Saturday, September 22, 2012
Children will no longer be able to dance with their parents in Cranston, RI schools.
Parents of children who attend Cranston, RI public schools were notified recently of a ban on father-daughter and mother-son activities as school lawyers concluded the traditions violate state gender discrimination laws, Cranston Patch reports. "The action was triggered by a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union, said School Superintendent Judith Lundsten. The letter was written on behalf of a mother who said her daughter was unable to go to the father-daughter dance," the article said. While title IX allows for father-daughter and mother-son activities, state law is more restrictive. Now, the Cranston school committee is asking state lawmakers to change Rhode Island law to mirror federal law, making the now banned dances legal …
Saturday, September 15, 2012
New York City recently passed a ban on soda and sugary drinks over 16 ounces. Where do you stand on soda size?
The New York City Board of Health made it official this week: No large sodas. The unanimous decision extends to sodas larger than 16 ounces from fast-food restaurants, movie theaters and street vendors. It is the first of its kind in the nation and does not cover convenience stores or supermarkets. It will go into effect in March 2013. "This is the single biggest step any city, I think, has ever taken to curb obesity," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Times following the vote. "It’s certainly not the last step that lots of cities are going to take, and we believe that it will help save lives." The decision has been applauded by some including Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver who said that over half of the adults in New …
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Gas prices are down and travel is expected to increase this holiday weekend.
More Americans will hit the road this holiday weekend than a year ago. And they'll have a bit more money to spend thanks to lower gas prices. Memorial Day kicks off the summer travel season, and since pump prices never reached $4 or $5 a gallon ($1.05 to $1.32 a liter), as feared, economists says travelers are likely to dine out or shop more once they pull off the road, reported the Christian Science Monitor. About 30.7 million Americans will drive more than 50 miles for Memorial Day trips, according to auto club AAA, that has an office in Framingham. That's 400,000 more than last year, a jump AAA attributes to improvement in the economy and consumer attitudes. The number of holiday travelers grows to 34.8 million when you include planes, …
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Every May, the networks release their list of cancelled shows. Which one will you miss the most?
Every May, the networks release their list of cancelled shows. On the list may be a new show, the network never gave a chance or a favorite, the network thinks has run its life. CBS has made its CSI decision: CSI: Miami is being cancelled after a rather incredible 10-season run. Some in the industry feel Fox made a mistake not picking up this ambitious drama for a second season, reported Entertainment Weekly. Terra Nova managed the rare feat of delivering a sizable family audience to a broadcast drama, found its legs creatively in its final hours and there was nothing else like it on TV. Cost was a factor, reported Entertainment Weekly. Once top shows like House and Desperate Housewives will air no more, either. Chuck had its series finale…
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
While it isn’t a fail safe for Internet privacy, it can help.
The Internet, once viewed as the ultimate frontier for freedom, is now rapidly becoming a Wild West of privacy fears. While not a fail safe way to protect you, taking the time to clear your cookies, browsing history and cache is an easy first step that can aid in protecting your privacy. Yet, many are not doing this. What about you?
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Farrelly brothers, known for such comedies as "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary," have released a film depicting the beloved Moe, Larry and Curly in a modern day setting.
The issue can be divisive: The Stooges or the Marx Brothers? While both camps could rant on and on about the value of their favorite comedy trio, more recently the age old debate has shifted to whether or not a feature film version of the "Three Stooges" should be made. Suffering more than a decade of production delays and losing high-profile cast members left and right throughout the process, many thought the movie, based on the comedy shorts that began entertaining audiences in 1930, would never be made. Well, for better or worse, it has been made and opened nationwide on Friday. Critical reception for the film, directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly (known for such films as "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary"), has thus…
Saturday, March 31, 2012
A recent poll by Public Policy Polling shows that 43 percent of Massachusetts residents are in favor of physician-assisted suicide, while 37 percent said they are opposed to it.
A recent poll by Public Policy Polling shows more Massachusetts residents are in favor of assisted suicide than not. Out of the 936 people polled between March 16 and March 18, 43 percent said they would be in favor of legalizing assisted suicide, while 37 percent said they are against it and 20 percent are unsure. Currently, physician-assisted suicide is legalized in only three states—Oregon, Montana and Washington, according to Boston Magazine. Amongst older residents, however, the number of those that oppose assisted suicide rises. Forty-four percent of those polled over the age of 65 said they are against it. Those between 46 and 65, however, had the highest number in favor of the idea at 49 percent. In today's poll question, we'…
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Boston Athletic Association announced it will offer free CPR training to its runners and runner family members at the expo before the Boston Marathon, in the hopes that more people with the life-saving skill will line the marathon route.
Organizers of the 2012 Boston Marathon will offer free training in CPR to as many as 1,000 people who are attending the Boston Marathon expo this year, the weekend before the race. The goal is to have more people with the life-saving skill along the 26.2-mile route, from Hopkinton to Boston. Medical research has shown that people stand a better chance of surviving sudden cardiac failure if they have access to a bystander who knows and uses CPR. In recent years, more emphasis has been placed on chest compressions, rather than mouth-to-mouth. Are you trained in CPR? Have you ever had to use that training? And if not, would you be willing to be trained in it?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
More than $2.5 billion is bet on the March Madness tournament annually and more than 65% of workers join an office pool.
Americans illegally bet $2.5 billion on the NCAA Tournament each year, the FBI estimates. Perhaps that's no surprise, considering that 65 percent of office workers participate in a workplace pool for the tournament, according to a Vault poll. That's even more than the Super Bowl (58 percent), the survey said. Officially, betting on college sports is only legal in Nevada. Although the FBI likely will not be conducting a sting operation in your office, participating in or organizing inter-office gambling is illegal. Yet for the average college basketball fan looking for an edge in a March Madness office pool, there are lots of experts on the Web on how to pick winners including a University of Illinois expert in statistics and data analysis…
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Nine films nominated for best picture; tell us which ones you viewed and liked.
For likely more than four hours on Sunday night, the 84th Academy Awards will air. Hosted this year by Billy Crystal, there are nine films nominated for best picture. Have you seen them all? Did you see just a handful? Catch only one? We wouldn't be surprised if you didn't see them all. For the first time in the three years since Oscar organizers expanded the best-picture category to more than five films, there’s not a single blockbuster in the running. Billion-dollar worldwide hits such as Avatar and Toy Story 3 have been in the best-picture mix the last two years, along with such huge smashes as Up, Inception and The Blind Side. The only contender this time that has made it to the $100 million mark domestically is the Deep South tale “…
Chris L.
3:19 pm on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
I stand by my earlier assessment, but I do believe, after reading more of your postings...that it may not be your fault. more ›