Babies Behind Bars
A small but growing number of states are using a new tool to keep women prison inmates from committing more crimes — motherhood.
In Ohio, Nebraska, New York and Washington, some women who give birth behind bars are allowed to keep their babies instead of giving up the child to a foster agency or a relative, as other states require.
The programs appear to be helping women clean up their lives, although officials haven’t conducted major recidivism studies yet.
Abortion Pill Sales Soar
More than 100,000 medical abortions have been completed in the United States using the drug RU-486 since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago.
The Washington Post says, “Danco Laboratories reported that sales of the abortion drug have increased significantly this year — up 36 percent for the first eight months of 2002 over the same period in 2001 — and that private physicians have begun to use it, as well as abortion and family planning clinics.
Although the drug was initially used almost solely in clinics, the company said that 17 percent now is going through private doctor’s offices.
States Bet on Gambling to Fill Budget Gaps
The Sacramento Bee did a fine job rounding up a story on how states are leaning on gaming to make up budget shortfalls. “From Maine to Arizona, lawmakers tantalized by the lure of raising money through what amounts to indirect levies on gamblers are considering the creation of casinos, lotteries and racetrack slot machines as sources of government income.
“‘Politicians are extremely narrow-minded,’ said William Thompson, a professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a nationally recognized expert on the gambling industry. ‘They think only in terms of taxes, and alternatives to taxes … and gambling money is seen as money that falls out of the sky.'”
Most states could use some financial manna. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 43 of the 50 states had budget gaps totaling a collective $35.9 billion at the start of the fiscal year that began July 1. To close the gaps, many states are finding new cash cows to milk in the gambling herd. In New York, Gov. George Pataki signed compacts last month that allow for the construction of three Indian casinos in the western part of the state. In return, the state will get 25 percent of the revenue, which could amount to $1 billion over the lives of the 13-year deals.
In Indiana, which now receives nearly 5 percent of its revenue from gambling enterprises, the Legislature in June increased taxes on the state’s riverboat casinos to rates as high as 35 percent, while relaxing the rules governing the riverboats.
In neighboring Illinois, lawmakers jacked up riverboat tax rates in the summer to as high as 50 percent, and agreed to seek voter approval in the fall for opening a 10th casino boat.
Religious Investment Funds Become More Popular
Disillusioned by the accounting scandals that helped decimate stock prices, a growing number of investors are seeking comfort in mutual funds that match their religious values and offer respectable returns.
The AP reports, “Religious-oriented funds screen out, or avoid investing in, companies whose products or services conflict with core values of religious faith. The number of religious-oriented funds has more than doubled in the last three years, from 16 in 1999 to 38 this year, according to information provider Thomson Wealth Management.
“The funds’ total assets jumped 21 percent to $4.42 billion, compared to 11 percent growth for the average fund, while returns have averaged a 0.5 percent annual loss since 1999. That’s better than the average mutual fund loss of 5.9 percent.”
In a Hot Political Race, Little Things Matter
Here is a fun political story from Missouri that serves as a reminder for journalists to check the little nuances that can pop up in campaigns. The Post-Dispatch reports, “Republican U.S. Senate nominee Jim Talent has been emphasizing his prowess at fishing lately — but he’s been casting his line without a state permit. State records show that Talent hasn’t bought a fishing permit for years, as required under state law for most people.
“‘He’s out fishing, and he’s doing it illegally,’ state Democratic Party executive director Mike Kelley said. ‘I’m not letting him off the hook.'”
Talent’s campaign replied that it was an oversight.
The Decline of the Seahorses
Last summer, my family and I visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and were fascinated to learn from a special display there that seahorse populations were in steep decline. Fisherman are saying now that they used to catch seahorses by the thousands in their nets, and now they hardly ever do. What is happening to the seahorses and what does this mean (if anything) to other sealife? (Read St. Petersburg Times story)
