national

By KRISTIN COLLINS
Raleigh News & Observer
Monday, May 21, 2007

Talk of immigration reform often centers on the fate of field hands and hotel maids, but the future facing engineers, computer programmers and statisticians also hangs in the balance.

With a shortage of American workers in some fields, highly skilled foreign workers are important to the U.S.

By GARY ROTSTEIN
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday, May 21, 2007

States are coming up short in giving help to their struggling cities, according to a new report that suggests many urban areas are ripe to take advantage of any aid.

The study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington research center that often focuses on urban policy, said Rust Belt states are failing to take advantage of their older cities' potential to draw residential and economic development, identifying 65 "distressed" cities nationally in need of help.

Such Northeast-Midwest cities usually have the kind of waterfronts, public transit, walkable streets, historic architecture and educational, medical and cultural centers increasingly desired by both young and old residents, the report noted.

But too often, the analysis said, the municipalities lack the necessary support for tax financing, intergovernmental cooperation, downtown revitalization and neighborhood improvement.

By KARA McGUIRE
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Monday, May 21, 2007

Most college-commencement speeches instruct graduates to follow their dreams and to make a difference in the world.

By DALE KASLER
Sacramento Bee
Friday, May 18, 2007

If California tries to lease its state lottery to private investors or unload a state-owned student-loan business, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes, there will likely be no shortage of interested parties.

Providing capital to a growing privatization movement, investors are offering billions for state lotteries, toll roads and other government-owned assets nationwide.

Indiana sold the operating rights to its main toll highway last year to an international consortium for $3.8 billion. Chicago has leased out its Chicago Skyway toll road for $1.8 billion and is thinking of auctioning off Midway Airport. Texas just passed a law authorizing privately financed construction of several highways.

Meanwhile, several states -- California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan and Illinois, among them -- have mulled the privatization of their lotteries.

The idea is to remedy budget problems without raising taxes. "States often face budget crunches in any given year, and it's tempting to look at fixed assets that aren't generating as much revenue as they could," said Tracy Gordon, a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

Some analysts criticize the sale of public assets as shortsighted strategies that bring in lots of upfront cash but deprive governments of revenue down the road. "You might call it a budget gimmick," said Alan Auerbach, an expert on tax and budget policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Investors are raring to go. Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs & Co. made pitches to Schwarzenegger about privatizing California's lottery. Carlyle Group, a well-known investment firm, is creating a $1 billion infrastructure fund. Citigroup just launched a management unit to oversee investments in public infrastructure.

"There's a lot of value trapped in these assets," Mark Florian, head of infrastructure investments at Goldman Sachs, told BusinessWeek magazine.

Despite his popularity with voters, there's no certainty Schwarzenegger will prevail with his proposal to lease the lottery, which generates about $1.2 billion annually for public schools, to private investors.

Democrats who control the California Legislature have reacted coolly to his lottery proposal, which the two investment banking firms have said could generate up to $37 billion in upfront cash.

Schwarzenegger said a privately run lottery could generate bigger returns for schools; he's called the lottery system "an underperformer" whose privatization would help pay billions in various unfunded liabilities.

Jim Hard, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 500 lottery employees, blasted the idea. The move could mean the employees would no longer be public employees, but Hard said he's concerned about taxpayers' interests.

"Selling off the public's assets, I think, is a very shortsighted tactic, and as far as I'm concerned, a roundabout recognition of the failure of political leadership," he said. "It's quite possible to make the lottery more effective. ... A piece of the action doesn't have to be sold to Wall Street to do it."

By STEPHANIE HOOPS
Scripps Howard News Service
Friday, May 18, 2007

Wendi Melideo has regularly used plastic baby bottles to feed her 7-month-old son, Hudson, but new information about the possibility of plastic bottles leaching toxins has her worried.

"If I had known there was any chance that chemicals could get into the bottles, I would have switched to glass, of course," she said.

Fueled by a confluence of bad publicity surrounding the plastics used in baby bottles, the demand for glass bottles is going through the roof. In recent weeks, glass bottles have been a top-selling baby product on Amazon.com.

The alarm was raised in a report "Toxic Baby Bottles" by the Environment California Research and Policy Center, a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. That report was followed by a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles seeking class-action status and legislative activity.

Environment California's report was released in February and said bisphenol A, a hormone-disrupting chemical that mimics the sex hormone estrogen, leaches from clear, plastic baby bottles into liquids.

It noted that scientists have linked exposure to very low doses of bisphenol A to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes and hyperactivity.

But scientists disagree that the chemical poses a health risks to humans. At the American Chemistry Council in Arlington, Va., Steve Hentges said Environment California is perpetuating a "scare story."

"It's definitely a scare story that's being propagated by Environment California presumably to promote legislation to ban products that have been shown safe for use around the world," he said. He cited a study released in January from the European Food Safety Authority.

"They provided a very reassuring message on the safety of bisphenol A," he said. "And that's just the most recent evaluation of that type."

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also conducted a health-risk study that determined that children were not at risk from plastic toys.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 95 percent of Americans have detectable levels of bisphenol A in their bodies.

After Environment California's report came out, a lawsuit was filed in March in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking class action status. The suit names the manufacturers and retailers who have sold the bottles.

The lawsuit claims the manufacturers and retailers have known for some time that they were exposing the public to a serious risk of harm, and deliberately ignoring the studies because they would hurt their business interests.

Last summer, San Francisco became the first jurisdiction in the country to ban bisphenol A and phthalates in toys and certain child care products. Maryland and New York are considering similar legislation.

Phthalates are chemicals that increase the flexibility and prolong the durability of plastics. They are used in hundreds of products, including vinyl flooring, adhesives, plastic bags, food packaging, inflatable recreational toys and children's toys.

By ALEX KUFFNER
The Providence Journal
Friday, May 18, 2007

Grayton Waite wants to make one thing clear. There is no other general store in the United States as old as his own, Gray's Store, a business that's been around since 1788.

It's something he's been saying for years. Something his parents argued before that. A sign painted on one side of the clapboard shop in the historic village of Adamsville advertises, "Oldest General Store in U.S." T-shirts for sale inside make the same declaration.

"People claim that there are stores older than this," he says. "They're not."

Don't try arguing with Waite. He has official backing now.

In a brief ceremony on the shop's front porch this week, Waite received two certificates -- one signed by Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri and a second from Sen. Jack Reed -- proclaiming Gray's to be the oldest, continuously run general store in the country.

"This is an extraordinary moment to recognize the history of this store," Reed said to Waite before a small group of reporters. "This is not just about commerce, but community. It was once a center of this community, I'm sure."

Gray's sits on Main Street, not far from a baseball diamond surrounded by a stonewall and a boulder affixed with a bronze plaque commemorating the Rhode Island Red, a native chicken.

The store was opened by Samuel Church, and for a time it doubled as Adamsville's post office.

In 1879, Waite's family took it over and it's been passed down through the generations ever since. The last proprietor with the Gray family name was his grandmother.

Waite's father took over the store after he retired from teaching in 1966. In 1986, he had a stroke behind the counter and died. Waite was working as a graphic designer and living on the Little Compton coast when he returned to Adamsville to run the business.

Questions about the historical significance of the store arose in 1967 when Yankee magazine published an article that said Brown & Hopkins, a general store in Chepachet village, R.I., that was founded in 1809, was the oldest in America.

Waite's mother promptly wrote to the magazine's editors, telling them Gray's was a full 21 years older. She received a letter of apology that Waite still keeps on hand.

That seemed to be the end of the matter until this past winter when a news story that aired on a local TV station repeated Brown & Hopkins's claim.

Waite said he called Liz McIntyre, the owner of Brown & Hopkins, and explained that his store was older. McIntyre described the call as a "tirade."

"He was very upset," she said.

She said she pointed out to Waite that her store has its own proclamation from the state. Dated June 2, 1976, and signed by then-Lt. Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy, it calls Brown & Hopkins "the oldest, continuously run general store in the country." McIntyre, the owner of Brown & Hopkins for three years, keeps the document hanging on a wall in the store.

"All I can say is we have a proclamation as well," she said.

The shop's Web site has a slightly different description of Brown & Hopkins as "America's oldest country store in continuous operation."

Waite admits that the business isn't what it used to be. Townspeople don't come by to buy their groceries like they used to. They go to large supermarkets now. Most customers are out-of-towners who come by in the summer on the way to beaches.

By JENNIFER FEEHAN
Toledo Blade
Thursday, May 17, 2007

The white cardboard box caught her eye first, but it was the poignant words written on one side that made her curious enough to look inside.

"Please take care of me. I was born May 15. (My mommy can't.)"

Twelve-year-old Rebecca Simpson said she was expecting to see puppies when she peered into the box but instead saw a blue towel and two tiny hands.

"I saw hands moving, and I started freaking out," Rebecca, a sixth grader, said, just a few hours after discovering a newborn baby boy inside a restroom at a local park.

The school orchestra, in which the girl plays violin, had just arrived at the park for a pizza party after performing at two local elementary schools when what should have been a quick trip to the restroom turned out to be the unfolding of a mystery.

Findlay Police Lt. Chuck Wilson said investigators want to speak to the baby's mother, but so far have no leads on who that might be. The baby, who was described as a male Caucasian weighing just over 5 pounds, was being examined at Blanchard Valley Hospital where doctors expected to keep him overnight for observation.

"The baby appears to be healthy," Wilson said, adding that physicians believe he was 24 to 48 hours old when he was found.

The lieutenant said it concerned him that the baby may not have been found so quickly if the Glenwood students had not gone to the park for a field trip.

"You see it on TV. You hear about it in storybooks, but you never think it's going to happen in real life," said Deanna Shank, school secretary at Glenwood and the first person Rebecca told about her discovery.

Shank, who was chaperoning the orchestra trip, said she was a bit skeptical when Rebecca ran up and told her she found a box in the bathroom with a baby in it. She thought perhaps it was a doll, but as soon as she got to the restroom it was clear this was a real baby.

The baby was not crying, she said, but had no clothing or diaper. He was wrapped in a light blue towel and appeared to be clean. There was no clamp on the umbilical cord, indicating that he probably wasn't born in a hospital, Shank said.

She scooped up the box and then she, Rebecca, and another student found a park employee who took them into his office and called police.

"At that point I took the baby out of the box and held him," Shank said, adding that when the ambulance arrived, she hated to give him up. "I didn't want to see him go. It's weird how your motherly instincts take over."

Contact Jennifer Feehan at jfeehan(at)theblade.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com

By LAURIE BLAKE
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Thursday, May 17, 2007

The $3 gas prices posted at the station he passes on the way to work give Kevin Ishaug 20 miles to gloat over how much he saves commuting by bike.

Ishaug, owner of the Freewheel Bike shop in Minneapolis, is one of those people who welcome higher prices at the pump. It brings more people into his shop for new bikes or repairs, as they switch to muscle-powered transportation to save money.

"People are really giving up the car for a change of lifestyle," said Ishaug. "We're nearing a tipping point with a lot more people getting that kind of mindset."

As gas prices sail to new highs most observers are expecting people to complain, pay up and keep driving.

But some welcome the rising cost of fill-ups _ not just bicycle dealers, but also environmentalists seeking to reduce air pollution and transit advocates who see hordes of new passengers.

"We are delighted that gas prices are going up," said Robert Gibbons, director of customer services for Metro Transit. "We had this experience last year and we are convinced it helped us increase our transit ridership."

Gas consumption has gone up every year since 2000, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. During the first week of May, when prices jumped to $3.05 a gallon, demand for gasoline dipped only slightly _ by about two-hundredths of a percent, the energy administration reported.

Akshay Rao, professor of marketing at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, said gas prices won't dramatically reduce driving until the cost cuts into food or vacations or other things people would rather buy. "The vast majority of consumers will continue act as if there is no tomorrow," Rao said.

He thinks it's more likely that people will cut back on driving when they believe the predictions that oil is a finite resource that will last only another 30 to 35 years. "If people stop and think, that is likely to change their behavior."

The customers have started complaining, said Mark Olson, owner of a Richfield Mobil station, who said the high prices aren't actually helping his profit margins. "I just had two ladies walk out of here screaming and yelling, 'I have never put that much in my gas tank in my life.' "

For Jim Erkel, land use and transportation director for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the rising cost of tanking up could ultimately change the direction of community growth. At some point the prices will start to dampen enthusiasm for driving, Erkel said. Fewer car trips mean less air pollution and may discourage people from chewing up green space by moving ever farther from the metro core, he said.

Dobrila Stancevic, 52, recently moved from Eagan, Minn., to Minneapolis so she wouldn't have to drive as much. For the past two weeks, she has ridden a bicycle to her substitute teaching jobs, and has tried to persuade many of her colleagues to do the same, for the sake of fitness, the environment and other reasons.

As far as rising gas prices, Stancevic said, "To be honest with you, I hope they keep going up, because I think people are driving too much."

(Reach Laurie Blake at lblake(at)startribune.com. To comment or for more stories visit scrippsnews.com)

By MEGAN HOLLAND
Anchorage Daily News
Thursday, May 17, 2007

Alaska Zoo officials are baffled why the zoo's elephant, Maggie, laid down Wednesday for a second time in four days and could not get up.

The incidents will likely move up the zoo board's decision on whether to keep Alaska's lone elephant or ship the facility's popular attraction out of state, said board president Dick Thwaites. "We are considering what's best for Maggie," he said.

Two-dozen firefighters used straps and a winch tied to a tow truck to lift the 8,000-pound pachyderm after zoo staff discovered her laying on her right side on the concrete floor in her enclosure. It was a repeat of a hazardous incident May 13 that lasted as long as 19 hours for the elephant.

Zoo director Pat Lampi said Maggie was down for six or seven hours on Wednesday before the tow truck got her back on her feet.

When an elephant is down for too long it can damage internal organs, muscles and the kidneys, veterinarians say.

The zoo speculated after Sunday's incident that colic or a stomachache might have weakened the elephant. But Lampi said zoo vets had ruled that out. Blood tests showed nothing abnormal. More blood tests have been ordered, and the zoo is consulting with local and outside veterinarians to determine a diagnosis.

Nearly three years ago, the board made the controversial decision to keep Maggie in Alaska, and said they would revisit the question in August 2007. The health of the elephant will certainly be a topic at the next board meeting on June 13, Thwaites said.

The debate over whether the elephant belongs in Alaska has garnered national and international attention. Animal rights activists have lobbied for years for her retirement to an elephant sanctuary, where she can roam with other elephants in a warmer locale. The recent incidents have amplified the calls to move her.

At the urgings of local activists, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation along with the state's vet, Dr. Robert Gerlach, are monitoring Maggie's health. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also keeping abreast of developments.

"This could be good or bad for Maggie," said Penelope Wells of the local group Friends of Maggie, which wants the elephant moved out of Alaska. "This could be a wake-up call, or at the same time she could be too weak to be moved."

By BENJAMIN NIOLET
Raleigh News & Observer
Thursday, May 17, 2007

For years, Denis Mukoka has sweat over a mop and corralled shopping carts while dreaming of the day he would see his children again.

And six years after Mukoka fled his native Congo as a refugee, five of his six children walked off a plane at Raleigh-Durham International Airport late Tuesday and hugged their father.

The moment, all smiles and applause from touched onlookers, came only after a long, hard slog through a tangled mess of federal and international immigration hoops, hurdles and roadblocks. Mukoka, with lots of help from his church and a nonprofit agency, got his children here legally.

"Today, for me is ... the first day of my life," Mukoka said in broken English, a language he has struggled to learn.

The new arrivals are three girls, Rosette, 18; Edith, 16; Mutoba, 15; and two boys, Mukoka Wa, 17; and Armele, 14. They were young children the last time Mukoka saw them. The teenagers stepped off a plane after an exhausting trip from Kinshasa to Brussels to Newark, N.J. In the days and weeks ahead, they will have English tutors, schooling, medical checkups and appointments to get Social Security numbers. The sixth child is over 21, and has to go through a separate process to come to the United States.

Edith told reporters in French that the children were happy to be with their father, who had to leave them so many years ago.

Mukoka worked for a bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Central African nation torn by war, poverty and corruption. He became politically active and ran afoul of those in power. He fled to Ivory Coast and then came to the United States four years ago as a refugee. He eventually settled in Cary, N.C.

One day, he started going to Capital City Christian Church. He didn't say much, but members were curious about the quiet man who was a regular at services. Two church members had a son who spoke some French, the official language of Mukoka's country. He didn't offer much at first, but eventually they learned his story.

"We just kind of felt, like, hey, he's one of us. He's part of our family and we need to reunite him with his family," said the Rev. Jon Miller, pastor of the church.

Bob Willson, a member of the church, took an interest and helped Mukoka fill out some forms. Naively, he figured they'd turn in the paperwork, and the children would be here in a few weeks. He underestimated the complexity of coming to America _ the process took two years.

"How would any of us feel being separated from any of our children for even one month, let alone six years? And the bureaucratic delays involved in immigration are just unbelievable ... yet these people deal with it day in and day out and patiently wait their turn," Willson said.

Willson and Mukoka worked with Lutheran Family Services, a nonprofit whose work includes helping refugees get to the United States and get a head start on building new lives here. The church and the nonprofit will continue to help the family now that they're here.

Mukoka works two jobs. He is a custodian at West Cary Middle School and he collects shopping carts at Lowe's. He has been sending money to the Congo, where the per capita income is $98 a year.

(Benjamin Niolet can be reached at ben.niolet(at)newsobserver.com. To comment or for more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)