Bill would block same-sex benefits

An Alabama legislator is picking up support for his bill to stop the state's public universities from offering employee benefits to same-sex couples.

Rep. DuWayne Bridges, R-Valley, said he has prepared a bill for the legislative session beginning in January. The bill would prohibit public universities from receiving state funds if they offer benefits to same-sex partners.

"I don't think universities should waste money by making a liberal or politically correct statement," Bridges said.

His bill is aimed at two campuses of the University of Alabama System, which Bridges said are ignoring the intent of a 2006 amendment to Alabama's constitution that banned same-sex marriages.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham on Oct. 1 began enrolling eligible adult domestic partners of either sex of faculty and staff in medical, dental and vision plans. The University of Alabama in Huntsville will extend benefits to domestic partners Jan. 1.

At the University of Ala-
bama's Tuscaloosa campus, President Robert Witt recently told the faculty that the policy is under consideration.

Auburn University does not offer domestic partner benefits, a spokesman said.

Dale Turnbough, a UAB spokeswoman, said offering the benefits helps UAB's medical school compete with other top schools that routinely offer the benefits. She said partner benefits "create a positive, supportive and diverse work environment in which faculty and staff can excel."

Republican Gov. Bob Riley "supports Rep. Bridges 100 percent," Riley press secretary Todd Stacy told The Tuscaloosa News.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim James has also endorsed Bridges' bill. Bridges said what the UA campuses are doing amounts to "tacit recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions."

State Rep. Patricia Todd, who described herself as Alabama's "first openly gay legislator," said many companies and universities are offering domestic partner benefits because they are expected by many top wage-earners.

"They're only going to go someplace that has that kind of benefit," Todd, D-Birmingham, told The Birmingham News.

According to the nonprofit organization Human Rights Campaign, 74 of the 130 universities on the U.S. News & World Report list of top schools offer domestic partner benefits.


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Beebe Releases Flood Aid

LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe announced Wednesday he has authorized the release of $2 million from the Governor’s Disaster Fund to provide limited individual assistance for flood and storm victims in 12 Arkansas counties, including four area counties.

Arkansans with uninsured damage to their primary residences may be eligible for state aid in Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott, Columbia, Grant, Lincoln, Lonoke, Ouachita, Pulaski, Union and White counties.

“While we will request a presidential disaster declaration for flooding damage to infrastructure in Arkansas, we don’t believe we will meet the federal requirements for individual assistance,” Beebe said in a release issued by his office. “The state can provide limited funds to help uninsured homeowners in the counties hardest hit start toward recovery.”

Eligibility for state assistance will be based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster damage guidelines.

Beginning Thursday morning, victims whose residences have been rendered temporarily or permanently uninhabitable due to the flooding and severe storms on Oct. 29 and 30 can contact the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management at (888) 683-2336. Applications for uninsured damage grants and temporary housing assistance will be accepted for two weeks.

A total of 51 Arkansas counties have been granted state disaster status due to severe weather in October.


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Car insurers should not depend on black boxes

Car insurers should not depend on the data collected by event data recorders (EDR) boxes, as the reasons behind a driver's actions will not be recorded, according to the RAC Foundation .

Philip Gomm, a spokesperson for the organisation, also expressed concern about the expense of introducing the boxes being levied against the drivers as "safety should not be an expensive, optional extra". He added that the government should foot part of the bill as society will benefit from a reduced number of accidents .

EDR will store the speed and actions of the driver, such as breaking and indicating, reported The Telegraph, citing research by the European Commission. It would also monitor any changes in acceleration and record the 30 seconds before a crash and 15 seconds after. This information can then be downloaded by the police .

Earlier this year, The Office for National Statistics reported that in 2007 the total number of road fatalities had fallen by seven per cent when compared to the previous year.


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Heating cover will ensure households stay warm this winter

The number of households that are without heating cover has risen to 65 per cent this year, according to research carried out by uSwitch.com.

Consumers could face substantial bills if something goes wrong and they don’t have insurance . If a boiler breaks down, it can cost up to £1,200 to replace four key parts however, there are some suppliers that will provide support for less than £10 a month.

While gas boilers should be serviced every year to check for poisonous carbon monoxide emissions, 42 per cent of households choose to disregard this industry advice. In the last year 14 people have died and 234 suffered illness after being exposed to the gas, reported the Gas Safe Register .

Will Marples, energy expert at uSwitch.com, explained: "Although budgets are stretched this year, in the long term it could cost you dearly not to have a plan from your provider."


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Car insurance should be renewed in good time to avoid penalties

With the strong possibility of more postal strikes to come, specialist insurance broker Footman James is warning customers to renew their car insurance in good time to avoid penalty points, fines or having their vehicle impounded and crushed.

Paul Matthews, Footman James’ managing director, said: "Our records show that 16 per cent of motorists leave renewing their insurance until the actual day it is due for renewal. In fact, 60 per cent renew within only four days of their renewal date and nearly three per cent actually renew after their renewal date. There are no days of grace – you’re either insured or you’re not."

He added that occurrences such as postal strike action mean that people who prefer to renew by post could have their paperwork delayed and therefore not processed in time.

As a large insurance broker, Footman James has the daily duty of updating details on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) which was launched to help combat uninsured driving and contains the details of all insured vehicles on the UK’s roads.


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Car insurer says female driver stereotypes are outdated

Old-fashioned stereotypes corresponding to women and cars are dead and buried and a new generation of female drivers have arrived, according to Admiral .

Research conducted by Admiral's specialist women's car insurance provider Diamond, revealed that 44 per cent of women discuss their motors with their friends and less than three per cent would pick a car because of its colour.

Sian Lewis, managing director of Diamond car insurance, commented that modern women are making informed choices about which car they buy. She also indicated that female drivers are dedicated to looking after their vehicle . Ms Lewis said: "Our research shows many of the stereotypes you hear about women drivers are very much outdated and untrue."

Recently, Admiral reported that many people are putting themselves at risk if they get behind the wheel when they are stressed. It found that 45 per cent of drivers are more likely to lose concentration when they are anxious .


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Schools to get first swine flu vaccines

Delaware's Division of Public Health will begin its school-based swine flu vaccination campaign Monday, starting with public elementary school students, who will receive the nasal-spray vaccine.

Health officials Thursday would not release the names of all schools that will receive vaccines next week, disclosing only that Christina's Smith Elementary, Capital's East Dover Elementary and Cape Henlopen's Milton Elementary will be among them. The full list of schools expected to receive the vaccines will be released today, according to division spokeswoman Heidi Truschel-Light.

Five teams of nurses will conduct inoculation clinics at schools in New Castle County, and five similar teams will visit schools in Kent and Sussex counties. The teams of about 10 to 16 nurses each will focus on children in grades K-5. A contractor that specializes in mass vaccinations will visit children in public middle and high schools starting Nov. 9, said Dr. Karyl Rattay, public health director.

The division provided permission slips to be distributed in Delaware's 19 school districts and 18 charter schools earlier this month. The deadline for returning them was last Friday. Rattay said the number of vaccines sent to schools will depend on the number of signed consent forms, for which she did not have a tally.

Students in grades K-5 will receive a vaccine that is sprayed into both nostrils. Students younger than 10 will need a second dose after four weeks. Consent forms for the second dose will be sent to parents after the first vaccinations.

Students in grades 6-12 will receive a flu shot and will require only one dose.

There are 125,000 public school students in the state. Delaware has been allocated 520,000 doses of the vaccine but received only 46,000 doses so far.

Rattay said 26,314 doses of the injectable H1N1 vaccine and 2,541 doses of the nasal-spray will arrive in Delaware next week. All of the nasal-spray doses and about 8,000 of the injectable doses will go toward the school-based vaccination campaign, she said.

The remaining injectable vaccines will go to pediatricians, oncologists and university health clinics for students with chronic conditions -- such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and a suppressed immune system.

The same contractor that will work in the public secondary schools also will administer vaccines for children in grades K-12 in private and parochial schools. That part of the campaign isn't expected to get under way until late November, Rattay said. Consent forms also were sent to private schools earlier this month.

Health officials say children are particularly vulnerable to the swine flu virus. More than 1,000 people in the United States -- including almost 100 children -- have died from the strain of flu known as 2009 H1N1. Delaware has had three deaths believed related to the swine flu virus. All three victims also had other medical conditions. One was a 15-year-old boy.

Health officials Thursday revised the number of confirmed H1N1 cases from 191 to 377 for the week of Oct. 11 to 17. They said the revision was because of the lag time between when doctors take and submit samples to when they can be tested and confirmed.

Last week, there were 265 new cases, bringing the number of confirmed swine flu cases in Delaware since Oct. 4 to 1,011.

According to public health officials, there were 296 reports of people with flu-like symptoms during the week of Oct. 11 to 17. That number jumped to 603 last week.


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