Thursday, January 3, 2013
Concord, Mass., bans single-serve plastic water bottles. Good move for a greener environment or too far?
The Concord Patch reports that after three years of debate, Concord is one of the first communities in the U.S. to pass a by-law that bans the sale of single-serving plastic water bottles. Led by local activists pushing to reduce waste and fossil fuel use, the by-law passed by a Counted Majority Vote of 403 voting in favor and 364 opposed and went into effect Jan. 1, 2013. Those in favor of the ban see it as an opportunity to reduce the overall consumption of plastics. The Concord Conserves, a local blog outlining the pros of the movement for low-impact living, says not only is the local tap water healthy, safe and economical, plastic bottles contribute to pollution in many ways. According to the site, "every year, the bottled water …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
How closely do you monitor your children's use of technology?
Janelle Hoffman, a Cape Cod, Mass., mother of five, presented her 13-year-old son with an iPhone for Christmas, along with a list of rules and regulations for its use. Not the Apple list; the mom's list. Rule No. 1 is, "It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest?" And No. 2 is, "I will always know the password." The contract has 18 points of requirements for usage that range from proper phone etiquette to sage advice for the future, such as No. 12: "Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts. Don't laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad …
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
A new beginning; a chance at a fresh start. Each year we RESOLVE (with firm determination) to lose weight, stop smoking, spend more time with family or clean off the desk.
Seriously … think about some of the resolutions you’ve made over the years and how they might have affected your life today. I’d be a size 6 working uber-mom with the perfect bread pudding recipe, a clean desk and have an important wing of a major university hospital named after me. Clearly, not everyone has been able to hold to every resolution ever made. Experts say that’s due mostly to the fact that our resolutions are unrealistic. According to Robert Epstein, a senior research psychologist at the American Institute of Behavior Research and Technology, says “Goal setting is extremely important for performance and motivation, but New Year’s resolutions often over-reach, which sets us up for failure and disappointment.” According to Keri …
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Iowa’s Supreme Court says it is just cause for termination.
In 2010, Iowa dentist James Knight fired Melissa Nelson, his dental assistant of 10 years, because she had become a “detriment” to his family. For the sake of both of their families, they could no longer work together. Knight and his wife, fairly or not, found Nelson to be a threat to their marriage. Though he has said she was the best dental assistant he ever had, he apparently found the nature of their relationship to be a perceived threat to his marriage and feared he would try to have an affair in the future if he did not fire her. In 2009, Knight and Nelson, both married, began exchanging personal texts. The Supreme Court documents outline that though Knight felt Nelson’s clothing was “too tight”, she considered him to be a friend and…
Friday, December 28, 2012
In the wake of the murders in Connecticut, the Journal News ran a story with the names and addresses of gunowners in Westchester and Rockland counties.
On Dec. 22, LoHud.com, powered by Journal News, released a story titled “Map: Where are the gun permits in your neighborhood?” Based on information acquired through the Freedom of Information requests made to Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, the maps have dots that indicate and list the names and addresses of those in the community with permits for pistols or handguns. The map, along with the accompanying article by Dwight R. Worley, “The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood,” have generated more angry comments about irresponsible journalism rather than support of publication of this type of information. The paper has upheld its decision based on the public’s need to know and that the …
Friday, June 1, 2012
Do you know about the National Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale Hug-A-Thon? If you were one of the many who thought Glen Beck had disappeared, then you probably don’t yet know about it.
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Friday, June 1, 2012
A big story by Reuters this week focused on attempts by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban large, sugary soft drinks in New York City. Many say the move is too much intrusion by government into the personal life of citizens. In a push back against what he calls “out-of-control regulation crushing the entrepreneurial and charitable spirit of everday Americans,” former Fox television host and founder of GBTV.com, Glenn Beck, is calling for a different kind of civil disobedience. He is asking people nationwide to have a bake sale and to let their kids do a lemonade stand on June 13. He is calling the event the National Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale Hug-A-Thon. People have already begun signing up to participate, including Lori Barrett from Dacula…
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The question of whether or not to open up gambling in Georgia to help fund education will be asked on the Republican ballot in July. So what do you think?
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
A Gwinnett developer is hoping to bring a $1 billion destination gaming center to Gwinnett County, but it might not be that easy. Gambling is still illegal in the state of Georgia. That is except for the lottery, which funds the HOPE scholarship. In recent years, however, the HOPE Scholarship has been struggling. Developer Dan O’Leary of Norcross believes his gaming proposal is the silver bullet needed to save the HOPE Scholarship. It was the funding for the scholarship that helped former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, then a Democrat, gain approval for the 1992 constitutional amendment which allowed the Georgia lottery in the first place. Current Gov. Nathan Deal, however, is reportedly not so keen on expanding gambling in the state of …
Good Grief Y'all
7:18 am on Monday, January 7, 2013
John B, I am level headed. That's why your immature, irrelevant and insulting comments annoy me. No one likes to be ambushed on these threads, but you and your buddy make it a point to do that to me. MYOB. If you can't post relative to the comments and do so with substance, you're just an irritation and not a solution. It really doesn't matter what the post is about - if President Obama is … more ›