| Bottled Water Boycotts: Back-to-the-Tap Movement Gains Momentum
From San Francisco to New York to Paris, city governments, high-class restaurants, schools, and religious groups are ditching bottled water in favor of what comes out of the faucet. With people no longer content to pay 1,000 times as much for bottled water, a product no better than water from the tap, a backlash against bottled water is growing. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents some 1,100 American cities, discussed at its June 2007 meeting the irony of purchasing bottled water for city employees and for city functions while at the same time touting the quality of municipal water. The group passed a resolution sponsored by Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City, and R. T. Rybak of Minneapolis that called for the examination of bottled water's environmental impact.
Toddler receives own umbilical cord blood as cancer treatment
The photograph of Caden Ledbetter, taken last spring, hangs across from his hospital crib as a reminder. Cancer has taken the 2-year-old's baby fat. His hair. His freedom. At times, his smile. It might have taken Caden's life, too. But a breakthrough stem cell transplant gives his family hope that the boy in the picture will return. Stem cells taken from his own umbilical cord at birth were pumped back into his body Friday at Medical City Dallas Hospital. Using a patient's own cord blood is uncommon for any illness. The treatment for neuroblastoma, a rare but deadly cancer that attacks the nervous system, is nearly unheard of. "It's either the second or third time it's ever been done in the world," said Joel Weinthal, Caden's doctor.
'The Great Debaters' (starring Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker ...
Good story, well told. Interesting concept. I wonder if people will go for it.
Director Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" is pure Hollywood, not without its share of storytelling cliches and golden-toned inspirational teaching moments, but you know what? The results really are inspirational.
It is an underdog story produced by Oprah Winfrey, among others, about the real-life Wiley College, a small Methodist African-American institution located in northeast Texas. Under coach Melvin B. Tolson, a poet and educator, the Wiley debate team argued its way to the 1935 national championship against the University of Southern California. Wiley's climactic adversary has been changed to Harvard for the movie. If you're bothered by that, well, then you're probably bugged by every other historical drama brought to the screen.
STAs big hit with duck hunters
South Florida's stormwater treatment areas offer some of the best public duck hunting in the country, and there's a chance that the number of hunting opportunities might increase for next season.
Speaking at the United Waterfowlers Florida annual meeting earlier this month in Clewiston, Jerry Krenz, the South Florida Water Management District's program manager for Everglades recreation, said that the two impoundments directly south of STA 5 in Hendry County could be opened to hunting along with the western impoundment at STA 2 in Palm Beach County.
Those and other STA issues will be discussed Feb. 22 at a staff meeting attended by Krenz and his district colleagues and wildlife biologists and law enforcement officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Prisoner in his own body
She said he resigned from his position in October 2006 to become a police officer."He absolutely did a wonderful job in the classroom. I was sorry to see him leave. The Coquille city got a great guy," she said, noting Webley’s strong ethics.Dian Courtright, a Coquille resident who oversees the Concerned Citizens of Coquille blog, said residents have made complaints about Bryant in the past. She demurred from elaborating on their grievances to protect the anonymity of those who made them."I think the Coquille Police represent the very worst of law enforcement," Courtright said. She is very concerned about what occurred, as well as by the community’s reaction. Foster is not a member of the group, nor has he made complaints about law enforcement that she is aware of, Courtright said.Founded in June, The Concerned Citizens is an organization that aims to mediate disputes between Coquille residents and the police, while giving community members a place to air their concerns."I think that the law is heavy handed and I really feel there is a problem with people viewing other people as somehow worthy of being ostracized," she said.
MICK MCCABE: How one local recruit's story ended with a happy ending
Buh was exaggerating, of course, but Debniak does have serious speed for his size. He won the OK Red 200 title in 22 seconds and was electronically timed in the 40 at 4.43. Combine that with running for 1,237 yards and 15 touchdowns, and recording 12 sacks, and he was someone Stanford wanted to get on campus. "Wow! It was pretty incredible," Debniak said. "It's a world-renowned school. I want to major in psychology, and it has the No. 1 psychology department in the country." As you might expect, Debniak hit it off with Harbaugh. "He's very down-to-earth," Debniak said. "He's a great guy. You can tell he has a confidence about him. He reaches out to you and wants to get to know you as more than just a player." Debniak loved the campus and the coaches, but there was something else.
BHS wins Big 12 wrestling tourney
BLOOMINGTON — Wrestlers moving up a weight class so a teammate can take their spot may earn a few extra points for their squad.“We picked up a lot of extra points doing that," said Bloomington High School coach Mark Gardner after his squad won the Big 12 Conference Tournament at the Robert Frank Sports Complex Saturday.The Purple Raiders scored 231 points to deprive Champaign Central (225.5) of its first title since 1967. The 5½-point gap was the smallest since BHS edged Normal Community by two for the 1995 title.BHS won for the 10th time in 11 years by winning eight of 11 bouts in the final round compared to four of 11 for Central, which had a 30-point lead at one time.“Some of the kids went to weight classes where they may not have had their strongest individual performance, being up or down a weight," Gardner said.
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