State Legislatures Magazine: October/November 2001

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the October/November 2001 issue of NCSL's magazine, State Legislatures. To order copies or to subscribe, contact the marketing department at (303) 364-7700.

Stateline

ALL THOSE LIGHTS ARE FOR THE BIRDS
Each year about 100 million birds die from crashing into lighted windows. In response, folks in more than a dozen Chicago skyscrapers and lakefront buildings have turned off outdoor lights or closed window shades and drapes to reduce the toll on migratory birds. Their actions are estimated to have cut bird deaths in the city by 75 percent. Some 5 billion migratory birds (many endangered species) travel across the eastern half of the United States during spring and autumn migrations. They fly at night and navigate by starlight, moonlight and such geographical markers as rivers and ocean shorelines. But building lights appear to confuse them, especially mirror-glass skyscrapers along East Coast and Great Lakes flyways.

ABE HAD MERCURY POISONING, HONESTLY
Abraham Lincoln very likely suffered from mercury poisoning in the years before he was elected to the White House, according to research conducted by the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. Seems he was taking medication for his "persistent melancholia" that researchers have found would have probably delivered a daily dose of mercury exceeding the quantity approved by the EPA by 9,000 times. That would explain his insomnia, tremors and rage attacks noted by friends and family-all symptoms of mercury poisoning. Lincoln, noting the medication made him "cross," stopped taking it before the Civil War began. Fortunately for this country, the behavioral effects of mercury poisoning are reversible.

TEACHERS TEACH, DOCS DIAGNOSE
Connecticut recently passed a first-in-the-nation law that prohibits teachers, counselors and other school officials from recommending psychiatric drugs for any child. The law does not prevent school officials from recommending that a child be evaluated by a medical doctor. The law reflects a growing backlash against what some see as overuse of Ritalin, Prozac and other behavioral drugs. Boards of education in Colorado and Texas have approved resolutions recommending that schools consider nonmedical solutions for behavior problems. Legislation regarding psychiatric drugs in school have been proposed in nearly a dozen states.

ZERO TOLERANCE CHALLENGED
Evicting an entire household from subsidized housing after a domestic assault is sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Oregon. A zero-tolerance policy for violence is being challenged in a case involving a woman who was threatened with eviction after filing a restraining order against her husband. Women are five to eight times more likely than men to be victimized by a family member or acquaintance. Housing authorities nationwide have adopted zero-tolerance policies, first for drugs, then for violence. California, Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Michigan have policies similar to the one under challenge in Oregon.

GUNS NOT DEFECTIVE
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that state law does not permit holding gun manufacturers liable for someone else's crime. The lawyer for the families of victims of a mentally disturbed man who went on a shooting rampage in San Francisco had argued that the company that made the military-style semi-automatic gun had advertised it as being useful for aggressive purposes. The company's founder had admitted that the guns might fall into the hands of criminals, but that was not his responsibility. Twelve other California cities and counties have filed similar suits against gun manufacturers, contending that the companies have been negligent in the design, manufacture and distribution of firearms. According to the New York Times, there are at least 16 more lawsuits in other state courts.

POULTRY POOP IS HOT
Out-of-state poultry manure is moving into Virginia as a result of subsidies of up to $20 a ton that Maryland and Delaware pay for transporting this byproduct of raising chickens and turkeys. Maryland, which exports about 4,000 tons now, has enough funding to export 20,000 tons-that's enough to fill the state Capitol building. The waste is an attractive (as it were) alternative to commercial fertilizer for corn, soybeans and small grains. Virginia poultry farmers have long disposed of their litter by using it as fertilizer on their own or nearby farms. Some fear that a new Virginia law that requires poultry farmers to have state-approved plans to guide the application of poultry litter to their crops and fields may put them at a competitive disadvantage. With Maryland and Delaware's subsidies, poultry poop can be a bargain fertilizer for Virginia farmers even when it is hauled 200 miles. The goal of Virginia's new law is to reduce the flow of fertilizers into streams and eventually Chesapeake Bay and other coastal waters.

DOUSING FIRES IN KENTUCKY
Kentucky is becoming a model in fire safety with a new law requiring property insurers to give homeowners a premium discount or credit for automatic fire sprinkler systems. The discount must reflect the insurers' anticipated cost savings. The virtually undetectable home sprinkler systems are "instant firefighters," which can be as effective as having a firefighter in your home day after day, says Representative Steve Riggs, sponsor of the bill. The National Fire Sprinkler Association says the recommended total homeowners' premium discount in most states for homes with a standard sprinkler system is 13 percent.

ALABAMA READS
School systems across the country are looking at a successful program in Alabama that has improved the state's once dismal record on reading. The Alabama Reading Initiative was launched four years ago in response to test scores that showed more than 100,000 students in the state were reading below their grade level. Teachers go to a two-week training in the summer that emphasizes phonics, language development, comprehension strategies, the connection between reading and writing, and how to assess and help struggling readers. Teachers seem to love it, and students are reading better.

WEB AUCTION CASHES IN
Michigan's on-line auction site has sold nearly a quarter-million dollars worth of surplus goods in its first year. All will go into the state's general fund, minus the site manager's commission. Some of the items are surplus equipment, other merchandise that has been confiscated by the Michigan State Police, and other stuff left unclaimed in bank security boxes. A pair of tickets to a 1975 Elvis concert sold for $410, four highway exit signs to old Tiger Stadium brought up to $2,140 each, and a police Harley Davidson motorcycle went for $14,250.

ALLIGATOR ALERT
Florida residents and tourists are being warned that confrontations with alligators are on the rise. Sprawl and drought are being blamed. As subdivisions spread into alligator habitat and drought forces the animals to search for watering holes, encounters between humans and alligators increase. Two people died this summer, and five others have been attacked this year. One couple awoke to find an alligator in their bedroom. Seems it got in through the pet door. As humans encroach on animal habitats, confrontations have increased across the country, although the types of animals vary. In Colorado, the problem is bears.

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