ShareThisThursday, June 14, 2007
Here is the Scripps Howard News Service CONSOLIDATED BUDGET for Wednesday, June 13, 2007. If you have questions or comments, SHNS editors can be reached at 202-408-1484. For all SHNS content and archives, visit our Web site at www.shns.com.
GOOD NEWS:
ASPIRINGBAKER (Sylva, Sacramento Bee) -- Meet Alison Preston, aspiring baker. While most folks are sleeping, she grapples with upward of 600 pounds of dough. 700. With photo: SH07F123ASPIRINGBAKER.
BARBECUERPAL (Ortiz, Sacramento Bee) -- Barbecue fans are going to love this: An inventor has devised a way to measure gas in a propane tank. 800. With photos: SH07F124BARBECUERPAL, SH07F125BARBECUERPAL.
NATIONAL
ROBBERNAMES (Cason, SHNS) -- VENTURA, Calif.: For bank robbers, after three strikes you get a nickname. Here's a special agent who chooses the monikers. 550.
PARISEATS (Finz, San Francisco Chronicle) -- Hotel heiress Paris Hilton reportedly is rejecting most of her jailhouse rations, but contrary to popular belief, food fare in the slammer these days is far from gruel and water - at least in California. 700.
TATTOOS (Shepard, SHNS) -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: Though they say it's a year late, New Mexico National Guard members are glad to receive an apology for the Army's investigation into alleged gang tattoos while they served in Kuwait. 350.
HEALTH AND SCIENCE
POISONBYPROXY (Blake, Toledo Blade) -- For months, the reasons Carrie Weaver's young son remained sick baffled doctors and specialists. Then, police stepped in, and his mother was arrested and charged with poisoning by proxy -- a disorder known as Munchausen by proxy syndrome. 900. With photos: SH07F130POISONBYPROXY, SH07F131POISONBYPROXY.
MEDICAL (Bowman, SHNS) -- The Medical Journal. If you're looking for Marcus Welby and lots of feel-good chatting from your doctor, you're likely to be disappointed, a new survey shows. But you'll probably get a handshake, at least. 750.
INTERNATIONAL
STEAKFARM (Alphonso, Toronto Globe and Mail) -- You can pick your own strawberries from the farm or even some tomatoes. And now, if you live in Saskatchewan, you can also choose your own cow. 500.
MEDIOCRECANADA (Scofield, Toronto Globe and Mail) --TORONTO: Canada's failure to innovate is spilling over into the economy, environmental protection, health care, education and poverty eradication -- turning the country into a land of stifling mediocrity, according to a harsh new report card. 650
IN THE WEST
CAL-GAS (Kasler, Sacramento Bee) -- SACRAMENTO, Calif.: A month ago, gasoline prices set records in California. Now they're down considerably -- and likely will continue dropping for a few more weeks. 350.
SMOKINGBAN (Walsh, San Francisco Chronicle) -- BELMONT, Calif.: Belmont has moved a step closer to adopting a sweeping ordinance that would ban smoking in multiunit housing -- the most far-reaching effort in the nation to protect residents from the dangers of secondhand smoke. 550.
WARMING (Warchol, Salt Lake Tribune) -- DEADWOOD, S.D.: Top climate scientists offered Western governors an assessment on the impacts of global warming that sounded like something out of the Old Testament: drought, wildfire, floods and pestilence. 500.
DONOTRESUSCITATE (Ellis, Fresno Bee) -- CLOVIS, Calif.: School district refuses to honor do-not-resuscitate order for 9-year-old. 800.
SUGARDADDIES (Goldman, Las Vegas Sun) -- LAS VEGAS: There are 143 Sugar Daddies and 626 Sugar Babies online in Nevada, and they're not apologizing for it. Welcome to SeekingArrangement.com. 800.
OPED
COMMENT
DESSERT (Dale McFeatters, SHNS -- Column) -- Just Dessert. After meeting with Senate Republicans, President Bush probably wished he was back in Albania. 550.
HENRY (Henry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- Column) -- Slot machines come to Western Pennsylvania to fleece suckers with a high tolerance for boredom. 800.
MAY (May, SHNS -- Column) -- The 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War was the occasion for a flurry of media retrospectives. Less attention will be given to a related anniversary. 700.
DELAISLA (de la Isla, Hispanic Link -- Column) -- MEXICO CITY: President Bush acknowledges that "Los Zetas" were causing criminal havoc in Mexico. 700.
ERBE (Erbe, SHNS -- Column) -- Two new movies tell the stories of two women carrying unwanted pregnancies to term. But the reality is, most women carrying unwanted pregnancies still have abortions. 650.
WALTERS (Walters, Sacramento Bee -- Column) -- California health-care reform plans look more than a bit shaky. 600.
GONZALES (Morales, Hispanic Link -- Comment) -- The real issue bedeviling Hispanics about the attorney general is why he insists on "Gonzales" instead of "Gonzalez." 650.
FARMWORKERS (Meister, Hispanic Link -- Comment) -- Taco Bell and McDonald's did it. Now it's time for Burger King and the other fast-food chains to join the drive to guarantee decent pay and working conditions to tomato pickers. 850.
SCRIPPS HOWARD EDITORIALS
EDSPEND (Dale McFeatters, SHNS) -- The House squares off in a key test of spending discipline. 350.
EDDOLLAR (Dale McFeatters, SHNS) -- Maybe if the dollar coin looked better Americans would take to it. 250.
EDICEDTEA (Goforth, SHNS) -- Iced tea is the national drink of summer. 250.
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY
BIZPROF (Freeman, SHNS -- Column) -- Ask the Small Business Professor. How to improve your sales skills. 400.
JUNKFOODADS (Robertson, Toronto Globe and Mail) -- BANFF, Alberta: Kids' shows slim down as junk-food ads get junked. 550.
NETWORTH (Pender, San Francisco Chronicle -- Column) -- Net Worth. Questions and answers about reverse mortgages and bankruptcy. 600.
RETIREMENTCRUNCH (Wolfe, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune) -- Early retirement results in shortage of workers and pay. 800.
RETIRINGTUNES (Wasserman, Sacramento Bee) -- SACRAMENTO, Calif.: Once homebuilders piped Frank Sinatra into model homes in their "active adult," age-restricted communities. But with the first boomers now past 60, the builders have dialed the in-house soundtrack to Top 40 hits like "Hello Goodbye" and the Miracles' "Shop Around." 550.
SMALLERPORTIONS (Stock, Raleigh News & Observer) -- Restaurants are increasingly scaling back portion sizes and offering lighter choices as Americans eat out more often and become more concerned about what they eat. 800. With photo: SH07F132SMALLERPORTIONS.
LIFESTYLE
ENTERTAINMENT
EMMAROBERTS (Pickle, SHNS) -- Embargoed for Friday release. Emma Roberts sounds disappointed that there were no haunted happenings during the filming of "Nancy Drew." Roberts, who plays the timeless young sleuth, says she's good at solving mysteries and puzzles like Nancy, but she doesn't often get the chance to prove it. 700. With photo: SH07F126EMMAROBERTS.
STARGAZING (Morrow, SHNS) -- Kristanna Loken talks about what it's like to play the indestructible secret agent in "Painkiller Jane." 600. With photo: SH07F133STARGAZING.
FILM REVIEWS
NANCYDREW-FILM (Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star) -- In "Nancy Drew," the most compelling mystery is whether the filmmakers are trying to mock or pay respect to the source material with their convoluted dramedy. It's a brain twister so tough it would trouble the girl detective. 500.
SEVERANCE-FILM (Pickle, SHNS) --Embargoed for Friday release. Talk about overkill: "Severance" cuts off its head to spite its face. A fun but fruitless gorefest, "Severance" is an interesting attempt to inject an "Evil Dead" sensibility into contemporary horror comedies. 350.
JINDABYNE-FILM (Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star) -- Just as Stewart and his pals are set to begin their annual fishing trip, they find a nude corpse of a young aboriginal woman floating in the river. The crux of the spare, penetrating drama "Jindabyne" falls on the buddies' decision to ignore the corpse and carry on with their trip. 450.
TELEVISION
OWEN-TV (Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) -- Embargoed for Saturday release. A look at two new series -- TNT's "Heartland," and HBO's "Flight of the Conchords." 550. With photos: SH07F127OWEN, SH07F128OWEN, SH07F129OWEN.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
MAUPIN-BOOKS (Benson, San Francisco Chronicle) -- Armistead Maupin, creator of the beloved "Tales of the City" series, is taking a new trip down Barbary Lane with "Michael Tolliver Lives." 700.
CORNER-BOOKS (Barrett, Salt Lake Tribune) -- Children's Corner. After years of churning out the wildly popular "Baby-Sitters Club" series, Ann Martin was reluctant to start another series. But her publisher found a way to convince her, and the first titles of the "Main Street" series hit stores this month. 350. (Editors: This subs for the regular Karen MacPherson column.)
RELIGION
RELIGION-FAITH (Mattingly, SHNS -- Column) -- On Religion. The differing views on mixing religion and politics. 700.
YOUNT-FAITH (Yount, SHNS -- Column) -- Amazing Grace. A look at best-selling author Christopher Hitchens and his writings. 500.
LIVING
HARDEN (Harden, Columbus Dispatch -- Column) -- A tall tale of the theft of 30,000 canary-yellow, D-cup bras. 600.
ASKCARLEY (Roney, SHNS) -- Ask Carley. Receiving-line tips. 200.
GENERATION NEXT
THINLYREAD (Grabow, SHNS -- Column) -- Thinly Read. It's summer, and your parked car is a preheated oven. Regular unleaded is inching toward $4 a gallon. But still, the nation's highways are choked with RVs and trailers. Why? Because the Great American Road Trip is a Great American Tradition. 500.
CONFIDENTIALLY (Young People's Press-- Column) -- Confidentially Yours. There is a degree of risk involved when you ask someone out. ... Doubts about compatibility. 650.
SPORTS
U.S. OPEN GOLF:
TIGEROPEN (Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle) -- OAKMONT, Pa.: U.S. Open not to kind to Tiger Woods lately. 300.
MCNULTY (McNulty, SHNS -- Column) -- From Arnie to O.J., memories of the last U.S. Open at Oakmont 13 years ago. 650.
TUDOR (Tudor, Raleigh News & Observer -- Column) -- Phil Mickelson's wrist injury causes outspoken NBC analyst Johnny Miller to backpedal from his pick of Lefty to win the Open. 560.
BASEBALL:
ALSTARS (Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle -- Column) -- Who will get squeezed out of a crowded A.L. All-Star roster? 800.
BLAIR (Blair, Toronto Globe and Mail -- Column) -- SAN FRANCISCO: Blue Jays still waiting on the real Vernon Wells to show up this season. 600.
AUTO RACING:
BENTON (Benton, SHNS -- Column) -- At mighty Hendrick Motorsports, it's Dale Earnhardt Jr. in and Kyle Busch out. ... Other NASCAR notes. 700.
SPORTS COLLECTIBLES:
ASKBABE13 (Waxpak, SHNS -- Column) -- The Babe answers collectibles questions and adds a few notes. 750. With photo: SH07F122ASKBABE.
