TheRepublic.com - Human welfare News

Fate of LA pot shops left to voters

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:19:29 -0400

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime.

NH Senate to vote on amended medical pot bill

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:56:05 -0400

CONCORD, New Hampshire - New Hampshire could be on its way to joining 18 other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing the medical use of marijuana by people with serious illness.

Manchester continues to grapple with new refugees

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:36:26 -0400

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire - After being exiled from his native Bhutan at age 4, Chuda Niroula spent the next two decades in a Nepali refugee camp with no running water, no electricity and never enough food. Almost two years ago he arrived in Manchester as one of the 60,000 to 80,000 refugees taken in each year by the U.S.

Page hopes work will help him lead Congo

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:20:52 -0400

LINCOLN, Nebraska - Pages in the Nebraska Legislature usually are young students, observing and learning about state government while they assist senators and run errands.

211 systems served as Indiana residents help line

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:12:11 -0400

FORT WAYNE, Indiana - It used to be that if you needed help - with your rent, your gas bill, your grocery bill, or your abusive spouse - figuring out whom to call for that help was nearly as complicated as the problem itself.

Making mentally ill defendants ready for trial

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:40:52 -0400

KERRVILLE, Texas - The judge ascended the bench. He looked down at cafeteria-style tables marked "Prosecuting Attorney" and "Defense Attorney." To his left, two men sat in a box marked "Jury." The witness stand was marked "Witness."

Ohio to bolster checks on home health care workers

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:35:29 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio officials plan to bolster criminal background checks for those home health-care workers who provide direct care to the disabled and elderly.

Teen's success at debate leads to Princeton

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:58:20 -0400

ST. LOUIS - Destiny Crockett is the first graduate of St. Louis' Clyde C. Miller Career Academy to ascend to the Ivy League. A love for debate helped get her there.

W.Va. resort offering help to drug-convicted women

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:28:47 -0400

BECKLEY, West Virginia - Women are daughters, each of us. That's how Tammy Jordan, inspirational author, agriculturist and business owner, views it. So much so, she's sharing her bounty with women unaccustomed to walking through doorways to opportunity.

More centers in DC area speak seniors' language

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:06:52 -0400

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland - If Mohammad Rahro, 91, had gone to just any senior center in Maryland, chances are he would not have encountered someone who remembered the headmaster with four wives who rode to school each day on a beloved white donkey.

Tribal nonprofit names new program director

Sun, 19 May 2013 05:20:45 -0400

EAGLE BUTTE, South Dakota - A nonprofit organization for children on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation has named a new director for youth programs.

Amendments add money for Nevada mental health

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:41:07 -0400

CARSON CITY, Nevada - Legislative money committees approved $6.4 million for new mental health programs Saturday to fund a home visit pilot program, community interaction services and more beds for mentally ill inmates at a northern Nevada psychiatric hospital.

Herbert signs legislation to prevent teen suicide

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:24:16 -0400

MAGNA, Utah - Gov. Gary Herbert visited a high school in the Salt Lake City suburb of Magna rocked by a recent string of suicides to discuss the problem and sign legislation meant to prevent it.

French president signs gay marriage into law

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:17:50 -0400

PARIS - France will see its first gay weddings within days, after French President Francois Hollande signed a law Saturday authorizing marriage and adoption by same-sex couples and ending months of nationwide protests and wrenching debate.

Women sad, angry over sale of nonprofit Ohio home

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:17:45 -0400

CINCINNATI - For more than 100 years, the Anna Louise Inn in downtown Cincinnati has been a safe, serene place that thousands of struggling women came to know as home.

Clinic, OSU students help homeless people see

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:27:06 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Some patients live in their cars, driving along blurry roads in eyeglasses that belong to someone else.

State Drug Court conference to be held in Tunica

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:34:44 -0400

TUNICA, Mississippi - Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. will speak Wednesday at the opening of a three-day conference in of the Mississippi Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Police: 4 arrested on LI. sold alcohol to a minor

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:55:03 -0400

HUNTINGTON, New York - Police say employees of four Long Island businesses have been arrested in an underage drinking sting.

Michigan lawmaker backs anti-cyber-bullying bill

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:05:04 -0400

LANSING, Michigan - A Democratic Michigan lawmaker is backing an effort aimed at preventing cyber-bullying in schools.

Mo. lawmakers give mixed results on business aid

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:58:28 -0400

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri - Missouri lawmakers revamped four of the state's main business incentives on the final day of their legislative session, but failed Friday to pass a broader measure that would have scaled back costly tax credits for developers.

Mo. lawmakers pass budget patch for kids' program

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:49:48 -0400

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri - Legislation passed in the closing hours of Missouri's annual session Friday could patch a hole in the state budget for early childhood programs and some health care initiatives.

Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:34:10 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois lawmakers agreed to legalize the use of medical marijuana on Friday under a plan that's being billed as the strictest in the nation among states that have authorized the drug's medicinal use, though it was unclear whether the Democratic governor plans to sign it.

Santa Fe marijuana dispensary robbed at gunpoint

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:28:50 -0400

SANTA FE, New Mexico - Authorities are looking for three men who robbed a licensed medical marijuana distributor in Santa Fe on Friday.

Senate Democrats want more school money, not cuts

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:02:43 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois Senate Democrats want to boost general education funding by $156 million next year, not cut it, key budget negotiators said Friday, but acknowledged the increase would only keep per-student funding level.

Ohio AG certifies medical marijuana petition

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:55:37 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio has cleared an initial step to get before voters.