
points at the same time: the one she grew up in and the one
she occupies now.. . . By every conventional measure, Ms.
Justice is now solidly middle class, but she is still trying
to learn how to feel middle class."
"I think class is everything, I really
do," she told Lewin. "When you're poor and from
a low socioeconomic group, you don't have a lot of choices
in life. To me, being from an upper class is all about confidence.
It's knowing you have choices, knowing you set the standards,
knowing you have connections. . . . The norm is, people that
are born with money have money, and people who weren't don't.
I know that. I know that just to climb the three inches I
have, which I've not gone very far, took all of my effort.
I have worked hard since I was a kid and I've done nothing
but work to try and pull myself out."
Noting Justice's work in Pike Family Court,
Lewin reports, "She bristles whenever she runs into any
hint of class bias, or the presumption that poor people in
homes heated by kerosene or without enough bedrooms cannot
be good parents."
Cable group takes on
big interests to help bring broadband to rural customers
Small cable-TV operators are pushing a list of public policy
proposals they want to see Congress and the Federal
Communications Commission adopt on behalf of rural
cable and communications customers, to help with the costly
effort needed to bring high-speed Internet access to less
densely populated areas.
Jerry Kent, chief executive officer of Cebridge
Connections, a St. Louis-based cable operator
with 400,000 subscribers, tells Technology Daily,
"We are providing broadband to areas others ignored so
rural Americans aren't disadvantaged by the digital divide.
We need to educate our elected officials about the disadvantages
we face to prevent effective red-lining of rural, underserved
communities." (read
more)
Cebridge is among the larger firms in the American
Cable Association, at odds with the National
Cable and Telecommunications Association, which
represents big-city cable operators and the cable programming
networks. "Kent targeted a bevy of interests with proposals,
some of which he conceded were not politically realistic.
. . . ACA has taken the lead in urging the FCC to jettison
a decades-old rule protecting local broadcasters against out-of-market
competitors," Technology Daily's Drew Clark reports.
All indications point to nasty disputes between
broadcasters and operators as the current cycle begins in
October. In a speech Monday to the ACA, Senate Commerce Chairman
Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, promised to hold hearings on retransmission
consent, Clark writes.
Technical reasons may
limit power lines as broadband source in rural areas
At one time, some saw broadband over power
lines, or BPL, as the best way to bring affordable Internet
access to poor and rural America: an answer to the technology
gap between the haves and the have-nots, writes Joe Bar in
an opinion piece for NewsForge. (read
more - subscription required)
Now, " Thanks primarily to boosters like
Michael Powell and Kevin Martin, Powell's successor at the
Federal
Communications Commission, it's back for another
go at the broadband access market. But BPL remains a flawed
and controversial technology. Proponents in Texas are pushing
a pro-BPL bill past confused legislators in Austin at the
same time their counterparts in Washington, D.C., are considering
a measure to rescind 'BPL-friendly' rule changes made at the
FCC last fall," writes Bar.
Proponents say that BPL will finally bring broadband
access to the poor, the underserved, and to rural areas, and
they suggest that BPL will enhance the coming "smart
grid" technology that could replace "antiquated
power systems." Once this technology flourishes, consumers
could benefit from increased competition. And, BPL proponents
admit there is a possibility of interference, but it will
be minor and mainly affect amateur radio operators who live
within close proximity to a BPL-equipped power line, writes
Bar.
Ruling threatens state
economic development incentives, popular in rural towns
One of the most popular tools used by states to lure companies,
especially in rural areas, is in jeopardy. Lucrative tax breaks
used to keep or attract corporate employers is under attack
in the courts, threatening what Ohio Gov. Bob Taft (R) recently
described as a “core piece” of his state’s
economic strategy.
"In a ruling expected to be appealed to
the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati
struck down in September part of a $281 million state and
local tax incentive deal Ohio officials brokered in 1998 with
automaker DaimlerChrysler. Lawsuits challenging similar corporate
tax incentives now are pending in at least three other states,
with another suit on the horizon in North Carolina,"
writes Kathleen Hunter of Stateline.org.
(read
more) The ruling also affects Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee,
also in the appeals court circuit. Other states' tax breaks
could come under threat if the high court were to hear the
case.
In an attempt to stop courts from stripping
states of a key economic development tool, U.S. Sen. George
Voinovich (R-Ohio) has introduced legislation to explicitly
grant states the power to offer tax incentives for economic
development. The appeals court found that Ohio's tax credit
program violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution because
it penalized companies that want to develop business outside
the state. U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Kentucky) has a similar
bill, reports
the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Widow of man killed by
overweight coal truck sues loading company
The widow of a man killed by an overloaded
coal truck in Eastern Kentucky is hoping a lawsuit forces
coal companies to bear more responsibility in similar accidents.
Doris Preece has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified
compensatory and punitive damages for the death of her husband,
Lonnie. The defendants are Appalachian Fuels LLC
of Ashland, truck owner Robert D. Hall and driver Charles
Wiley, writes
Lee Mueller, Eastern Kentucky bureau chief for the Lexington
Herald-Leader.
Wiley was transporting coal to loading docks
on the Big Sandy River near Catlettsburg. Reports indicate
two vehicles stopped in front of Wiley's truck about a mile
from the Preeces' home. Wiley was unable to stop his rig and
he swerved left into the path of Preece's eastbound pickup
truck. Preece was pastor of a Baptist Church near Inez. Doris
Preece's attorney, John W. Kirk, said the rig Wiley was driving
had defective brakes and was hauling 150,150 pounds of coal
on a narrow two-lane highway with a weight limit of 62,000
pounds.
The Kentucky
Department of Vehicle Enforcement cited the coal
company for "overloading" the truck. The lawsuit
said another truck hauling for Appalachian Fuels also received
an overweight ticket the same day.
Eastern Kentucky residents
protest Tampa-based company mines as unsafe
Claiming coal mining is destroying areas near
their homes, about 50 environmentalists and Pike County, Kentucky,
residents protested yesterday at the offices of TECO
Coal, associated with Tampa Electric Co.
"Residents of Island Creek waved signs,
chanted slogans and gave speeches accusing TECO's mines of
causing flooding, dust problems, and damage to roads and streams.
Environmentalists traveled from Tennessee and West Virginia
to participate. The citizen group Kentuckians
For The Commonwealth
organized the demonstration," writes Alan Maimon
of The Courier-Journal. (read
more)
Paul Matney, personnel director for TECO, which
employs 1,500 people in Eastern Kentucky, declined comment
on the protest. Doug Justice, 64, a retired miner, said strip
mining causes rock slides and mudslides after nearly every
rainfall, writes Maimon for the Louisville newspaper. Justice
told reporters boulders often cascade onto the road in front
of his house, forcing him to clear a path for traffic.
The Kentucky
Cabinet for Environmental and Public Protection
has cited TECO three times since September for violations
at its Pike County site in Grapevine, including debris flying
outside the area covered by the mine's permit. Cabinet spokesman
Mark York told the newspaper state regulators are investigating
whether TECO has shown a "pattern of violation,"
which could lead to revoking the mine's permit.
Final witness called
by government in federal suit against tobacco companies
The government has called its final witness
in the racketeering case against the nation's leading tobacco
companies, which could have implications for every American
with ties to the industry, from growers to smokers. Matthew
Myers, president of Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids, has spent more than two
decades as a leading critic of cigarette makers, says Michael
Janofsky of The New York Times.(read
more)
Federal lawyers hope Myers' considerable knowledge
of antismoking efforts will persuade the judge to impose further
restrictions on the sales and marketing of the companies'
products. He was deeply involved in two of the biggest efforts
to restrict the companies' marketing: a proposed agreement
in 1997 between the major companies and the states that served
as a blueprint for legislation that later failed in Congress,
and the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between the states
and the companies that ended a series of lawsuits to recover
the state-borne health care costs of smoking, Janofsky reports.
Myers told the court he found "important
differences" between the two efforts, with the failed
legislation much tougher on the companies. He provided the
judge in the case with an outline of possibilities for sanctions
that might be imposed if the court rules against the companies.
The government has charged the companies have engaged in a
50-year campaign of fraud and deceit to obscure the adverse
health effects of cigarettes and to keep Americans smoking.
The companies have denied doing that, insisting that even
if they acted improperly before 1998, the settlement accord
imposed new restrictions to resolve any remaining problems.
States face long-term
budget gaps because of failure to modernize tax systems
The Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington
think tank that focuses on policies that affect the poor,
says many states' have failed to modernize their tax systems
to reflect the shift from a manufacturing to a service-based
economy putting them at risk for chronic budget gaps.
"Unless states alter their basic tax structures,
they will face the hard choice each year of raising taxes
or cutting government services, said Robert Zahradnik, a senior
policy analyst at the center and co-author of the report,"
writes Kathleen Hunter of Stateline.org.
(read
more)
The report said Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado,
Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming face the greatest risk of a
"structural deficit," which the center defines as
a chronic inability to grow state revenues in tandem with
growth in government expenses or the state’s economy.
The states rated best-positioned financially
are Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Vermont
and Wisconsin, where expenditures are reportedly least likely
to annually outpace revenues, The report, titled "Faulty
Foundations: State Structural Budget Problems and How to Fix
Them," includes a state-by-state analysis of the factors
that put each state at risk for a structural deficit.
Free speech can cost
lives; Chicago judge issues plea for safety, 'softer words'
A federal judge from Chicago, whose husband
and mother were killed in their home, has rebuked lawmakers
as condoning a climate of "harsh rhetoric" about
the judiciary she said could incite violence and endanger
judges' lives, writes John Files of The New York Times.
(read
more)
"Judge Joan H. Lefkow of federal District
Court was escorted by a security detail. The judge said recent
attacks on the judiciary by the televangelist Pat Robertson
and by some members of Congress fostered disrespect for judges
that "can only encourage those who are on the edge or
on the fringe to exact revenge on a judge who displeases them."
(Blogger's note: editors might want to note Schenk
vs. U.S. and the Skokie
case with regard to limits on free speech or expression.)
Wednesday, May 18,
2005
Cell-phone health risks
greater for rural users using stronger signals, study says
Just when you thought it was safe to go into the fields: Mobile
phones could pose a higher health risk to rural dwellers because
they emit more intense signals in the countryside, Swedish
scientists have found.
Professor Lennart Hardell, of University
Hospital in Orebro, Sweden, told reporters base
stations tend to be further apart in more remote areas, so
the phones compensate with stronger signals. "We found
the risk of brain tumor was higher for people living in rural
areas than in towns. The stronger the signal, the higher the
risk." Here
is more from the Reuters news service.
"Repeated attempts by scientists in a number
of different countries have consistently failed to find conclusive
proof of an adverse health effect from cellphone use. So this
new study, which claims to be the first to find a 'geographical'
effect, is likely to be contentious," NewScientist.com
magazine reports.
Use of mobile phones has increased rapidly worldwide
and there have been concerns the technology causes health
problems ranging from headaches to brain tumors, writes Reuters.
But there has been no hard evidence to back up these health
concerns. Some researchers have suggested that radio energy
could interfere with biological systems. Health officials
have urged the public to limit cell phone use, or to use hands-free
devices.
'Slanted news' by USDA
'infiltrating' rural airwaves, charges Internet news site
A liberal-oriented Internet news service charges
some
U.S. Department of Agriculture news releases
for newspapers and broadcast stations are unbalanced and slanted
toward the government's point of view.
Alternet, which provides both facts and opinion,
cited three instances where releases presented only government
spokespeople with little or no presentation of other perspectives
on the subjects. It focused on reports featuring USDA Secretary
Mike Johanns' efforts to reopen the U.S. to Canadian beef
in the face of concerns about mad-cow disease.
One TV segment quoted Johanns: "If we just
tangle trade up in any way that isn't based upon risk analysis
and science ...then where's our protection with another country?
Devastating trade is devastating to agriculture." Diane
Farsetta of AlterNet (read
more) charges the release and others ignore some important,
basic facts and points of view beyond the government's arguments.
Partisan school-board
votes set up election over evolution vs. intelligent design
Following a similar schism over the state school
board in Kansas, yesterday's primary election in Dover, Pa.,
has produced an autumn election showdown in the Dover
Area School District over the issue of intelligent
design, with the results breaking along party lines, reports
the York Daily Record.(Click
here to read more.)
Four seats with four-year terms, and three two-year
seats, are up for election in November. Among the Democratic
challengers, all the top vote-getters yesterday are with Dover
CARES (Citizens Actively Reviewing Educational Strategies),
a group that opposes the board's decision to require intelligent
design in biology class, write Lauri Lebo and Joseph Maldonado
of the Record.
The primary winners will square off against
the seven incumbents, who swept the Republican primary. Only
two of them voted on intelligent design; the others were appointed
to fill vacancies. Even though the candidates all said publicly
that intelligent design wasn't the primary issue of the race,
the incumbents touted the decision on a billboard as the "intelligent
choice." In a January poll, 89 percent of self-described
likely primary voters said the issue would influence their
ballot.
Now, the question of whether Dover voters ultimately
support intelligent design in science class could be answered
in the general election in November — six weeks after
a federal trial on the subject is scheduled to begin in Harrisburg,
the Record reports. The election has caught national media
attention. New York Times reporter James
Dao profiled the election in a Monday story,
saying the election "is being closely watched across
the nation because of its implications for the contentious
debate over evolution." The Times also ran an editorial
on the election and the growing national debate over evolution
vs. intelligent design. For the local advance story in The
York Dispatch, click
here.
Tobacco farmers look
to grapes, other options as they lose quotas, diversify
"Faced with the loss of the government
program that set price and production control on U.S. tobacco
for decades, some farmers are turning to grapes. Others are
diversifying with beef cattle and grain, meat goats, vegetables,
other fruits and even flowers and herbs," writes Lisa
Cornwell of The Associated Press.
Cornwell, who works in AP's Cincinnati bureau,
(read
more) focuses on Seth Meranda, a fourth-generation tobacco
farmer with 50 acres in southwestern Ohio. He told her, "My
kids would have been the fifth generation in tobacco, but
I'm really excited about our vineyards, and I hope one day
they will be too." Meranda plans to add a winery.
Meranda received a matching
grant in 2003 through the Southern
Ohio Agricultural & Community Development Foundation,
one of six funds set up with money from Ohio's share of the
1998 agreement between tobacco companies and states that sued
to recover smoking-related health expenses. The foundation
helps tobacco farmers make the transition to other commodities.
A $10.1 billion buyout funded by tobacco companies
is paying farmers for their production quotas, which have
been abolished with repeal of the federal tobacco program.
Many say the newly free market will not be profitable, because
companies are paying 25 percent less for tobacco than last
year, when the program supported prices. The settlement had
already led to reductions in quotas, because companies bought
more cheap, foreign tobacco. Declining cigarette production
and reduced exports worldwide also have cut into tobacco producers'
profits, Cornwell writes.
Congress moving to delay
country-of-origin label requirement for meatpackers
Labels telling U.S. consumers where their meat
comes from must be in place beginning next year, but lawmakers
took action that could delay the labels for months.
"House members writing a farm spending
bill voted Monday to postpone country-of-origin labeling for
meat, which is supposed to go into effect in September 2006.
Congress initially ordered the labeling into effect in 2004,
but the lawmakers, bowing to pressure from meatpackers and
food processors, voted to delay it until 2006," AP reports.
For additional information from the Omaha World-Herald,
click
here.
Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, chairman of the
agriculture subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee,
said, "This just buys a little more time. . . . It would
be a nightmare to implement for producers across the country.
It would also expose retailers to a tremendous amount of liability."
The White House wants to repeal labeling for
meat, and the House Agriculture Committee chairman, Rep. Bob
Goodlatte, R-Va., introduced a bill earlier this month that
would repeal the mandatory labeling system and replace it
with a voluntary one. The subcommittee voted to prevent the
Agriculture Department from spending money
this year to put labeling rules in place, a tactic that would
postpone the labeling for months, AP reports. Thirty-five
other countries, including Canada, Mexico and European nations,
require such labels.
Indiana
vintner sues to overturn Kentucky wine-import ban after court
ruling
Southern Indiana winemaker Ted Huber and two
of his Louisville customers have sued to overturn Kentucky's
ban on out-of-state wine shipments to consumers, on the heels
of a U. S. Supreme Court ruling.
The nation's high court struck down as discriminatory
the laws in Kentucky, Indiana and 22 other states that ban
the direct shipment of out-of-state wines to their residents,
although in-state wineries are allowed to do so, writes Wayne
Tompkins of The Courier-Journal. Huber told
the legal action is an attempt to make sure Kentucky can't
escape the court decision. (read
more)
Huber said he also will work to get the out-of-state
wine laws amended in Indiana, Tompkins writes for the Louisville
newspaper. Gregory Troutman, a lawyer for Huber and the two
customers, said the battle to get out-of-state wine delivered
to one's home likely will be fought state by state, as the
two dozen states affected by the ruling have slightly different
laws. The suit was filed in federal court at Louisville.
Union opposes more job-recruitment
funding, saying exec shunned union firms
The United
Auto Workers union has urged the Madisonville,
Ky., City Council not to increase funding for the county's
Economic
Development Corporation, without first requiring
some guarantees that it will promise to recruit employers
who pay "decent" wages and respect rights of the
employees they hire.
Economic Development Corp. Director Danny Koon
became the focal point of a fiscal tug-of-war at a public
hearing on Madisonville's 2005-06 budget. Koon has been the
subject of union scrutiny since he was quoted in a Henderson
Gleaner story as saying he had not pursued a business
that could create 500 jobs because of its UAW ties, writes
Don Perryman of the Madisonville Messenger.
(read
more; registration required)
Report proposes to halve
shoreline buffer in big TVA land swap on lake
An environmental
report on a proposed Tennessee
Valley Authority swap of hundreds of acres of
Nickajack Lake land west of Chattanooga would
protect a 50-foot-wide shoreline buffer from development,
down from 100 feet in an earlier report, according to a TVA
spokeswoman.
TVA officials scheduled a May 24 public meeting
in South Pittsburg on a new environmental assessment of John
"Thunder" Thornton's proposed development but said
the report would not be released to the public until Thursday,
writes Bill Poovey of The Associated Press.
Thornton has proposed swapping about 1,100 acres
in return for 578 acres of lakefront to build hundreds of
homes, a golf course and marina. He said a 50-foot buffer
was consistent with a lakeshore management plan, Poovey writes.
If applied to the whole lake, the narrower buffer would open
much land to development.
TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said a 1996
environmental assessment of the shoreline for another development
venture included a 100-foot waterfront buffer, but, she said,
"Since that time we did the shoreline management initiative
and the amount of study that has been done has determined
a 50-foot buffer is adequate to ensure we maintain water quality."
Conservation groups charge
EPA mercury rule endangers public health, violates law
Clean air and public health advocates have filed
suit in federal court challenging the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA's) approach for reducing
toxic air emissions from power plants, claiming the agency's
restrictions on mercury emission threatens the public's health.
Rather than adopt a rule that limits this pollution,
the groups contend, EPA unlawfully removed power plants from
the list of industrial pollution sources for which the Clean
Air Act requires strong air toxic standards, says the Sierra
Club, in a recent news release.
Staff Attorney James Pew of Earthjustice,
which filed suit on behalf of Sierra Club, Environmental
Defense and the National
Wildlife Federation, charges EPA is refusing
point blank to set the protective emission standards for power
plants that the Clean Air Act requires. "Instead of protecting
the public from pollution, this agency is doing its best to
protect polluters from the law." For the NWF release,
click
here.
Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope says
in the release, "Mercury does not affect everyone equally.
The EPA’s job is to 'protect human health and the environment'
but what it's really doing is putting more women and children
at risk of mercury poisoning." Ann Brewster Weeks, Litigation
Director of the Clean Air Task Force, said, "EPA's action
paves the way for substantial additional unchecked toxic air
pollution releases," said "That means more mercury
in the air, more mercury in the water, and more mercury in
fish."
At least 13 states have filed litigation challenging
EPA’s mercury rule, they write. For a similar view by
the National
Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD),
click
here.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Companies get citizens
to beat effort for government-provided broadband
Tired of not having high-speed Internet access,
the residents of the Chicago exurbia 'Tri-Cities' of Geneva,
Batavia and St. Charles, Ill., have gotten what they wanted
but at a higher than desired price.
Located 45 miles west of Chicago, residents
in the three cities dealt with poor Internet access for several
years and decided to take action in 2003. The residents proposed
extending already existing fiber-optic cables to homes and
local businesses, which could deliver the high-speed Internet
access. Cities would have to pick up the tab, but leaders
at first estimated that costs could be kept down, writes David
Case of the investigative non-profit magazine, Mother
Jones. (Click
here to read more; subscription may be necessary)
The effort prompted a referendum on a property
tax for broadband service. Customer-hungry broadband providers
Comcast
and SBC
Communications Inc. opposed the tax, fearing
a loss of potential profit, and informed citizens about possible
pitfalls of government-provided access, arguing that government
officials could check citizens' Internet traffic. The tax
proposal lost, and the companies now provide Internet access.
"Yet, although residents did get their
broadband, they got no control over it -- over pricing, growth,
or financing," wrote Case. "And Comcast -- with
a near-monopoly on the area's cable TV service -- jacked up
its basic cable rates after the referenda, for an increase
of more than 30 percent since January 2003."
Unbelted drivers in omnipresent
pickup trucks at highest death risk
Pickup-truck occupants, disproportionately rural
and suburban, who do not wear seat belts are at a greater
risk of dying in traffic accidents than unbelted occupants
in cars, according to the latest federal safety statistics.
Earlier research has shown people in pickup
trucks wear their seat belts less than car occupants. But,
the new numbers also show for the first time seat belts play
a more critical role in preventing accident deaths, more so
in pickup trucks than in cars, writes Jeremy W. Peters of
The New York Times. (read
more)
The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration data revealed
70 percent of occupants killed in pickup truck crashes were
not wearing their seat belts. In fatal car crashes 50 percent
of occupants killed were not wearing seat belts. An administration
spokesman told Peters the new numbers highlight the risk occupants
in pickups face when they do not buckle up. Rae Tyson, spokesman
said, "The risk of serious injury or fatality in a crash
is higher in a pickup than it would be in a passenger car."
Court says states can't
bar interstate wine shipments; decision could boost industries
In a decision toasted by the wine industry,
and by wine aficionados in rural "dry" jurisdictions,
the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that consumers can't be barred
from shipping home bottles purchased from out-of-state vineyards
they visit in person or on the Internet.
The 5-4 ruling struck down laws in New York
and Michigan as discriminatory because they allow in-state
wineries, but not out-of-state businesses, to ship directly
to consumers. It means that as many as 24 states that currently
bar out-of-state shipments will have to revise their laws
so wineries are treated equally, writes Hope Yen of The
Associated Press. (read
more)
The Washington-based Institute for Justice
says the 24 states that ban direct shipments from out-of-state
wineries are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont.
The decision was cheered by wine lovers who
said it would promote Internet sales around the country, leading
to lower prices and more choices. Critics said the ruling
usurped a state's right to control alcohol within its borders
and could promote underage drinking because proof of age would
not be required for Internet purchases. While the ruling only
involves wine sales, industry groups expect it will soon apply
to beer and other alcoholic beverages now regulated through
state-licensed wholesalers and retailers.
"It will take time for the states to decide
how to react to the ruling," reports
Wayne Tompkins of The Courier-Journal. For
the New York Times version, click
here. For the Washington Post story,
click
here. The decision is available in here.
Feds seek to overhaul
rails, cut errors like one that caused deadly S.C. wreck
American railroads will undergo a safety makeover
through a federal plan aims to reduce crew errors that cause
deadly crashes, make toxic shipments safer and employ new
technology to detect broken tracks.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced
the plan after "months of criticism by advocates and
local officials who said January's train wreck in Graniteville,
S.C., which killed nine, signaled a dire need for reform,"
writes Heather Vogell of the Charlotte Observer.
(read
more)
Mineta spoke outside the State House in Columbia
to a crowd that included the mother and sister of a West Columbia
engineer who died from chlorine inhalation after a misaligned
switch sent his Norfolk Southern train hurtling
onto a side track and into a parked rail car, writes Vogell.
After the announcement, Chris Seeling's mother told Mineta
her family is "so thrilled that something good is going
to come out of his life."
Some steps in the plan -- such as gathering
data on near-misses -- are already in progress. But those
related to human errors are contingent on a federal rulemaking
process that will stretch into 2006 or later, she writes.
As Congress stalls, more
states give minimum wage earners a boost
A growing number of states are refusing to wait
for Congress to raise the minimum wage above the $5.15 an
hour set in 1997. Five state legislatures, so far this year,
have boosted their rates 30 cents to $1, bringing to at least
16 the states with minimum wages above the federal level.
Connecticut and Hawaii this year approved their
second hike above the federal minimum. A buck-an-hour minimum
wage increase for Minnesota workers passed this month, and
the new $6.15 hourly wage will take effect Aug. 1. Acting
New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey (D) signed a law in April to
increase the minimum wage to $7.15 an hour over the next two
years, writes Kathleen Murphy of Stateline.org.
(read
more)
While the Maryland Legislature sent that state's
governor a bill in April to raise the minimum wage to $6.15
starting in January, the bill still awaits his signature or
veto. However, it passed the state Senate by a veto-proof
30-16 margin. If it becomes law, Maryland would be the 17th
state to push the minimum wage above the federally required
level, writes Murphy.
Minimum-wage hikes also took effect in January
in five states: Illinois, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
For Oregon, Vermont and Washington, it was the second hike
above the federal rate. Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida,
Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia
also have set higher minimums. Wisconsin could be next. Wisconsin's
governor and its Republican-controlled Legislature hammered
out a deal this month to raise the minimum wage in a two-step
process starting June 1.
N.C. Senate approves
ATV age restriction; lowered from 12 to 8 to win passage
North Carolina senators have signed off on legislation
that would ban children younger than 8 from riding all-terrain
vehicles, to cut down on the incidents of serious injuries
and deaths.
But to get the Senate's final approval on a
31-15 vote Monday, safety advocates loosened restrictions
they initially sought. And some riding enthusiasts who oppose
regulation say they will fight the bill in the state House
before it can become law, writes Sharif Durhams of the Charlotte
Observer's Raleigh Bureau. (read
more)
Sen. Bill Purcell, the bill's sponsor, said
he initially wanted to ban kids younger than 12 from riding
the machines. Now, under the proposal, most riders of any
age would have to wear helmets and complete a safety course.
Children between 8 and 16 would have to ride smaller, less-powerful
four-wheelers. The bill exempts adult farmers and hunters
from both the helmet and training requirements.
North and South Carolina are two of five states
that don't currently require helmets or safety training for
ATV riders. About 22,000 people bought ATVs last year in North
Carolina. North Carolina recorded 43 ATV-related deaths between
1999 and 2004 involving riders younger than 16, according
to the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force. About 130,000 riders
nationwide required hospital emergency room visits in 2003.
President Bush tours
Virginia plant making alternative fuel out of soybeans
President Bush has visited a small plant in
Virginia that turns soybeans into a clean-burning form of
diesel fuel to emphasize his energy bill is about more than
drilling in Alaska and building refineries. (speech
transcript)
Bush urged Congress to pass the bill before
beginning its summer recess, though acknowledging that nothing
in it would immediately lower gasoline prices, writes David
E. Sanger of The New York Times. (read
more) The local papers did not give the visit heavy treatment;
click the names for coverage by Warren
Fiske of The Virginian-Pilot and Melodie
Martin of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The president toured the Virginia
BioDiesel Facility east of Richmond to see how
pure soy is made into a low-polluting form of diesel fuel.
He told the crowd, "I imagine 30 years ago a politician
saying, 'Vote for me and I'll see to it that your car can
run on soybean oil' wouldn't get very far.(But) here we are,
standing in front of a refinery that makes it." Kelly
Takaya King, an executive of Pacific
Biodiesel, which built the plant said it produces
about a million gallons of biodiesel fuel a year.
President Bush cast himself as deeply interested
in backing new, environmentally friendly technologies that
would eventually increase energy supplies, like development
of hydrogen-fueled cars, creating fuel from cast-off cooking
grease and soy oils, and promoting ethanol - the last a subject
rarely discussed by presidents except before the quadrennial
primaries in Iowa, writes Sanger.
Revocation of grandparent
visit law sought; Pennsylvania case could set tone
A lawyer for a man who wants to limit his son's
contact with the boy's grandmother has argued that a Pennsylvania
law guaranteeing grandparent visitation doesn't give enough
weight to a parent's best judgment.
"Attorney Howard Bashman also argued the
1981 law is nearly identical to a Washington state law struck
down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000,"
writes Mark Scolforo of The Associated Press.
(read
more) Shane Fausey, a federal prison guard who lives in
Lycoming County, Pa., is asking the state Supreme Court to
reverse lower-court rulings that awarded Cheryl Hiller visitation
rights with Fausey's 10-year-old son. Fausey's wife and Hiller's
daughter died of cancer in 2002.
Bashman told AP his client should be able to
determine how much contact the boy and his grandmother have,
unless she can prove it will cause substantial physical or
emotional harm to him -- and that the court should not use
the "best interests of the child" standard commonly
used in child-custody cases because Fausey's dispute is not
with his deceased spouse. Basham said, "It too easily
allows the fit parent's decision to be overridden."
Relations sour between
major Hispanic broadcast giants; source of most programs
Grupo Televisa, the Mexican television empire,
has been locked in an uneasy alliance with Univision
Communications, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster
in the United States, providing most of its prime-time lineup
and delivering ever-higher ratings. Now, Televisa is indicating
it wants out.
Univision's strength among Spanish-language
broadcasters is due in no small part to Televisa's soap operas,
which dominate ratings in Latin America and parts of the United
States. And therein lies the problem: Televisa, the world's
largest Spanish-language media company, contends that Univision
is getting its premium soap operas on the cheap under a 1992
sales agreement that lasts through 2017, writes Elisabeth
Malkin of The New York Times. (read
more)
Analysts and industry experts say Univision
needs Televisa, which supplies 80 to 90 percent of the American
company's prime-time programs, writes Malkin. The final episode
on Univision in March of a Televisa soap opera, "Rubí,"
was top-rated among 18-to-34-year-olds, beating shows on ABC,
CBS, NBC and Fox.
Televisa expects to earn $115 million this year
from the licensing agreement. Univision had $1.26 billion
in television revenue last year, though it will not say how
much of that is from Televisa's programs. Thirty-six percent
of Univision's programming over all comes from Televisa, she
writes. For financial information on Grupo Televisa, click
here. For financial information on Televisa, here.
Senate bill
would aid wildlife, state and provincial fish and game agencies
say
The International
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA)'s
executive vice president, John Baughman says the proposed
Americans
Outdoors Act, by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn)
and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), is a bipartisan piece of legislation
that would provide a landmark federal commitment to conservation,
coastal restoration, and outdoor recreation, according to
a release
on the IAFWA Website.
According to the IAFWA, each year, the Americans
Outdoors Act will allow $530 million for critical State Fish
and Wildlife programs — ensuring each state can sustain
a diverse array of fish and wildlife and their habitats, with
an emphasis on preventing species from becoming endangered.
The Act will provide appropriate access for
hikers, paddlers, photographers, bird watchers, mountain bikers
and other outdoor enthusiasts through trails, viewing blinds,
observation towers, and the protection and enhancement of
the land and water base. The IAFWA says the Americans Outdoors
Act "will foster a responsible stewardship ethic through
conservation education programs, activity guides and curricula
for schools and community groups."
Kudzu may counteract
alcoholic urges; Harvard study says ends binge drinking
Attention class! Eat kudzu and stop binge drinking!
It may not be long before you'll go to a bar, order a beer
or glass of wine and then load up on kudzu pills to avoid
getting loaded. "Yes, kudzu, the fast-growing weed also
known as the "vine that ate the South," contains
chemicals that reduce the urge of binge drinkers and alcoholics,
as well as casual imbibers, according to Harvard Medical Center
researchers in a "groundbreaking" study, writes
Bill Hendrick of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
(read
more)
Research suggests that kudzu compounds called
"isoflavones" are the keys to treating intoxication.
Heavy drinkers who took pills made from chemicals in kudzu
seemed to lose their urge to order a second or third drink,
or extended the time between ordering additional drinks, writes
Hendrick. Lead researcher Dr. Scott E. Lukas, a professor
of psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School and director of behavior psychopharmacology
at McLean
Hospital, told Hendrick, "We want to develop
a medication that would be effective and safe, and pills without
side effects like other drugs on the market, for treating
alcoholics and binge-drinkers."
Lukas speculated it might be several years before
alcohol-resistance pills are developed. That depends on whether
the pills will need approval by the Food and Drug Administration
or can be sold as an herbal remedy.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Broadband service has
spurred economic development, local official says
A Western Kentucky economic development official
says $150,000 spent to extend high-speed Internet service
at local industrial parks was a good investment that helped
lead to several industrial deals creating 1,600 jobs in the
area.
Mark Manning, president of the Murray-Calloway
County Economic Development Corp., told The
Paducah Sun (site registration required),
"It's not that companies come because of broadband, but
when they see you don't have it, you're at a huge competitive
disadvantage.They expect it and they should." (Click
here to read the full rewrite of the Sun story from The
Associated Press.)
Technologically savvy people from business,
government, health care, education and other sectors are forming
groups in the region to develop plans to expand broadband.
The effort is being led by Michael Ramage, the new Bowling
Green-based ConnectKentucky
project manager for the 40-county West Kentucky Region.
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher wants to leverage
state, federal and private dollars to blanket the state with
broadband service. Kentucky ranks 44th among states in the
proportion of high-tech businesses, 45th in residential computer
use and 43rd in residential Internet use, AP writes.
Debate over mountaintop-removal
mining continues in the Sunday papers
A recently escalated debate over
mountaintop-removal mining in Central Appalachia continued
Sunday in Kentucky's two largest newspapers, which offered
opposing sides of the issue.
In an op-ed
piece in The Courier-Journal, an executive
of a heavy-equipment firm defended the practice and said coal
mining is essential to the nation's energy security. In a
column
in the Lexington Herald-Leader, a Republican
lawyer from the heart of the Appalachian coalfield aligned
himself with a group of Kentucky writers who recently gathered
in the mountains to protest the mining method.
Larry Webster of Pikeville called the gathering
"the start of a new religion," countering an existing
faith that teaches its followers to "exploit,
use up, pollute, listen to the coal association and wait for
paradise." He said protection of the mountains "will
only happen if the protection of Mother Earth becomes a compelling
belief on a spiritual level, and it wouldn't be asking too
much to have Christianity, founded in a desert, to take some
time off from speaking of lakes of fire and address right
and wrong where people live."
The opposing view was offered by Mark Porta,
vice president of eastern operations for Louisville-based
Whayne Supply Co., a major supplier of strip-mine
equipment. "I could show you other pictures of green
pasture land, airports, industrial sites, all from reclaimed
mine sites. I could tell you about the jobs coal provides,
and ask the question, 'When is your company going to move
an operation into the coal fields?'"
Webster alluded to the grass planted on mined
mountaintops and the fact that the industry is governed by
federal law: "Our fate rests
with people who know nothing about the unpurple mountain majesty
of East Kentucky, or who think fescue waving amber on those
Ghost Ranches in the Sky is better."
Porta said the front-page coverage of the issue
was "due in large part to a very vocal minority"
and "is of very little interest . . . for most of you
outside the mountains of Eastern Kentucky." But he said
the general public should be interested because so much of
the nation's energy comes from coal.
Political schism leaves
Western North Carolina church sadder and older
With the help of an interim minister, a week after the resignation
of their long-time pastor, members of a Baptist Church in
western North Carolina are struggling to heal wounds caused
by a political schism.
"From the pulpit of East Waynesville Baptist
Church, the temporary pastor offered an unusual message for
his adopted flock: "I don't mind telling you before I
start off this morning, this is not where I want to be,"
writes Shaila Dewan of The New York Times.
(read
more)
The Rev. Chan Chandler, the young minister who
led the congregation of about 100 people for the last three
years, is gone, having resigned under fire last week. Many
of the younger members went with him. And nine longtime church
members who said he had ousted them because they did not support
his increasingly political sermons are back, writes Dewan.
Last October, according to members, Chandler told them, "Let
me just say this right now, if you vote for John Kerry this
year you need to repent or resign."
The
Smoky Mountain News of Waynesville has followed
the ordeal of East Waynesville Baptist Church with articles
written by Sarah Kucharski and Becky Johnson over the past
weeks covering issues of Church
and State, Faith
and politics, when the members were ‘voted
out’ and the question of tax
status if the church becomes political. Waynesville's
The
Enterprise-Mountaineer, also had an article
by Darren Miller last week on Rev. Chandler’s resignation.
Kansas state school board
debate seeks to expand the definition of science
Hearings on evolution before the Kansas
Board of Education have not been limited only
to how the theory should be taught. The board is considering
redefining science itself.
"Advocates of 'intelligent design' are
pushing the board to reject a definition limiting science
to natural explanations for what's observed in the world.
Instead, they want to define it as \'a systematic method of
continuing investigation,' without specifying what kind of
answer is being sought. The definition would appear in the
introduction to the state's science standards," writes
John Hanna of The Associated Press.
Keith Miller, a Kansas State University geologist,
told reporters, "It's a completely unscientific way of
looking at the world." The conservative state Board of
Education plans to consider the proposed changes by August,
and is expected to approve at least part of a proposal from
advocates of intelligent design. That theory holds the natural
world is so complex and well-ordered, an intelligent cause
is the best way to explain it.
Stephen Meyer, a senior fellow at the Seattle-based
Discovery
Institute, which supports intelligent design,
said changing the schools' definition of science would avoid
freezing out questions about how life arose and developed
on Earth. CNN correspondent Brian Campbell
provides additional
details.
Septic woes trouble rural
Black Belt homes in Alabama; activists seek change
Many poor residents of the Black Belt of rural
Alabama still live in the ignominy of sanitary problems despite
about $1 billion in economic progress nearby.
For one such resident, Beulah Hill, who is 67
and disabled, flushing the toilet doesn't guarantee sanitary
troubles go down the drain. Hill's 26-year-old septic system
is failing outside her home, west of the county seat of Hayneville,
writes
William F.West of The Tuscaloosa News.
Though the $1 billion Hyundai automobile plant's
grand opening will be May 20 to the east of the county line
near Montgomery, a spin-off of prosperity hasn't yet reached
the rural hamlets in Lowndes County, located in Alabama's
distressed Black Belt, named for the soil that doesn't drain
well.
Linda Hinson and her husband Antonio, who are
similarly afflicted but have become activists, told West,
"It's sad that we still live in 2005 where we don't have
adequate septic systems in Lowndes County. Hinson and her
husband, hired a man to install a septic system for their
home near the Letohatchee community, but the man only put
in the cement tank and failed to finish the job. The couple
doesn't have the money to have field lines dug to disperse
the waste, West writes.
Hinson said the system doesn't comply with state
health standards, and her husband repeatedly had to go before
the court until another activist intervened with the judge
to halt the case. Hinson now works as administrative assistant
for Flowers, who's the Alabama representative for the National
Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, a Washington-based
anti-poverty organization, he writes.
Appalachian Regional
Heatlhcare system names interim president, CEO
Jerry W. Haynes has been named interim president
and chief executive officer of Appalachian
Regional Healthcare Inc., a not-for-profit health
care system serving Eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.
The ARH Board of Trustees announced Haynes'
appointment. He replaces Stephen C. Hanson, who resigned to
take a job with Texas Health Resources. Haynes has worked
for ARH for 26 years, most recently as the system's executive
director of operations, writes The Associated Press.
(read
more)
Haynes said, "My focus is and has always
been quality care, service to patients, and continued viability
of the organization. I'm very honored and look forward to
working with everyone." The health system has more than
4,500 employees at nine hospitals, physician practices, skilled
nursing and rehabilitation service programs, home health agencies,
HomeCare Stores and pharmacies. It also is co-owner of CHA
Health.
Groups want Blair Mountain
land in W.Va. added to the National Register
If you grew up anywhere near West Virginia and
know anything about coal history, you are probably familiar
with the legendary "Battle of Blair Mountain," a
protracted clash between union minors and "law enforcement"
on Aug. 29, 1921.
"Along a rocky ridge near this hamlet,
more than 6,000 union coal miners clashed with sheriff's deputies,
the state police and coal company guards in the climactic
battle of the West Virginia coal wars. Dozens died during
five days of trench warfare," Tony Kemp of The
New York Times in a story published on Aug. 30, 1921.
"Now," the Times' James Dao writes,
"a new battle for Blair Mountain is flaring. But this
time, the warriors are not miners toting rifles, but historians
armed with artifacts. And the fight is not about organizing
the coalfields, but saving the battlefield.".
At stake is a campaign by amateur historians,
allied with environmentalists, to register more than 1,400
acres around Blair Mountain as a historic site. In doing so,
they hope not only to protect a piece of labor history, but
also Blair Mountain itself, where coal companies have been
buying property and emptying small towns in preparation for
strip mining the rugged ridgeline for low-sulfur coal.
Preservationists won an important skirmish when
the West
Virginia Archives and History Commission voted
unanimously to recommend 14 miles of ridgeline surrounding
Blair Mountain be added to the National
Register of Historic Places, part of the National
Park Service. If the site is added to the register,
as is considered likely, coal companies could be required
to reduce the impact of mining on the battleground.
Pioneer of 'high lonesome'
Bluegrass sound dies; sang with Blue Grass Boys
Jimmy Martin, a pioneering bluegrass singer
and guitarist who performed with the Blue Grass Boys and many
other performers, died Saturday. He was 77.
Martin died in a Nashville hospice, more than
a year after he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, writes
The Associated Press. (read
more) His son, Lee Martin said, referring to bluegrass
legend Bill Monroe, head of the Blue Grass Boys told reporters,
"He loved bluegrass music, country music. Bill Monroe
was his idol and someone he patterned himself after musically."
Jimmy Martin recorded a number of bluegrass
standards, including "Rock Hearts," "Sophronie,"
"Hold Watcha Got," "Widow Maker" and "The
Sunny Side of the Mountain." He was inducted into the
International
Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Honor in
1995. His life was the subject of an independent documentary,
King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin,
released in 2003.
Bernheim Forest showcases
majesty of raptors; visitors preservation lessons
"A boy stared in wonder as Eileen Wicker
called out to a northern barred owl in its own language --
and the bird responded with a hoot," writes Laura Ungar
of The Courier-Journal. (read
more)
The boy and his family attended a presentation
by Raptor
Rehabilitation of Kentucky called "Recognizing
Raptors." It was held in the education center at the
Bernheim
Arboretum and Research Forest.
A colleague gave a talk on how to identify various
birds of prey, then Wicker, who is executive director of the
nonprofit rehabilitation group, wowed the crowd with her birdcall.
Wicker said the presentation wasn't just for avid bird watchers,
but for anyone who might spot raptors in the skies or in the
trees around Kentucky, Ungar writes for the Louisville newspaper.
Wicker says the knowledge helps people better understand raptors
in particular and nature at large.
Debbie Heavrin, Raptor Rehabilitation's program
coordinator said the presentation included clues that could
help bird watchers distinguish raptors, such as rhythm and
cadence of flight, appearance, overall shape and size, and
behavior.
Friday-Saturday, May
13-14, 2005
Rural growth
outpacing policymakers, study says, offering ideas for change
Government
policymakers are not keeping up with rapid growth in some
of America's rural areas, says a study SRI International,
a California think tank, did for the Federal Home
Loan Bank of Des Moines. " It
is time for a fresh start in formulating strategies to
strengthen rural America," said bank president Pat Conway.
The
study suggests a stronger focus on rural areas' assets
and opportunities, and "identifies policy and program
steps that can be taken to enable economic growth in rural
areas," American City Business Journals
reports. "These include consolidating multiple programs,
avoiding duplication and making them easier to find and
use; greater flexibility in terms of assistance and timeframes,
and co-investment by rural communities, businesses, and
institutions."
The
study, available by clicking
here, says rural America's assets include "steadily
improving education achievement, low cost of doing business,
high quality of life, and increasingly high levels of
entrepreneurship and small business development,"
ACBJ reports. Liabilities include declining population,
emigration of educated residents, and lack of jobs, particularly
in economic sectors that are growing.
"While
rural America is moving toward a more diverse economy
and agriculture is declining in its share of that economy,
the study shows the bulk of federal support remains primarily
in direct subsidies to agriculture," ACBJ reports.
"Thirty percent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
2003 budget was allocated to agricultural subsidies while
rural development accounted for 3.5 percent of the budget."
Rural America can tap
into the knowledge economy, with the right strategies
Rural America has an emerging "knowledge
economy," founded on the generation of new ideas, but
"Few rural places have tapped this economic potential,"
the Center for the Study of Rural America says
in the
May issue of The Main Street Economist,
its monthly newsletter. "Knowledge-based activity has
paced recent U.S. economic growth," the report says,
but it accounted for only 15 percent of employment in rural
areas in 2000, compared to 20 percent in metropolitan areas.
The keys to a knowledge economy are high-skill
labor, higher education, vibrant business networks and infrastructure
such as high-speed Internet access, writers Jason Henderson
and Bridget Abraham say. "Tapping institutions of higher
education will be crucial if rural communities are going to
strengthen their knowledge economies," they write, adding
that rural areas can use their "scenic amenities"
to attract knowledge workers. A Department of Agriculture
study saud over 70 percent of rural high-knowledge, producer-service
industries said "quality-of-life amenities were a major
factor in location choice."
"Producer service industries" include
financial- and information-service businesses, which are driving
rural job growth. In 2004, rural employment in such jobs rose
4 percent, and only 1.6 percent in consumer services, education,
health care and retail trade, mainly in the higher-skilled
areas of health care and education.
Knowledge should not be confused with information,
the writers point out. "The knowledge used to produce
information is harder to codify or summarize on a piece of
paper," they write. Also, "Knowledge produces spillovers
. . . benefits to people beyond those who possess the knowledge."
One example of a largely rural state that is
developing a knowledge economy is Montana, where 62 percent
of Montana State University's graduating
seniors staryed in the state last year, up from only 51 percent
in 2002, according to the school. For an Associated
Press story on the phenomenon, click
here.
Rural
poverty, lack of health-care access delay proper dental care,
says study
A
University of Florida report indicates rural
residents are nearly twice as likely as their urban counterparts
to postpone timely trips to the dentist, seeking help only
after developing a problem and oral pain is severe.
The delay, says the study, is driven by poverty
and lack of health care access, and results in widespread
dissatisfaction with treatment and less desirable outcomes,
reports
Newswise. Dr. Joseph Riley, an assistant
professor of public health services and research at UF's College
of Dentistry, said "These people assume this problem-oriented
approach to oral health because of low access to care, whether
that be due to an inability to pay or the lack of dentists
practicing in rural areas."
The report in the April issue of Public
Health Reports, said researchers studied patterns
in access to dental care among 703 randomly selected people
aged 45 years and older in North Florida. They considered
financial status, and tracked symptoms of oral pain, and usage
of dental services and treatment. Study investigators found
rural residents were more likely to need emergency dental
care for oral pain. "People who live in rural areas and
take a problem-oriented approach of opting to wait until oral
discomfort worsened were at the highest risk of anyone for
needing pain-related emergency treatment," the study
said.
Base closing and realignment
list hits many rural facilities; tanks leaving Knox
The Defense Department's Friday
announcement of facilities it is recommending for closure
and realignment had major impacts on rural areas and prompted
some special coverage by news outlets serving those areas.
Some facilities not being closed would undergo
major changes. For example, Fort Knox in
Kentucky will lose the Army Armor Center to Georgia's Fort
Benning, which has the Infantry Center, for better
coordination of the two functions, Pentagon officials said
this morning. Fort Knox would gain a combat brigade and some
command and training functions, picking up 1,739 civiilan
workers, but would have 4,867 fewer military personnel, for
an overall decline of 3,128. Benning would gain 9,839 workers.
The morning daily closest to Fort Knox, The News-Enterprise,
published an extra on the announcement. To read it, click
here. The Courier-Journal published a
special section Saturday on base realignment and closure.
To read it, click
here.
The
closure list includes Cannon Air Force Base
in New Mexico, with 2,700 jobs; Ellsworth Air Force Base in
South Dakota, with 3,852 jobs; 15 facilities in Texas, including
the Ingleside Naval Station, with more than
2,100 jobs; 12 in Pennsylvania, including the Willow
Grove Naval Air Station; 11 in Alabama, mostly reserve
centers; 11 in California, including Onizuka Air Force
Station and Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant;
nine in New York, including the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service office in Rome; eight in Ohio,
mostly reserve centers; six in Georgia, including Fort
McPherson, with 4,200 jobs; six in Indiana, including
the Newport Chemical Depot; six in Missouri,
including finance centers in Kansas City and St. Louis; six
in Oklahoma; five in Wisconsin, all reserve facilities; five
in Washington, including the Vancouver Barracks;
five in Nebraska, including National Guard Reserve centers
in Kearny, Columbus and Grand Island; and five in Kentucky
-- a finance office and four reserve centers.
States can do more than
objections after closings list; need a ‘plan B,’
say experts
The Defense
Department’s closure list is sure to prompt
a volley of objections from affected communities. "But
rather than fight the Pentagon -- an effort that rarely works
-- veterans of post closures said states are better off channeling
their energies into a backup plan," writes
Mark K. Matthews for Stateline.org.
That way, experts said, an area can more quickly recover from
the slew of problems that often follow a closing, everything
from lingering radioactive waste to skyrocketing jobless rates.
Tim Ford, who heads the Association
of Defense Communities, a Washington consortium that
fosters relationships between military bases and local leaders,
told Matthews, "Obviously, this is not something you
want in your state, but this is not a death sentence. You
can fight the closure, but at the same time, there has to
be a Plan B." Military experts, state officials and business
leaders told Matthews Plan Bs can take a variety of forms,
ranging from complex state tax incentives and grants to simple
gestures such as offering to coordinate redevelopment plans.
Philip Browning, who heads the Georgia Military Affairs
Coordinating Committee, told Stateline, "The
earlier you get together, the better off you'll be."
Source of deadly vapor
leak subject of upcoming weapons depot safety inspection
Chemical-weapons workers plan to enter storage
igloos at the Blue Grass Army Depot, near Richmond, Ky., Monday
to trace the source of the deadly sarin vapor that leaked
earlier this week.
The officials stressed that area residents were
never at risk, because the toxic vapor never escaped from
the sealed container, where about 2,500 rockets are stored
and awaiting destruction, reports
The Associated Press. Seeping rockets will
be sealed in a leak-proof container, the wire service reports.
Lt. Col. George Shuplinkov, commander of the chemical activity,
said the process may be lengthy because of the low amount
of vapor so far detected and the large amount of rockets in
the igloo.
Drug scourge in mountains
makes churches work together, gain membership
Methamphetamine and
prescription painkillers have caused or worsened a raft of
social problems in the heart of Appalachia, but "In the
midst of all this, some churches are seeing exponential growth,"
reports
The Associated Press. "Church leaders
say communities rife with drugs are uniting behind a spiritual
solution and sheer despair is forcing addicts to seek help
from a higher power."
"We're right in the
middle of a regional transformation," said Doug Abner, pastor
of Community Church in Manchester, which
ministers to people who have been caught up in the drug trade,
told AP Pikeville correspondent Roger Alford. "We really believe
God can transform a community, a city, a county, a region."
A transformation
would be a reversal. Meth and painkillers such as OxyContin
have "caused an assortment of societal problems, from
broken marriages to escalating crime" in the region,
Alford reports. "Drug abusers are robbing pharmacies,
burglarizing homes and starting prostitution rings to finance
their habits." But at the same time, "The Kentucky
Baptist Convention reported 2,000 people in the Harlan
County cities of Cumberland, Benham and Lynch have experienced
religious conversions in the past three years," Alford
writes. "Five new churches have opened in eastern Harlan
County, and a ministry providing food and clothing to the
poor is operating out of building that had formerly housed
a bar."
"I've been in ministry
more than 40 years, and I've never seen a movement of God
in one community such as it is there," Larry Martin, a retired
mission leader for the convention, told Alford.
Federal judge axes Nebraska
gay-marriage ban; could figure in filibuster fight
For the first time, a federal judge Thursday
threw out a state's ban on gay marriage, adding impetus to
calls for adding a national ban to the U.S. Constitution and
stopping filibusters against judicial nominees.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon of Omaha
said Nebraska's ban, approved by voters in 2000, went far
beyond gay marriage and deprived gays and lesbians of basic
rights, including the right to participate in the political
process, writes
Robynn Tysver of the Omaha World-Herald.
Bataillon said the ban was motivated, in part,
by an "irrational fear" of and "animus"
toward homosexuals. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning
promised to appeal the ruling, noting that 70 percent of Nebraska
voters favored of the ban. A national group that opposes gay
marriage said the Nebraska case was a perfect example of why
a national ban is needed. Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance
for Marriage, told Tysver, "The democratic
voice of the people of Nebraska was muted by a federal judge."
Supporters of the ban said the decision will
be used to promote a federal constitutional amendment that
would bypass federal judges and give ammunition to Republicans
in their fight to stop Democratic filibusters against President
Bush's nominees to federal appeals courts, which are one level
above district courts. "It is decisions like this that are
why we have a stronger Republican majority in the United States
Senate," Sen. George Allen, R-Va., told
the New York Times.
Duke-Cinergy merger could
snag on 1935 law requiring regional affinity
A Depression-era law is among the many obstacles
to a merger of Charlotte-based
Duke Energy
and Cincinnati-based
Cinergy Corp. The
Public Utility Holding Company Act "has been on the
books since 1935. Utilities have been fighting for its repeal
for decades, and Congress is debating again whether it should
survive,"
reports
Stan Choe of
The Charlotte Observer. "Duke
and Cinergy executives say they're working under the assumption
that PUHCA will survive," Choe writes. "That would
mean significant regulatory tests."
Duke Chairman and CEO Paul Anderson told the
Obsever that Duke's Carolinas territory and Cinergy's service
area in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana are closer together than
other deals ruled okay with PUHCA. Duke officials may spend
much time lobbying senators and their staffs. The House-passed
energy bill would repeal PUHCA, but so far the Senate bill
would not. Utilities argue that government agencies, such
as state utility commissions and the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, make the law unnecessary.
"Consumer advocates, though, argue a repeal . . . could
lead to more utilities going bankrupt," Choe reports.
"Congress initially passed PUHCA six years
after the 1929 stock market crash to rein in a utility industry
that had taken too many risks," Choe writes. "To
protect investors and customers, PUHCA prohibited holding
companies from owning certain nonenergy assets and said merging
utilities must be in the same 'region'." A Securities
and Exchange Commission administrative law judge
ruled last week that American Electric Power Co.,
based in Ohio, wasn't in the same region as Central
& South West Corp. in Texas.
Cost of Chesapeake Bay
and Virginia rivers cleanup: $12.5 billion, says panel
Cleaning the Chesapeake Bay and other polluted
waters across Virginia will cost the state an estimated $12.5
billion. Virginia
Natural Resources Assistant Secretary Russ Baxter
revealed Virginia's first-ever tally of statewide costs --
at a meeting of a legislative panel studying ways to pay for
the cleanups, writes
Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr., R-Fairfax, chairman
of the House Appropriations Committee, said, "That's
an astronomical figure." Callahan is chairman of the
study panel. He told the newspaper finding the cleanup money,
for everything from improving sewage plants and factories
to planting shrubs around farm fields to prevent fertilizer
from running-off "is going to be a tough nut to crack,"
writes Springston.
The funds would come from the state, the federal
government, city sewer customers, farmers and factories. How
big is $12.5 billion? The state's entire budget totals about
$63 billion for two years, he writes.
Competition closes state
park's golf course in Kentucky tourism tug-of-war
The Kentucky
Department of Parks is closing the golf course
at its Jenny
Wiley State Resort Park, citing losses that began
after a larger golf course opened with state help on a nearby
mountaintop.
Commissioner George Ward said the course closed
after posting losses totaling more than $71,000 during 2003
and 2004.. "Ward said the state would have had to buy
$45,000 in equipment this year to maintain the nine-hole course,
which had to be closed temporarily last summer because of
flood damage," reports
The Associated Press. State officials say
the closed course will be used for other yet-to-be-determined
purposes, such as a natural trail, a playground, an archery
range or mini-golf.
The park plans to promote StoneCrest,
an 18-holecourse that opened in 2000 on a strip-mined mountaintop
overlooking the park and competed with its nine-hole course,
though it was financed partly with state money.
Editor-turned-columnist
calls for costly, radical reinvention of newspapers
Newspapers must radically
reinvent themselves to preserve the core democratic
functions that they perform, Tim McGuire said in a speech
this week at Washington and Lee University.
McGuire,
former editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and
2001-02 president of the American Society of Newspaper
Editors, writes a weekly, ethics-oriented column
and is teaching a seminar entitled "Social and Corporate Responsibility
in Media" at Washington and Lee, in Lexington, Va. He is the
school's first Donald W. Reynolds Distinguished Visiting Professor.
Newspapers can no
longer be cautious in facing the challenges of the new media
environment, McGuire warned: "The iceberg is hitting
us right now, and we’ve already suffered some serious
damage to the ship. Unless newspapers reinvent themselves
immediately something precious and dear will be lost. . .
. Unless we radically change the status quo we are going to
deny future generations the community building, the shared
experience, the authenticating role, the watchdog role, and
the guardianship of openness that newspapers have stood for
all these years."
He said newspapoer
owners must wake up and take the long view. "It is crucial
that newspaper executives face up to the fact that they are
milking their industry for profits and failing to invest in
the long term health of the news gathering and the advertising
franchise," he said. "In the last three years newspaper
companies have continued to demand high profits despite this
avalanche of news that newspapers are in deep trouble. Newspapers
have been slow to invest and slow to react to this readership
crisis. There’s lots of planning going on in newsrooms,
but most of the orders to find solutions to the industry’s
deepest problems come with one instruction: Don’t spend
significant money."
McGuire continued,
"It is time newspaper corporation CEOs and publishers
come to grips with history — the history they are writing.
Those executives must start imagining that if newspapers are
indeed in the death throes, it is they who will be judged.
The media history books could well show them watching their
industry die for a few percentage points of profit. A new
contract with Wall Street needs to be forged in the public
interest.. . . Reinventing newspapers in the public interest
and for the common good is of course the right thing to do,
but just because it would be altruistic does not mean that
it can’t be profitable. Doing “the right thing”
can make lots of money."
In addition to saying
"The reinvention must be radical," McGuire
gave four other guiding principles:
"We must build the broad democratic
community with integrity." As an example, he suggested
abandoning "single-ideology editorial pages. Editorial
pages began as a marketing tool in multiple newspaper markets.
. . . If newspapers want to present themselves as above the
ideological fray, and I think they must, editorial pages must
move toward being public forums for energetic community debate
and abandon the all-knowing, all-arrogant role of community
pontificator and sometimes bully."
"We must cultivate citizen journalism,
but serve as an authenticator" for bloggers and
others untrained in the traditional responsibilities and ethics
of journalists. He said the word "authenticator"
came from Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project
for Excellence in Journalism.
"We must reaffirm our watchdog role with a return
to great writing and storytelling. . . . The key to improving
investigative journalism is to concentrate on relevant subjects.
Too often our investigations are too esoteric, and they do
not hit readers where they live."
"We must choose thoroughness, completeness
and sophistication. Newspapers’ future lies in
being the information general store, not a series of boutiques.
. . . Too many newspapers are pushing in-depth sports and
national readers like me to Web sites that give me the thoroughness
I need. Frittering away thoroughness could well mean frittering
away the franchise."
CEA exec: Broadcasters ignore digital
opportunites, competition at their peril
The head of the Consumer
Electronics Association has issued a dire warning
to television broadcasters saying efforts to regulate other
industries at the expense of promoting free, over-the-air
(OTA) broadcasting with digitally enhanced signals (DTV) threatens
the industry’s survival, against competition from enhanced
cable companies, satellites and other sources.
In a news release posted on the CEA Web
site, the organization's President and CEO, Gary Shapiro
admonished the industry for trying to regulate others at the
expense of promoting OTA and DTV broadcasting. Shapiro made
the comments at the Advanced
Television Systems Committee's (ATSC) annual
meeting held in Washington this week.
Shapiro's address came as congressional, Federal
Communications Commission and industry officials
debate how to define the end of the nation's transition to
DTV. Legislation setting a hard cut off date for analog broadcast
is widely expected to be introduced in this session of Congress.
Shapiro said, "The question of who will
be disenfranchised and not receive a TV signal after the cut-off
has been a major concern for all involved in the transition."
CEA figures show the percentage of consumers relying solely
on OTA is low and shrinking. More homes have enhanced cable
or satellite and more pipelines capable of carrying sophisticated
video programming. Shapiro noted few broadcasters have moved
to fully leverage the opportunities DTV provides and even
fewer have made efforts to promote it to the public.
Thursday, May 12,
2005
Rural schools need more
attention, especially in some states, group says
Policymakers need to pay more attention to the
problems of rural schools,
the Rural School and Community Trust (RSCT)
said in its third state-by-state
report, issued yesterday. The report "calls on states
and the federal government to preserve small schools
and community school
districts and to increase funding and policy work on the problems
that plague many rural schools,"
wrote
Alan Richard of Education Week, who covers
rural-school issues for the publication.
The RSCT ranked states in the need for attention
to, and improvement of, rural schools. The top 10, in order
(with links to the release for each state) were Mississippi,
New
Mexico, Kentucky,
Louisiana,
Alabama,
Oklahoma,
Arkansas
and South
Carolina (tied) and Arizona
and North
Carolina (tied). Rankings were based on a the relative
importance of rural education in a state; the poverty level
in rural schools; other socioeconomic factors, such as minority
population and percentage of rural adults without high-school
diplomas; and policy outcomes, such as funding, graduation
rates and test scores.
The report also said "some of the nation’s
best values in rural schools — meaning
that students in those schools
do relatively well, even with modest education funding —
are in Montana,
Nebraska,
South
Dakota, and Wyoming,"
Education Week reported.
A United Press International report
in The Washington Times highlighted RSCT's
call for "more distance learning with the use of television,
computers and other new techniques and construction of multi-use
facilities, and quoted the trust: "These centers can serve
as schools, health clinics, social service agencies and more."
Proposed federal rule
could keep small, rural hospitals out of new facilities
The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services want
to "make it next to impossible" for most critical-access
hospitals in rural areas "to move out of old, outdated
facilities and keep pace with the changing demands of aging
baby boomers, the shift from inpatient to outpatient care,
and the advances of medical technology," warns Tom Rowley
of the Rural Policy Research Institute.
In
his
latest column, published today, Rowley calls the proposed
CMS regulation "a toss-up between fixing what ain’t
broke and letting no good deed go unpunished." He says
the critical-access designation, created in1997 to keep rural
hospitals from closing, is "one of the best things going
in rural health care." Such hospitals can be reimbursed
by Medicare for allowable costs of providing service, rather
than get "typically lower, pre-determined reimbursements,"
Rowley explains, adding that the designation helps rural hospitals
"
meet
the financial challenges of providing high quality health
care to a population base that is smaller, older and sicker
and therefore more costly to serve."
The change would keep the two-thirds of critical-access hospitals
classified as “necessary providers” from occupying
new facilities "anywhere but in the shadow of the old
facility," Rowley writes. "Never mind that many
of these hospitals have no room to expand, landlocked by 50
years of development around them. Never mind that renovating
an old hospital is a lot tougher and more expensive than building
a new one."
Tim
Size, director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative,
told Rowley, “Congress never meant to prohibit these
hospitals from replacing or relocating outdated facilities.” Comments
on the proposed rule (CMS-1500-P) will be taken until 5 p.m.
June 24 at www.cms.hhs.gov/regulations/ecomments.
Environmental
group lists dirtiest power plants; many spew in Ohio Valley
A report released by the Environmental
Integrity Project again points the finger at
the Ohio Valley for having the nation's dirtiest power plants,
comparing the pollution they emit to the electricity they
produce.
The 10 states with the heaviest concentrations
of the dirtiest power plants -- in terms of pounds of sulfur
dioxide emissions per megawatt-hour -- are Pennsylvania, with
nine, including five of the 10 dirtiest plants; Ohio, with
nine; and Indiana, with six, including two of the top three
dirtiest plants. Next are Georgia (four); Maryland, Kentucky
and Alabama (three each); and New York, Tennessee and West
Virginia (two each). The report also ranked plants for carbon
dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury. Respectively, plants
in Texas, Georgia, Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Dakota
ranked first.
The report evaluated the nation's 359 largest
power plants, those generating 2 megawatts or more. It said
the nation's dirtiest plants generate about 14 percent of
the total electricity output from such plants, but produce
a disproportionately large share of major pollutants -- up
to half of the sulfur dioxide, for example.
In the Ohio Valley, the report lists eight plants
in Kentucky, six in Tennessee run by the Tennessee
Valley Authority, and nine in Ohio as among the nation's
dirtiest polluters. TVA is implementing a $6 billion program
to curb pollution from its coal plants but still had plants
in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee cited for being among the
biggest polluters of the nation's 359 power plants, reports
Dave Flessner, business editor of the Chattanooga
Times Free Press. (Site requires registration.)
TVA's worst plants for sulfur dioxide pollution linked with
acid rain included the Johnsonville and Kingston plants in
Tennessee. EPA said both produced more than twice as much
sulfur dioxide per kilowatt-hour than average. Click
here for Kemtucky-oriented coverage by Jim Warren of the
Lexington Herald-Leader. For The
Columbus Dispatch report on the nine
plants which are Ohio major polluters, click here.
(Site requires registration.)
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, has proposed
a wide-ranging energy bill that includes $4 billion to promote
a clean-coal technology, a move some experts say is needed
to get the industry moving. "The legislation would offer
$2 billion in construction assistance for six new commercial
gasification plants built before 2013 to be used for power.
Another $2 billion in loan guarantees, tax incentives or other
payments would go to industrial plants over a five-year period,"
writes
Hilary Roxe of The Associated Press. The
bill is S.B. 726. To find the legislation: click here.
Meanwhile, an Environmental Protection
Agency study said toxic emissions into West Virginia’s
air and water rose 11 percent in 2003, reports
Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.
EPA reported the numbers in its annual Toxics Release
Inventory. Nationally, air and emissions reported
by industry were both down slightly, according EPA date.
Kentucky mine safety,
health inspectors to watch for drugs; say abuse added peril
The Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and
Licensing has for the first time begun training its
inspectors to identify miners who might be under the influence
of drugs, writes
Roger Alford of The Associated Press. The
inspectors routinely look for loose rocks and malfunctioning
equipment inside coal mines.
Paris Charles, head of the state agency, told
Alford, "We realize the drug culture is out there in
our society, so it stands to reason that it's in the mines
also." Kentucky State Police Trooper Walt Meachum led
a training session yesterday at Pine Mountain State Resort
Park. He said inspectors should look for the same telltale
signs other law enforcers look for, such as poor hand-eye
coordination and slurred speech. "These guys who work
in the mines get hurt and get hooked on this drug. It's hurt
our miners bad."
The issue came to the forefront in 2003 after
one miner was killed and another seriously injured at the
Cody Mining Co. in Floyd County. Marijuana
was found, and an employee told investigators he had seen
two miners snorting crushed painkillers. An autopsy found
the dead miner had taken illegal drugs. Most large coal companies
require miners to undergo random drug tests. Some smaller
companies also have begun drug screening programs in recent
years to identify impaired miners who might be a danger to
others.
Tracy Stumbo, chief investigator for the Office
of Mine Safety and Licensing, told Alford he has found marijuana
and prescription drugs at mining operations. He said drug
abuse can't be tolerated in mines, because one person impaired
can put an entire crew at risk. Charles said inspectors who
suspect miners are using drugs should report them to their
superiors and notify local police.
Pennsylvania schools
reluctant to take $1 billion in state gambling money
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) last year
signed into law a gambling expansion bill that legalized slot
machines with the prospect of lowering property taxes by an
average 20 percent, but a lawsuit questioning the new law
is creating uncertainty about its future, writes
Peter Durantine, a free-lance correspondent from Harrisburg,
in a special report for Stateline.org
. The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear
the case.
The law gives school districts the option of
accepting a share of gambling proceeds in exchange for lowering
property taxes. Seven districts have decided not to take the
money, while 16 districts have opted in to the program. The
remaining 478 districts have until May 30 to decide. "There’s
an issue about whether they want gambling money in their communities,”
Steve Miskin, spokesman for House Majority Leader Sam Smith
(R), told Durantine And, state Education Secretary Francis
Barnes refuses to endorse the program.
No one knows what will happen if only a small
number of school districts are in the program, Durantine writes.
Do they split $1 billion? And, would the reluctance undermine
the state’s effort to lower and hold down property tax
bills across the state? Drew Crompton, Senate President Pro
Tempore Robert Jubelirer’s counsel and one of the drafters
of the property-tax legislation, told Durantine that if the
administration attempts to redistribute the revenues, the
GOP plans court action to stop that. The governor has suggested
the Legislature might force the plan on districts, Durantine
reports.
Southern accents may
become 'mainstream' as population shifts to Dixie
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, about
40 percent of the nation's population will be living in 16
Southern states by 2030, many of them Northern transplants.
But, those in-migrants are unlikely to eradicate Southern
speech, according to Dennis Preston, professor of linguistics
at Michigan State University.
Preston told
Bo Emerson of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
it's more likely new arrivals will end up speaking Southern,
especially after a few generations. "If anything, those
newcomers would strengthen Southern norms rather than weaken
them." This raises the tantalizing possibility that the
drawl will finally get some love, writes Emerson.
The negative attitude toward the sound of the
South won't disappear anytime soon, said Bill Kretzschmar,
University of Georgia linguistics professor.
Kretzschmar told the newspaper, "People from New York
still think those old stereotypes about the South are true:
that Southerners are slow." Harry Watson, director of
the Center for the Study of the American South at the University
of North Carolina, told Emerson, "When I was
a freshman, people assumed any white person with a Southern
accent was a bigot." Watson attended Brown University,
in Providence, R.I. Response to his elocution there, he said,
was just as bad during his graduate school years at Northwestern
University outside Chicago.
But Watson believes twang is on the rise. "The
Southern accent is moving up in the world. It is no longer
as much of a disgrace as it used to be." The population
in the South will grow from 100,236,820 in 2000 to 143,269,337
in 2030, according to U.S. census projections, Emerson writes.
Some
tobacco farmers are slow to sign up for buyout transition
payments
The federal Farm Service
Agency is preparing to mail 437,000 postcards, to
every known tobacco grower and quota holder, reminding them
than June 17 is the deadline to sign up for the Tobacco Transition
Payment Program -- known as the "buyout" to compensate
them for loss of the production quotas that were a key element
of the tobacco price-support program that Congress abolished
last fall.
Some farmers have been slow to
sign up for the program, despite heavy publicity. In Casey
County, Kentucky, only 43 percent of the eligible farmers
has signed up through April, The Casey County News
reported last week. "They'll not get this year's payment
if they don't come in and sign up by June 17," local
FSA administrator Barry Turpen told Editor Donna Carman (whose
paper has no Web site).
The paper said in an editorial
that it didn't understand why more people hadn't signed up.
One reason could be that many quota holders are not tobacco
growers, but lease their quotas to growers. The editorial
reminded them, "There will be no price support any more,
nor any leasing of tobacco."
Javier Garza, tobacco program
specialist at FSA's Kentucky office, told the Institute
for Rural Journalism and Community Issues that the
signup rate in Casey County is lower than average. He said
the agency has contracted with about 354,000 growers and quota
holders for $6 billion in payments.
The buyout is budgeted at $10.1
billion over 10 years. Financial institutions such are offering
immediate, lump-sum payments at a discount. One example is
Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, which
is based in Louisville and serves Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana
and Ohio, all burley tobacco states. Click
here for its Web page on the buyout. Click
here for the FSA Web site on the program.
Kentucky car dealer arrested
for meth trafficking charged with selling stolen cars
A used-car dealer arrested last month for trafficking
in methamphetamine has now been charged with trafficking in
stolen vehicles. Used-car dealer Gary John Campbell Jr.was
charged with selling meth on April 28. McCracken County Sheriff's
Capt. Jon Hayden told
Jim Malone of The Courier-Journal deputies
recovered about a half-ounce of the illegal stimulant, scales,
cash and a firearm. A subsequent investigation resulted in
the recovery of six stolen vehicles.
Campbell was being held in the McCracken County
Jail on $40,000 bond. He faces charges of trafficking in methamphetamine,
being a felon in possession of a handgun, possession of drug
paraphernalia, obscuring the identity of a machine and trafficking
in stolen vehicles. Investigators believe the meth trafficking
occurred at the car lot for about a year, writes Malone for
the Louisville newspaper.
Southeastern Ohio preachers
still ride rural circuit, by car rather than horse
A minister serving multiple congregations in
four rural counties in southeastern Ohio is tending her flocks
through a more modern version of the old method of circuit
riding.
"With her Bible tucked in the front seat,
Wendy Erb, pastor and grandmother, begins her appointed missions
at 6:30 a.m. on most days and often not returning to her rural
Marietta home until 10 p.m. Depending on weather, it can be
a grueling drive," writes
Connie Cartmell of The Marietta Times. Erb
told Carmell, "What I do, is about what early pastors
did, take the message out to far off rural areas."
Throughout the rural highways and byways of
Washington, Morgan, Monroe, and Noble counties, there are
countless tiny country churches that combine resources, including
pastors, to survive and serve their congregations. Erb's ministry
is actually not all that far removed from the church's circuit
riding preachers of the 19th century, except for the horse,
Cartmell writes.
Erb, 61, has been a pastor eight years, and
over the last three years, she has put 40,000 miles on her
car. As an associate pastor, Erb is responsible for Sunday
services at two churches and pastor visitations for a total
of four. Visitation at nursing homes and hospitals take her
as far as Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Woodsfield, Marietta, and
Parkersburg. She alternates Sunday services (and churches)
with another minister. The church in Sardis has about 60 in
its congregation, Hannibal, 80, Clarington, 25, and Zion,
10. She told Cartmell, "Rural churches can be geographically
challenging."
Online newspaper readership
continues rising; up 3.1% in March, says NAA
Nearly one in three Internet users (29 percent)
read an online newspaper in March 2005, representing a total
audience of nearly 44 million people, according to a new report
by Nielsen//NetRatings’
for the Newspaper
Association of America.
"The data, which takes into account both
home and work Internet usage, shows a 3.1 percent increase
in March to Newspaper Web sites, compared with the same period
a year ago," writes
Sheila Owens, VP of Strategic Communications for the NAA.
March signaled the high water mark in online
newspaper readership over the past 15 months, demonstrating
that online newspapers are drawing new users even as NetRatings’
data shows that unique visitors to other news and information
sites dropped by four percent, according to NAA.
John F. Sturm, NAA president and CEO, said,
“Newspapers have always been among the most valued,
reliable and credible information mediums available, and their
success online proves that reputation translates outside the
core print product.”
Winchester resident in
museum exhibit on Holocaust survivors living in Kentucky
A Holocaust survivor who came to Kentucky in
1946 and has lived in Winchester since 1949 will be one of
nine in Kentucky featured in an exhibit that opens today in
Lexington, reports
The Winchester Sun.
"Everybody knew about me. Refugees, survivors,
you know. We were the only ones in Lexington (at the time).
They just wanted to see me, like I was a novelty." That's
how Sylvia Green described her life in 1946 when she arrived
in Lexington, a survivor of the Holocaust, The Sun reported
in a non-bylined story. Green is one of the few Holocaust
survivors who chose to live in a small town.
"This Is Home Now: Kentucky's Holocaust
Survivors," will open tonight at the Lexington History
Museum, 215 W. Main St. with a reception beginning at 5:30
p.m. and a program at 7 p.m. featuring the survivors' reflections
on their lives in Kentucky. The reception and program are
free and open to the public.
Green is a survivor of the camps at Auschwitz
and Bergen-Belsen. Green's memories of her experiences as
a newly arrived Holocaust survivor in Lexington and Winchester
are featured in the exhibit. The majority of Kentucky's survivors
live in Louisville. The oral histories were conducted by Arwen
Donahue, a writer and oral historian who began interviewing
Kentucky's Holocaust survivors in 1999 with the support of
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Kentucky Historical
Society. Rebecca Howell began photographing Kentucky's survivors
in 2003. The exhibit is occurring in conjunction with the
60th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe.
Wow, what a cow: 14 years
of giving, record 303,000 pounds of milk and going
A 14-year-old Holstein cow in Mercer County,
Kentucky, is being cited for her record of endurance and dairy
contributions. The cow has been milked for 12 years, and has
produced more than 303,000 pounds of milk, writes
Greg Kocher of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
That's enough whole milk to make 35,273 gallons of pasteurized
milk, or 25,250 gallons of ice cream, or 14,292 pounds of
butter, or 30,300 pounds of cheese, Kocher deduced.
Jack McAllister, a University of Kentucky
dairy specialist, told Kocher, It's "really quite unusual"
for Kentucky cows to be milked longer than six years and to
produce more than 300,000 pounds of milk. Many dairy cows
are milked for no longer than three years, when their individual
milk production begins to decline.
"This cow, as far as we know right now,
has the highest lifetime production of any living cow"
in Kentucky that's part of the Dairy
Herd Improvement Association, McAllister added.
The nationwide record-keeping program helps farmers get the
most milk from their cows. Dairy farmer Larry Baxter told
Kocher good genes and a good environment have helped the cow
produce consistently over time.
Wednesday, May 11,
2005
Some tobacco farmers
are slow to sign up for buyout transition payments
The federal Farm Service
Agency is preparing to mail 437,000 postcards, to
every known tobacco grower and quota holder, reminding them
than June 17 is the deadline to sign up for the Tobacco Transition
Payment Program -- known as the "buyout" to compensate
them for loss of the production quotas that were a key element
of the tobacco price-support program that Congress abolished
last fall.
Some farmers have been slow to
sign up for the program, despite heavy publicity. In Casey
County, Kentucky, only 43 percent of the eligible farmers
has signed up through April, The Casey County News
reported last week. "They'll not get this year's payment
if they don't come in and sign up by June 17," local
FSA administrator Barry Turpen told Editor Donna Carman (whose
paper has no Web site).
The paper said in an editorial
that it didn't understand why more people hadn't signed up.
One reason could be that many quota holders are not tobacco
growers, but lease their quotas to growers. The editorial
reminded them, "There will be no price support any more,
nor any leasing of tobacco."
Javier Garza, tobacco program
specialist at FSA's Kentucky office, told the Institute
for Rural Journalism and Community Issues that the
signup rate in Casey County is lower than average. He said
the agency has contracted with about 354,000 growers and quota
holders for $6 billion in payments.
The buyout is budgeted at $10.1
billion over 10 years. Financial institutions such are offering
immediate, lump-sum payments at a discount. One example is
Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, which
is based in Louisville and serves Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana
and Ohio, all burley tobacco states. Click
here for its Web page on the buyout. Click
here for the FSA Web site on the program.
Georgia smoking ban,
toughest in a true tobacco state, takes effect July 1
"Many bars, restaurants
and other public places across Georgia will soon be smoke-free
zones under a law signed Monday by a conflicted Gov. Sonny
Perdue," who thought about vetoing the bill, reports
James Salzer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"The law, which
takes effect July 1, will allow smokers to light up only in
a handful of public buildings, including bars and restaurants
that don't admit people under 18," Salzer writes. "Violators
may be fined $100 to $500. . . . Of
14 tobacco-growing states surveyed by the National Conference
of State Legislatures, only Florida has as broad a ban as
Georgia's.
"Perdue
hinted last month after the Legislature approved the smoking
ban that he might veto it," Salzer reports. But when
he signed Senate Bill 90 into law Monday, Perdue said he wanted
to create a healthier populace.
'Ice' meth brings organized
crime, increased smuggling as laws close labs
A purer form of methamphetamine has made its
way from the Southwest to the Ohio Valley. Police and prosecutors
in Kentucky and Southern Indiana “say a purer form of
the illegal stimulant -- called 'ice' -- is being imported
from the Southwest and Mexico, replacing a less powerful form
of the drug that users create in makeshift labs,” writes
James Malone, Western Kentucky reporter for The Courier-Journal.
The new form also brings a new, organized wave
of crime that deals in shipments costing tens of thousands
of dollars. Tony King, resident agent in charge of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration's field office in
Louisville, told Malone, "Ice is to meth what crack is
to cocaine.It's not just Kentucky, it's nationwide."
He said ice is being hauled into the Midwest by the same network
that transports cocaine.
One reason imported meth is appearing, according
to authorities, is meth makers are having more difficulty
getting the ingredients to brew their own. Sales restrictions
coupled with tougher laws have put crucial meth ingredients
under lock and key. And retailers are reporting to police
any suspicious purchases of large amounts of items used to
make meth, Malone writes for the Louisville newspaper.
According to a DEA bulletin, "As they had
done in Tennessee, Mexican organizations first infiltrate
the market by offering high-quality methamphetamine at low
prices, amassing a large customer base that comes to prefer
the superior product they offer over locally produced 'hillbilly
meth.'" The DEA says once the customer base is established,
dealers raise prices, a process the federal agency says is
currently under way in rural Kentucky.
Adult Services Director Darrin Thomas, at Four
Rivers Behavioral Health in Paducah, estimated 10
percent of the 100 to 150 meth addicts they've treated have
migrated to ice. Thomas told Malone the more potent form is
driving up the degree to which people will go to purchase
it. "How do they pay for it? Stealing and prostitution
-- anything," he said. Treatment for ice is the same
as for people hooked on locally cooked and imported meth.
But ice can be 80 percent to 90 percent pure, while local
cookers can achieve purity of only 15 percent to 30 percent.
Officials said that could lead to overdoses, Malone writes.
Besieged North Carolina
pastor resigns amid flap over political admonitions
The North Carolina minister accused of ousting
church members for opposing his politicization of the pulpit
has submitted his resignation, a move some said was the only
way to resolve current tensions at the church.
At a meeting at East Waynesville Baptist
Church yesterday, Rev. Chan Chandler got up and led
those in attendance in prayer, read his resignation and then
left the meeting with his wife, Melody, without making any
comments to the assembled media, writes
Andre A. Rodriguez of the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Chandler’s lawyer told reporters, “Rev.
Chandler feels it’s in the best interest of everyone
concerned that he resign.” The resignation came a week
after the nine ousted members said they were expelled for
not supporting Chandler’s decision the church was going
to be politically active, writes Rodriguez. Chandler reportedly
said in October congregants should repent or resign if they
planned to vote for John Kerry.
After the resignation, some members left, saying
they would no longer attend the church. The remaining members
continued to meet behind closed doors, prayed together and
sang "Sweet, Sweet Spirit."
Amtrak cuts threaten
rural America's links; cause unites liberals, conservatives
President Bush's proposal to end federal subsidies
for money-losing Amtrak has provoked an even more pained outcry
in rural communities. Amtrak's supporters in Congress argue
that far-flung rural towns, many of them already fighting
a losing battle against depopulation, would be dealt the most
crushing blow if Amtrak service ends, writes
Alan Wirzbicki of The Boston Globe.
Wirzbicki reports from the high-plains town
of Browning, Mont., that the local train station appears deserted
and dilapidated, but that twice a day an Amtrak train provides
what community leaders say is a vital but endangered link
for a string of isolated towns and Indian reservations.
While cross-country routes cost taxpayers millions
of dollars each year, they have been the key to Amtrak's survival
in Washington, creating odd alliances between mostly liberal
urban lawmakers and southern and western conservatives, writes
Wirzbicki. If Amtrak escapes the latest threat, it will be
because of Republicans such as Sens. Conrad Burns of Montana
and Trent Lott of Mississippi, whose state has three long-distance
trains. Both, along with some of their House colleagues, have
pledged to break with the president on Amtrak.
Republican Denny Rehberg, Montana's sole representative
in the House, explained his differences with Bush: "Montana
is a huge, rural state, with nearly a million people that
don't have access to the kind of transportation choices that
most everyone else in this country has." But most economists
agree maintaining long-distance routes such as those through
Mississippi and Montana would assure that Amtrak never makes
good on past promises to become profitable, Wirzbicki writes.
USDA paid freelancer
to write, place stories about conservation programs
The Natural Resources Conservation Service
of the Department of Agriculture paid a state
biologist who was a freelance writer "at least $7,500
to write articles touting federal conservation programs and
place them in outdoors magazines," Christopher Lee of
The Washington Post reports
today.
An agency procurement document obtained by the
Post under the Freedom of Information Act
said Dave Smith was hired in September 2003 to "research and
write articles for hunting and fishing magazines describing
the benefits of NRCS Farm Bill programs to wildlife habitat
and the environment," at $1,875 per story, and was to "contact
and work magazine editors to place the articles in targeted
publications."
The contract is the latest known example of
the Bush administration's "controversial public-relations
practices, including payments to journalists to promote administration
policies and government-produced 'video news releases' that
resemble broadcast news stories," Lee writes, adding
that President Bush said after the initial disclosures that
his subordinates should no longer pay journalists.
Smith told Lee he wrote five articles for the
agency but only three were published before NRCS hired him
as a biologist in its office in Missoula, Mont. "Smith
said he was paid between $7,500 and $7,800 on the contract,
but the total could have been as much as $9,375," Lee
wrote. Two of the stories ran in Outdoor Oklahoma,
a bimonthly magazine published by the Oklahoma Department
of Wildlife Conservation. The other ran in the Washington-Oregon
Game & Fish magazine, published by Primedia
Inc.
Smith told Lee that he told the magazine editors
about his deal, and they paid him nothing. "None of the
articles appear to disclose his federal contract," Lee
wrote. "One of the Outdoor Oklahoma articles
was accompanied by a note identifying Smith as a freelance
writer who works as a biologist for the agency." Gagner
said NRCS did not intend to hide its role, and would consider
other such deals, but "We would make sure there was somewhere
in the article that says . . . that that writing was done
by, for" the agency.
Smith, 38, told Lee he was working as a California
Department of Fish and Game biologist in 2003 when
he was offered the assignment by a member of the NRCS public-relations
staff. David Gagner, NRCS chief of staff, told Lee the small
PR office lacked the skill to, as Lee put it, "spread
the word" about how the legislation expanded the agency's
wildlife and environmental role. NCRS helps landowners "reduce
soil erosion, protect water supplies and conserve and restore
wildlife habitat," Lee notes.
Pentagon wants Congress
to loosen environmental laws for training exercises
Live near a military installation? Heads up.
"After three unsuccessful tries, the Pentagon is asking
Congress again this year to loosen major environmental laws
to allow military training exercises around the country to
proceed unimpeded," Michael Janofsky reports
in today's New York Times.
The request could be approved this week as part
of the defense authorization bill for the fiscal year that
begins Oct. 1. The Pentagon says the exemption is essential
to for quality training and to insulate it from lawsuits over
possible violations of environmental laws.
"With more than 100,000 American military
personnel in Iraq, training issues have taken on a heightened
sense of urgency," Janofsky writes, "giving the
request a better chance of passing this year despite opposition
from environmental advocacy groups and state and local governments."
Paul W. Mayberry, a deputy under secretary of
defense, said in a speech last month that environmental restrictions
undermine training in many ways. He "cited several examples,
including the way troops headed for Iraq learned to roll up
their tents, a security issue at night because of the way
light reflects off the material. In training, he said, they
were faced with 'an environmental requirement' not to disturb
desert tortoises in the training area," Janofsky reports.
"Dozens of groups have complained to Congress that the
military's needs are covered by the laws that they seek to
change and that waivers would result in conditions getting
worse on and around the nation's military bases, endangering
the health of millions."
W.Va. Public Broadcasting
series The Appalachians debunks stereotypes
A special television documentary on the roots
of Appalachians is aimed at refuting stereotypes that have
plagued residents of that region for more than two centuries.
According to West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s
Web
site, the three-part documentary is airing affiliate stations
statewide, and tells the history of the land and its people.
It is set to air on 90 percent of public television stations
nationwide to an audience of more than 70 million people.
The filmmakers hope the documentary dismisses misconceptions
and reintroduces the nation to Appalachia.
The flagship West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Center in Charleston is offering the series in three one-hour
installments on May 8, 15 and 22 at 7 p.m., and the full three
hours Wednesday, May 18 at 8 p.m. West Virginia PBS stations
are airing it at different dates and times. Check local affiliates
for times and dates. For a West Virginia Public Radio
report on the series, click here.
Here
is the list of radio and TV affiliates.
Rotary International
gets a 100th birthday salute in the New York Times
"Rotary clubs, a staple of small-town life,
are celebrating the construction of innumerable parks, the
holding of myriad blood drives, the awarding of countless
college scholarships -- and the imminent global eradication
of polio" as Rotary's centennial approaches, Tina Rosenberg
writes
in The New York Times.
"People who think of Rotary as a congregation
of service-minded dentists and funeral directors may not have
noticed, but the dentists and funeral directors have created
the largest, most successful private health initiative ever,"
Rosenberg writes. It was an outgrowth of the organization's
75th anniversary, when "its leaders decided to find a
project that all its clubs -- now in 168 countries -- could
work on together."
Florida
legislature hands Gov. Bush defeat on vouchers, class-size-reduction
The Florida legislature has handed Gov. Jeb
Bush a major setback on several education initiatives, including
proposals to rewrite the state’s class-size-reduction
law and to expand the state’s school voucher offerings.
The Republican-led legislature's action in the
final days of the 2005 session last week marked the first
significant defeat on education for the Republican governor
in his more than six years in office, writes
Joetta L. Sack of Education Week. "Bush
had hoped to reopen the debate over class sizes, after voters
narrowly approved a costly initiative in 2002 that will gradually
lower class sizes and require, by 2010, caps of 18 students
for all K-3 classes, 22 for the remaining elementary years
through middle school, and 25 for high school," writes
Sack.
The governor proposed a modified plan be placed
on a statewide ballot. The measure would have calculated the
average class sizes at the district instead of the classroom
level. This would have given districts more flexibility in
meeting the new requirements. Bush maintained the class-size
program is too expensive. In his 2002 re-election campaign,
he opposed the measure saying it could cost $27 billion over
eight years to implement, Sack writes. Mark Pudlow, a spokesman
for the Florida
Education Association, an affiliate of both the
National
Education Association and the American
Federation of Teachers, told Education Week,
“The whole idea of going back on a voter initiative
is hard for a lot of political leaders to swallow. It wasn’t
as though voters didn’t know that this would be an expensive
proposition.” Gov. Bush’s office had no comment,
Sack writes.
Mining and construction
industries plagued by worldwide big-tire shortage
Anyone who has been near a strip mine in Appalachia
knows what large tires are. Some of the behemoths used to
unearth, dig out and transport the coal have tires the size
of or bigger than many buildings in the region. Similar tires
are seen on machinery used to cut highways through mountainous
areas. But, now it appears there is a world-wide shortage
of these black, knobby monsters that can be 12 feet tall and
cost $30,000 each.
Tire makers say every big tire produced through
the end of next year is already spoken for, and the problem
might last until 2007, reports
Brian Farkas of The Associated Press, and
Pete Sigmund of Construction Equipment Guide.
Al Chicago, president of Purcell's Western States
Tire Co. in Phoenix, told Sigmund, "The mining
industry is 100 percent worse (than construction) because
it uses bigger tires," and uses mainly radials, where
the greatest shortage exists.
In the coalfields of Central Appalachia and
across the country, the large tire shortage means coal operators,
equipment sellers and tire dealers are searching and scrounging
for replacements. Steve Walker, president of Walker
Machinery Co. in Belle, W.Va., told Farkas, "There
are eight people trying to get the same tire." At a surface
mine, the life expectancy for heavy machinery tires is about
six months. The shortage couldn't come at a worse time for
coal companies who are trying to take advantage of high prices.
Blogger's note: One is forced to think of
some misty, hidden hollow where these worn-out, giant road
warriors have gone to die, not unlike the ethereal nether-jungle
legend of an “elephant graveyard.”
Ky. official, convicted
of vote buying, gets reprieve; to keep job pending appeal
Knott County Judge-Executive Donnie Newsome
will be allowed to keep his job for at least two more weeks
despite a vote-buying conviction in federal court and having
his office declared vacant last week in state court.
"Special Judge James E. Bondurant of Hodgenville,
who last week ruled in the election-contest lawsuit that Newsome's
office should be vacant, decided Monday to allow Newsome to
post a $1,000 "supersedeas" bond and keep his position,
pending a ruling by the Kentucky Court of Appeals," writes
Lee Mueller of the Lexington Herald-Leader’s
Eastern Kentucky Bureau. Knott officials and appeals-court
clerk George Geoghegan told Mueller, "A decision should
be made within two weeks to a month."
Newsome remained on the county payroll pending
appeal while serving 16 months of a 26-month federal prison
term reduced in return for his testimony last fall in a separate
federal vote-fraud trial. Bondurant ruled last week Newsome
admitted violating the Corrupt Practices Act in 2002 by accepting
illegal contributions and declared the office vacant.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Kentucky farmers want
to use diversification money to keep growing tobacco
Kentucky burley tobacco growers, who have watched
tobacco-settlement money flow into such ventures as aquaculture
and vegetable farming to lessen state's dependence on tobacco,
now think it's their turn to tap the same fund. "Such
assistance, they say, would help secure Kentucky's dominance
as a burley producer in a new era after the end of the federal
tobacco price support and production quota system," writes
Bruce Schreiner of The Associated Press.
A group of burley growers has asked the Kentucky
Agricultural Development Board to put tobacco
farmers eligible for so-called "Phase I" funds,
half of which the state has earmarked for diversification
to reduce its dependence on tobacco. For farmers sticking
with tobacco after the federal buyout of their quotas, the
assistance could help build or remodel curing barns, add irrigation
systems or buy equipment. Growers say they face new competition
in the post-buyout era in which cigarette makers are looking
for the most efficient farmers to grow their leaf under contract.
David Wimpy, a tobacco farmer from Christian
County in southwestern Kentucky, told Schreiner, "It's
just whether Kentucky wants to keep this industry like we've
always had it. Now if we get a closed mind and say this industry
is over, it's going somewhere else where some farmers are
willing to grow it." Mike Kuntz, a spokesman for the
American
Lung Association of Kentucky, told him the plan
amounted to "archaic thinking" running counter to
diversifying away from tobacco.
Last month, the North Carolina state foundation
that distributes settlement money to help tobacco-dependent
communities diversify gave a grant to researchers to help
expand burley beyond its traditional area of western North
Carolina. The federal program had the effect of limiting types
of production to certain areas.
USDA moving forward with
animal ID plans to track potential diseased cattle
The Department of Agriculture
is moving
forward with plans to implement a mandatory animal identification
system that would be able to identify within 48 hours after
discovery animals that have had contact with a foreign or
domestic animal disease.
Published in the Federal Register
is notice of the availability of a National
Animal Identification System draft strategic
plan and draft program standards. The public has until June
6 to comment. The system is touted by producers as a more
certain way of assuring the whereabouts and origins of diseased
animals, a concern heightened over recent months by bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease.
The plan "would give producers until 2008
to have electronic IDs for their animals and a year later
to start reporting shipments of livestock," reported
Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register.
North Carolina-based
Duke Energy buying Ohio-based rival Cinergy
Duke
Energy Corp. has agreed to buy rival power company
Cinergy
Corp. in a stock deal worth $9 billion that will
create one of the nation's largest power generators. The deal
would create an energy company with 5.4 million retail customers,
more than $70 billion in assets and about $1.9 billion in
annual profit on $27 billion in annual revenue, writes
Lisa Cornwell of the Cincinnati bureau of The Associated
Press.
"The deal would
make Duke one of the country's biggest players in electricity,
executives said Monday. With that heft, they said, Duke can
think about splitting its electricity and natural-gas businesses,"
reported
Stan Choe and Stella Hopkins of The Charlotte Observer.
"An electric-only Duke,
combined with Cinergy, would mean the company is well positioned
to be buying rather than getting bought, the executives said."
The Observer said Duke needs "fuel
diversity. A company that uses several different kinds of
fuel doesn't become trapped when the price for one spikes,
as natural gas has. Duke's
wholesale power plants in the Midwest run on natural gas,
the price of which has been rising. Cinergy's plants run on
coal, which costs less.".
Based on market capitalization, Duke said, the
combined company's natural gas operations would be the largest
in North America and its electric operations would be in the
top five in the U.S. The company would have 3.7 million retail
electric customers and 1.7 million retail gas customers in
Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Ontario, AP reported.
Maine lawmakers joining
trend toward limiting access to meth ingredients
Lawmakers in Maine lawmakers
are following other states in supporting new restrictions
on cold and allergy medicines to fight methamphetamine production,
which has been called a rural epidemic.
"Lawmakers said Monday
that Maine does not have a meth problem like that of Western
and Midwestern states. But the numbers of arrests and people
seeking treatment are rising here, and once the problem increases,
it will become difficult to stop, they said," reported
Mark Peters of the Portland Press-Herald.
"I believe you get one chance
of getting in front of this drug," Maine Attorney General
Steven Rowe said. The legislation
would limit purchases to three packages of a remedy per visit
to a store, and make it a crime to possess more than nine
grams of pseudoephedrine or a similar meth ingredient. "Nine
grams is the equivalent of 300 pills of a cold or allergy
remedy," Peters notes.
Lobbyists for retailers
said some parts of the bill are too restrictive. "The
major sticking point is a requirement that only a pharmacist
or a pharmacy technician may sell the pill forms of the remedies,"
Peters wrote. "There is also concern about requiring
pharmacies to place the pills behind their counters. . . .
Lobbyists for grocers and other
stores said their clients should be able to continue selling
the remedies, particularly in a largely rural state where
access to a pharmacy can be difficult."
Baptist leaders voice
shock at North Carolina minister's 'political expulsions'
The apparent expulsion of nine members of a
Western North Carolina Baptist Church, reportedly for voting
for John Kerry last November, has drawn criticism from the
head of the Asheville-based Baptist Ministers’
Union, and concern from the head of the state Baptist
Convention.
The Rev. L.C. Ray of the ministers' union said
yesterday he’s seen church members disagree, but has
never seen anything like the controversy at East Waynesville
Baptist Church, writes
Andre A. Rodriguez of the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Nine members of that church, some of them congregants for
decades, have said they were kicked out because they didn’t
like the pastor’s increasingly politicized sermons.
Ray told Rodriguez that ministers are passionate
people, “but we have to deal with the separation of
politics and religion. A person should have the opportunity
in America to have their own political view without being
condemned. As a Christian and a minister, if I would go so
far as to say they have no connection with God because they
didn’t agree with me, I would be wrong.”
In October, Pastor Chan Chandler told the congregation
they should repent or resign if they planned on voting for
John Kerry, according to 30-year church member Selma Morris.
"The turmoil embroiling the quaint Southern Baptist church
is drawing attention from national political watchdog organizations,
as well as the national media," Rodriguez writes.
"Jim Royston, executive director-treasurer
of the Baptist
State Convention of North Carolina, released
a statement saying Chandler’s action to require from
his members to agree with his personal political viewpoint
would be 'highly irregular' if it is true as reported."
He told Rodriguez, “If this is true, I feel we have
a serious problem and hopefully the situation is limited to
just a few. I’m just as passionate, but I wouldn’t
go there.”
Man named ‘Jesus
Christ’ in legal battle over W.Va. driver’s license
rules
A man who changed his name to Jesus Christ has
found that even that name cannot exempt him from West Virginia
driver’s license requirements.
"Attempts to prove his name really is Christ
have led the man born as Peter Robert Phillips Jr. through
a lengthy legal battle and a recent victory in the District
of Columbia Court of Appeals," writes
Erik Shelzig of The Associated Press. "This
all started with him expressing his faith and his respect
and love for Jesus Christ," attorney A.P. Pishevar told
AP. "Now he needs to document it for legal reasons."
The subject of the controversy is described
as a white-haired businessman in his mid-50s moving to West
Virginia to enjoy a slower lifestyle. He bought property about
100 miles west of Washington, and has a U.S. passport, Social
Security card and Washington driver's license bearing the
name Jesus Christ. But he still falls short of West Virginia
title and license transfer requirements because his Florida
birth certificate has his original name on it and he has been
unable to obtain an official name change in Washington, writes
Schelzig.
Doug Stump, commissioner of the West
Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles told Schelzig,
"We just need official documentation that that's his
name. He will be treated no different than anybody else."
Christ applied for the legal name change in May 2003, but
it was denied in District of Columbia Superior Court because
"taking the name of Jesus Christ may provoke a violent
reaction or may significantly offend people." In his
appeal, Christ's attorney argued that Phillips had changed
his name to Jesus Christ 15 years earlier, and "has been
using the name since then without incident."
The appeals court last month sent the name-change
proposal back to the lower court, saying some required hearings
in the case had not been held. Any comment from the man in
the middle of this legal tussle? Attorney Pishevar told AP,
"Christ is not speaking to the press at this time."
Widow, 'driven from home
by coal mining,' settles lawsuit; will move out of shed
An Eastern Kentucky woman forced to live in
a tiny shed for nearly two years because coal mining drove
her out of her mobile home is now shopping for more spacious
quarters.
"Beatrice Turner has settled her lawsuit
against the coal company she claimed damaged her property,
forcing her to move into the shed where her now-deceased husband
stored his tools," writes
Roger Alford of The Associated Press. Terms
of the settlement were not disclosed, but Turner said she
has made a down payment on a mobile home.
Turner, 65, was scheduled to go to court yesterday
with her lawsuit in which she sought an unspecified amount
of damages from the Koch Victory division
of C. Reiss Coal Co. of Richlands, Va. The
case was one of many claiming coal operators have damaged
homes in communities throughout the mountain region. Residents
allege their homes have been knocked off their foundations
by explosives, hit by flying rocks, damaged by mudslides,
flooded and even mired in black sludge, Alford writes.
Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf, who represented
Turner, told AP he is pleased his client will be able to move
out of the shed. "That was my primary goal in agreeing
to take this fine lady's case." Martin Osborne, a Prestonsburg
attorney representing the coal company, couldn't be reached
for comment.
Yellowstone area rated
high for volcanic eruption threat; better monitoring needed
The U.
S. Geological Survey says the Yellowstone
area of Wyoming has a high threat of volcanic eruption.
Yellowstone ranks 21st most dangerous of the
169 volcano centers in the United States, according to the
Geological Survey's first-ever comprehensive review
of the nation's volcanoes, reports
The Associated Press. Kilauea in Hawaii received
the highest overall threat score followed by Mount St. Helens
and Mount Rainier in Washington, Mount Hood in Oregon and
Mount Shasta in California.
Yellowstone is classified with 36 others as
high threat. Recurring earthquake swarms, swelling and falling
ground, and changes in hydrothermal features are cited in
the report as evidence of unrest at Yellowstone.
The report calls for better monitoring of the 55 volcanoes
in the very high and high threat categories to track seismic
activity, ground bulging, gas emissions and hydrologic changes,
AP reports.
University
of Utah geology professor Robert Smith, who monitors
earthquakes and volcanic activity in Yellowstone, said more
real-time monitoring should be helpful. ''We need to get the
public's confidence and the perception we're doing it right.''
The university has joined the Geological Survey and Yellowstone
National Park in creating the Yellowstone
Volcano Observatory, which uses ground-based
instruments and satellite data to monitor volcanic and earthquake
unrest in the world's first national park.
Also on the national-park beat: For a separate
story celebrating the grandeur that is Yosemite
National Park, California, by reporter Dean E.
Murphy of The New York Times, click here.
Common Cause launches
coalition to push Bill of Media Rights for diversity
The president of Common
Cause, the self-styled "citizens' lobby,"
has launched what it calls the Media and Democracy Coalition,
to push for a national "Bill of Media Rights."
In a news
release, Common Cause President Chellie Pingree described
the coalition as 116 groups "from across the country
representing 20 million individuals who have already signed
our Bill of Media Rights that provides a vision of a mass
media that truly serves the public, not corporations.”
Pingree said her group is not going to fight
“old regulatory battles,” but will “engage
the public to promote media policy for the 21st Century that
truly provides diversity of viewpoints and ownership, competition,
and innovation and that ensures our access to a free and unfettered
marketplace of ideas.” She added, “Without these
values, the public's access to the information that people
need to govern themselves is at risk. That means democracy
is at risk. That is why this struggle means so much, and that
is why the public must win.”
Corn Growers recall,
rename journalism awards at request of Farm Bureau
American
Corn Growers Association Chief Executive Officer
Larry Mitchell has announced his organization will recall
eleven awards presented since 1995 to agricultural electronic
and print journalists. The action is a result of a request
made by the American
Farm Bureau Federation due to a trademark violation.
Mitchell said in a news release, “Since
1995, ACGA has identified and presented an award, titled the
‘American Corn Growers Association Voice of Agriculture
Award,’ to an outstanding agricultural journalist at
our annual convention. AFBF contends that ‘Voice of
Agriculture’ is a registered service mark protected
by the Patent and Trademark Office.” He said the Corn
Growers would “offer an immediate, voluntary and public
recall to all of our previous recipients of the award previously
known ‘Voice of Agriculture’ awards, and offer
a replacement award if requested.”
Mitchell said the replacement and future awards
will be called "The ACGA True Voice of Agriculture Award."
He added, “We are indeed regretful if we have caused
any misfortune to AFBF, but it is even more regrettable that
time and resources were expended on this issue when there
are so many more important challenges facing our nation’s
farm families.”
Rural issues such as
fox-hunting ban hurt Blair and Labour in British election
A lack of empathy for rural concerns, primarily
fox-hunting, cost Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour
Party votes in his recent re-election, according to two British
publications.
Holly Kirkwood of Horse and Hound
writes,
“A significantly reduced majority for Labour has given
heart to rural campaigners who worked hard to ensure that
MPs (Members of Parliament) who understand the needs of the
countryside were elected on polling day. … Many rural
people chose not to vote for Blair because of the clear lack
of empathy his party has for rural concerns,” she writes.
A group called Vote-OK claimed it unseated
29 anti-hunting MPs by putting in 170,000 man-hours and delivering
over 3 million leaflets.
Amanda Brown, environment correspondent for
the Scotsman, writes,
“Rural activists were celebrating after several anti-hunting
MPs lost their seats in the General Election. The hugely controversial
ban on hunting with hounds has proved a focus for anger in
the countryside – despite claims by anti-hunt supporters
the issue had gone away and would not be a priority for voters.”
Countryside Alliance chief
executive Simon Hart told Brown, “There have been plenty
of people suggesting that rural issues and hunting were not
an issue in this campaign and that activists had gone away
or given up. Nothing could have been further from the truth
The Hunting Act motivated thousands of people who had never
previously been politically active to get involved in this
General Election campaign.”
George Evans, a leading
coal man in Ky. and W.Va. for decades, dies at 86
George Edward Evans Jr., a coal operator who
became an energy adviser to two Kentucky governors, died yesterday
in Lexington. He was 86.
Evans was Kentucky energy secretary during Gov.
Martha Layne Collins' 1983-87 term and was special assistant
for coal and energy policy to Gov. Wallace Wilkinson until
1991. He owned several coal companies in Kentucky and West
Virginia and "was said to have
been a firm believer in having fun in everything he did,"
wrote
Jennifer Hewlett of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Paul Burba of The Courier-Journal wrote
that Evans was the son of a West Virginia coal mine manager
and engineer and "started with nearly nothing but grew
wealthy in the coal business." He became a millionaire
in 1966 by selling some of his mines to Island Creek
Coal Co. and earned more millions in the early 1970s
by selling his portion of a joint venture with National
Steel Co. He retired from the industry as manager
of the company's National Mines in 1983.
Evans was chairman of two banks and the Kentucky Coal
Association. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday
at Christ the King Cathedral in Lexington.
Monday, May 9, 2005
Rural reporting among
steps N.Y. Times panel says would help paper's credibility
An committee of journalists at The New
York Times, increasingly a national newspaper, has
recommended that the newspaper build trust among its readers
by taking a variety of steps, including more reporting from
rural America, more coverage of religion in the U.S., and
recruitment to diversity the paper's staff.
"The National Desk is already moving in
this direction, but we encourage more reporting from the middle
of the country, from exurbs and hinterland, and more coverage
of social, demographic, cultural and lifestyle issues,"
said
the committee, headed by Allan M. Siegal, which was originally
formed to examine the news department's culture after the
Jayson Blair scandal. "Both inside and outside the paper,
some people feel that we are missing stories because our staff
lacks diversity in viewpoints, intellectual grounding and
individual backgrounds. We should look for all manner of diversity.
We should seek talented journalists who happen to have military
experience, who know rural America first hand, who are at
home in different faiths."
The committee's latest recommendations also
include having senior editors write more regularly about the
workings of the paper, tracking errors in a systematic way
and responding more assertively to the paper's critics, in
order to build readers' confidence, writes
Times reporter Katharine Q. Seelye. Executive Editor Bill
Keller charged the committee last fall with examining how
the paper could increase readers' trust. Keller said there
was "an immense amount that we can do to improve our
journalism."
As examples, the report cited limiting anonymous
sources, reducing factual errors and making a clearer distinction
between news and various types of commentary. The report also
said the Times should make the paper's operations and decisions
more transparent to readers by making transcripts of interviews
available on its Web site and make it easier for readers to
contact reporters and editors. The report said, "The
Times makes it harder than any other major American newspaper
for readers to reach a responsible human being."
The report comes as the public's confidence
in the media continues to wane. A recent study from the Pew
Research Center found 45 percent of Americans believe
little or nothing of what they read in their daily newspapers,
a level of distrust that may have been inflated because the
questions were asked during the contentious presidential campaign
when the media itself was often at issue, she writes.
Incentives needed to
span rural broadband divide, says Fort Wayne paper
Proponents of bringing rural communities on
a technological par with their urban counterparts say those
who can communicate the farthest and the fastest are best
suited to reap greater economic benefits. Indiana lawmakers
lost a chance to close the rural-urban gap when they killed
a bill designed to promote high-speed Internet access in rural
areas and small towns, the Journal-Gazette of
Fort Wayne said
in a recent editorial
Ford’s bill would have allowed local governments
access to the public sector fiber optic network that connects
the state’s universities, created a financing mechanism
for private broadband development in underserved communities,
and explored the possibility of a statewide wireless system
that could potentially provide inexpensive high-speed Internet
access. The bill was killed by the telecommunications industry’s
unwillingness to compromise, the paper said.
"Access to broadband is much more than
playing whiz-bang computer games, finding box scores and instant
messaging. It’s about economic progress," the Journal
Gazette emphasized. They cite the city of Auburn, which is
tapping into a cross-country fiber-optic network running along
nearby rail lines. With Ford’s plan, rural Indiana communities
could have seen economic growth with expanded opportunity
to technology.
Military base closings
hit rural towns hardest; market forces dictate recovery
The Base
Realignment and Closure Commission is expected
to submit a list of recommendations to the Defense
Department as early as this week. If history
is any indication, closings will hit rural areas hardest.
Tim Ford, a spokesman for the National
Association of Installation Developers, told
Tara Copp of the Scripps-Howard News Service,
"'Rural places are going to have fewer options. It's
going to be a longer term development project.'' For Chanute
Air Force Base in rural Rantoul, Ill., it's taken 18 years.
The base was closed in 1988, and getting someone to move in
and create jobs is still unfinished business. David Johnston,
the village administrator for the Village of Rantoul, told
Copp, ''The successful ones have market forces that aid in
the speed of the closure. In those areas you have developers
telling regulators to get out of the way, that they will assume
the risk because of the demand for real estate.''
Several rural communities have made a comeback,
including those around England Air Force Base in Alexandria,
La. The base was closed in 1991, but since then has evolved
into an industrial park that includes an airport, a community
college and a golf course. It now employs 1,800 civilians,
Copp writes.
A 2005 Government
Accounting Office report found about 72 percent
of the 130,000 civilian jobs lost in affected communities
had been replaced. The report said some rural areas have found
success through diversification, such as Chase Naval Station
in Beeville, Tex., and Castle Air Force Base in Merced County,
Calif., which developed prison facilities. For other base
closing reports; Radcliff without Fort Knox? by Hilary
Roxe of The Associated Press, click here.
For Troop moves could help Fort Knox, by Michael
A. Lindenberger and Grace Schneider of The Courier-Journal,
click here.
Western N. C. church
members say they were ousted for political reasons
Nine members of a Baptist church in western
North Carolina say they had their membership revoked and 40
others left in protest after tension over political views
of the pastor and congregants came to a head.
"Some members of East Waynesville Baptist
Church voted the nine members out at a recent scheduled deacon
meeting," writes Andre A. Rodriguez of the Asheville
Citizen-Times. Selma Morris, a 30-year member of
the church, told the newspaper that pastor Chan Chandler had
been exhorting his congregation since October to support his
political views or leave the church. “He preached a
sermon on abortion and homosexuality, then said if anyone
there was planning on voting for John Kerry, they should leave.
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard something
like that. Ministers are supposed to bring people in.”
It's not clear whether the church's tax-exempt
status could be jeopardized, writes Rodriguez. The Internal
Revenue Service exempts certain organizations from
taxation, including those organized and operated for religious
purposes, provided that they do not engage in certain activities,
including involvement in "any political campaign on behalf
of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
For followup articles by the Citizen-Times,
Ousted members react, click here;
Expelled members consider legal action, click here;
Minister says none ousted for political reasons,
click here;
Mothers’ Day worship followup, click here.
For a release by Americans United for Separation of
Church and State, Church Split In North Carolina
Shows Dangers Of Partisan Politics In Pulpit, click here.
Gettysburg casino foes
say plan will sully historic site's hallowed ground
The prospect of ringing, flickering slot machines
a cannon shot away from the battlefield at Gettysburg is worrying
some historians and preservationists.
Last week, a group of 10 investors unveiled
plans to seek a casino license from the state as part of a
proposed Gettysburg Gaming Resort and Spa, reports
The Associated Press.
It would be a mile and a half from Gettysburg
National Military Park, the battleground where in 1863 thousands
of men gave "the last full measure of devotion,"
as Abraham Lincoln put it in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln
also said, “We can not consecrate -- we can not hallow
-- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add
or detract.”
Kent Masterson Brown, a Lexington, Ky., lawyer
who has written about the battle and headed the park's advisory
commission, told reporters, "We at this hour of the country's
history need to make sure that these places are maintained
as hallowed grounds." David LeVan, a local businessman
known for contributing to preservation efforts and is the
principal investor in the casino, said it would be respectful
of the area's history.
The site of the proposed casino was of relatively
minor importance in the battle; some Confederate troops gathered
there before heading off to fight, AP notes. The site now
consists of fields, a house and a golf range. It is at the
end of one of two busy commercial strips that flank the park
and is along a three-lane highway, U.S. 30, opposite a hotel
and entertainment complex that is under construction. Kathi
Schue, president of the Gettysburg
Battlefield Preservation Association, said the
casino could bring more attention to the park and could help
raise money to save more of the nation's important historic
sites, writes the wire service.
Tenn. driver's license
national model? Without proof of legal status, special permit
As Congress considers requiring states to issue
driver's licenses only to citizens and legal residents, states
that want to allow non-citizens to drive might use Tennessee's
system as a model, writes
Shaila Dewan of The New York Times. "What
they will find is the uneasy paradox of a legal document for
illegal immigrants. Police departments, insurance agents,
banks and even beer vendors have been left on their own to
decide how to treat the certificates, amid the pitched arguments
of conservative legislators and advocates for immigrants,"
writes Dewan, noting that the state has tried to forbid use
of the permit for identification.
Only two states, Tennessee and Utah, issue a
license for citizens and permanent residents and a certificate
for driving, primarily for those who cannot prove they are
in the state legally.
Critics have said the federal bill will require
driver's license examiners to act as immigration police. In
Tennessee, they already do to some extent, checking for fraud
in the numerous papers that confer legal status. If the federal
law passes, the difference might be one of precision. Lisa
Knight, the assistant director for driver's license issuance
for the Tennessee Department of Safety, told
Dewan, "If this law passes we're going to have to look
at sending all of our employees to classes that teach all
the different documents."
Driver's licenses are just one of the issues
Tennessee has had to grapple with as its immigrant population
has grown. Census records show that from 1990 to 2000, the
state's Hispanic population nearly quadrupled to 124,000.
Since July 1, when the certificate program was instituted,
more than 21,000 have been issued.
Mid-South farmers worried
about soybean rust invasion; could spike prices
Asian soybean rust, a disease that could gut
a soybean crop if it isn't caught immediately, is threatening
crops in the Mid-South. Wind-borne rust spores showed up early
this year in Florida and more recently in extreme southwestern
Georgia, detected in kudzu growing along a roadside, and then
in nearby soybeans sprouted from seeds left over from last
year's crop, reports
The Associated Press. The original story
was in the Paducah
Sun, which requires a subscription.
Federal agriculture officials said the rust
will move into the Midwest, the heart of the nation's $18
billion soybean crop, by late July or early August. Experts
say local winters are too cold for the spores to survive,
so the worry now is for a new, stronger invasion, AP writes.
Don Hershman, a plant pathologist with the University
of Kentucky College of Agriculture's experiment
station, in Princeton, told the Sun, "It appears to be
showing up a little earlier than any of us thought it might,"
adding because of wind patterns, the south Georgia spotting
isn't as foreboding for western Kentucky as when the spores
show up in the Mid-South
Mike Burchett of Benton, chairman of the Kentucky
Farm Bureau soybean advisory committee, said
buying fungicide too late could cost farmers their crops.
Buying it too early could drive up chemical expenses as demand
exceeds supply, because chemical companies may not be ready
to supply needs outside of the South, Burchett told reporters,
"If they spot soybean rust in central Illinois, these
markets will go wild on prices."
Program to make scholars
of Kentucky mountain students has mixed results
As the first class of Robinson
Scholars graduated yesterday from the University
of Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader
reported that the program aimed at uplifting select students
from Eastern Kentucky has has mixed results. The paper said
only 26 of the first class of 162 graduated in four years,
with 44 others planning to enroll for a fifth year, and "it
appears that very few will meet one of the unwritten goals
of the program: to return home to help improve the region."
Linda Blackford, the paper's higher-education reporter,
called
the program "a fairly grand social trial that took bright
but needy eighth-grade students from Eastern Kentucky and
shepherded them through UK with enrichment classes, tutoring
and scholarship money." Program organizers emphasize
that 60 percent of the first crop of scholars will get either
a two-year or four-year degree, higher than the statewide
college graduation rate of about 44 percent. The scholars
must come from families whose members have not graduated from
a four-year college, and they are chosen for their academic
ability and potential.
The program was established in 1997 from a
trust set up by timber magnate E.O. Robinson. He deeded the
15,000-acre Robinson Forest in Breathitt, Perry and Knott
counties to UK in the 1930s and specified that income from
its coal and timber be spent on reforestation, agriculture
and education in the region, she writes. For The Courier-Journal's
story on the Robinson Scholars, click here.
Twang
an issue in Va. governor’s race; regional-division tactic
or stereotyping?
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore
speaks with a distinct Appalachian twang. At first a source
of hometown pride, now the accent is at the center of charges
and counter charges of mockery, and political chicanery to
divide and conquer the state along urban-rural lines.
Kilgore, the Republican candidate, originally
touted his twang as a measure of country authenticity, writes
Peter Whoriskey of The Washington Post. "My
accent may only be rivaled by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,"
he joked to an audience in Gate City, on the Tennessee border.
"But I will tell you this: I would rather be a workhorse
than a show horse."
Now Kilgore charges that Democratic Lt. Gov.
Timothy M. Kaine mocks his accent and, by extension, southwest
Virginia. Ads in local papers say "Liberal Tim Kaine Mocks
Rural Virginia." Whoriskey writes, "Some believe Kilgore's
suspicion stems from a justified fear that more than a few
outsiders view locals as 'hillbillies,' but others say the
allegations are simply a calculated move by Kilgore to vilify
his opponent."
Kilgore spokesman Tim Murtaugh said the evidence
is Kaine ads challenging Kilgore to use his own voice in his
ads and the posting of a eight-second clip of Kilgore speaking
at http://jerrytheduck.com.
"Virginia politics has long been riven
by regional rivalries, and the various accents give them voice,"
he writes. Rex McCarty, a Gate City businessman, told the
newspaper, "It's an obvious political stunt by Kilgore
to divert attention from the real issues." But Whoriskey
wrote that others told him that "Some people still associate
their accents with the backwardness of characters in 'The
Beverly Hillbillies' or 'Deliverance'."
Alternative septic systems
help hard-to-sewer rural areas protect streams
After years of trying to solve an odorous sewage
problem, residents in the east-central Kentucky community
of Preston are ready for the sweet smell of success. "Finishing
touches are being made on an unusual sewage system that will
eliminate the flow of human waste into nearby streams -- a
problem caused by geological conditions that made traditional
septic systems useless," writes
Roger Alford of The Associated Press.
A layer of clay just beneath the topsoil doesn't
allow discharge from the community's septic tanks to soak
into the ground. A sewage treatment plant, which could cost
$6 million, was too expensive for the community of fewer than
100 homes, and so was running sewer lines across six miles
of farmland for about $3 million.
Instead, the state approved a $1.5 million alternative
system that collects wastewater from septic tanks through
a network of lines and pumps it to a nearby ridgetop to be
filtered through sand and gravel and then discharged into
the ground. The state has approved alternative systems in
several Eastern Kentucky communities where traditional sewage-treatment
methods don't work or aren't financially feasible, AP reports.
Maleva Chamberlain, spokeswoman for the Kentucky
Division of Water, told Alford the goal of alternative
sewage treatment systems is to rid the state's streams of
raw sewage. "We began to look at these failed septic
systems and say 'we've got to do something about this. We
know we've got a problem. What's the best way to fix it?"
That resulted in the Bath County project, notes Alford, and
similar ones in Harlan and Letcher counties. Those projects
will be closely monitored, and copied in other communities
with similar problems.
Friday, May 6, 2005
Bush lifts forest development
ban; millions of acres open to drilling, logging, mining
The Bush administration has ended a four-year-old
ban on development in roadless areas of national forests,
a move that could pave the way for oil and gas drilling, logging,
mining and road building in 34.3 million acres of untouched
woods.
The new rule gives governors of pro-development
Western states greater say over forest management in their
states, which environmental groups fear will lead to development
that threatens fish and wildlife in pristine areas, writes
Seth Borenstein of the Knight Ridder Newspapers'
Washington bureau.
According to economists, forest scientists and
industry officials, market forces mean that the first intrusions
into the forests will probably be by natural gas-drilling
rigs rather than chainsaws and timber mills. Either way, change
is likely to come to some of the 58.5 million acres the Clinton
administration put off-limits to new development. The new
state-by-state rules will affect no more than 34.3 million
acres because the other 24.2 million acres have other development
bans that aren't being lifted, writes Borenstein.
Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, a former
timber-industry lobbyist, told Borenstein, "It's too
early to tell how much of the 34.3 million acres will be opened
and how much will remain protected." Changes in the rules
for roadless areas can take anywhere from several months to
more than two years to complete because the process is based
on state recommendations and federal forest scientists, he
writes. For The New York Times version, click
here.
For The Washington Post version, click here.
Satellite TV providers
sue to overturn tax in Florida; similar to Ky. challenge
Top satellite television providers have filed
suit against the state of Florida, alleging their subscribers
are unfairly forced to pay higher taxes than cable television
customers under a 2001 state law.
DirecTV Inc. and EchoStar
Communications Corp., which owns the DISH
Network, said in the lawsuit the communications services
tax law is discriminatory and penalizes their customers, reports
The Associated Press. Mike Palkovic, DirecTV's
chief financial officer told reporters, "This lawsuit
is about protecting our customers, many of whom dropped cable
for satellite television, throughout the state of Florida."
The suit contends the statewide tax rate paid
under the law by satellite customers is 10.8 percent, compared
with 6.8 percent for cable TV users. But Dave Bruns, a spokesman
for the Florida Revenue Department, said
the actual rate for cable is higher when local taxes are added,
and local taxes are prohibited by federal law from being imposed
on satellite subscribers. Bruns declined to comment on the
lawsuit, AP writes.
The lawsuit also contends cable franchise fees
help defray their overall tax bill and are not available to
the satellite companies. The lawsuit is one of several filed
around the country by DirecTV of El Segundo, Calif., and EchoStar
of Englewood, Colo., challenging satellite TV tax laws. Another
such lawsuit filed this week challenges a 5.4 percent tax
approved in March by the Kentucky legislature.
EDUCATION
Evolution goes on trial
in Kansas; Ohio has challenged it; Ga., Fla. considering
Kansas ignited a national debate over the teaching
of evolution six years ago, and now the state is poised to
push through new science standards requiring Darwin's theory
to be challenged in the classroom.
"In the first of three daylong hearings,
being referred to here as a direct descendant of the 1925
Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, a parade of Ph.D.'s testified
Thursday about the flaws they saw in mainstream science's
explanation of the origins of life," reports
The New York Times. It is the biggest stage
yet for "intelligent design," the idea that life's
complexity cannot be explained without a supernatural creator.
Darwin's defenders are refusing to testify at
the hearings, which were called by the State Board of Education's
conservative majority. But their lawyer forcefully cross-examined
the other side's experts, pushing them to acknowledge that
nothing in the current standards prevented discussion of challenges
to evolution, and peppering them with queries both profound
and personal, Times reporter Jodi Wilgoren writes.
If the board adopts the new standards, as expected,
in June, Kansas would join Ohio, which took a similar step
in 2002, in mandating students be taught there is controversy
over evolution. Legislators in Alabama and Georgia have introduced
bills to allow teachers to challenge Darwin in class, and
the battle over evolution is simmering on the local level
in 20 states, she writes. For The Washington Post
version click here.
Language immersion program
helps school integrate English, Spanish speakers
In Hennessey, Okla., a town of 2,000, Hispanics
make up almost 27 percent of the students in the 800-student
school district. That’s a 18.2 percent increase from
the 2000-01 school year, reports
Mary Ann Zehr of Education Week. For years,
Mexican families have come to the town to work in oil fields
or on farms, and now a packing plant nearby employs many Hispanic
newcomers. The demographic change is most apparent at Hennessey
Elementary, where 35 percent of this year’s students
are Hispanic.
In response, the Hennessey district has changed
its English-language instruction, launching a two-way language-immersion
program where students who speak English and others who speak
Spanish learn both languages together. The program, called
Dos Amigos (Two Friends) takes advantage of Spanish speakers’
literacy skills in their native tongue, said Lynore M. Carnuccio,
a consultant on English-language learners. “Unfortunately,
in a lot of areas of the heartland, because we haven’t
experienced large numbers of immigration for long periods
of time, we don’t have qualified people who are true
bilinguals,” she said.
The program is paying off for Hennessey, Zehr
reports. “The district’s English-language learners
have surpassed state and federal goals for English proficiency,
and English-language learners in the program are doing better
in reading, language arts, and math on standardized tests
than other language-minority children in the school’s
traditional classes,” Zehr writes.
The district also has no problems meeting No
Child Left Behind requirements for teaching English to children
with limited English proficiency, said superintendent Uwe
Gordon. Last year, the district, which has 160 English language-learners
total, met is goals for the federal law’s English proficiency
with its elementary school alone, and its middle and high
school students easily met Oklahoma’s goals as well.
About half of the 107 Oklahoma school districts with federally
funded programs for English-language learners didn’t
meet the goals.
APPALACHIA
Eastern Kentucky state
senator indicted on charges relating to 2000 campaign
Kentucky state Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, his brother
and a political power broker have been indicted on mail-fraud
and conspiracy charges that they elected him in 2000 with
bought votes and phantom contributors.
"Turner, a Democrat from Floyd County,
will not resign from office and expects to be exonerated,
said his attorney, Brent L. Caldwell," writes
Mark R. Chellgren of The Associated Press.
The two other defendants, Ross Harris and Loren Glenn Turner,
were convicted earlier of similar charges in a separate case
that federal prosecutors said led to the latest allegations.
Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, U.S. attorney for
the Eastern District of Kentucky, disputed any notion his
office was targeting Democrats. "This is not a case that
has politics connected to it in any way." The indictment
alleges Turner and his coconspirators funneled money from
Harris through straw contributors and illegally paid people
to vote and hid it by claiming to pay them for driving voters
to the polls, writes Chellgren.
The charges also allege Turner filed false reports
to the Kentucky
Registry of Election Finance. "Vote hauling,"
as it is known and widely practiced, has long been acknowledged
as a way to influence elections. But paying vote haulers is
not illegal in Kentucky. If convicted, the defendants could
face up to 20 years in prison, he writes. For the Louisville
Courier-Journal version, by Elisabeth J.
Beardsley, click here.
For the Lexington Herald-Leader version,
by Eastern Kentucky bureau reporter Lee Mueller, click here.
Federally funded program
hosts anti-drug rally, marching through city streets
Operation
UNITE, or Unlawful Narcotics Investigation Treatment
and Education, hosted an anti-drug rally in Prestonsburg,
Ky., last Sunday to focus on drug problems in the area.
The crowd of approximately 1,000 people assembled
at the Floyd County Justice Center for songs
and prayer, then marched through the city streets to the Prestonsburg
High School stadium. "If you all look around,
Floyd County is united. We are together on this," said
Mike Vance, UNITE Coalition chairman.
Coalition committee members wore black ribbons
in memory of Chad Vickers, a member who shared his experiences
with drugs to show others how to overcome their drug problems.
Vickers died earlier this year after a brief illness.
JOURNALISM
Prosecutor subpoenas
Durango Herald photos of fatal shooting; paper to fight
The Durango Herald says it
will fight a subpoena for all photographs it took of a fatal
shooting last month.
"Newspapers cannot be agents of law enforcement,"
Publisher Richard G. Ballantine said in a story
by Shane Benjamin. "If they were, at times people would not
be open to being interviewed or to being photographed, and
a story would not be as thorough or as compelling. That reporting
based on our reputation is our community role. Only if there
is something that is absolutely critical, and it cannot be
learned in any other way, will we turn over unpublished material.
We do not think that's the case here."
District Attorney Craig Westberg appeared to
disagree. There are times, he said, when information must
be turned over," Benjamin wrote. "Westberg said
police were too busy preserving the crime scene and arresting
a suspect to take their own photographs. But, he said, unpublished
photographs could help police identify new witnesses at the
crime scene and provide an accurate portrait of the arrest
scene. Such a representation, he added, could be 'very helpful'
to both the prosecution and the defense."
Chris Beall, the Denver lawyer representing
the 8,900-circulation daily, said the suspect has admitted
the shooting, to which there were several witnesses, so it
is difficult to understand why Westberg wants photos.
Opinion about journalism:
Silence is not golden, but neither is cacophony
Comment by Bill Griffin, staff assistant
and chief blogger
In the highest cathedral of basketball, the
University of Kentucky in Lexington, even
the slightest discordant noise reverberates long and loud.
When that noise is an accusation of rape against
a player many consider an icon of propriety, and an image
of goodness in a world where such images appear rare, the
noise becomes magnified. Add to the mix a deafening silence
by the top local television station -- even after the player’s
own agent made the connection between the accusation and his
client -- and the din becomes louder. Factor in a recent $80
million dollar sports and marketing contract between the cathedral
and that television station, and the mix becomes volatile.
The facts as they are known: First, a woman
alleges she was raped in Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge, the on-campus
home of Kentucky basketball players. Accused, but never charged,
was the very well-liked, respected and always calm Chuck Hayes.
When rumors were rampant but no one had publicly connected
the dots, Hayes’ own agent revealed his client was indeed
the accused.
Should news media report such accusations, where
there are no charges? If so, how best can they fulfill their
role in a responsible, fair and balanced manner? And, should
those that choose not to report at all, be held up to question
and subjected to critical review? The answers seem textbook
to outsiders, but many of those who have had their vision
tinted by the stained-glass windows of that cathedral seem
to see it otherwise.
And, should a strident Lexington radio talk-show
host, Dave “Buzz” Baker, who has self-appointed
license, vested interests and biased roots at WKYT-TV
-- the station with the UK basketball contract -- fire volleys
of vehemence at those who scrutinized the cathedral and his
former comrades at the place that made him famous? Admittedly,
radio talk-shows are not repositories of reason and enlightenment.
Ratings rule.
Rich Copley, the culture writer for the Lexington
Herald-Leader, looked at this dilemma yesterday.
In his report,
WKYT-TV News Director Jim Ogle said it was “news department
policy” not to report names when charges have not been
brought. Bruce Carter, news director of WLEX-TV,
which is in a ratings dead heat with the once-undisputed champion
and covered the story from its inception, told Copley, “I
don’t think it’s a story you can ignore.”
Now, with the apparent reluctance of the accuser
to press the issue, the facts of whatever took place will
eventually fade. But questions of responsible journalism will
linger, especially at a time when it is assailed from all
sides, and too often lends credence to its critics.
Nature abhors a vacuum and will try mightily
to fill the void. Our society is not much different. Those
who choose to do nothing can make that choice in our democracy.
But, then, laying claims to being the best television news
department will seem more hollow. The extremes of silence
or cacophony don’t do a democracy any good. Although
for some those extremes may generate ratings, based on mobs
of half or ill-informed people. For the rest of us, we can
only hope that journalists will continue to strive even harder
to find and write the truth, telling us what they know as
accurately and as fairly as possible. Then we in turn can
make good old fashioned, solid, reasoned, and informed decisions.
It's not glitzy, but it has worked.
Bill Griffin was a reporter for WKYT-TV
in the mid-1970s and from 1983 to 1991. He left the station
to work in the campaign and administration of Gov. Brereton
C. Jones. In 1982-83 he was executive news producer at WLEX-TV.
ANIMAL
BEAT
Cockfight halted in Georgia
mountain town; five arrested, including mayor
The
Georgia Bureau of Investigation has discovered
that Saturday in the Northern Georgia mountain town of Blue
Ridge is cockfighting night, where up to 300 people crowd
into a barn to watch the illegal sport.
According to GBI investigators, regulars at
the fights included the town’s 83-year old mayor, Robert
Greene, who was captured on videotape watching the action
from a ringside recliner marked "reserved seating,"
writes
Clint Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Greene and four other people have been arrested
and charged in connection with the cockfights, where spectators
bought food and drinks, even souvenirs, from a concession
stand. Joe Hendricks, the district attorney of the Appalachian
Judicial Circuit told Williams they were tipped about
the operation last fall, after women complained their husbands
were gambling away their paychecks.
Blue Ridge (pop. 1,200) is near the North Carolina
border about 70 miles northwest of Atlanta. It has a "chicken
crossing" sign on a main street. GBI investigators said
patrons paid $20 to watch trained roosters with sharp metal
hooks on their spurs fight to the death. During the four-month
probe, undercover agents attended the cockfights and made
hours of videotape with hidden cameras, which captured many
in the crowd betting on the fights. Hendricks told Williams,
"The video also shows a little 3- or 4-year old girl
at this thing."
Mayor Greene was charged with gambling and released
on a $2,500 bond. The four others arrested allegedly organized
the cockfights. Each was charged with commercial gambling,
keeping a gambling place and cruelty to animals, and was released
on $12,500 bond. The investigation is continuing and more
arrests are likely, Williams writes. A similar operation,
was raided by Kentucky State Police last month in Jeffersonville,
cited more than 500 people, from numerous states, Guam and
Canada.
Antler bandit strikes
in Alaskan peninsula; owner collecting for carving hobby
Police have arrested a man, now called the Antler
Bandit, in connection with the theft of nearly $70,000 in
moose, caribou and elk antlers stolen from a home in Kenai,
Alaska.
The man's name was being withheld pending charges
by the Kenai District Attorney. Police said the antlers were
being stored in a large container at the residence while the
owner was away working on his commercial fishing boat, writes
Phil Hermanek of the Peninsula Clarion. Police
told the newspaper it looked like sometime during the past
four months, the suspect had been hauling away truckloads
of the antlers and selling them to area carvers and gift shops.
A friend of the owner noticed the door to the
container open, saw much of its contents were gone, and contacted
the owner who contacted police. Police Sgt. Tod McGillivray
questioned neighbors who reported seeing the suspect taking
the antlers. The owner had been collecting the antlers in
hopes of carving them as a retirement vocation in years to
come. McGillivray told the newspaper police have recovered
about one-fourth of the antlers and expect to recover more.
Escaped 'Big Bird' causes
ruckus; North Carolina law officers not 'emused'
Authorities in the Gaston County, North Carolina,
community of Dallas tussled yesterday with an escaped emu
that at one point had run through a Burger King parking lot.
Police dispatcher Leah Welch told
the Charlotte Observer about 30 people called
911, alerting police to the wayward animal. Officers loaded
the bird into an Animal Control truck. "One lady said
it looked like the bird from Sesame Street," said Welch.
Authorities said it's unclear who owns the emu or where it
came from.
Emus are native to Australia and can swim well
and run up to 30 m.p.h. The ostrich-like creatures stand about
5 feet, 7 inches tall and weigh about 110 pounds. Police Capt.
R.A. Scott told the Observer the incident took them by surprise.
"We've done the normal horses out of a corral, but never
a big chicken."
HISTORY NOTE: On this date
in 1940, John Steinbeck won a Pulitzer for The Grapes
of Wrath.
Thursday, May 5, 2005
Meth epidemic taking
huge financial toll on communities' budgets nationwide
The methamphetamine epidemic is draining fiscal
resources nationwide from communities large and small.
"Local officials, who had not even heard
of the drug five years ago, are being forced to shift budget
priorities to pay for everything from dental care for meth-addicted
jail inmates to foster care for children whose parents have
been arrested for running a meth lab," write
Larry Bivins and Pamela Brogan of the Gannett News
Service. The additional financial burden comes at
a time when many states are struggling to balance their budgets
and the federal government is cutting back funding for local
drug-fighting programs, they write.
The Bush administration, which has recommended
cutting money for local anti-meth programs, does not have
national figures on the drug’s economic toll. Jennifer
DeVallance, a spokeswoman for the Office
of National Drug Control Policy told Bivins and
Brogan, "We just don’t track this data." But
officials in communities where meth is a problem have a clear
idea of what it’s costing them. A few examples:
Meth cost Portland and the rest of Multnomah
County, Ore., $102.3 million in 2004, according to an economic
analysis by ECONorthwest.
That amounts to $363 per household in a county where the average
tax payment was $355. In Crow Wing County, Minn., meth costs
taxpayers about $1.8 million a year, or $33.50 for each county
resident, said Terry Sluss, a county commissioner and the
county’s meth prevention coordinator. Meth costs Indiana
at least $100 million a year, including $4.5 million spent
cleaning up former meth labs, according to the state’s
Methamphetamine Abuse Task Force, Bivins and Brogan write.
In a March congressional hearing, Tennessee Technical
University President Robert Bell cited estimates
state officials will take more than 700 children into custody
this year at a cost of more than $4 million. And the ECONorthwest
study estimated that foster care for children of meth-addicted
parents in just one Oregon county cost $6.1 million in 2004,
or $21.75 per household.
KCI,
an anti-meth site, contains methamphetamine-related facts
and Web links. The Drug Enforcement Administration
Website also lists
facts on meth. For a related news article, also by Gannett
reporters Bivins and Brogan, headlined Meth wreaks havoc
on inmates’ teeth, click here.
For an accompanying article Pharmacists say bill is a
positive step by Eric Fossell of The Herald-Dispatch
of Huntington, W.Va., click
here. For a graphic showing the effects of meth on the
human body, click here.
And, for an article titled Meth madness: A neurologist
warns Virginia teens about the life-destroying effects of
methamphetamine, by Lee Bloomquist of the Duluth
News Tribune, click here.
For a report in the Chicago Sun Times
by Stephanie Zimmerman, Rural retailers take new meth
law seriously, contrasting rural retailers with their
urban counterparts in efforts to limit access to a colds medicines
ingredient needed for meth production, click here.
Rural schools, important
facets of their communities, suffer from ‘brain drain’
Most rural areas are all too familiar with the
phenomenon of “brain drain,” which occurs when
new graduates leave their rural homes to find higher salaries
and better experiences in urban areas, writes
Thomas D. Rowley of the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Rowley cites Lionel Beaulieu and Robert Gibbs,
who describe the challenges facing rural areas that try to
improve their economy by improving their schools in an introduction
to the report,
“The Role of Education: Promoting the Economic and Social
Vitality of Rural America.” If rural schools succeed
in providing their students with a good education, “they
run the risk of accelerating the exodus of talented youth
to the larger cities that offer higher salaries and other
important amenities.”
One solution is to bring more high-paying jobs
to these areas, but often those communities don’t have
the resources or infrastructure to do that, they write. “[Beaulieu
and Gibbs] find that a one-percentage point increase in the
share of high school graduates raises per capita income by
$128 in a typical rural county,” Rowley writes. “Sadly,
but not surprisingly, that same one-point increase in an urban
county raises per capita income by a whopping $413.”
Thomas Lyson of Cornell University
writes that rural schools are important local assets, by teaching
the community’s children, offering employment opportunities,
and providing social, cultural, and recreational opportunities.
The rural school “is a place where generations come
together and where community identity is forged,” Rowley
reports.
Researcher says breakthrough
in ethanol can replace half our automotive fuels
A University of Florida researcher
recently developed a biotechnology “bug” to convert
farm wastes into fuel for automobiles. The professor of microbiology
with UF’s Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Lonnie Ingram,
says half of the country’s automotive fuel could be
replaced with the ethanol made from renewable crops and wastes,
reports
Newswise.
“We can reduce our dependence on imported
oil and lower the price of automotive fuel by reformulating
our gasoline with ethanol derived from inexpensive farm wastes,”
said Ingram, director of the Florida
Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels at UF.
His breakthrough is a genetically engineered E. coli bacteria
that produces the ethanol from farm wastes like corn stems,
cobs and leaves.
“Until now, all of the world’s fuel
ethanol has been produced from high-value materials such as
cornstarch and cane syrup using yeast fermentations,”
reports Newswise. “In 2005, more than 4.5 billion gallons
of fuel ethanol will be manufactured from cornstarch and used
as automotive fuel.”
Buehler Foods, five-state
grocery chain, files for bankruptcy protection
Buehler Foods Inc., which has
more than 60 grocery stores in five states, has filed for
bankruptcy protection, citing delays in assuming control of
16 Winn-Dixie stores the company bought last
year.
According to records filed in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Evansville, Ind., the Jasper, Ind.-based grocery
chain owes between $200 million and $400 million to 572 creditors
known to date, reports
The Associated Press. Under its Chapter 11
bankruptcy filing, Buehler will continue operating its stores
in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia
as it tries to reorganize.
But some stores are expected to close, AP reports.
Buehler officials said the company's Buy Low store in Princeton,
Ind., and a Buy Low store in Carmi, Ill., with a total of
46 employees, will be closed as soon as possible. Two Buehler
Market stores in Louisville, with 100 employees, also will
be closed soon, they said. Kris Buehler-Massat, Buehler's
president, said in a statement, "We don't anticipate
any more closings but (we) cannot make any promises."
David Buehler, Buehler's chief executive officer,
said the Winn-Dixie delays resulted in unanticipated revenue
losses of more than $7 million. Buehler said the company's
debt restructuring should be completed by the year's end and
the company should emerge strong and vibrant when it comes
out of court.
Appalachian Regional
Healthcare president/CEO resigns to take Texas job
The president and CEO of Appalachian
Regional Healthcare (ARH) has announced he is
resigning to become the executive vice president of operations
for Texas Health
Resources, reports
the Lexington Herald-Leader. In the new position,
Stephen C. Hanson will oversee a 13-hospital faith-based,
non-profit system serving the Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington
areas.
ARH operates nine hospitals as well as physician
practices, nursing and rehabilitation services, home health
agencies and pharmacies in Eastern Kentucky and southern West
Virginia, and is co-owner of CHA
Health. ARH has not named a successor to Hanson,
they write.
Utah region once thought
dry could be a major oil find by small company
A tiny oil company has snapped up leasing rights
to a half-million acres in central Utah that it says could
yield a billion barrels or more of oil, a claim that has captured
international attention as oil and gas prices soar.
"Geologists are calling it a spectacular
find, the largest onshore discovery in at least 30 years,
in a region of complex geology long abandoned for exploration
by major oil companies. It's turning out to contain high-quality
oil already commanding a premium at refineries," writes
Paul Foy of The Associated Press. Industry
players expect a bidding war to break out at the next Utah
leasing auction, set for May 17 in Salt Lake City.
At today's prices the oil reserve could bring
Utah $5.6 billion in royalties, state auditors conservatively
estimate. Although the discovery is still playing out, the
oil will take years to recover and some skeptics question
the company's projections for a region yet to be fully surveyed,
AP reports.
Fadel Gheit, senior oil analyst at Oppenheimer
& Co. in New York, told reporters, "It's
just very highly unlikely because the U.S. onshore has been
picked clean. That's like finding a wallet in the subway after
all the cleaners went through it. It's possible, but very
highly unlikely." Gov. Jon Huntsman said he was aware
of the discovery "and we are tracking the progress with
great interest."
The discovery is playing out more than 100 miles
from any of Utah's other major oil fields and 45 miles from
the nearest operating well, writes the wire service. The find,
just outside Sigurd, Utah, 130 miles south of Salt Lake City,
was made by Wolverine
Gas & Oil Corp., a private company in Grand
Rapids, Mich.
Iowa regulators say they
would add three to five riverboat casinos; no specifics
A majority of Iowa gambling regulators have
indicated they are ready to approve at least three to five
new riverboat casino licenses, but they didn't specify which
plans out of ten applications might get the nod.
The Iowa
Racing and Gaming Commission expressed their
sentiments following a daylong public hearing on casino proposals.
The commission is considering 10 applications for licenses
in seven communities, writes
William Petroski of The Des Moines Register.
Commission Chairwoman Diane Hamilton was joined
by Commissioners Gerald Bair and Joyce Jarding in expressing
support for approving three to five new licenses. Hamilton
told Petroski, "We don't want to issue so many licenses
that a year down the road we have a casino in trouble."
Regulators didn't publicly state their preference for any
specific casino projects, and each declined afterward to comment
whether they support any particular license request. The commission
meets again next week to announce which projects will be awarded
licenses, Petroski writes.
The commission administrator told the newspaper
the panel will meet July 14 to consider reinstating a statewide
moratorium on additional casino licenses. Such a moratorium
was in place from 1998 through 2004, when regulators decided
to rescind the restrictions so that new proposals could be
offered for casino projects. Iowa currently has 16 casinos,
including 10 aboard riverboats, three at racetracks and three
on Indian lands.
Guns-in-the-bar bill
shot down in Tennessee; 'unbelievable,' says speaker
A Tennessee House subcommittee, after contentious
debate, has reversed a vote taken earlier and defeated legislation
allowing handguns in establishments that sell alcoholic beverages.
House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh and Majority Leader
Kim McMillan took the lead in criticizing the bill. Both said
they had received threats from supporters of the legislation,
writes
Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, in turn,
said he had received threats from those opposed to the measure.
The House Constitutional Protections Subcommittee had approved
the bill last week, but the approval was effectively invalidated
by Naifeh through parliamentary maneuvers that sent the bill
back for another hearing. Naifeh called the bill "unbelievable"
and noted that firearms are banned from the Legislative Plaza.
He told reporters, "We don't want to let people bring
firearms in here, but yet we want to let them take them into
bars?"
The bill would have allowed persons who hold
conceal-carry permits, of which about 150,000 have been issued
in Tennessee, to take their weapons into businesses selling
alcohol, provided they do not consume any alcohol. Businesses,
however, could decide individually to prohibit firearms on
premises by posting signs.
'Democracy Now!' host
castigates media as 'mouthpiece' for power brokers
Nationally renowned advocacy journalist Amy
Goodman told an overflow audience in Louisville last night
that mainstream news media have become a "megaphone"
for those in power.
Goodman maintains journalists have failed to
adequately challenge the Bush administration's rationale for
the Iraq war and gave short shrift to dissenters and protesters,
writes
Chris Kenning of The Courier-Journal. Goodman
told her audience, "We need an independent media in a
time of war," and argued corporate-owned newspapers and
television networks often fail to hold the U.S. government
accountable, writes Kenning for the Louisville newspaper.
Goodman, 48, is host of Democracy
Now!, a news show on the alternative Pacifica
Radio network carried by more than 330 radio
and TV stations.
She has gained a national following for her
blend of investigative reporting and political activism focusing
on government accountability and media responsibility, writes
Kenning. She's also a frequent guest on CNN
and other news talk shows, and her honors include the George
Polk Award for her documentary on "Drilling and Killing:
Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship." Last night's
stop on her "Un-Embed the Media" speaking tour was
sponsored by a bookstore and the Center
for Kentucky Progress, a think tank, Kenning
writes.
Goodman cited a 2003 Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting study on Iraq coverage by ABC,
NBC, CBS and PBS
news. Of 393 people interviewed on camera, only 17 percent
were "skeptical" of U.S. policy. And only three
were anti-war representatives, the study found. Goodman said
networks interviewed mostly former generals or government
officials. Instead, she said, the media should be "a
sanctuary of dissent."
Eastern Kentucky county
official removed from office 16 months after conviction
A special circuit court judge in Eastern Kentucky’s
Knott County has, at least tentatively, removed from office
Judge-Executive Donnie Newsome 16 months after his felony
vote-buying conviction and imprisonment.
"Ruling on an election-contest suit filed
by a defeated opponent in a 2002 county primary, Special Judge
James Bondurant said Newsome admitted in federal court last
September that he violated the state Corrupt Practices Act,"
writes
Lee Mueller of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Newsome testified he accepted $20,000 in illegal cash contributions
for the race from Ross Harris of Pikeville.
Bondurant signed an order on April 27 declaring
the Knott County judge-executive's office vacant and ordering
it to be filled "in a manner prescribed by law."
It was not clear yesterday, however, when Newsome would have
to vacate his courthouse office, Muller writes. Paintsville
lawyer Michael Endicott, who filed the suit on behalf of Mike
Hall, a former county clerk who lost to Newsome by 520 votes
in the 2002 primary, told Mueller, "It's effective, as
far as I'm concerned, (immediately)."
Animal planet: A vegan
dinosaur and a rare woodpecker named Houdini
Researchers in the badlands of east central
Utah have unearthed the fossil remains of a dinosaur "missing
link," a primitive plant-eater recently evolved from
the carnivorous raptors, which also produced modern birds,
writes
Guy Gugliotta of The Washington Post.
The long-tailed dinosaur ate plants but had
powerful, ropy arms and four-inch talons on the ends of its
forepaws. Utah state paleontologist James I. Kirkland speculated,
"They probably used the claws for self-defense."
The discovery supports earlier research linking plant-eating
dinosaurs known as therizinosaurs to raptors and opens the
possibility that therizinosaurs may have originated in North
America rather than Asia. For the New York Times version,
click here.
Then there's our fine-feathered friend, "Houdini,"
the red-cockaded woodpecker who recently got new digs. Scientists
have moved the little woodpecker from its woods in western
Southampton County, Virginia, which is being logged, to a
preserve in Sussex County, about 40 miles northeast, writes
Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The bird had lived alone in the Southampton
woods for at least 11 years. It was probably the last survivor
from a small population there. Its mate and relatives had
probably flown away or died off years ago. Experts say that
in the wild, red-cockaded woodpeckers usually don't live to
be older than 5. The apparent record is 16. This bird is at
least 13, possibly older, writes Springston.
On top of that, red-cockaded woodpeckers live
in close-knit families, called clans. For all those years,
the Southampton bird rode out storms and dodged predators
on its own. Bryan D. Watts, director of the College
of William and Mary's Center
for Conservation Biology told the newspaper,
"This bird has really been through it." Southside
Virginia, the northernmost realm of the red-cockaded woodpecker,
used to be dotted with populations, Springston writes. But
as people cut the pines or otherwise damaged the birds' forests,
the clans winked out like snuffed candles. Houdini has magically
and majestically survived.
Wednesday, May 4,
2005
Applications for national
rural-issues conference must be received by today
Tomorrow is the deadline for journalists to
apply for sponsored attendance at Rural
America, Community Issues, a conference to be
held June 12-17 at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism
at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Knight Center
is offering fellowships for this in-depth seminar, programmed
by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community
Issues. Speakers will be experts from top research
institutions, government, business and the media. Attendees
will gain valuable sources and engage in thought-provoking
discussions with other reporters, editors and opinion writers
from around the country.
Confirmed sessions and speakers include: Dee
Davis, president, Center for Rural Strategies;
Charles Fluharty, director, Rural Policy Research
Institute; Mark Drabenstott, Center for the
Study of Rural America, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City; Calvin Beale, senior demographer, Economic Research
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; experts on the perceptions
and politics of rural America; Hilda Heady, president, National
Rural Health Association; Alan Richard, Education
Week writer who covers rural schools; Sharon Strover,
University of Texas at Austin, expert on
rural broadband; Ken Stone, professor of economics, Iowa
State University and student of the Wal-Marting of
America; David Freshwater, agricultural economist, University
of Kentucky; Deb Flemming, former editor, Mankato
Free Press; Tom and Pat Gish, publishers of The
Mountain Eagle of Whitesburg, Ky.; Al Smith, former
editor and publisher of weeklies in Kentucky and Tennessee;
Tom McDonald, general manager of the Las Vegas
(N.M.) Optic and former editor of the Pine
Bluff Commercial; and Bill Bishop of the Austin
American-Statesman. Also, a Washington field trip
will explore the roles of federal and state governments, and
the interests that lobby them, in rural issues. We will talk
to policymakers, big thinkers and detail folks.
Knight Center fellowships cover all seminar
costs, including reference materials, hotel lodging, meals
and a travel subsidy. The travel subsidy is a reimbursement
of half the cost of travel up to a maximum subsidy of $300.
The deadline for receipt of applications is today,
May 4. To apply, send three copies of each of the
following materials, organized into sets: A resume, including
contact information at work; a statement of up to 500 words
giving the reasons for applying; a supervisor's strong nominating
letter that also agrees to pay partial travel costs to and
from the seminar and salary during the seminar (freelancers
send a letter of recommendation from an editor); and three
published articles (editors may send edited work, broadcasters
send one CD, audiotape or VHS videotape). Send applications
so that they will be received by today to:
Carol Horner, Director, Knight Center for Specialized Journalism,
University of Maryland, 1117 Cole Field House, College Park,
MD 20742-1024. Contact the Knight Center at 301/405-4817.
With paid time, do they
stand in line? Audit raises state worker voting questions
Here’s a reporting opportunity. Do state
workers vote if they get state-paid time to cast their ballot?
The results of an audit show thousands of state employees
in Kentucky who took paid time off to vote, but did not go
to the polls. Editors, especially those in rural communities
where state office workers can run but cannot hide, might
find out how their government employees fare under the scrutiny
of a similar survey.
Kentucky
Auditor Crit Luallen said of her audit, "When
employees take advantage of that privilege they've been given,
(and don’t vote) it's not fair." For the full story,
by reporter Elizabeth J. Beardsley of The Courier-Journal,
click here.
Tennessee bill could
leave police in the dark about rapes on college campuses
Tennessee's colleges and universities would
no longer have to notify police when a student reports being
raped, under a proposed state law.
"Some victims' rights advocates say the
change will encourage more women to come forward by removing
the intimidating influence of the criminal justice system
and instead requiring campus officials to tell victims about
nearby rape crisis centers," writes
Ian Demsky of the Tennessean.
Tim Tohill of the Rape and Sexual Abuse
Center in Nashville, told Demsky, ''When somebody
comes to our facility for counseling, we would encourage them
very strongly to report to the police. If they decide they
want to go to the police, we support the victim 100%. But
that needs to be the victim's choice.''
Not everyone agrees with the proposed change,
writes Demsky. Mary Martin, a former music executive who was
raped in 1992, told the newspaper removing the mandatory reporting
requirement would serve the college's interests more than
the victims. ''I don't like people ducking their responsibilities.
By ducking that responsibility, it avoids any unnecessary
publicity that would result in a lower alumni fund. And I
don't care. Colleges are not exempt from being responsible
citizens.'' Under the current law, Martin argued, a rape victim
can simply tell police she does not want to cooperate; yet,
the rape report would still be counted among the schools'
crime figures.
For The Associated Press version
of this story, click here.
For a Tennessean story about sexual assaults on Tennessee
campuses, click here.
University president
refuses to speak to newspaper reporter; paper responds
The interim president of Auburn University,
Ed Richardson, announced in a campus memo last week that he
will no longer speak to Jack Stripling, the higher-education
reporter for the local newspaper, The Opelika-Auburn
News, the newspaper reports.
Stripling reported on a business deal between
two university trustees at a time when the university was
on probation with its accrediting agency, the O-A News writes.
Richardson called the reporting unfair because the business
relationship is a “dead issue,” but never said
the reporting was inaccurate.
“While I expect skepticism and hard questions
from reporters, I also expect fairness and responsibility,”
Richardson wrote in his memo to faculty and administrators.
“I have not seen that fairness in the News’ coverage
of Auburn governance.”
The newspaper replied in an editorial, “We
wonder what message Richardson hopes to send to journalism
students at Auburn University. Best we can interpret, he is
teaching them that asking questions and reporting facts that
a public figure may not appreciate is 'totally inappropriate.'”
The paper said it will stand by its reporter, but invited
further dialogue: “Rare and low is a university president
who doesn’t see value in dialogue with his community.
We hope Richardson will reconsider, and today we place the
ball in his court.”.
N. C. budget would raise
cig tax 35 cents a pack, create lottery, ban video poker
Democratic Senate leaders in North Carolina,
looking for ways to fill a sizable budget gap, have ratcheted
up the proposed state cigarette-tax increase to 35 cents a
pack. The Senate's budget also creates a state lottery and
bans video poker, writes
Mark Johnson of The Charlotte Observer.
House Speaker Jim Black, a Democrat, told the
newspaper that packing the lottery into the budget after it
narrowly passed the House as stand-alone legislation "makes
it very difficult" to pass the budget in the House. Gov.
Mike Easley, a Democrat, signaled his unhappiness with some
elements of the Senate plan and his hopes that the House will
make changes. Spokeswoman Cari Boyce said the cigarette tax
should go higher.
Senate budget writers initially proposed a 25-cent
bump in the cigarette tax, a little more than half of the
45 cents Easley proposed in February, but a big rise from
the current nickel a pack. Democratic leaders weren't able
to sell the quarter increase to a meeting of their party caucus,
which holds the majority in the Senate. Senators raised pointed
concerns about a need for revenue, cuts to programs and teen
smoking.
The increase would elevate the cigarette tax
in North Carolina, the top tobacco-producing state, from the
lowest in the nation. It would rank 41st, still well below
the national average of 84.5 cents a pack. South Carolina
would take the title of lowest, at 7 cents per pack. For The
Associated Press version, click here.
Montana tobacco tax revenue
short of expectations; dollar hike cuts smoking
Tobacco tax revenue in Montana is falling short
of the state's original projections and some programs, like
the Children's Health Insurance Program and new prescription
drug aid programs, might be caught in the financial cuts crosshairs.
"It appears that the new $1-per-pack increase in the
tax on cigarettes, approved by voters in November, is reducing
the number of cigarettes sold in state. That means the state
is receiving less tobacco tax revenue than it anticipated,"
writes
Allison Farrell of the Billings Gazette.
State Budget Director David Ewer told Farrell
tobacco tax revenue projections have been reduced by $3 million
for the first six months of 2005. The state originally projected
to raise $16.2 million in tobacco tax funds for new health
programs by June 30 but is now hoping to bring in $13.3 million.
"It's still early to say we'll meet what we've targeted
for our revenue estimates. But it is true the data we have
so far shows less revenue than we've projected," writes
Farrell.
The state originally projected to raise $71
million for five health-care programs over the next two years.
The rest of the money is slated to be put into reserve. But
if the money doesn't roll in, then the programs have to be
scaled back, Ewer said. No decisions will be made until late
summer or fall, she writes.
Surgeon general favors
‘regionally, ethnically tailored’ national smoking
campaign
The surgeon
general of the United States told a federal court yesterday
that a national, one-size-fits-all campaign against smoking
would do less to discourage smoking than initiatives tailored
for specific regions of the country and for specific ethnic
groups, writes
Michael Janofsky of The New York Times.
Dr.
Richard H. Carmona said, "What works on
a Native American reservation in the Southwest may not work
in New York City, South Dakota or Beverly Hills," adding
later: "There's no one solution to say, Here's a national
plan. I don't think we'll ever be at a point where we can
say, Here is a national solution." The trial is expected
to conclude in June after nine months of testimony, Janofsky
writes.
Carmona, who was appointed by President Bush
in 2002, was called by the government in its racketeering
case against big tobacco companies. The suit initially sought
$280 billion from the companies, but an appeals court said
that penalty was inconsistent with civil racketeering laws.
Now government lawyers are pushing Judge Gladys Kessler to
consider other measures should she find that the companies
have engaged in a 50-year conspiracy to keep Americans smoking,
as the government has charged, writes Janofsky.
Those could include the creation of a national
stop-smoking program financed by the companies, a nationwide
educational program, a change in the way companies describe
their "light" cigarettes and new restrictions on
advertising. The most expensive option, a stop-smoking program,
could cost the companies as much as $5 billion a year, he
writes. For The Associated Press version,
click here.
For more on the Justice Department's litigation, click here.
Nebraska law tightening
regs on cold-medicine ingredients sails on first vote
Nebraska's one-chamber legislature has voted overwhelmingly
for a measure restricting access to a popular cold medication
in an effort to curb the state's illegal production and trafficking
of methamphetamine.
Senators gave the bill first-round approval
with only one dissenting vote, despite complaints from some
that the inconvenience to law-abiding citizens could outweigh
the measure's effectiveness,
writes Leslie Reed of the Omaha World-Herald.
Sen. Pat Bourne of Omaha, the bill's sponsor, told Reed, "I
do believe it will go a long ways toward stopping the (meth)
problem here in Nebraska. It will be the most comprehensive
bill in the country to fight (meth)."
The measure would require retailers to store
products with pseudoephedrine behind the counter or in a locked
cabinet. Purchasers would have to be at least 18 years old
and show identification. No one would be allowed to buy more
than the equivalent of 48 doses in a 24-hour period. The measure
also would increase penalties for meth trafficking, he writes.
Several state legislatures have voted this year
to limit access to meth ingredients. In Illinois, those in
the rural part of the state, "apparently
know more than their Chicago counterparts about a new law
limiting sales of Sudafed and other cold remedies, a key ingredient
in the illegal drug," reports
Stephanie Zimmerman of the Chicago Sun-Times.
"That
disparity worries law enforcement officials, who say Downstate
meth makers are traveling north to make their buys. And a
compliance check late last week showed they appear to be right
-- about 50 percent of retailers in one Chicago Police district
were not restricting access to the drugs."
Trout Unlimited advocates
renewal of mine cleanup fund; Sen. Byrd backing effort
The national conservation group Trout
Unlimited is urging Congress to approve a long-term
extension of the tax that funds the cleanup of abandoned coal
mines.
Carol Moore, a TU member from Coal Creek, Tenn.,
told reporters during a Washington news conference, “The
job of cleaning up the coalfields simply isn’t done,
so we still very much need the fund.” At the same time,
lawmakers on Tuesday moved to finalize another short-term
fix that would reauthorize the tax through the end of September,
writes
Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., inserted that
extension into a budget bill last month, and yesterday won
conference committee approval of it. “The families living
in the coalfield communities of West Virginia and throughout
America should not live in constant limbo, unsure whether
the funding will be available to repair and restore the abandoned
mine sites near their homes," Byrd said.
Under the Abandoned
Mine Land program, coal operators pay 35 cents
per ton of surface-mined coal and 15 cents per ton of underground-mined
coal. The money is supposed to be used to clean up coal mines
that were abandoned before 1977, when the federal strip-mine
law was passed, Ward writes.
Duke Energy, Progress
Energy see prospects for new nuclear power plants
North Carolina's two major electric companies
say the time is right to reconsider nuclear energy with energy
costs soaring and Washington continuing to debate a new national
energy policy.
"Like so much of the state's changing economy,
it has a lot to do with foreign competition," writes
Emery P. Dalesio of The Associated Press.
This time, he adds, the competition from China, India and
other developing nations is for coal and natural gas - the
primary fuels burned by American power plants. That's driven
fuel prices higher and made nuclear power cheaper by comparison.
Scott Hinnant, chief nuclear officer at Raleigh-based
Progress Energy
Inc., which serves almost 3 million customers
in the Carolinas and Florida, told reporters, "As demand
increases in one place, cost goes up in another, nuclear is
an important component of our company. We value a diversity
of fuel mixes. This gives us protection against rising prices
in one fuel market or another."
A Durham opponent of nuclear energy warns Duke
Power and Progress Energy should expect everything
from scientific arguments to street protests against new nuclear
plants. Jim Warren, executive director of the North
Carolina Waste Awareness Reduction Network said,
"I don't think the North Carolina public will go along
with more reactors." But an environmentalist said nuclear
energy is safer than coal. Professor Robert Jackson, director
of the Duke University
ecology program and Duke's Center
on Global Change said thousands of Americans
die every year from diseases resulting from coal pollution,
while no one has died as a result of nuclear power, reports
the wire service. For a list of power plants, click here.
Charlotte Observer has
new managing editor, Nieman Fellow Cheryl Carpenter
Charlotte Observer Editor Rick
Thames has named Cheryl Carpenter the paper's new managing
editor, putting her in charge of day-to-day operations in
the newsroom of about 250 journalists.
"She'll take over for Frank Barrows, who
announced Monday he is leaving after 13 years as the paper's
No. 2 editor," writes
the newspaper’s Scott Dodd. Carpenter is serving a one-year
Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University and plans to return
to the paper May 31. Carpenter has worked at the Observer
for 22 years as an editor on the state desk, the metro staff,
the business section and Page One.
There's to be no apostrophe,
period, say University of Minnesota … scholars?!
The University
of Minnesota's "Great Apostrophe Debate"
is over, and defenders of the much-maligned punctuation mark
are in mourning. The university's Scholars Walk will be just
that -- a Scholars Walk, not a Scholars' Walk,
writes
Mary Jane Smetanka of the Star Tribune.
The Scholars Walk is a $4.5 million walkway
to commemorate the accomplishments of people associated with
the school. Board members and others at the university have
been jousting good-naturedly over whether "scholars"
should end with an apostrophe, writes Smetanka. Larry Laukka,
who leads the group developing the walkway that will pay tribute
to eminent scholars and students, told the Minneapolis newspaper,
"I'm terribly disappointed. But I had to bow to their
whims."
English and rhetoric professors, e-mailers from
around the country and even the Apostrophe Protection
Society of England weighed in on the issue. Laukka
tried to persuade officials an apostrophe would add distinction
by hinting that, in a sense, the walk is owned by those it
honors. But the board voted against the punctuation mark,
Smetanka writes.
Board member Margaret Carlson led the opposition,
concerned an apostrophe signifies ownership and could be misconstrued
as exclusivity. She told the newspaper, "We want the
Scholars Walk to be as inclusive as possible." Carlson
said an apostrophe-free title on a monument isn't unprecedented,
citing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The board also
was concerned that features along the four-block-long walkway
would need apostrophes. "Apostrophes would be out of
control!" they said. Foes had the university's style
guide on their side. It avoids use of apostrophes on building
names and in other titles, she writes.
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Applications for national
rural-issues conference must be received by tomorrow
Tomorrow is the deadline for journalists to
apply for sponsored attendance at Rural
America, Community Issues, a conference to be
held June 12-17 at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism
at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Knight Center
is offering fellowships for this in-depth seminar, programmed
by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community
Issues. Speakers will be experts from top research
institutions, government, business and the media. Attendees
will gain valuable sources and engage in thought-provoking
discussions with other reporters, editors and opinion writers
from around the country.
Confirmed sessions and speakers include: Dee
Davis, president, Center for Rural Strategies;
Charles Fluharty, director, Rural Policy Research
Institute; Mark Drabenstott, Center for the
Study of Rural America, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City; Calvin Beale, senior demographer, Economic Research
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; experts on the perceptions
and politics of rural America; Hilda Heady, president, National
Rural Health Association; Alan Richard, Education
Week writer who covers rural schools; Sharon Strover,
University of Texas at Austin, expert on
rural broadband; Ken Stone, professor of economics, Iowa
State University and student of the Wal-Marting of
America; David Freshwater, agricultural economist, University
of Kentucky; Deb Flemming, former editor, Mankato
Free Press; Tom and Pat Gish, publishers of The
Mountain Eagle of Whitesburg, Ky.; Al Smith, former
editor and publisher of weeklies in Kentucky and Tennessee;
Tom McDonald, general manager of the Las Vegas
(N.M.) Optic and former editor of the Pine
Bluff Commercial; and Bill Bishop of the Austin
American-Statesman. Also, a Washington field trip
will explore the roles of federal and state governments, and
the interests that lobby them, in rural issues. We will talk
to policymakers, big thinkers and detail folks.
Knight Center fellowships cover all seminar
costs, including reference materials, hotel lodging, meals
and a travel subsidy. The travel subsidy is a reimbursement
of half the cost of travel up to a maximum subsidy of $300.
The deadline for receipt of applications is tomorrow,
May 4. To apply, send three copies of each of the
following materials, organized into sets: A resume, including
contact information at work; a statement of up to 500 words
giving the reasons for applying; a supervisor's strong nominating
letter that also agrees to pay partial travel costs to and
from the seminar and salary during the seminar (freelancers
send a letter of recommendation from an editor); and three
published articles (editors may send edited work, broadcasters
send one CD, audiotape or VHS videotape). Send applications
so that they will be received by tomorrow to:
Carol Horner, Director, Knight Center for Specialized Journalism,
University of Maryland, 1117 Cole Field House, College Park,
MD 20742-1024. Contact the Knight Center at 301/405-4817.
Newspaper circulation
continues decline, forcing tough decisions, reports WSJ
Newspaper circulation figures from the
Audit Bureau of Circulations show industry-wide
declines of 1 to 3 percent, possibly the highest for daily
papers since the industry lost 2.6 percent of subscribers
in 1990-91.
The biggest publishers may show the largest
declines: Gannett Co., which owns about 100
daily newspapers, says it will be down "a couple of points"
from last year's levels, write
Julia Angwin and Joseph T. Hallinan of The Wall Street
Journal. Circulation at Tribune Co.'s
Los Angeles Times is likely to be off in
excess of 6 percent of its most recently reported figures.
Belo Corp.'s Dallas Morning News
expects to report daily circulation down 9 percent and Sunday
circulation down 13 percent from the year-earlier period.
For Editor & Publisher's
comprehensive report on newspaper circulation, click
here. For a list of the daily papers that gained
both daily and Sunday circulation, click
here. Among those on the list that have had material in
The Rural Blog are The News-Enterprise of
Elizabethtown, Ky.; the Herald-Citizen of
Cookeville, Tenn.; the Bristol (Va.) Herald-Courier;
the Times West Virginian of Fairmont; the
Kennebec Journal of Augusta, Me.; and
The Free Press of Mankato, Minn.
Competing with the Internet:
Print, waging PR war, insists it's here to stay
Print feels threatened as never before. Newspapers
and magazines may have complained when radio and television
came along, but they seem to be in full panic mode now as
readers and advertisers flock to the Internet, writes
Katharine Q. Seelye of The New York Times.
With their advertising campaigns, poor old print
is declaring that it's not going to take it anymore. "Enough!"
writes Seelye. John Kimball, chief marketing officer for the
Newspaper Association of America,
told her, "You read things that the industry is dead,
that the Internet is eating our lunch, that everyone is watching
television, that national advertising is declining in the
major metros. But the medium is very strong. There are lots
of ads in the papers, and not because those people think they're
making a charitable contribution. They're investing in the
medium because it's delivering results."
Newspapers are generally profitable but they
leave Wall Street unenthusiastic, Seelye notes. A Goldman,
Sachs report last week warned investors that
"lackluster ad revenue growth, weak circulation revenues"
and "a downward trend in earnings estimates" reinforced
its "negative view" of the newspaper industry. And
recent disclosures of inflated circulation figures have soured
the climate for some advertisers.
Earl C. Cox, who is the Martin
Agency's chief executive and is leading the newspapers'
public relations campaign, told newspaper executives at a
recent conference the current perception of newspapers among
advertisers was that they were "static, inflexible and
hard to buy. It doesn't help any that media buyers are under
30 and their focus is elsewhere," mostly on the Internet.
He also said newspapers needed to retell their story to remind
advertisers that their readers are highly engaged and influential
and are paying attention, unlike some of the "eyeballs"
darting around the Internet, she writes.
Press freedom declines
worldwide; study cites legal cases and political payoffs
Press freedom around the world has declined
for the third consecutive year and events in the United States
contributed to bringing the level of freedom down, according
to a study
by Freedom
House titled, "Freedom of the Press
2005: A Global Survey of Media Independence."
The survey assesses the degree of freedom by
print, broadcast and digital media in each country on a score
from 0-100, with 0 being complete freedom. Political influences
on the news, the legal environment for the media and economic
pressures on the media are the three categories on which each
country’s press freedoms are weighed, reports
Mark Fitzgerald of Editor & Publisher.
“Just 17 percent of people in the world
live in countries that enjoy a free press, while 45% live
where the press is not free, a percentage that increased by
2% in the past year, Freedom House said,” Fitzgerald
reports. “Another 38 percent . . . lives in countries
with a "partly free" press, the organization said.”
The United States dropped from a 15 to a 17
last year, ago "due to a number of legal cases in which
prosecutors sought to compel journalists to reveal sources
or turn over notes or other material they had gathered in
the course of investigations,” the study said. The study
also cited concerns about grants paid to political commentators.
The freest nations last year were Finland, Iceland
and Sweden, each receiving a score of 9, the study said.
Small paper's meth series
wins Minnesota AP Association public-service prize
The Minnesota Associated Press Association
is giving its public service award to Ann Austin, Jennifer
Rogers and Debbie Irmen of the Albert Lea Tribune,
circulation 6,315, for their series “Meth: A rural epidemic.”
Brandon Stahl of The Fergus Falls
Daily Journal, circ. 8,414, is new journalist of
the year.
The
Pioneer Press of St. Paul won first place for continuing
coverage and second for spot news for its coverage of the
November slayings of six Wisconsin deer hunters, reports
The Associated Press.
W.
Va. governor signs bills against meth and schoolkids' sugary
snacks
Gov. Joe Manchin has signed legislation keeping
soft drinks out of elementary, middle and junior high schools
during school hours and a separate measure that aims to crack
down on makeshift methamphetamine labs. Both bills take effect
July 8, writes
Lawrence Messina of The Associated Press.
Though he introduced the Healthy Lifestyles
Act, the governor said its provision addressing soda pop in
schools reflected a compromise between dueling interests.
Manchin said, of the healthy lifestyles bill, "It has
been proven that soft drinks have no nutritional value. I
don't think we should have any soft drinks, any sugar drinks.
But we also have the market concept to consider."
School principals and parents say they raise
needed revenue through soft drink sales. Soft drink companies
also opposed the bill. The bill allows soft drinks in high
school vending machines, but half of any machines must be
stocked with "healthy beverages" - water, lowfat
milk, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice and drinks with
at least 20 percent real juice, writes Messina. The Healthy
Lifestyles Act also promotes physical education classes in
public schools and creates an Office of Healthy Lifestyles
within the Department
of Health and Human Resources. West Virginia
has some of the worst rates in the country for obesity, diabetes
and heart disease.
The meth bill makes it a crime to possess such
chemicals as iodine at a concentration greater than 1.5 percent
and anhydrous ammonia with intent to make the drug. It also
bars the purchase of more than three packages a month of any
over-the-counter mdicine that has ephedrine, pseudoephedrine
or phenylpropanolamine as its single active ingredient. The
bill is modeled after Oklahoma legislation credited with reducing
the number of meth labs there by 60 percent. The measure threatens
a felony charge against anyone who makes or tries to make
meth where children are present. The new crime carries a one-
to five-year prison term, he writes.
S.C. cig tax pressure
mounts; N.C. boost would make S.C.’s nation’s
lowest
As North Carolina lawmakers move closer to raising
that state's cigarette tax, South Carolina could find itself
home to the lowest cigarette levy in the nation, a possibility
that is increasing pressure on Palmetto State pols to take
action.
"N.C. senators are expected this week to
propose increasing the cigarette tax there by 25 cents a pack,
to 30 cents," writes
Aaron Gould Sheinin of The State. With Kentucky's
recently passed cigarette tax hike set to take effect June
1, South Carolina’s 7-cents-a-pack tax rate would be
10 cents lower than second-ranking Missouri’s 17-cents-a-pack
tax. With South Carolina’s tax out of alignment with
other states, proponents of raising cigarette taxes, who say
a higher cost would encourage some to stop smoking and keep
others from starting, see an opportunity, writes Sheinin for
the Columbia newspaper.
Dr. Oscar Lovelace Jr. of Chapin, leader of
a coalition of cigarette tax supporters, told The State, “Where
is the political will of our elected leaders? Our southeastern
neighbors have risen to the challenge. Why can’t we?”
State Rep. Rex Rice, R-Pickens, has been fighting for a cigarette
tax increase for several years. Previous attempts have started
strong, only to die in the legislative process. Rice has a
bill that would increase cigarette taxes 30 cents a pack.
He told the paper, “Do I think it will happen between
now and the end of the year?” he said. “I don’t
think so. But I do think it’s likely to happen next
year.” For more on efforts nationwide to increase cigarette
taxes, and Colorado efforts for a "smoke free work environment,"
click here.
Coal mine operator gets
'rare' prison term for safety violations in fatal 2003 blast
A federal judge has sentenced a former coal
mine operator to 60 days in prison for safety violations that
led to an explosion in 2003, killing a miner and injuring
two others.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Sledd, who prosecuted
the case, said Robert Ratliff Sr. is the first miner convicted
of safety violations in Eastern Kentucky and sentenced to
prison in more than a decade, writes
Alan Maimon of The Courier-Journal. The sentence
comes after Ratliff's company, Cody Mining, was fined $536,050
last year, the largest federal penalty ever in Kentucky, for
violations related to the explosion.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning denied Ratliff's
request for probation, citing the severity of the violations
at Cody Mining in Floyd County, writes Maimon for the Louisville
newspaper. Ratliff's lawyer, Billy Shelton, said his client
has waived the right to appeal and must complete a year of
probation after his release.
Steve Earle, Kentucky political director for
the United Mine Workers,
told Maimon that Ratliff's prison sentence "should be
a deterrent to other operators who think they're above the
law." According to Earle, three coal company executives
in Western Kentucky were sentenced to prison in 1996 for violating
federal mine safety laws. Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky
Coal Association, said the sentence would put
a scare into mine owners who blatantly violate safety laws.
For the AP version, by Roger Alford, click here.
Eastern Kentucky senator
accused of mail fraud in 2000 primary race
A leading Eastern Kentucky senator faces a federal indictment
alleging campaign finance irregularities in a hotly contested
2000 Democratic primary.
Lexington lawyer Brent L. Caldwell said his
client, Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, is expected to be charged
with "mail fraud/conspiracy to commit voter fraud."
Caldwell said the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District
of Kentucky notified him of the pending indictment, writes
Elisabeth J. Beardsley of The Courier-Journal.
Caldwell told Beardsley that Turner, who is
Senate Democratic caucus chairman, will not resign his seat.
"Sen. Turner, like all American citizens, is presumed
innocent under our constitution, and he intends to vigorously
defend himself against any charge brought against him in court
before a jury of Kentucky citizens," he said in a written
statement. Turner spokeswoman Susan Straub confirmed the statement's
authenticity.
The FBI and the U.S. attorney have been investigating
financial transactions during Turner's 2000 Senate campaign
"for many months," according to Caldwell's statement.
Federal officials have also examined "other candidates'
campaigns," the statement said. Van Tatenhove's spokeswoman
Cindy Long declined comment, as did FBI spokesman David Beyer,
Beardsley writes.
Business owners appealing
ruling regarding their English-only policy
Owners of a drive-in in Page, Ariz., which serves
and employs a large number of Navajo Indians, have appealed
a federal district court ruling on its lawsuit with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, reports Mountain
States Legal Foundation, which will represent the
owners.
The EEOC sued Richard and Shauna Kidman, owners
of RD’s Drive-In, after they began enforcing a policy
that only English be spoken in the workplace, the legal foundation
reports.
An Arizona federal district court ruled that they agreed to
settle the lawsuit, but the Kidmans argue in their brief that
there was no such agreement because there was never a “meeting
of minds” between the parties.
The couple does not speak Navajo, and they started
enforcing their English-only policy after discovering many
Navajo customers and employees were repelled by some of the
language they heard from employees. One Navajo woman complained
that male Navajo employees had made sexually suggestive comments.
The owners found out after checking the EEOC's
website that they could require English be spoken in the workplace
if they had business reasons. They began requiring employees
to speak English unless they were serving a customer who didn’t
speak English, and employees signed an acknowledgment of the
policy. Four former employees filed a complaint with the EEOC,
and an Arizona court ruled in the EEOC’s favor in September
of last year.
Private Kentucky hospital
to receive coal severance tax revenues for drug rehab
A private hospital in Pikeville will receive
public funding from coal severance tax revenues to treat young
drug addicts in Eastern Kentucky.
Pikeville
Medical Center will receive $750,000 over two
years to help pay for a juvenile drug rehabilitation center,
writes Janie
Taylor of the Appalachian News-Express. Coal
severance tax money historically has been used to improve
infrastructure, including developing industrial parks and
extending municipal water lines into communities where mining
has fouled wells.
State Sen. Ray Jones told the Pikeville newspaper
the budget included an additional $1.5 million in coal severance
tax revenues to Operation
UNITE, an Eastern Kentucky anti-drug project.
Jones expects that money also will go for operation of drug-treatment
centers. Jones said the money is needed because the region
has a severe drug problem and most treatment programs are
geared toward adults, Taylor writes. Jones said he considered
the Medical Center initiative as one of the most important
ever undertaken in Eastern Kentucky, and that he has read
too many obituaries of young addicts who died from drug overdoses.
Jones told the newspaper, "I know a lot
of people have been opposed to this type of allocations from
coal severance tax revenues," but he added drug treatment
actually has become an important part of economic development
in the region because some coal companies have had trouble
finding employees who can pass drug tests. Pike County Judge-Executive
Bill Deskins told Taylor coal severance tax money has been
important for improving the quality of life in coalfield communities.
"I have to support it, for the children." Jones
said the state appropriation will come in two installments,
$400,000 this year and $350,000 the next.
Montana wind farm work
to begin soon; power for thousands, jobs for hundreds
Work on Montana's first major wind farm is expected
to begin this month, and officials hope it will be producing
electricity by the end of the year.
Invenergy
of Chicago won approval from state regulators to build the
wind farm between Judith Gap and Harlowtown. It's expected
to include 90 to 100 turbines, reports
The Associated Press. Andrew Flanagan, Invenergy's
project manager for the Judith Gap Energy Center, told reporters,
"The plan is to have the project completed and transmitting
electricity by the end of the year." Once completed,
the 150-megawatt project will sell wind-generated electricity
to NorthWestern
Energy, which will use the power to serve its
300,000 customers in central and western Montana.
The project is expected to bring a dozen permanent
jobs to Wheatland County. As many as 150 people will be employed
at the peak of construction this year, writes the wire service.
Flanagan said the 260-foot-tall turbines may start going up
as soon as mid-July. Wheatland County Commissioner Richard
Moe said the wind farm will be the largest construction project
in the area since the late 1970s. Moe told AP, "There
will be a lot of jobs in the area, erecting the wind farm,
and that will certainly be a boost for the local businesses.
It brings a healthy attitude to the county. It's really nice
to see something turn around."
Walleye-devouring cormorants
in Minnesota targeted by federal sharpshooters
Federal sharpshooters are to begin killing up
to 80 percent of the 5,000 adult cormorants nesting in the
Leech Lake area, one of Minnesota's most popular angling destinations,
because of concerns that the increasing population of this
rapacious bird is responsible for a decline in walleye numbers,
a northern fish popular with anglers worldwide.
"Officials say there appears to be a correlation
between recent poor walleye fishing and the booming number
of fish-eating double-crested cormorants on Leech," writes
Doug Smith of the Star Tribune. The population
has jumped from about 150 nesting adults in 1998 to 2,300
in 2003 to more than 5,000 last year. There may be another
3,000 juvenile birds. Ron Payer, Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources fisheries management
chief, told Smith, "We're pretty convinced they are having
a significant impact." For the Duluth News-Tribune
version of this story, “Cormorants in the Crosshairs,”
by reporter John Myers, click here.
The birds are vociferous eaters, each gobbling
up about one pound of fish daily. Henry Drewes, DNR regional
fisheries manager in Bemidji, told the Star Tribune, "We
estimate they consumed in excess of one million pounds of
fish last year. That's a level of predation that wasn't present
prior to 1998. There's going to be an effect." The cormorant
culling plan is a joint effort among state and federal agencies
and the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa, writes Smith.
The shooting will be suspended during the fishing
opener May 14-15, and a quarter-mile buffer zone will be marked
around the island to prevent boaters from approaching, he
writes. (Blogger’s note: Dictionary.com
defines a cormorant as: “Any of several large, widely
distributed marine diving birds, having dark plumage, webbed
feet, a slender hooked bill, and a distensible pouch.”
Second definition - “A greedy, rapacious person.”)
Monday, May 2, 2005
Beef industry could
have made up export loss by testing for mad-cow
Kansas State University's Research
and Extension Service released a 65-page report, “The
Economic Impact of BSE on the U.S. Beef Industry,” with
the controversial conclusion that the industry could have
made up lost profits from overseas markets by testing for
mad-cow disease.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
has been strongly opposed to voluntary testing, saying it
would not identify the disease in young cattle and the tests
aren’t needed, reports
Roxana Hegeman of The Kansas City Star. When
the first mad cow case was discovered in the United States,
53 counties banned the import of U.S. beef, which cost the
industry between $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion last year,
the study said.
In 2003, U.S. beef exports accounted for 9.6
percent of the country’s commercial beef production,
the report said, and 90 percent of that went to five countries:
Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Canada and Hong Kong. Last year,
Mexico and Canada partially resumed U.S. beef imports. However,
exports last year were still 82 percent below 2003 levels.
Western
water wars not doused by wet winter; states can't agree on
allocation
After five years of drought, the American West
had a winter of heavy precipitation in 2004-05 and the mountain
snow pack that feeds the Colorado River is above average for
the first time in years, but the seven dry states that depend
on the river for their water supply are engaged in yet another
water war.
"Despite a year of negotiations, the governors of Wyoming,
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California
have been unable to agree on an annual plan for sharing the
Colorado's water, the most precious resource in a region where
the rain rarely falls. So, the final decision has been bumped
up to the Bush administration," writes
T. R. Reid of The Washington Post.
Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton is expected
today to tell the seven feuding governors how much water they
can draw from the river and its tributaries this year. The
issue is how many million acre-feet of water federal engineers
will shift this summer from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, the
two main reservoirs that control flow on the Colorado, writes
Reid.
A seven-state compact created in 1922 governing
allocations of Colorado River flow was fairly easy to adhere
to until a tidal wave of population growth. Coupled with a
drought, it made a dry region even drier and aggravated the
water wars. Now a network of dams and diversion canals sucks
up all the water before the river reaches its mouth. Bill
Bates, a resource engineer with the Denver Water Board,
told Reid, "It's a rare year now when the Colorado flows
to the Pacific."
Normally conservative Republicans who denounce
"big spending" and "big government" are
fighting to bring more big-budget government water projects
to their states, while liberal Democrats in the region with
otherwise pristine environmental records are breaking with
their green backers when it comes to proposals for new dams
and concrete-lined canals, he writes.
High fuel costs, pushing
up all energy-related products, triple-hit farmers
While most consumers are feeling the pinch at
the gasoline pump farmers are paying the price for something
more than just the rising cost of diesel fuel.
Along with bushels-per-acre for harvests in
the fall, this year farmers will be measuring their planting
season in gallons per hour, reports
Boyd Huppert of KARE-TV 11 News in Minneapolis.
Dick Kennealy, a farmer in River Falls, Wis., told the station
that even with a relatively small fuel-efficient tractor he
is feeling the pinch of higher diesel fuel prices this year
-- up nearly a dollar a gallon, “about double what it
was a year ago.”
A larger farm, running just two tractors during
planting, could easily spend $400 per day just on fuel, but
in addition, operating tractors is not the only bite from
high fuel prices. Dwight Nelson of Nelson Farm Supply told
Huppert that fertilizer is costing more, too. “The nitrogen
products are all made from natural gas so really heavily linked
to the cost of energy.” Nelson says nitrogen prices
are up 50 percent from two years ago and that’s not
the worst of it. Potash, another major component of farm fertilizer,
also is pushing up operating costs. It's mined mostly in Canada,
but right now demand in other parts of the world has pushed
up prices to record levels. The big question now, asks Huppert,
is "can farmers continue to grow corn and sell it for
less than $2 a bushel and still pay higher input costs?"
National 55 mph speed
limit energy crisis solution? Experts skeptical of sacrifice
President Bush has said he sees no quick fixes
to the nation's energy woes. But if history is any guide,
there is one thing he could do immediately: bring back the
55 miles-per-hour speed limit, write
Jad Mouawad and Simon Romero of The New York Times.
That's an idea that would surely find foes in rural
areas.
"It has been done before. Along with record
oil and gasoline prices, improvements in fuel efficiency and
a lasting economic recession, speed limits helped curb fuel
consumption for the first time in American postwar history
between 1974 and 1984," Mouawad and Romero write, but
energy eventually became cheap again, the economy expanded
and Americans became complacent and unwilling to make more
sacrifices, they note.
Steven Nadel, the executive director for the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,
a nonprofit research group in Washington, told The Times,
"We are in a boxing match, and the president keeps one
hand tied to his back. We're punching with supplies and not
using demand. We're at a disadvantage."
Other industrialized countries, especially in
Europe, have been much more successful than the United States
and have managed to actually lower oil demand, or at least
keep it in check. That comes from higher diesel use and higher
taxes, write Mouawad and Romero. Few politicians in America
might risk ridicule or rejection by explicitly supporting
higher taxes on gasoline, one of the surest ways to limit
the nation's dependence on oil. Robert K. Kaufmann, a professor
of geography at the Center
for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston
University, told the newspaper, "Even the least
outrageous gasoline tax would have choked off some demand,
and the money would have gone to our own government instead
of being transferred overseas. Of course, that would have
to involve personal sacrifice, which is off the table politically."
Low price of coal keeps
at bay nuclear goals espoused by President Bush
President Bush may be high on nuclear power,
but the electric industry is not ready for new reactors.
"Companies have shown interest in building
reactors in the last few months, but industry experts say
conditions are not right to induce companies and investors
to gamble the $1.5 billion or so needed for another round
of plants," writes
Matthew L. Wald of The New York Times.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Chairman Nils J. Diaz said he expects five or six applications
by 2008 and has asked Congress for money for extra staff members.
But, others are cautious. John W. Rowe, the chairman of Exelon,
the largest U.S. nuclear operator, says the high price of
natural gas is an incentive to build plants but that an offsetting
factor is the low cost of coal. The lack of a solution for
waste is also a deterrent, Wald writes. Exelon, though, is
spending millions to win early NRC approval for a reactor
site next to its reactor near Clinton, Ill. The company is
five years from deciding whether to build, Rowe said.
Dominion Power
of Richmond, Va., is also seeking reactor site approval. But
Thomas E. Capps, chairman and chief executive, told Wald,
"We aren't going to build a nuclear plant anytime soon."
The president's suggestion last week the federal government
provide insurance to plant builders against the risk of delays
might be helpful, some experts said, but other factors would
have to come into line.
David E. Dismukes, an associate professor at
Louisiana State University and the associate
director of the Center for
Energy Studies there, said there were competitors
to reactors, including liquefied natural gas. The Bush administration
would like to give the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission authority to approve
liquefied natural gas plants over the objections of state
and local governments, which are wary because of safety and
security considerations. Dismukes told The Times liquefied
natural gas could push the price of natural gas down to about
$3 per million BTU.
Texas oil town sees radioactive
waste disposal project as economic salvation
The small West Texas town of Andrews built an
economy on oil but may hang its hopes on storage and disposal
of radioactive waste.
Dallas-based Waste
Control Specialists has set aside about 1,340
acres near the New Mexico border for hazardous waste storage
and disposal, and the company will manage tons of federal
uranium byproduct waste by year's end, writes
Betsy Blaney of The Associated Press. Some
residents believe the site will bring dozens of jobs from
spin-off industries, and city leaders anticipate it will pump
millions of dollars into the economy.
Russell Shannon, vice president of the Andrews
Industrial Foundation, a privately funded group formed
to help attract companies to the city, told Blaney, "If
we thought we could get an NFL franchise or a Riverwalk, we
wouldn't have looked at this industry." By 1956, the
county led the nation in oil production, pumping more than
60 million barrels annually. But gradually the business dwindled,
along with the town's population.
But last week the town learned the site will
become the storage destination for tons of Department
of Energy uranium byproduct waste now at the abandoned
Fernald federal plant, just northwest of Cincinnati. Shipments
could begin as early as late May and probably will be completed
by year's end. Waste Control Specialists has an application
pending with the Texas
Department of State Health Services to dispose
of the uranium byproduct waste. A decision could come early
next year.
NYT asks
of domestic security spending, “real security, or politics
as usual?”
A New York Times editorial
yesterday asked if “risks and vulnerabilities”
are determining the destination of homeland security spending,
or are the funds being cooked into political pork and fed
to the faithful despite the lessons of the September 11, 2001
terrorists attacks.
“Any terrorist who has followed how domestic
security money is distributed in this country must be encouraged
by the government's ineptness - and Congress is showing few
signs of learning from its mistakes,” writes The Times.
In its report, the 9/11 commission urged that domestic security
funds be given out based strictly on "risks and vulnerabilities."
But since that new pile of money appeared on Capitol Hill,
members of Congress have been more interested in ensuring
their own constituents get a ride on the antiterrorism gravy
train, the editorial states.
Congress has begun debating a formula for financing,
but, The Times writes, "it shows every sign that it will
once again shortchange the places that face the greatest risks.
President Bush and Michael Chertoff, the new homeland security
secretary, should be speaking out and twisting arms in Congress
to make sure that antiterrorism money goes where it is needed
most," states the editorial.
The current formula is based in part on population,
rather than risk, and contains state minimums, so even sparsely
populated states without a plausible terrorism target are
raking in money. This is the formula that gave Wyoming seven
times more domestic security money per capita than New York,
they explain. The problem, says the editorial, "is pork
barrel politics. Members of Congress like to talk about how
Sept. 11 changed everything, but when the subject turns to
money, it is striking how little has changed." The financing
formula is heavily tilted toward small, low-risk states like
Alaska, Utah and Maine, which is home to one committee chairperson.
Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, introduced an amendment
to base the formula on risk, but reports The Times, he lost
15 to 1. (Blogger's note: Again, Pogo was right.)
FCC regs trump zoning
as cellular towers become landscape landmarks
Folks who happily trade urban conveniences for
woodsy acreage and ‘Norman Rockwellian’ maple-lined
streets are finding their reverie disturbed by the rapid advance
of cellular transmission towers.
When Verizon Wireless proposed
building a 150-foot cellular transmission tower atop one of
the highest hills in a wealthy New Jersey town, local officials
found their zoning laws were unable to stem the tower tide.
After a futile battle against Verizon and four other wireless
carriers, the residents of Mendham Township will see the tower
go up, visible from most parts of the town, writes
Katie Hafner of The New York Times.
Their losing battle is becoming commonplace
as hundreds of communities around the country wage the same
fight against cellphone companies. Fears the gigantic towers
will reduce property values and cause health problems from
radio-frequency emissions have created the kind of opposition
that is usually reserved for waste treatment plants in many
towns, Hafner writes.
Carriers are invoking federal law that prohibits
towns from rejecting a transmission tower on the grounds it
poses health concerns, because there is no conclusive evidence
the transmissions harm people at the levels allowed by the
Federal Communications Commission. More and
more of the towers are being planted as the wireless companies
-- responding to subscriber demands -- race to build their
networks for seamless coverage. But many suburbanites would
rather put up with bad cell-phone service than allow the structures
in their midst. In fact, many dead spots in the nation's wireless
networks persist not from technological limitations but from
community resistance to the towers, she writes.
Robert Pierson, the deputy mayor of Mendham
Township, a pre-Revolutionary War town in northern New Jersey,
told The Times, "We are very cranky and frustrated."
Ed Donohue, a Washington lawyer who has represented wireless
carriers, estimates more than 500 cell tower disputes have
ended up in court.
Sealed box with Internet
connection brings technology to the impoverished
Advanced Micro Devices recently
unveiled a slimmed-down computer that will cost about $200,
in an effort to get computers with Internet access to half
the world’s population within 10 years.
The idea is not new, and it has not had much
success in the past, reports
Jonathan Krim of The Washington Post. “A
group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
is working on creating laptops that would be bought by governments
for $100 apiece and given to needy residents, but some analysts
question the initiative's viability,” Krim explains.
AMD, however, is challenging the way computers
are designed and distributed. Instead of a computer customized
with separate components, the Personal Internet Communicator
is a sealed box, sold through Internet providers, that allows
either dial-up or high-speed Internet access. Its limitations
(not good for games) cut costs, and it is easy for first-time
users to operate.
AMD Chief Executive Hector de Jesus Ruiz said
he wanted to develop the machine partly because of his upbringing
in a developing country, but also because of potential profits.
University of Michigan business professor
C.K. Prahalad argued in a book that profits can be made, while
eradicating poverty, when corporations pay attention to people
who earn $5,000 to $10,000 per year. They are AMD's target
market. "I felt like we really needed to look at low-cost
computing, and we couldn't find anyone who had an interest,
so we decided to do it ourselves," Ruiz said.
Prescription drug abuse
up again in Eastern Kentucky via Internet pharmacies
Authorities in Eastern Kentucky blame online
pharmacies for a recent spike in the availability of some
prescription narcotics.
In fiscal year 2000, more than 2,200 Kentuckians
were charged with prescription drug abuse. In 2002, the number
of charges went up only 11 percent and in 2003 the number
climbed only 3 percent. But last year, charges reached 3,917
- an 18 percent increase. A recent arrest gave authorities
clues to the cause, reports
Alan Maimon, Eastern Kentucky reporter for The Courier-Journal..
Last year when police arrested one suspect
for allegedly stealing packages from a shipping center in
Stanton, they found 240 sedative and painkiller tablets -
all from an online pharmacy in Florida. Authorities told Maimon
further investigation revealed at least 15 other companies
were shipping drugs to Eastern Kentucky, with one UPS
center receiving up to 200 packages a day. They found some
Internet pharmacies require patients to see doctors and get
prescriptions, while many others issue prescriptions with
no in-person exam and then mail drugs to anyone who can pay.
With the Drug Enforcement Administration,
the state subpoenaed UPS records to find out how many packages
were entering Eastern Kentucky. Ken Drugs,
a Tampa, Fla.-based Internet pharmacy, alone was shipping
an average of 100 packages a week to the UPS center in Stanton.
Fifteen other companies were involved. The state system that
tracks prescription drugs has helped catch prescription abusers
and doctors who mis-prescribe drugs, Maimon writes. But, Robert
Benvenuti, inspector general for the state health cabinet,
told him Internet pharmacies have their own doctors who don't
report to the state's tracking system.
Kentucky county using
more home incarceration because of budget squeeze
Facing a tightening budget, judges in Clark
County, Kentucky are sentencing more people convicted of certain
offenses to home incarceration, rather that spending time
behind bars at the county detention center.
Each person in the Clark County Detention Center
costs the county $22.50 per day, Jailer Bobby Stone told
Tim Weldon of The Winchester Sun, as part
of a series
the 7,000-circulation daily published on jail finances. With
home incarceration, the defendant pays all living expenses,
and there’s no need for a guard with a 24-hour ankle
bracelet that tracks his location. The defendant also pays
a $100 sign-up fee plus $10 per day for the Global Positioning
System device worn on the ankle, Weldon writes. Since March
of last year, 115 county residents have spent a combined total
of 4,835 days under home incarceration, saving taxpayers over
$50,000, said Bill Clark of EMCON, a company that manages
the tracking system.
These sentences “are being considered
more frequently as county jails are becoming overcrowded and
siphoning away county tax revenue that could be used on other
public services,” Weldon reports. “The state pays
only a bed allotment based on the county's population. For
the 2005-06 fiscal year, the state bed allotment for Clark
County will be $157,237 -- an amount that hasn't increased
since the 2002-03 fiscal year. The state allocation accounts
for only about 10 percent of the jail's operating expenses.”
Kentucky begins paying housing costs once an inmate is convicted
or pleads guilty and receives his sentence, but often the
defendant spends months in jail before entering a guilty plea,
and then is released for time served. That means the county
gets no money from the state, Weldon writes.
“In recent months, nearly one-third of
all counties in Kentucky have closed their jails entirely,
paying other counties instead to house their inmates,”
Weldon writes. “They are generally counties with small
jails. [Judge/Executive John] Myers says closing the jail
and paying other counties to keep Clark County inmates would
cost Clark County taxpayers even more than they're currently
spending and is not an option to the jail funding dilemma.”
West Virginia counties
get litter-control officers to help state clean up image
Jim Stone has written 112 warnings and 60 tickets
for violators in Raleigh County, West Virginia, though many
people may be unfamiliar with his title -- litter control
officer.
Last year, the state Legislature gave counties
authority to hire such officers, and Stone has held that position
since July. He took the job one day after he retired from
26 years at the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department. Fines
he issues can run from $50 to $1,000, writes
Audrey Schwitzerlette of the Beckley Register-Herald.
"You drive any back road in Raleigh County, and you'll
see washers, dryers, water heaters -- it's all out there,
and you know it's getting in the water," he told Schwitzerlette.
“All of it may be dirty work, but what
it comes down to is getting his message -- the Raleigh County
Solid Waste Authority's message -- across to people: Litter
is not only unsightly and hazardous to the environment, it's
an economic deterrent and another reason for people to stereotype
the state,” Schwitzerlette writes. Stone is there to
stop it, she writes.
Crazy? Patsy
Cline's hometown, which looked down on her, mulls a museum
When country-music legend Patsy Cline "was
poor and coming of age here in the Shenandoah Valley. . .
. her betters liked to gossip what a hussy that young Virginia
Hensley was, going around right in front of folks with her
ruby lipstick and her short pants, crawling under the covers
with this one and that one," Paul Duggan wrote
from Winchester, Va., in Saturday's Washington Post.
Duggan quotes Judy Sue Kempf telling a tour-bus group: "Her
roots are in Winchester, and there are some of us, at least,
who are proud of that. And, by golly, we will get a museum
for her, one way or the other." Duggan reports, "It's
a project she and some other folks here have been working
on without success since 1994, hampered by a shortage of money,
occasional disorganization and a lukewarm public response
in a region where tourism is mainly about the Civil War and
the annual Apple Blossom Festival," last weekend.
"They dream of restoring Patsy's girlhood
home and opening a downtown exhibit hall for the best Patsy
memorabilia collected from scattered hands -- temples for
the pilgrims who roll in from time to time on Highway 7 and
the few hundred fans trekking here on Labor Day weekends to
observe her birthdays," Duggan wrote. "There's fresh
hope for a museum, Kempf says. The group's new president,
Philip Martin, 54, is 'a ball of fire,' an entrepreneur with
dynamic ideas for marketing and fundraising." He said
he's deferred marriage and a job for the cause: "This project
is my passion, and I want to see it accomplished." For more
on the museum effort and Cline, who died in a plane crash
in 1963, click here.
Ivory-billed woodpecker,
thought long extinct, lives in northeast Arkansas
Wildlife specialists are in an uproar because
the ivory-billed woodpecker, last spotted in 1944 and long
assumed to be extinct, is confirmed alive after a recorded
sighting in Arkansas' Big Woods last year.
“Few creatures have been more celebrated
by American naturalists or shrouded in mystery as the ivory-billed
woodpecker,” report
The Washington Post's David Brown and Eric
Pianin. A New York Times editorial noted
the bird's "pterodactyl crest" and other striking
features and said, "To see an ivory-bill left people
thunderstruck; their exclamations inspired its nickname: the
Lord God bird."
Since a lone kayaker saw the bird on Feb. 11,
2004, there have been six more sightings. A year ago, a video
camera mounted in a canoe recorded four seconds of the bird
in flight. "It's thrilling beyond words," John W.
Fitzpatrick, head of the Cornell University Laboratory
of Ornithology, told the Post. The only confirmed sightings
have been of males, all within two miles of the Cache
River National Wildlife Refuge. It’s unknown
whether the sightings were of the same bird.
The bird is the largest woodpecker in North
America, with a white pattern on its black body that resembles
a white heel when its wings are folded. Tens of thousands
once existed in the southern forests on a hard-to-find food
source, “insects and larvae invading newly dead, but
not yet rotten, hardwoods,” Brown and Pianin report.
With increased logging, the habitat and the birds both disappeared.
The Interior and Agriculture departments said they will spend
approximately $15 million to save the bird’s habitat.
For the Fish and Wildlife Service
announcement of the woodpecker and audio of it, click
here.
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