THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
NEWS
9A
NATIONAL
Maine legalizes marijuana stores
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND, Maine — Voters approved a referendum making Maine the fifth state to allow retail pot dispensaries, but medical marijuana advocates say it won't become like California, where hundreds of marijuana shops have popped up and come under critical scrutiny.
California, Colorado, New Mexico and Rhode Island allow for places where medical marijuana patients can legally buy pot. Maine voters gave their approval Tuesday, 59 percent to 41 percent.
Horizontal horseplay
Referendum opponents pointed at Los Angeles as proof that cannabis outlets are a bad idea. There, the district attorney has vowed to crack down on places that are selling the drug to people who don't qualify.
But Ethan Nadelmann of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance said there's no chance Maine would become like Los Angeles, which he called the "wild West" of medical marijuana, because of stricter provisions.
Maine law requires that dispensaries be licensed by the state, while California law does not, he said. Maine law also narrowly defines medical conditions for which patients can be prescribed pot, while California allows doctors to recommend it for virtually any aliment.
Fourteen states have laws allowing some use of marijuana for medical purposes. Maine's medical marijuana law, first approved in 1999, allows the use of pot for debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.
Joe Young, Lenexa sophomore, right, tosses a frisbee to Joey Finkelstein, Minneapolis senior, Tuesday evening at Robinson Field. The two friends, who are both members of KU's HorrorZontals Ultimate Frisbee team, enjoyed a more relaxed game of catch before practice began 30 minutes later.
ECONOMY
Patients wait in the emergency room at Cook County Hospital July 30. The U.S. service sector grew for a second straight month in October, but at a slower pace than in September, as the recovery creeps along for the country's hospitals, retailers, financial services companies and truckers.
Service sector, business activity grow
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The U.S. service sector grew for a second straight month in October, but at a slower pace than in September, as a broad economic recovery creeps along.
The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its service index dipped to 50.6 last month from 50.9. Any reading above 50 signals growth. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a 51.5 for the index that tracks the country's hospitals, retailers, financial services companies and truckers.
But new orders, an augur of future activity, rose to 55.6, from 54.2 in September. Business activity also rose.
Still, the decline in employment worsened. The employment tracker has contracted for 21 of the past
22 months.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to keep a key interest rate at a record low for an "extended period," and said
economic activity has "continued to pick up" since its last meeting in late September.
But Fed
Chairman
Ben
Bernanke and his colleagues warned that rising joblessness and hard-to-g credit could
hinder the rebound in the months ahead.
The index tracks more than 80 percent of the country's economic activity.
In the ISM's survey, nine industries said their businesses grew last month, with real estate, construction, corporate management and support services showing the biggest
gains. Seven sectors contracted.
Last month's dip "may be a sign
Last month's dip "may be a sign that the recovery is still struggling to gain any momentum."
PAUL ASHWORTH Economist
that the recovery is still struggling to gain any momentum," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. He added, though, that a similar slip in July was later reversed and that the new report may
"possibly be nothing more than a temporary blip."
The service sector's recovery has been choppy, unlike manufacturing's sharper move upward as companies restock inventories and demand increases from overseas.
ODD NEWS Police pull over man in breathalyzer costume
hockey team costume
OXFORD, Ohio — An Ohio man dressed as a Breathalyzer test for Halloween found himself blowing into one after police stopped him for allegedly driving the wrong way without headlights on a one-way street. Oxford police said they stopped 20-year-old James P. Miller on Halloween night and found beer in his vehicle.
Police said Miller blew 0.158 percent on a Breathalyzer test. The legal limit for driving is a blood-alcohol level of .08.
ODD NEWS
Miller had no comment when reached at home Wednesday.
Woman pleads guilty to hitting car, throwing ranch
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho woman accused of ramming her pickup into another car, then hurling ranch salad dressing at the vehicle, has pleaded guilty to aggravated battery. Tiffany M. Wallace entered the plea Monday in a deal with prosecutors.
Associated Press
LEGAL
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The family of a Connecticut woman mauled and blinded by a chimpanzee sought Wednesday to sue the state for $150 million, saying officials failed to prevent the attack.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family sues for chimp attack
Attorneys for Charla Nash's family filed a notice Wednesday with the state's Office of Claims Commissioner asking for permission to sue the state.
A Department of Environmental
The animal chewed off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids; she remains in stable condition at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
The 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis went berserk in February when his owner, Sandra Herold, asked Nash to help lure him back into her house in Stamford.
"We believe the evidence will show that the state ... failed to adequately address a serious public safety issue."
ney for Nash's family.
Protection biologist warned state officials before the attack that Travis could seriously hurt someone if he felt threatened.
"We believe the evidence will
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that his office is reviewing the claim.
Herold's attorney has called the attack work-related and said her family's case should be treated as a worker's compensation claim.
MATT NEWMAN Attorney
show that the state, acting through the Department of Environmental Protection,'failed to adequately address a serious public safety issue that resulted in tragic consequences for our client," said Matt Newman, attor-
He said that he is sympathetic over the "horrific tragedy" but that the planned lawsuit "seems unprecedented in size."
he earlier filed a $50 million lawsuit against Herold, saying she was negligent and reckless for lacking the ability to control "a wild animal with violent propensities."
Nash's family earlier filed a
The strategy, if successful, would limit potential damages in the case and insulate the chimp owner from personal liability.
HPV Fact #1:
Your boyfriend can't get screened for HPV. So there's no way to know whether he could expose you to the virus.
There's something you can do.
Visit your campus health center.
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