| Parents have differing opinions about "Kid Nation"
SANTA FE, N.M. � A CBS reality series in which youngsters run their own town has prompted complaints from one of the children's parents, and may have skirted New Mexico's child-protection laws. "Kid Nation," slated to premiere Sept. 19, was filmed over 40 days during April and May in a movie-set town in the high desert just south of Santa Fe. While parents and children made available by CBS praised the production as safe, well-supervised and a learning experience, one mother has told authorities the conditions warrant an abuse investigation. Janis Miles of Fayetteville, Ga., said in a letter that her 12-year-old daughter, Divad Miles, was spattered on her face with grease while cooking potatoes on a wood stove, and that four other children required medical attention after they accidentally drank bleach.
Healthy growth in marketing of drugs
It used to be that patients could get free drug samples straightaway in a doctor's office. That still happens, but now patients also may get a voucher with an expiration date to pick up drugs at a pharmacy. Or they may receive a plastic card giving them $20 off, but only if they spend a specified amount. The burst of creativity shows how effective samples have long been - along with television advertising - in encouraging patients to try new drugs. A sample "can play a key role in the doctor selecting a drug," said Michael Luby, chief executive officer of TargetRx Inc., a pharmaceutical-marketing firm in Horsham. But samples also can steer patients to newer and more expensive drugs even when cheaper ones may work better, experts say. And the newfangled vouchers are not universally loved.
BREAKING: Probation for man who tried to steal law school test
A would-be attorney who hatched an elaborate scheme to cheat his way into a better law school will serve five years of probation, a Bucks County judge in Doylestown ruled Friday. Kevin B. Siangchin, 30, of North Plainfield, N.J., must remain in mental health treatment while under the court�s supervision. County Judge Jeffrey Finley said it�s lucky for those who could have been Siangchin�s future clients that he got caught. �The best thing for the legal profession is that you will not become a lawyer,� Finley said, before sentencing Siangchin. �You could have caused serious injury to people if you were acting on their behalf. Someone who does such an act should never, ever practice law.� Siangchin pleaded guilty in June to trying to bribe employees at the Law School Admissions Council, a Newtown Township law school prep service, to sell him an advance copy of the Law School Admission Test, which the council administers, for $5,000.
Meat of the matter - Find the best local butchers
Landing an airline breast wasn't easy. First, the guy behind the counter at a local grocery store that advertises its "full-service butcher," didn't know what I was talking about when I requested an airline breast. He said he didn't have any whole birds on hand from which he could cut one for me, either. He sent me to another butcher. The guys at that shop didn't know an airline breast from an airline ticket. A butcher at an upscale grocery store said he knew what I wanted and proceeded to give me something close to, but not quite, an airline breast. For the record, an airline breast is a boneless, sometimes skinless, piece of meat with the first wing joint attached. Named for its obvious attributes and known for pretty presentations, airline breasts are old-school cuts that are usually served at finer restaurants and fancy dinner parties.
Too often, age is sole factor in when to start school
Dear Dr. Dobson: If age is such a poor factor to use in determining the start of the first grade, why is it applied so universally in our country? Dear Reader: Because it is so convenient. Parents can plan for the definite beginning of school when their child turns 6. School officials can survey their districts and know how many first-graders they will have the following year. If an 8-year-old moves into the district in October, the administrator knows the child belongs in second grade, and so on. The use of chronological age as a criterion for school entrance is great for everybody -- except the late bloomer who is developmentally unprepared for formal education. Dear Dr. Dobson: I'm convinced that I should stay home with my preschoolers if finances and temperaments permit.
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