FURTHERMORE. . .

AP - The California Transportation Department shielded from public view
details of at least 290 contracts worth more than $13 million, though
there is no record the agency was given authority to strike the
information from state records, an Associated Press investigation has
found. The contracts - labeled "confidential" and in many cases awarded
without competitive bidding - went out between 2002 and 2006 and ranged
from $10,000 to more than $1 million. In some cases, they authorized
payments of up to $7,000 per day to experts in various fields for their
testimony or legal opinions.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/
20070321-1417-ca-hiddencontracts.html


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TREE HUGGER - Some countries, like Japan, have offered tax incentives to
employers who institute telework programs for a while now, but a bill
recently introduced into the US Congress may give Americans the same
opportunity. The bill, introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and
Representative Lee Terry (R-NE), is called the Parents' Tax Relief Act
of 2007. There are a few interesting parts, including a vastly
simplified home office deduction ($2500 or the profit from your
home-based business, whichever is lower), and a telecommuting tax credit
for employers of up to $2400 per telecommuter. In addition, employers
that provide computers and broadband access equipment can write it off,
making such equipment tax-free. The bill hasn't passed yet, but there
are high hopes.

http://www.treehugger.com/

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USA TODAY - Hurricane Katrina drained nearly 300,000 people from coastal
areas between Texas and the Florida Panhandle, according to new
government population estimates that tally for the first time the
storm's devastating toll on the Gulf Coast. Katrina also doubled the
rate of population growth in nearby counties, which absorbed tens of
thousands of people the hurricane displaced, the Census Bureau's
estimates show. . . Together, 22 coastal counties in Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama and Florida that were declared disaster areas by
the federal government because of Katrina lost 10% of their pre-storm
population, enough people to populate a city the size of Newark, N.J.
That swath of beach towns and bayous had been growing slowly in the
years before the August 2005 hurricane. The losses were most pronounced
around New Orleans. The city lost half its population -- about 229,000
people -- between July 2005 and July 2006. Neighboring St. Bernard
Parish lost three-quarters of its 65,000 residents.

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=
UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=1593&topicId=21355&docId=l:588006534


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NY TIMES - A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last
year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures
from the Army. . . In 2005, for example, the Army now says 2,543
soldiers deserted, not the 2,011 it had reported. For some earlier
years, the desertion numbers were revised downward. National Public
Radio first reported on Tuesday that the Army had been inaccurately
reporting desertion figures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/us/23awol.html?ei=5065&en=
5738b453ca297ac8&ex=1175227200&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print


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BBC - A former top American diplomat says the US deliberately resisted
calls for a immediate ceasefire during the conflict in Lebanon in the
summer of 2006. Former ambassador to the UN John Bolton told the BBC
that before any ceasefire Washington wanted Israel to eliminate
Hezbollah's military capability. Mr Bolton said an early ceasefire would
have been "dangerous and misguided". He said the US decided to join
efforts to end the conflict only when it was clear Israel's campaign
wasn't working

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/middle_east/6479377.stm

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BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL - The disparity between care of domestic animals
in the developed world and human beings in sub-Saharan Africa is
obscene, says a senior doctor in this week's BMJ. Arriving back in
Britain after 14 years working in East Africa as a medical missionary,
consultant anesthetist, Raymond Towey says he was shocked to see that
open heart surgery is now available for domestic dogs and cats, whereas
in sub-Saharan Africa most patients needing such expensive care are sent
home to die, assuming they even reach a hospital in the first place. . .


http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/334/7594/638

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JUDGE TELLS RIAA TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070321-judges-decision-
leaves-riaa-with-lose-lose-situation-in-elektra-v-santangelo.html


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MAINE TAKES LEAD IN RECYCLING E-WASTE
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070323recycle.html

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MAINE NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS SENT TO MEXICAN BORDER
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2007/
03/23/about_300_maine_guardsmen_to_be_deployed_to_arizona/
?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Maine+news


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INTERESTING TRENDS IN AMERICAN POLITICS, BELIEFS
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=312

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