HUFFINGTON POST: ….“After an extraordinary amount of reflection and consideration, I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate,” [U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)] said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “It has been an indescribable honor and immeasurable privilege to serve the people of Maine, […]
Month: February 2012
LANCASTER NEW ERA
Editorial entitled “Lasting benefits of PSU’s Thon” opines: “Penn State students, alumni and friends have a long way to go to restore the university’s tattered image in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal… “This year’s [dance] Thon set a record, raising $10.7 million for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital…
DEA aims big in Cardinal Health painkiller case
From USA TODAY: …More than 5 million people in the USA abuse narcotic painkillers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. More than 27,000 died from prescription drug overdoses in 2007, a fivefold increase since 1990, which parallels a tenfold increase in the medical use of painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, the CDC reports.
Stricken Costa cruise ship off Seychelles changes route
BBC: The Italian cruise ship left adrift with more than 1,000 people on board after a power failure now faces a longer journey before reaching land… The vessel has no air-conditioning or cooking facilities and an emergency generator powering the radio “could fail at any minute”, the Italian coast guard says… The ship is at […]
Israel Won’t Warn US Before Iran Strike
NEWSMAX / AP: Israeli officials say they won’t warn the United States if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, according to one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the discussions. The pronouncement, delivered in a series of private, top-level conversations, sets a tense tone ahead of meetings in the coming days […]
Tax-free Internet sales, exemptions erode state revenue
From USA TODAY: Sales taxes last year took the smallest percentage of consumers’ dollars since 1967 as tax-free Internet sales and untaxed services continued to erode state and local governments’ top source of revenue, a USA TODAY analysis finds…
Third Dem – Former U.S. Rep. Don Bailey – Makes Attorney General Ballot
ACG: Just when you thought it was a two-way Democratic primary race, another candidate made the ballot for Attorney General. Don Bailey, a former Pa. Auditor General and former Congressman originally from Westmoreland County, is officially in the race to be Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement official… Bailey, 66, has had a long career in Pennsylvania […]
Standard & Poor’s has declared Greece in “selective default”
AL JAZEERA: Ratings firm Standard & Poor’s has declared Greece in “selective default” after banks agreed to write off more than half of their Greek debt holdings in a second EU bailout of the country. The rating was lowered from S&P’s already junk-level “CC” grade for Greece, which has been seeking to avoid an outright […]
LETTER: Negotiate new CC agreements before considering hotel room sales tax increase
If Marv Adams and Gil Smart REALLY wanted to do an investigative series on the Convention Center woes; they would have started and finished by detailing the one-sided agreement between PSP and the Convention Center Authority. They would have included how MOST of the hotel financing was with PUBLIC FUNDS to benefit a PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
Repossessed US homes set for rental market
FINANCIAL TIMES: Investors will be able to bid for nearly 2,500 repossessed US properties owned by government-controlled mortgage giant Fannie Mae in a pilot programme tailored by the Obama administration to avoid further depressing the housing market. The housing financier is seeking through the initiative, detailed Monday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae’s […]
Colorado Marijuana Legalization Initiative Qualifies for November Ballot
From the DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: Today, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler certified an initiative for the state’s November general election ballot that would legalize personal marijuana possession and allow regulated sales of marijuana to adults. Colorado now joins Washington as one of two states to qualify a legalization initiative in 2012, while several other states are hoping to follow suit.
Santa Monica reporter comments on Academy Awards
I thought the show was one of the best in many years, if not the best. The movies, as I wrote, were good, but not great. I think “The Artist” is fun, but amounts to little There were a lot of good documentaries showcased that will go on to do well in video and TV. […]
Allentown woman shows Harrisburg how to make a legislative map
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: …“I thought, ‘This is crazy, why is it like this?’ ” [Amanda] Holt said. “They weren’t supposed to be dividing political subdivisions unless absolutely necessary. The only way to answer the question was create a map myself.”…. Holt, a Republican with neither a college degree nor a particularly partisan bent, did what none […]
LANCASTER NEW ERA
Editorial “Barring ex-cons from schools” opines: “For some teachers and other school employees with criminal records, their pasts are coming back to haunt them. “They were long since punished for their crimes, and had thought they closed dark chapters in their lives. But a recently revised state law aimed at protecting children is bringing the […]