INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 6, 1998) -- After being convicted recently of a handgun charge, City-County Councilman Ron Franklin said his political career was over and that he would not run again when his term expires at the end of next year. But on Thursday, his brushes with law enforcement continued. He was released from jail after posting $15,000 bond. He faces preliminary charges of cocaine possession and public intoxication after his arrest Wednesday night. A decision on whether to file formal charges is expected today from the Marion County prosecutor's office. [continues 449 words]
EUREKA, California -- (AFP) -- Marijuana growers -- some armed and tied to a Mexican cartel -- are flourishing here in Northern California, where pot is the top cash crop and the lifeblood of some towns. Marijuana plants are not only being cultivated in remote, camouflaged plots in the lush mountains of federal forest lands, but are brazenly popping up in cornfields, next to farms and along roads and highways. Pot cultivation has become so rampant in some counties of Northern California that federal agents often ignore groves with less than a thousand plants unless they are booby-trapped or protected by armed guards. [continues 734 words]
Music blares out of Darlynn Bailey's fourth-period health class. Her students are screaming, dancing and jumping on tables. Bailey? She watches as a police officer urges these 11th-graders to get wilder and louder. There is a lesson in this. Really. "One of the things is finding out who you are and not worry about what people think of you," said Officer S.T. Riley. Riley's Scope LifeRide is a new program created by the Kirkland Police Department and a Chicago motivational speaker to address teen angst and drug abuse through video clips and music. [continues 653 words]
A New 'Narcotic Lollipop' Works Wonders For Suffering Patients, But Can Be Fatal To Children. Washington-Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients will soon have a powerful new way to fight severe pain-a raspberry flavored "narcotic lollipop" loaded with painkiller that can seep into the bloodstream faster than any pill. The prescription drug Actiq, approved Thursday by the government, has been controversial because the white lozenge on a plastic stick looks somewhat like a lollipop, a word used to its manufacturer's distress. Critics fear it could entice children, with fatal consequences. [continues 309 words]
(Hawk's note: I cd find no record of this piece. I believe it should be on file in the data bank. The pubdate is when it was published. pd) It no longer provides policy-makers with the kind of accurate and timely intelligence needed to protect the United States, nor does it deliver to taxpayers a fair return on their money. It is time, as Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat, has suggested, to consider dismantling the CIA and restructuring the nation&'s intelligence establishment. [continues 687 words]
Detective will hear Nov. 18 whether he faces new trial For Toronto Detective-Constable Rick Shank, the trials continue. Sixteen months after being charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of suspected crack dealer Hugh Dawson, Shank learned yesterday that a jury could not reach a decision after deliberating for four days. After sitting in court for six weeks, he now faces another court appearance Nov. 18 and the prospect of another trial, perhaps months away. Shank's trial ended quickly yesterday afternoon, when Mr. Justice Eugene Ewaschuk of the Ontario Court, general division, was given a handwritten note by the six-man, six-woman jury: [continues 1425 words]
AFTER more than two years dancing with Big Tobacco, state Attorney General Christine Gregoire may be headed out the door with a fistful of money for Washington. We'll take the money, sure, but no matter how tough the settlement is, tobacco companies will get the last laugh. They're laughing right now, in fact, holding their tummies and mussing their shellacked hair. Even before Congress killed the federal settlement in June, Big Tobacco began an amazing metamorphosis from villain to victim, from corporate behemoth to poor little business. They're no longer conspirators; they're a bunch of guys who, hey, just want to sell some stuff and have a good time if the politicians would quit hassling them. [continues 825 words]
