Long-standing efforts to increase the number of low-income voters have been paying off. Several voting rights groups point to data from the federal Election Assistance Commission that show an increase in new voter registrations coming from public-assistance agencies. Since 1993, the National Voter Registration Act, known as the “Motor Voter Bill,” requires that voter registration be offered at DMV offices and public-assistance agencies. At the time of its passage, the law was heralded for empowering poor and working people, while detractors said it could lead to registering dead ... Read More
Eyewitness IDs Can Be Made Better
July 25, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
A year ago April, Alan Northrop and Larry Davis walked out of a Clark County, Wash., courthouse on the north banks of the Columbia River, across from Portland, Ore. The two had just been cleared by DNA evidence after serving 17 years in prison for rape and burglary. The real perpetrators have not been found. In the year since their exonerations, Davis and Northrop have been virtually forgotten. They were convicted in 1993 based entirely on the eyewitness identification of the victim, who said she was blindfolded and never got a clear view of her attackers. Detectives eventually got ... Read More
Noise Complaints Draw Opposition to Wind Farms
January 6, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Mike Eaton and his wife live in northeastern Oregon for the peace and quiet. But ever since wind turbines arrived on the ridge above their home two years ago, the Eatons' slice of heaven has been a nightmare. "It makes me seasick and nauseous," said Eaton, who carries a cane. "I take medication for it, but it just keeps it slightly balanced so I'm not vomiting all the time, to be honest with you." The constant swoosh-swoosh of wind turbines cutting through a downwind gust can be excruciating for Eaton. For others, like Dan Williams, who live nearby just a few miles south of the Columbia ... Read More
Stunting Stents
September 16, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
The results of a three-year study showing coronary bypass grafts were often better than drug-eluting stents for patients with severe heart disease may not surprise cardiologists and astute patients who have watched the warnings for stents grow in recent years. Around 1.3 million Americans each year have angioplasty, which props open a clogged artery with a balloon and often involves a stent — what amounts to a tiny mesh-like device that acts like a permanent scaffold. About half of those patients have severe heart disease that researchers now say might be better treated with bypass ... Read More
Can Mining Provide a Renewable Energy Future?
August 22, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
It's difficult to look out over miles of waste rock and tailings from a century of copper mining in the American Southwest and see anything but environmental destruction. But a growing number of mining companies and renewable energy developers are beginning to use these vast plains of disturbed dirt as the ideal spots for large-scale solar and wind power projects. Mine sites in the region attract developers such as Tessera Solar for several reasons, said communications manager Janette Coates. Existing transmission lines, available water and roads capable of supporting wide, heavy loads ... Read More