With jobs scarce, sales of one-way tickets to Mexico are up
By Saundra Amrhein, Times Staff Writer
In print: Sunday, August 31, 2008
PLANT CITY — On a Wednesday afternoon, in the gravel lot of El Expreso bus depot, Benito Ramos waits with his life packed in several plastic tubs.
After eight years in the United States, he is going home to Hidalgo, Mexico, to his mother and a small concrete block house built with the money earned clearing tables in Tampa restaurants.
"You can't survive like before," said Ramos, 28, standing in front of the clapboard depot building with its low-slung porch filled with passengers and suitcases.
When times were good, Ramos worked 16 hours a day at two restaurants, five days a week. His weekly check was $520. But for months, bosses have slashed his schedule. He was lucky to work six hours a day for two or three days, bringing in just $117 a week.
"It got to the point where you can't pay rent, you can't pay the bills," he said.
A few weeks ago, Ramos bought a bus ticket and joined legions — perhaps thousands — of illegal immigrants going back home.
go here for more
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article791045.ece
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Florida:Orange and Osceola Prosecutors Seek Volunteers
Orange-Osceola prosecutors seek volunteers
TONI A. SKALICAN Sentinel Staff Writer
August 31, 2008
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office has a new strategy for coping with state budget cuts: actively recruiting people to volunteer to help prosecutors.
State Attorney Lawson Lamar on Friday detailed his "Volunteer September" effort, which aims to fill 100 positions with dedicated volunteers in his agency.
Volunteer opportunities include positions in administration, records management, translation, victim advocacy and law internships, Lamar said.People who are interested should call 407-836-1591 or e-mail govolunteer@sao9.net.
Lamar said the effort could save nearly $1 million a year. Volunteers would help the agency save money, and they will learn new things about the state court system, he said.
go here for more
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/orl-b3court31_108aug31,0,7094192.story
TONI A. SKALICAN Sentinel Staff Writer
August 31, 2008
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office has a new strategy for coping with state budget cuts: actively recruiting people to volunteer to help prosecutors.
State Attorney Lawson Lamar on Friday detailed his "Volunteer September" effort, which aims to fill 100 positions with dedicated volunteers in his agency.
Volunteer opportunities include positions in administration, records management, translation, victim advocacy and law internships, Lamar said.People who are interested should call 407-836-1591 or e-mail govolunteer@sao9.net.
Lamar said the effort could save nearly $1 million a year. Volunteers would help the agency save money, and they will learn new things about the state court system, he said.
go here for more
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/orl-b3court31_108aug31,0,7094192.story
Battling stigma as well as mental illness
Battling stigma as well as mental illness
By David Riley/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News
Posted Aug 30, 2008 @ 10:34 PM
If Cindy had a heart ailment, a doctor might have sat her down and walked her through her options for treatment.
Battling mental illness, she says she was locked in a state hospital and told by a staff member she would be lucky if she ever got out.
If she broke a bone, Cindy might have gotten a cast, crutches and a little patience at home.
Grappling with bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress and substance abuse, her husband said she was lazy and her treatment was just "a vacation."
For decades, most health professionals have accepted that mental illnesses are legitimate, serious medical problems. But for many who suffer from them, they often remain a source of shame and ridicule, and for the public, a cause for fear, suspicion or misunderstanding.
"It's just slow for people to realize it's a real illness," said Iris Carroll, director of Programs for People, a Framingham agency that helps people to recover from mental illness and succeed. "I see it definitely changing, but not fast enough."
Four clients at Programs for People, who agreed to speak with the Daily News without giving their full names, say stigma against the mentally ill is alive and well in many aspects of their lives.
Mark, who was hit by a truck in December, says he believes his diagnosis with mental illness led a doctor not to take his wishes seriously and forego surgery he requested on his badly broken leg.
"I didn't have anybody to sign or advocate for me," Mark said.
For Melissa, her struggles with depression and post-traumatic stress cost her ties with most of her family and wreaked havoc with jobs.
"I feel like people don't understand," Melissa said. "I'm labeled like you should get it, or you should have known better, so snap out of it."
Cindy said she was called a "nutcase" when she called her son's school to iron out a problem with a teacher. She said she encountered bias within the mental health system itself, where her own goals often seemed an afterthought to some of the people treating her.
"We want guidance," said Cindy, "but we also want a voice."
click post title for more
By David Riley/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News
Posted Aug 30, 2008 @ 10:34 PM
If Cindy had a heart ailment, a doctor might have sat her down and walked her through her options for treatment.
Battling mental illness, she says she was locked in a state hospital and told by a staff member she would be lucky if she ever got out.
If she broke a bone, Cindy might have gotten a cast, crutches and a little patience at home.
Grappling with bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress and substance abuse, her husband said she was lazy and her treatment was just "a vacation."
For decades, most health professionals have accepted that mental illnesses are legitimate, serious medical problems. But for many who suffer from them, they often remain a source of shame and ridicule, and for the public, a cause for fear, suspicion or misunderstanding.
"It's just slow for people to realize it's a real illness," said Iris Carroll, director of Programs for People, a Framingham agency that helps people to recover from mental illness and succeed. "I see it definitely changing, but not fast enough."
Four clients at Programs for People, who agreed to speak with the Daily News without giving their full names, say stigma against the mentally ill is alive and well in many aspects of their lives.
Mark, who was hit by a truck in December, says he believes his diagnosis with mental illness led a doctor not to take his wishes seriously and forego surgery he requested on his badly broken leg.
"I didn't have anybody to sign or advocate for me," Mark said.
For Melissa, her struggles with depression and post-traumatic stress cost her ties with most of her family and wreaked havoc with jobs.
"I feel like people don't understand," Melissa said. "I'm labeled like you should get it, or you should have known better, so snap out of it."
Cindy said she was called a "nutcase" when she called her son's school to iron out a problem with a teacher. She said she encountered bias within the mental health system itself, where her own goals often seemed an afterthought to some of the people treating her.
"We want guidance," said Cindy, "but we also want a voice."
click post title for more
Soldiers with PTSD still need help and support
“As a community, we can make a different in the lives of our returning military,” Douglas said. “But we need to know the signs and symptoms and where to go to get help.”Soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder still need help, support
By Kevin Barlow
kbarlow@pantagraph.com
CLINTON -- Soldiers coming home from war today are different from their predecessors, but they still need help and support when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder, experts on the condition said.
“They are younger and have different needs and expectations, It’s a different generation,” said Katherine Edwards, an outreach director for Illiana Health Care System in Danville.
“They are smarter and computer-savvy,” she said. “So, they do research on their medical conditions, and often times can help the doctors with the diagnosis much quicker than previous patients.”
Edwards was among those who spoke to about 50 people last week at a seminar on raising awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder.
Vince Long, commander of the Illinois State Veterans of Foreign Wars and a Lincoln native, compared today’s veterans to the generation that fought in World War II, widely known as “the greatest generation.”
“They have earned that distinction because they saved the world,” he said of the older veterans.
“But I also believe the people who are serving in the military now are the most patriotic people I have ever seen in my life. Let’s not wait 50 years though, to tell them that.”
go here for more
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/08/30/news/doc48b9f8fcad30d685778151.txt
Sgt. Jose Nazario ready to get on with life after being acquitted
SEAN DUFRENE / Associated Press
"I just wanted the trial to be over. I feel like a new man now," former Marine Jose Nazario said.
Nazario acquitted in detainee deaths
By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 30, 2008
Jose Nazario's days as a househusband appear to be numbered.
The former Marine said he has been jobless and unemployable since Aug. 7, 2007, the day authorities arrested him on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault. He was accused of participating in the killings of four detainees during one of the Iraq war's ugliest battles.
The agents snapped handcuffs on Nazario's wrists in the sergeants' room at the Riverside Police Department, where he had worked for more than six months as a probationary officer. Released on bond, Nazario has cared for his son, Gabriel, now 2, at the family home in upstate New York while they got by on his wife's small paycheck and the kindness of relatives.
“At one time in your life, you're a war hero and a breadwinner,” said Nazario, 28, who left the Marine Corps as a staff sergeant in 2005. “The next day, you're facing felony charges and you're unemployed. It's devastating.”
On Thursday, a jury of nine women and three men – only one of whom had served in the military – pronounced the verdict Nazario and his family had prayed they would hear: “Not guilty.”
“I just wanted the trial to be over,” Nazario said yesterday. “I feel like a new man now.”
After the trial, some of the jurors told Nazario and his family the same thing.
“I don't think we had any business doing that,” said juror Nicole Peters, who wiped away tears during the reading of the verdict and later hugged Nazario. “I thought it was unfair to us and to him.”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080830-9999-1m30fallujah.html
Whooping cough outbreak at Pittsburgh vets clinic
Whooping cough outbreak at Pittsburgh vets clinic
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Medical officials in Pittsburgh say staff members and some patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital are getting preventive treatment for whooping cough after an outbreak was traced to several workers at an outpatient clinic.
Officials said tests confirmed 11 cases of the respiratory bacterial infection among employees at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System facility.
The chief of the VA's infectious disease division, Dr. Robert Muder, says no patients have been found to be ill with the disease but some have been offered antibiotics.
He says the hospital's employees, doctors, interns and medical students are taking a five-day course of antibiotics.
Whooping cough causes severe coughing spells but is not considered a threatening illness in adults.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvoi5nIW2F269WLgxZH79D9ft9xgD92SPL7O2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Medical officials in Pittsburgh say staff members and some patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital are getting preventive treatment for whooping cough after an outbreak was traced to several workers at an outpatient clinic.
Officials said tests confirmed 11 cases of the respiratory bacterial infection among employees at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System facility.
The chief of the VA's infectious disease division, Dr. Robert Muder, says no patients have been found to be ill with the disease but some have been offered antibiotics.
He says the hospital's employees, doctors, interns and medical students are taking a five-day course of antibiotics.
Whooping cough causes severe coughing spells but is not considered a threatening illness in adults.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvoi5nIW2F269WLgxZH79D9ft9xgD92SPL7O2
Two Louisiana War Veterans Homes evacuated with Hurricane Gustav bearing down
Veterans Affairs evacuates two war veterans' homes
Alexandria Town Talk - Alexandria,LA,USA
Gannett Capital Bureau • August 30, 2008
BATON ROUGE -- The Office of Veterans Affairs has begun evacuating the Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Reserve and the Southwest Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jennings.
So far, 89 veterans already have been evacuated to the Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jackson from the Reserve home and 22 veterans from Jennings are in the process of evacuating to the Jackson home. In addition, 92 veterans will moved to the Bossier City War Veterans Home from Jennings.
The phone number for the Jackson War Veterans Home is (225) 342-8998; the phone number for the Bossier City home is (318) 741-2763.
Family members are encouraged to contact the two North Louisiana homes, as both homes are maintaining lists of veterans who have evacuated or will be evacuated today.
Alexandria Town Talk - Alexandria,LA,USA
Gannett Capital Bureau • August 30, 2008
BATON ROUGE -- The Office of Veterans Affairs has begun evacuating the Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Reserve and the Southwest Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jennings.
So far, 89 veterans already have been evacuated to the Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jackson from the Reserve home and 22 veterans from Jennings are in the process of evacuating to the Jackson home. In addition, 92 veterans will moved to the Bossier City War Veterans Home from Jennings.
The phone number for the Jackson War Veterans Home is (225) 342-8998; the phone number for the Bossier City home is (318) 741-2763.
Family members are encouraged to contact the two North Louisiana homes, as both homes are maintaining lists of veterans who have evacuated or will be evacuated today.
PTSD on Trial: Treat the wounded and stop sending them to jail
Man wants to start alternative court program for war veterans
BY KATE WARD Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Sunday, August 31, 2008
As a multiple combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, John Bennett has seen the need for post-war treatment first-hand.
"We spend thousands of dollars each year to train these guys to go overseas and fight a war," he said. "Then we bring them back and do very little to integrate them back into society. Some begin self-medicating because of what they've experienced. Their drinking often turns to drug use, which leads to crime."
Bennett hopes to divert troubled vets from the traditional justice system by establishing a court program tailored to their needs. In addition to rehabilitation and treatment, the program would provide vets with the tools needed to lead productive and law-abiding lives through rehabilitative programming, reinforcement and judicial monitoring.
"They stood up for us in war and we need to stand up for them when they return," he said. "Throwing them in jail doesn't help anyone."
A 2007 report conducted by the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors reveals a sizable fraction of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD ). About 12 to 20 percent of those returning from Iraq, and about 6 to 11 percent of those returning from Afghanistan, suffer from some degree of PTSD. To date, 52, 375 returnees have been seen in Veteran's Affairs hospitals for PTSD symptoms.
"It's very traumatic, mentally," said Steve Gray, veteran affairs coordinator for Rep. John Boozman's office. "The battle mind that keeps them alive and safe over there is what gets them in trouble here."
go here for more
http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/68643/
BY KATE WARD Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Sunday, August 31, 2008
As a multiple combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, John Bennett has seen the need for post-war treatment first-hand.
"We spend thousands of dollars each year to train these guys to go overseas and fight a war," he said. "Then we bring them back and do very little to integrate them back into society. Some begin self-medicating because of what they've experienced. Their drinking often turns to drug use, which leads to crime."
Bennett hopes to divert troubled vets from the traditional justice system by establishing a court program tailored to their needs. In addition to rehabilitation and treatment, the program would provide vets with the tools needed to lead productive and law-abiding lives through rehabilitative programming, reinforcement and judicial monitoring.
"They stood up for us in war and we need to stand up for them when they return," he said. "Throwing them in jail doesn't help anyone."
A 2007 report conducted by the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors reveals a sizable fraction of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD ). About 12 to 20 percent of those returning from Iraq, and about 6 to 11 percent of those returning from Afghanistan, suffer from some degree of PTSD. To date, 52, 375 returnees have been seen in Veteran's Affairs hospitals for PTSD symptoms.
"It's very traumatic, mentally," said Steve Gray, veteran affairs coordinator for Rep. John Boozman's office. "The battle mind that keeps them alive and safe over there is what gets them in trouble here."
go here for more
http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/68643/
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Vets urged to be tested for shrapnel effects
Vets urged to be tested for shrapnel effects
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, September 1, 2008
Veterans are being warned that they should be tested for the effects of shrapnel being carried in their bodies, CNN reported Friday.
Tens of thousands of active-duty and veteran servicemembers who have been wounded will be notified — CNN did not specify when, or by what body — that they may need to be tested to see whether such metals in their bodies are harmful. Blood and urine would be monitored, according to the report.
"The importance is to be able to determine if the patient has been exposed to elements of toxic concern, Dr. Joseph Centeno, a U.S. Army research scientist, told CNN.
Doctors often leave shrapnel in wounded servicemembers’ bodies rather than subject them to the traumas of additional surgery, CNN noted.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57123
I looked for the link to this but couldn't find it. What I did find was several reports on depleted uranium showing up in blood and urine.
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, September 1, 2008
Veterans are being warned that they should be tested for the effects of shrapnel being carried in their bodies, CNN reported Friday.
Tens of thousands of active-duty and veteran servicemembers who have been wounded will be notified — CNN did not specify when, or by what body — that they may need to be tested to see whether such metals in their bodies are harmful. Blood and urine would be monitored, according to the report.
"The importance is to be able to determine if the patient has been exposed to elements of toxic concern, Dr. Joseph Centeno, a U.S. Army research scientist, told CNN.
Doctors often leave shrapnel in wounded servicemembers’ bodies rather than subject them to the traumas of additional surgery, CNN noted.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57123
I looked for the link to this but couldn't find it. What I did find was several reports on depleted uranium showing up in blood and urine.
2 men and 2 suicides, one heart, one widow
2 men and 2 suicides; but both had the same transplanted heart - and the same widow
By ALLEN G. BREED | AP National Writer
6:04 PM CDT, August 30, 2008
On an overcast spring morning in southeast Georgia, Sonny Graham drank some coffee and headed out the door for another day in the family landscaping business and to take his 9-year-old stepson to the dentist. But Graham made a detour to the backyard shed that he'd built.
There, the 69-year-old picked up the 12-gauge Remington shotgun he'd taken on so many quail- and dove-hunting trips, pointed the muzzle at the right side of his throat and pulled the trigger.
It was April Fool's Day, almost exactly 13 years since another man's suicide gave Graham a second chance at life.
That man was Terry Cottle. When he ended his life, Graham got his heart.
But it was not just an organ that connected Graham and the 33-year-old donor. Nearly a decade after the transplant, Graham married Cottle's young widow.
click post title for more
Has to be the strangest story I've ever read.
By ALLEN G. BREED | AP National Writer
6:04 PM CDT, August 30, 2008
On an overcast spring morning in southeast Georgia, Sonny Graham drank some coffee and headed out the door for another day in the family landscaping business and to take his 9-year-old stepson to the dentist. But Graham made a detour to the backyard shed that he'd built.
There, the 69-year-old picked up the 12-gauge Remington shotgun he'd taken on so many quail- and dove-hunting trips, pointed the muzzle at the right side of his throat and pulled the trigger.
It was April Fool's Day, almost exactly 13 years since another man's suicide gave Graham a second chance at life.
That man was Terry Cottle. When he ended his life, Graham got his heart.
But it was not just an organ that connected Graham and the 33-year-old donor. Nearly a decade after the transplant, Graham married Cottle's young widow.
click post title for more
Has to be the strangest story I've ever read.
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