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USA TODAY
In-school banks dispense financial sense
When students at Carter High School in Strawberry Plains, Tenn., forget their lunch money, they don’t have to worry about going hungry.
Instead, they wander over to one of the five tellers who work at the student-run bank, where they can withdraw money from their savings accounts or fill out short applications for a $5 loan, all without leaving the building, says Lynn Raymond, a banking and finance teacher at the school.”We’re easing them into learning about borrowing money and the responsibilities that go along with that,” Raymond says of the experience students receive at the bank, which opened Feb. 16 in partnership with First Century Bank.
“It’s just so important because so many people get in trouble financially,” she says.
To read the full story: In-school banks dispense financial sense
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Study: People would donate kidney for money
Paying people for living kidney donations would increase the supply of the organs and would not result in a disproportionate number of poor donors, a study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center concludes.
The study, published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, asked 342 participants whether they would donate a kidney with varying payments of $0, $10,000 and $100,000. The study called for a real-world test of a regulated payment system.The possibility of payments nearly doubled the number of participants in the study who said they would donate a kidney to a stranger, but it did not influence those with lower income levels more than those with higher incomes, according to Scott Halpern, one of the study’s authors and senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics.
To read the full story: Study: People would donate kidneys for money
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Eco-conscious rest easy going green eternally
If you’re living a green lifestyle, it turns out you can take it with you.
Cemeteries and funeral homes across the USA are offering environmentally friendly burials featuring formaldehyde-free fluids for embalming and biodegradable caskets made of pine, wicker or even cardboard.
Green burials are available in nearly 30 cemeteries nationwide, up from a handful at the start of 2008, says Joe Sehee, executive director and president of the Green Burial Council, a non-profit organization that encourages environmentally sustainable death care.
To read the full story: Eco-conscious rest easy going green eternally
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Sales of personal breathalyzers spike
A growing number of people are using personal breathalyzers to test themselves, family members and friends for alcohol impairment.
The personal breathalyzer market is valued at $215.2 million, up from $27.9 million in 2005, according to Susan Eustis, president and CEO of WinterGreen Research, which does market analysis for industries such as health care and telecommunications.
Both AAA and law enforcement officials question the accuracy of personal breathalyzers and discourage their use in making decisions about driving.
To read the full story: Sales of personal breathalyzers spike
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Energy Dept. awards money for electric cars
The federal government and some states are plugging into the future of electric cars with subsidies to develop charging stations. But their plans are generating opposition.
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2.4 billion in stimulus money in August to build electric vehicles and support them with charging stations. The goal is to promote clean energy and reduce U.S. dependence on oil, says David Sandalow, assistant secretary of Energy for policy and international affairs.
The largest of 48 approved projects — out of 250 proposals for stimulus grants— is with Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (eTec), which signed a $99.8 million contract with the Energy Department last month. Some of the money will pay for charging stations in 11 cities in five states by 2011, according to Colin Read, vice president of corporate development for Ecotality, eTec’s parent company.
To read the full story: Energy Dept. awards money for electric cars
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Thieves skim credit card data at fuel pumps
Customers and police agencies across the USA are dealing with another pain at the pump — thieves who install hard-to-detect electronic devices at stations to steal credit and debit card data.
The skimmed data are used to create cards used at the victims’ expense, says James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin Strategy and Research, a financial consulting firm that focuses on fraud and identity theft.
To read the full story: Thieves skim credit card data at fuel pumps
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Amish cases highlight beliefs
Andy Swartzentruber and Sam Yoder, of tiny Ebensburg, Pa., face sentencing Thursday for violating state sewage laws. The two Amish men were found guilty in April of building outhouses without sewage permits and of discharging untreated sewage into the ground.
The men, who chose not to have legal representation, sent a handwritten letter to the Sewage Enforcement Agency in January explaining their reasons:
“We feel this sewage plan enforcement along with its standards is against our religion (beliefs). Our forefathers and the church are conscientiously opposed to install the sewage method accordingly to the world’s standards.”
To read the full story: Amish cases highlight beliefs
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Shipping containers become distinctive housing on land
An outside-the-box idea has some architects and home-buyers turning to inside-the-box eco-friendly, affordable housing that uses as building blocks the 8-by-40-foot steel containers often left vacant at seaports.
Mainly an “experiment” at this time, the homes have the potential to take off in the industry, said Bill Gati, a member of the American Institute of Architects Custom Residential Design Committee.
“It’s cutting-edge, and people that use it are considered mavericks and trail blazers,” he said.
To read the full story: Shipping containers become distinctive housing on land
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New toll lanes make drivers pay to avoid congestion
Already facing $4 a gallon at the pump, drivers in a growing number of states are tempted to pay even more for a quicker ride home.
Transportation agencies are increasingly looking to reduce congestion and make more use of sometimes under-utilized high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
Some are developing plans to allow vehicles that don’t have the required number of passengers to use the lanes if they are willing to pay.
There are high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in Seattle, Denver, San Diego, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City. Construction in at least five states is slated to begin in the next year.
To read the full story: New toll lanes make drivers pay to avoid congestion
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Electronic citations speed up ticketing process for police
Police agencies and troopers in several states are tossing out handwritten tickets in favor of electronic citations as a way to improve accuracy and save time.
With the quick swipe or scan of a driver’s license, officers are able to enter the location, type of violation and print the ticket all from a handheld device, said Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningham of the Montgomery County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office.
To read the full story: Electronic citations speed up ticketing process for police
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New GPS-savvy, solar signs help bus riders connect in real time
As the demand for customer-friendly, real-time information increases, more cities, counties and states are going high tech at the bus stop.
Cities are investing thousands of dollars in solar and Global Positioning System technology to provide up-to-the-minute information to passengers on when the next bus will arrive as more people opt for public transit.
“With the gas prices rising, transit is becoming more and more of an option for people to afford to get to work. We need to try and improve the experience of transit and make it more easily usable for our citizens,” said Lorin Swirsky, information technology manager for Broward County (Fla.) Transportation Department.
To read the full story: New GPS-savvy, solar signs help bus riders connect in real time
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Valerie Plame talks of future
Valerie Plame Wilson was on a covert operation.
Her mission was clear as she walked briskly through downtown State College.
Finally, she found her target: a store open before 11 on a Sunday morning where she could buy Nittany Lion sweatpants and knit hats for her 8-year-old twins in an effort to turn them into Penn State fans.
In the 23 years since Wilson attended Penn State, the former CIA spy’s life has taken several unexpected turns, culminating in the leak of her identity in The Washington Post.
To read the full story: Valerie Plame talks of future
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One-on-one with Obama
As a crowd of nearly 22,000 prepared to invade Old Main lawn, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., stood in a dairy barn.
But before they arrived at the Penn State Dairy Complex, Obama, along with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., went back to the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel around 10 a.m. in sweatpants after a pick-up game of basketball at the Bryce Jordan Center. Obama cordially greeted a small crowd eagerly awaiting his arrival in the lobby, shaking hands and taking pictures.
An hour later, everyone climbed into buses and SUVs, led by a police escort to travel to the Dairy Complex, where Obama received a tour of the facilities.
With Casey at his side, Obama met several Penn State agricultural representatives and learned about the university’s research, in areas from animal rumination to biodiesel and energy efficiency.
To read the full story: One-on-one with Obama
