Mountain Area Information Network

MAIN News Archives for March 2014

03/31 -  Questionable priorities, use of plea bargaining leads to unacceptable leniency for perpetrator of human trafficking
03/31 -  Conservative columnists echo same theme: Scary Putin, weak Obama
03/31 -  Research shows that, despite massive conservative efforts, public support for marriage equality increasing dramatically over time
03/31 -  WSJ on McCrory's 'Carolina Comeback:' NC has more job losses than any other state
03/31 -  McCrory: Time for fracking in NC
03/30 -  Medical doctors are involved in mesh of paid research and paid promotion to benefit of drug companies -- and to harm of patients
03/30 -  Democrats plan votes on popular pocketbook issues like minimum wage increase -- but more is needed to win battle for American hearts and minds
03/30 -  Koch brothers' gifts to higher education include stipulations that include pro-business, anti-academic-freedom limitations on faculty and students
03/30 -  Number of jobs in NC drops - but so does unemployment rate; making myth of 'Carolina Comeback'
03/28 -  Michigan governor says gay marriage legal but not yet recognized for state benefits due to judicial 'stay put' order
03/28 -  NC Supreme Court hears case about involuntary crimes after man is charged with marijuana possession inside jail after incarceration
03/28 -  NC universities implement food pantries to combat growing problem of college hunger
03/28 -  "No More National Parks" bill proposed by House Republicans undermine president's ability to protect land and establish national monuments
03/27 -  NLRB: Northwestern University football players can unionize
03/27 -  Copenhagen zoo, recently criticized for killing a giraffe, euthanizes four healthy lions
03/27 -  More cuts to food stamp programs being considered by states
03/27 -  Beat poet, publisher and bookstore owner Larence Ferlinghetti turns 95
03/26 -  Lawyer hired by DENR in coal ash spill probe previously represented Duke Energy
03/26 -  McCrory: UNC system is "broken" because employers can't always find the employees they want
03/26 -  High cost of Hepatitis C drugs prevent prisoners from receiving care
03/26 -  Rise in tobacco taxes causes increase in cigarette smuggling; states cracking down over lost revenue
03/25 -  Galveston spill already having huge environmental impact -- and containment nowhere in sight
03/25 -  Durham manufacturers of bike-car hybrids seek further expansion in NC
03/25 -  Hundreds of schools where creationism is taught receive funds from taxpayers
03/25 -  Southern Environmental Law Center: Duke Energy has downplayed seriousness of safety issues at plants
03/24 -  Clean-up efforts begin after Galveston Bay collision of a ship and a barge carrying almost a million gallons of oil
03/24 -  6th Circuit issued a temporary stay on same-sex marriages in Michigan; 300 couples legally marry on Saturday.
03/24 -  Over weekend, observation of World Water Day highlights global water consumption and concerns over drought
03/24 -  SC judge reconsiders whether 14-year-old African American youth received a fair trial in 1944; he was tried, convicted and executed in 83 days for killing two white girls
03/23 -  Alabama state senator and US house candidate Joe Beason says Joe McCarthy was right about Commies in US, 'didn't go far enough'
03/23 -  Mentally ill criminal defendants can be forced to take antipsychotic medications to make them competent for trial, Oregon Supreme Court rules
03/23 -  Duke Energy violates wastewater permit, DENR says; illegal coal ash discharge being pumped into Cape Fear river
03/23 -  Solar energy agreement reached in SC after years of disagreement; hailed as 'win' by environmental groups
03/22 -  NC commercial fishermen seek to weaken legislation protecting endangered sea turtles
03/22 -  Legislator to speak to healthy lifestyles coalition about NC 'food deserts'
03/22 -  Ex-senator hides in closet as form of protest, advocating for sexual orientation and gender identity to be added to anti-discrimination law
03/22 -  Delaware Supreme Court rules ban on guns in public housing unconstitutional
03/21 -  Anita Hill launches speaking engagements as documentary on her landmark sexual harassment case opens across the country
03/21 -  Shortened early voting dates reduces opportunities to vote in North Carolina, especially in rural counties
03/21 -  Former U of Minnesota golf coach wins $359,000 in sex discrimination lawsuit after firing because her sexual orientation was revealed
03/21 -  Texas school board fires middle school principal for announcing last year that students cannot speak Spanish at school
03/20 -  Many states add benefits to 529 college fund saving plans- but not NC
03/20 -  For-profit businesses seek religious exemption from ACA's "contraception mandate"
03/20 -  Monetary incentive to drug informants could jeopardize defendants' rights
03/20 -  L'Wren Scott demonstrates media bias in calling even most accomplished women 'someone's girlfriend'
03/20 -  Unesco chief calls for greater efforts worldwide to educate young women
03/19 -  BREAKING: Crimean annexation complete; Putin says vote gave him mandate
03/19 -  Asheville abortion clinic for sale, could close; Planned Parenthood plans new clinic
03/18 -  Some charter schools fail to obey Open Meetings Law, other state regulations
03/18 -  Republican-promoted change, slipped into law, protected Duke Energy's coal ash ponds
03/18 -  Attorney sues to raise pay for NC state troopers
03/18 -  States block food stamp cuts under 'Heat and Eat' provision of food stamp program
03/18 -  Obama directly sanctions eleven Russian and Ukrainian officials after Crimea referendum showed suspiciously pro-Russian results
03/18 -  BREAKING: Duke Energy caught in aerial photos pumping liquid from ash pond into Cape Fear River; DENR says it was not notified
03/17 -  Ohio House Republican: Public education is socialism
03/17 -  RNC chairman: Fewer debates, less candidate exposure will mean stronger Republican party
03/17 -  Buncombe County school asked student to leave 'My Little Pony' lunch bag at home on the grounds bag is a "trigger for bullying," rather than punishing the bullies
03/17 -  Federal investigation finds safety lapses at nuclear waste storage facility
03/16 -  South Carolina votes to cut budgets of two state colleges, one in Spartanburg, for assigning gay-themed literature in courses
03/16 -  NC environmental department cuts wetland restoration jobs by one-third
03/16 -  California asks manufactures to eliminate use of carcinogenic and hazardous chemicals in consumer goods
03/16 -  TN lawmakers vote to delay incorporation of Common Core education plan
03/16 -  NC Department of Environmental and Natural Resources rejects Duke Energy's long-term cleanup plan -- after charges that the agency was too lenient for prior violations
03/15 -  Florida House approves bill that allows educators to carry concealed weapons to schools
03/15 -  For-profit colleges under scrutiny by Obama administration in attempt to protect Americans from predatory institutions
03/15 -  Study shows NC ranks 46th in nation for teacher pay
03/15 -  Dept. of Justice file complaint against Wake county schools, claiming resource officers are violating the rights of African American and disabled students
03/14 -  NC GOP Senate candidate Greg Brannon says Planned Parenthood has secret plan to murder three-month old babies
03/14 -  Four states now acting to reverse food stamp cuts written into new federal farm bill
03/14 -  McCrory "not sure" whether Duke Energy or taxpayers should pay for costs of cleaning up ash pond spills
03/14 -  DENR removes climate change links from website
03/14 -  Infographic based on the Federal Reserve Board's survey of consumer finances provides a visual depiction of U.S. wealth inequality
03/13 -  BREAKING: ABC confirms email from oil-rig worker who says he saw Malaysian airliner crash in sea near Vietnam is not a hoax
03/13 -  North Carolina exceeds Obamacare enrollment target
03/13 -  Obama to expand boundaries of national monument on California coast in order to preserve marine life habitats
03/13 -  NC lawmaker plans to file bill in hopes of legalizing marijuana oil for children who suffer from seizures
03/13 -  Federal judge stops NSA from destroying phone records to safeguard evidence for pending invasion of privacy lawsuit
03/12 -  BREAKING: Searchers unsure even which way Malaysian Airlines MH370 was heading
03/12 -  Suicide rate of Native American children three times national average; poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, sexual assault, alcoholism and drug addiction seen as causes
03/12 -  Pro-life supporters "cookiecot" Girl Scout cookies, claiming organization has ties to Planned Parenthood
03/12 -  Colorado collects $2 million in recreational marijuana tax revenue for January
03/12 -  Durham drug company denies medicine to dying child, says such "gifts" would slow delivery of drug to market
03/12 -  Michele Bachman: Gay people have "bullied" the American public, in part via "lawless" President Obama
03/11 -  Village Voice: Right-wing bloggers find only one message in Ukraine: Obama's not a real man, like Putin
03/11 -  Uninsured rate continues to fall as a result of Obamacare; rate falls most steeply among lower-income and African-American sub-groups
03/11 -  Large-scale demographic trends are behind America's shift toward Democratic party
03/11 -  New "Lammily" doll, intended as "Barbie" replacement, has realistic proportions, clothing and makeup
03/10 -  Duke Energy spokesperson: Rate increases should pay for ash spill cleanups
03/10 -  An increasing number of studies demonstrate health risks of fracking
03/10 -  Study shows a 10 % increase in the minimum wage would save $4.6 billion a year in food stamp expenditures
03/10 -  Libya says it will bomb North Korean tanker if it carries oil from rebel-held port
03/10 -  As NC debates, many states clear out coal ash dumps
03/09 -  FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: United Nations report indicates that, in the Arab world, women's participation in the labor force is the lowest in the world
03/09 -  FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: In Thailand, prominent women signal a growing and influential female presence in social media
03/09 -  FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: Women in the U.S. still lag behind men in corporate world
03/09 -  FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: Ontario's Federation of Labor celebrates International Women's Day and points to its history of success for women's wages
03/08 -  NC Board of Education lowers required passing score for state exams in light of Common Core changes
03/08 -  Blackfoot tribal member brings buffalo heart to Idaho governor to protest killing of pregnant bison
03/08 -  States push for drug testing as a requirement to receive welfare benefits; new bills could withstand legal scrutiny
03/08 -  Obama authorizes sanctions in order to push Russia to pull back its troops in Crimea
03/08 -  Federal government unresponsive to NC questions about repayment of unemployment benefits given to furloughed workers during government shutdown
03/07 -  BREAKING: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 goes missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing; 227 passengers, 12 crew aboard
03/07 -  Privacy groups ask FCC to stop merger of WhatsApp, Facebook, citing 2011 consent decree
03/07 -  Pope Francis says he understands need for civil unions
03/07 -  Despite assurances, Duke finds more corrugated pipes at containment ponds -- like the one that failed at Dan River plant
03/07 -  SAT to be revamped to align with new Common Core curriculum
03/07 -  Funding for public preschools in question, despite evidence of long term benefits for students
03/07 -  BREAKING: Martin Nesbitt, NC senator from Buncombe and progressive, dies at 67
03/06 -  Village Voice: Religious Right pursues loophole in Title II of Civil Rights Act to promote discrimination in recent "religious freedom" laws
03/06 -  Forty-one states to teach financial literacy in the classroom after recent recession -- but what of role of lack of regulation, faulty laissez-faire policies?
03/06 -  Missouri lawmakers push for approval of Keystone XL Pipeline by Obama Administration
03/06 -  New York funds state grant to cover start-up costs of drone testing
03/06 -  Utah Senate endorses bill removing state curriculum guidelines for parents who home-school their children
03/05 -  BREAKING: Nesbitt steps down as majority leader due to health concerns
03/05 -  Worker's coalition coming to Asheville to protest Publix grocery chain's resistance to field workers' concerns for safety
03/05 -  California universities consider implementing 'student success fees' to mask tuition hikes
03/05 -  SC lawmakers cut funding from universities that assigned gay-themed literature
03/05 -  Five Duke Energy power plants lack necessary storm water permits, are cited by NC regulators
03/04 -  Republicans propose bill in Iowa to permit malpractice suits against doctors over 'abortion regret'
03/04 -  Environmental groups ask NC governor to declare state of emergency over virus outbreak in hog farms
03/04 -  Poland calls for NATO meeting about Russian action in the Ukraine; sanctions against Russia likely, says Obama
03/04 -  In light of Arizona bill, Supreme Court case weighs religious freedom of those who claim to be offended by gay marriage
03/03 -  Obama in "direct conflict" with Putin over Ukraine; level of disagreement said to be unseen since Cold War
03/03 -  Greenwald: Obama's NSA reforms mere 'window dressing'
03/03 -  Detrimental effect of 'rich bullies' like Art Pope on democracy grossly underestimated
03/03 -  'Bail-in' lawsuits new strategy for fighting Republican attempts to limit minority turnout in NC, other states
03/02 -  BREAKING: Congress to consider "targeted sanctions" against Russia in wake of Crimean invasion
03/02 -  FOCUS ON DRUG WAR: D.A.R.E. anti-drug school curriculum removes mentions of marijuana in wake of legalizations, decriminalizations
03/02 -  FOCUS ON DRUG WAR: National Epilepsy Foundation calls for increased availability of medical marijuana
03/02 -  FOCUS ON DRUG WAR: 'Policing for profit,' block grants based solely on narcotics arrests lead to perverse policies punishing victims of addiction
03/02 -  FOCUS ON DRUG WAR: Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, like many others, result of criminalization of addiction
03/01 -  New research shows that 75 percent of economic development incentive money awarded by government goes to huge firms, not 'mom and pops'
03/01 -  Kaiser Family Poll reveals that repeal of Obamacare opposed by majority of Americans; support has increased since rollout
03/01 -  Pay incentive for teachers considered as a way to improve performance on standardized tests; rural counties lag urban areas in supplements
03/01 -  Planned parenthood soon to launch new campaign for women's health care and abortion rights