: News
D.C. Council members are considering new legislation that would allow property owners to prohibit smoking up to 25 feet from buildings. D.C.'s ban on smoking in bars and other public places went into effect in 2007. Since then, D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson says, people have taken to smoking directly outside buildings where smoking is banned. "That may be ok, and on the other hand, it may be that the building owner doesn't wanit it," he says. "This would give the ability to the building owner to say no."
The proposal is part of a larger bill -- primarily intended to reduce smoking among teenagers. Mendelson is proposing tougher penalties for people who sell tobacco to minors and tougher penalties for minors caught buying or possessing tobacco products.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process
After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.How Genomics Solved The Mystery Of Ireland's Great Famine
Although scientists have known that a funguslike organism caused the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, they didn't know which strain was the culprit. But they do now, thanks to the genes in some 19th century potato samples.Oregon's Cash-Strapped Counties Reject Public Safety Levies
Two Oregon counties have reportedly rejected property tax increases that would have funded law enforcement and public safety services. The counties once received federal timber subsidies, but those days are over — and now they're scrambling to pay for essential services.How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started
You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.Leave a Comment
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