VA relents on voting drives ... Memorials ... Penny getting new tail

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WASHINGTON -- After weeks of being pummeled, the Department of Veterans Affairs has backed down from its refusal to let nonpartisan groups hold voter-registration drives in VA facilities, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and homeless shelters.The VA had insisted that opening its doors to such drives would mean too much disruption, and balked at vetting groups to determine which were truly nonpartisan.But the force of the League of Women Voters, Veterans of Foreign Wars and a phalanx of Capitol Hill lawmakers prevailed, and the VA announced recently that it would welcome local and state elections officials, along with nonpartisan organizations, to host drives in hospitals and outpatient clinics as long as the groups coordinated with the VA facilities.The VA's lawyers will help with vetting the groups.X...X...XDetails are beginning to drip out about the designs for the much-anticipated Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial and the National Law Enforcement Museum.The Law Enforcement museum will be a 95,000-square-foot, mostly underground structure in Washington's Judiciary Square area, across the street from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, with its 18,224 inscribed names of fallen officers. The $80 million museum will have two entrance pavilions made of transparent glass and is slated to be completed by 2011.The $120 million King memorial will stand on the northwestern side of the Tidal Basin in the monumental core of Washington. It will include a cascading wall surrounding plaza with skylights. The complex, which will include a research center, is to feature water, an elevated walkway, smooth stones, majestic trees and a sculpture of King. It is expected to be finished by 2010.X...X...XThe first change to the images on the penny in 50 years will be unveiled on Monday, Sept. 22. The 2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent -- which will be issued Feb. 12, 2009, the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth -- will still carry the current likeness of the 16th president on the "heads" side of the coin.The new pennies will be produced with four different designs on the "tails" side. Each will represent a different phase of Lincoln's life: his birth and early childhood in Kentucky; his formative years in Indiana; his professional life in Illinois; and the presidency in Washington.X...X...XTo the seemingly endless list of frauds to be aware of, add this one: a voter-registration scam. The Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers are sending out e-mails and making phone calls purporting to be from local election boards or civic groups who are calling to confirm your eligibility or registration to vote.Of course, these scammers say they need your Social Security or credit-card numbers to verify your eligibility to cast a ballot. This despite the fact that no state requires any such information.The FTC asks you to report it if you get one of these calls or messages at www.ftc.gov or to call 1-877-FTC-HELP.X...X...XDuring the 1968 and 1972 elections, the cartoon character Snoopy became so popular as a write-in candidate that the California legislature passed a law making it illegal to enter the name of a fictional character on a ballot.In those days, voting for the "Peanuts" pooch served as a protest for those dissatisfied by the real candidates. There even were T-shirts that read, "Don't Blame Me -- I Voted for Snoopy."Now comes a mock election -- in partnership with Rock the Vote -- in which the public -- of all ages -- can vote for Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy or Sally for president. The idea is to increase interest in the real election ahead, and encourage young people to learn about the democratic process and, when they're of age, to register to vote. For more information, visit www.peanutsrockthevote.com.(Full disclosure: "Peanuts" is licensed and syndicated by United Media, a subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Co., which also owns Scripps Howard News Service.)X...X...XLatest point of attack for plastic surgeons? Back-fat rolls. Specialists around the country are beginning to offer the "back lift" -- a procedure that removes those unsightly bulges across the upper to mid-back. For women, the surgeons will hide the scar beneath a bra line to allow for swim- and backless wear. Proponents say the rolls are almost impossible to exercise away, since they're mostly excess skin that results from aging.(SHNS correspondent Lee Bowman contributed to this column. E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com.)