CRANSTON, R.I. -- Classic American diners are dinosaurs these days. Many of them, anyway. Take Sherwood's Diner, once so popular in Worcester, Mass., that patrons who were firefighters rigged a fire bell to ring inside the diner. Or Hickey's Diner, hooked to a 1954 Chevy truck on the town green in Taunton, Mass. Or the gigantic Louis' Diner in Concord, N.H., with stained-glass windows, basket-weave tile, and a colorful history, including having an owner who was convicted of rum-running during Prohibition. [continues 1140 words]
KEENE, N.H. - A few things stand out about this unprepossessing city. It just broke its own Guinness Book world record for the most lighted jack-o'-lanterns with 28,952. It claims to have the world's widest Main Street. And recently, Keene became the home of Justin Somma, a 26-year-old freelance copywriter from Suffern, N.Y., and a foot soldier in an upstart political movement. That movement, the Free State Project, aims to make all of New Hampshire a laboratory for libertarian politics by recruiting libertarian-leaning people from across the country to move to New Hampshire and throw their collective weight around. Leaders of the project figure 20,000 people would do the trick, and so far 4,960 have pledged to make the move. [continues 1488 words]
PORTLAND, Maine - Methadone, a drug long valued for treating heroin addiction and for soothing chronic pain, is increasingly being abused by recreational drug users and is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths, federal and state officials say. In Florida, methadone-related deaths jumped from 209 in 2000 to 357 in 2001 to 254 in just the first six months of 2002, the latest period for which data are available. There are no national numbers available for methadone deaths. "Out of no place came methadone," said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. "It now is the fastest-rising killer drug." [continues 146 words]
PORTLAND, Maine - Methadone, a drug long valued for treating heroin addiction and for soothing chronic pain, is increasingly being abused by recreational drug users and is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths, federal and state officials say. In Florida, methadone-related deaths jumped from 209 in 2000 to 357 in 2001 and 254 in just the first six months of 2002, the latest period for which data are available. "Out of no place came methadone," said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. "It now is the fastest rising killer drug." [continues 1227 words]
Methadone, a drug long valued for treating heroin addiction and for soothing chronic pain, is increasingly being abused by recreational drug users and is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths, federal and state officials say. In Florida, methadone-related deaths jumped from 209 in 2000 to 357 in 2001 to 254 in just the first six months of 2002, the latest period for which data are available. "Out of no place came methadone," said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. "It now is the fastest-rising killer drug." [continues 999 words]
WESTBROOK, Me. -- When Michelle, a 24-year-old drug addict, was looking for a fix, methadone, with its minimal, slow-action high, was not her first choice. Her preference was heroin, and she described herself as so hooked on it that she would make her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter "sit in the other room while I shoot up." But recently, Michelle and her husband, Shannon, who spoke on condition that their last name not be used, found they could sometimes get methadone more easily than other drugs. [continues 355 words]
PORTLAND, Me. -- Methadone, a drug long valued for treating heroin addiction and for soothing chronic pain, is increasingly being abused by recreational drug users and is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths, federal and state officials say. In Florida, methadone-related deaths jumped from 209 in 2000 to 357 in 2001 to 254 in just the first six months of 2002, the latest period for which data are available. "Out of noplace came methadone," said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. "It now is the fastest rising killer drug." [continues 1775 words]
PORTLAND, Me. - When Michelle, a 24-year-old addict, was looking for a fix, methadone, with its slow-action and minimal high, was not her first choice. Her preference was heroin, and she said she was so hooked on it that she had made her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter "sit in the other room while I shoot up." But recently, Michelle and her husband, Shannon, who spoke on condition that their last name not be used, found that they could sometimes obtain methadone more easily than other drugs. [continues 334 words]
PORTLAND, Me. - Methadone, a drug long valued for treating heroin addiction and for soothing chronic pain, is increasingly being abused by recreational drug users and is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths, federal and state officials say. In Florida, methadone-related deaths jumped from 209 in 2000 to 357 in 2001 to 254 in just the first six months of 2002, the latest period for which data are available. "Out of noplace came methadone," said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. "It now is the fastest rising killer drug." [continues 1770 words]
Under a law that took effect on Sunday, the state has eliminated mandatory prison sentences for many convicted drug dealers. The old law required 20-year sentences for possession of at least three grams of cocaine. The new law gives judges the authority to impose any sentence they see fit, including drug treatment instead of prison. [end]
LANSING, Kan. Donald Culbertson's face betrays the untamed skin of a teenager, and his uniform practically swims on his gangly frame. His buzz haircut does nothing to disguise the fact that he is not long out of high school, and his way of blowing off steam after work is to play video games. There can be lot of steam to blow off because Mr. Culbertson is a corrections officer at the state prison here in Lansing, hired three months ago at the age of 19 to oversee murderers, rapists and other medium- and maximum-security prisoners. [continues 1726 words]
The State of Missouri was feeling generous. The economy was booming; tax dollars were pouring in and legislators decided to use some of the money to expand a modest program that gave a stipend to grandparents acting as foster parents to their grandchildren. But the state did not just expand it a little. With bipartisan support, the Legislature dropped virtually all restrictions on who could qualify for the $386 monthly payment, scrapping a requirement that the children be in financial need and dropping the minimum age of the grandparent to 50 from 55. The state even opened the program to people who were not grandparents at all -- aunts, uncles and other close relatives. [continues 1543 words]
CHICAGO -- The corner of 18th and Throop Streets is the heart of Chicago gang territory. At least three gangs battle over turf in this Southwest Side neighborhood, and gunfire erupts at all hours. Children walking to Manuel Perez Jr. Elementary School have been pelted with bottles or assaulted. "For many of our kids, simply getting to school can be a matter of life and death," Sylvia Stamatoglou, principal of the Perez school, said. So few would argue that the corner was a poor choice for the first arrests issued under a new Chicago anti-gang ordinance this month. The ordinance lets police officers arrest suspected gang members or drug dealers if they disregard an order to leave a corner or block that the police have identified as a gang "hot spot." On Aug. 18, the police say, three men who had been flashing gang signs disobeyed an order to stay away from 18th and Throop for at least three hours. [continues 657 words]
"If you are addicted to drugs," they say, "get birth control -- get $200 cash." The signs, which went up recently in neighborhoods in Chicago, advertise a program that will start here on Monday, intended to persuade drug-addicted women to get sterilized or get long-term birth control like Norplant or Depo-Privera. Once the women offer proof that they have done so, they will be given $200 in cash. Called Crack, for Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity, the privately-financed campaign is an offshoot of one that began in California about 18 months ago and appears to be catching on. Billboards have gone up in Florida and Minnesota. Women in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan have received money after taking the required steps, according to the group's Web site, www.cracksterilization.com. [continues 864 words]
On Death Row: Class's Probe Points To Another Man As Killer. CHICAGO -- Last September, David Protess, a journalism professor at Northwestern University, got a call from the lawyer for Anthony Porter, a man who had been on death row since 1983. The lawyer knew that Protess assigns his journalism students the task of re-investigating questionable murder convictions and asked if the class could look into Porter's case. But Porter was scheduled to be executed on Sept. 25, three days before the Northwestern class convened for the semester, so Protess had to turn down the case. [continues 613 words]
Former `Bad Boy' Of Wrestling Has Surprising Hold On Electorate BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- He's given up body-slamming Hulk Hogan. He's quit wearing a pink feather boa and glitter tights. He no longer pummels alien invaders with Arnold Schwarzenegger or plays characters who snarl things like, ``I ain't got time to bleed.'' So now, Jesse Ventura -- former ``bad boy'' on the pro wrestling circuit, action-flick actor, Navy SEAL and talk-radio shock jock -- says he's ready for a new nickname. He doesn't want to be called ``the Body'' any more. ``I'm Jesse `the Mind' now,'' he said Wednesday. [continues 1089 words]
Rejecting Health Worries, Nebraska Indians See Cigarettes As Their Path To Prosperity MACY, Neb. -- The thrumming green machines in the new factory here are the hope of the Omaha Indian tribe. Early sales are encouraging, and soon the tribe will be tripling production. ``Our dream,'' said Jerry Montour, the factory's consultant, ``is to have like 100 people working here at one time.'' And who would quarrel with that? As it turns out, many might. The Omaha tribe is manufacturing cigarettes. [continues 923 words]
