Perhaps Gov. Charlie Crist was thinking of Harry T. Moore when he forced Florida to shake off its Jim Crow past by automatically restoring civil rights to all but the most violent felons who have served their sentences. Moore, a teacher and field secretary for the Florida NAACP, and his wife Harriette were killed in their beds Christmas night in 1951. Their home in Mims near Titusville was bombed - apparently in retaliation for his relentlessness in registering black voters and fighting for an end to the all-white primary, as well as his push to stop lynchings and other horrors and indignities that held a ghastly grip on black people's lives. [continues 620 words]
One lesson many businesses learned during the recent economic boom was that finding good workers was troublesome at best and impossible at worst. And now that the economy has turned tepid, the unemployed may have to work a little harder to find jobs but they have plenty of help. Manufactured resumes are easier to get than a newspaper. Books and classes abound to help even the most incompetent candidates march confidently through interviews. The threat of litigation has rendered references pretty much useless. [continues 544 words]
After five years of sharply climbing death rates due to heroin overdoses, the number actually dropped by 8 percent last year. "I am optimistic that we have set a new trend," says Jim McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. He attributes the decrease in fatal heroin overdoses to an increased emphasis on law enforcement, treatment and prevention. "We mounted an effort to see how much heroin and other drugs was flowing into Florida, who the traffickers were and how it was landing here," he says. "It took seven months, and we came up with a better picture, which allowed us to put more agents where we thought they would be most effective. [continues 221 words]
A veterinarian noticed his medications were disappearing. He had two concerns. One, the safety of his teenage employees and second, the financial loss of the missing drugs. He didn't want to confront and accuse anyone without specific proof; but luckily he had a drug-free workplace policy in place that allowed him to identify the source of the problem. He provided written warning to the offending employees and this scenario had a happy ending. Another organization did not have such a happy experience after learning too late it had chemical-abusing employees. [continues 676 words]
