Nation Briefs
December 29, 2005
Mineta Hails Safety Belt Usage
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced that seatbelt usage in America has reached an all-time high, with usage rates climbing in 34 states this year.
Hawai‘i had the highest usage rate of 95.3%, with eight other states above 90%, in Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Michigan, California, Puerto Rico and Maryland.
Overall, usage clocked in at 82% coinciding with the lowest ever fatality rate of 1.46 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
At a rate of 82%, Mineta said safety belts are preventing 15,700 fatalities, 350,000 serious injuries and $67 billion in economic costs associated with traffic injuries and deaths every year.
Mississippi reported the lowest usage rate at about 61%.
The federal government is offering states $498 million in incentives for achieving seatbelt usage of 85% or better.
Panel Upholds Jailing Runaway Foster Kids
SPOKANE, Wash. — A three-judge panel of the Washington state Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld a ruling by Yakima County Juvenile Court Commissioner Robert Inouye to enforce jail time in special cases where juveniles habitually violate court orders by running away from foster homes.
State law allows the jailing of foster children for as long as seven days, but Inouye found that was not enough for three chronic runaways. He found them in contempt, sent them to jail for 30 to 60 days, and ordered them to submit to mental health and drug abuse treatment.
The girls had run away as far as Montana and Nebraska, and one got pregnant at age 15 while on the run.
“We really need to have this type of tool available for the most extreme cases because, without it, we cannot safeguard the kids,” Inouye said.
Chao Doles Out Federal Grants
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao has been playing Santa Claus this season as the Bush Administration is seeking to shore up popular support.
Chao announced a $2.4 million federal grant with Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), to establish a program in Casper, Wyo., to train workers for the booming oil and gas industry.
She also announced a $2.3 million federal job-training grant for the University of Missouri-Columbia, home to the nation’s largest campus research reactor, with Missouri senators Jim Talent and Kit Bond.
Meanwhile, Appalachia will receive $6 million to train new coal miners in Kentucky and West Virginia, where companies have been trying to lure experienced workers away from competitors by offering higher wages and better benefits.
Chao said the increased demand for coal is creating jobs and improving the economy. She said her home state of Kentucky alone needs 3,500 new coal miners immediately.
U.S. Names Jan. 13 KoreAm Day
WASHINGTON — January 13 has been declared “Korean-American Day” under legislation sponsored by George Allen (R- Va.) and Richard Durbin (D- Ill.) in the senate; and Congressman Tom Davis (R-Va.) in the House of Representatives.
The first Korean immigrants arrived on January 13, 1903. During centennial celebrations in 2003, California passed a resolution designating the first Korean-American Day, and groups have been pushing the federal government to follow suit.
Durbin noted that thousands of Korean Americans have served in America’s armed forces and “have also served in public and private ways to enhance the long standing relationship between the United States and Korea that is based on our shared economic and security interests.”
“Since my first term in Congress, I have had the pleasure of closely working with the Korean-American community in Northern Virginia. I have become thoroughly impressed by the community’s strong sense of determination, discipline, and compassion,” said Davis.
Congress Okays Saund’s Picture for Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives has authorized monies for commissioning a portrait of late lawmaker Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian American ever elected to that body.
Congressman Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) had introduced a resolution in January to put up a portrait of Saund in the U.S. Capitol Building in recognition of the California legislator’s legacy as the first Asian American ever to be elected to the national legislature back in 1956.
The portrait will be completed in approximately one year, followed by an unveiling ceremony on Capitol Hill.
“From a small village in India to the halls of Congress, Dalip Singh Saund demonstrated that a person with perseverance and optimism can overcome tremendous obstacles and achieve remarkable successes,” said Wilson announcing the House authorization.
The late Saund was elected three times to the House from California, beginning in 1957.
UT Cites Frat for Hazing After Freshman’s Death
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin has canceled an APA fraternity’s status as a registered student organization until 2011, following a freshman member’s death due to hazing.
The body of Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath, an 18-year-old pre-computer science major from Houston, was discovered Dec. 10, at the Lambda Phi Epsilon house near campus.
He died of acute alcohol poisoning.
A university investigation that began concluded that new members of the fraternity were expected to consume large amounts of liquor and to shave their heads.
Lambda Phi Epsilon, one of several Asian American-interest fraternities at UT, will face an additional one-year suspension and one-year probation if it decides to re-register as a student organization after 2011.
Lambda Phi Epsilon has until late January to appeal the suspension.
The Other
First Lady
WASHINGTON — White House chef Cristeta Comerford is going through her first holiday season in charge of the nation’s First Kitchen. She’s preparing 26 different events for 9,500 people. On her shopping list: 300 smoked turkeys, 3,400 racks of lamb and 2,100 pounds of sweet potatoes.
The holiday menu emphasize fresh, seasonal ingredients and utilizes local foods — Virginia ham, Maryland blue crab, autumn root vegetables. There’s only an occasional nod toward the Asian flavors of her childhood in the Philippines, but she has included one of her mother’s recipes — skewers of grilled chicken with jasmine rice.
“Cris even transformed one of our family’s favorite holiday recipes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, into an elegant honeyed sweet potato souffle,” said First Lady Laura Bush. “We are sharing [it] with our guests during the White House holiday receptions.”
Comerford, 42, has worked in the White House kitchen for over 11 year and has a 4-1/2-year-old daughter.
Hawaiian Artifacts Spark Jail Threat
HONOLULU — Federal Judge David Ezra has ordered a native Hawaiian group to disclose where it has buried 83 artifacts or face jail.
The ruling is over a battle for the artifacts loaned by the Bishop Museum in 2000 to Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai‘i Nei, which means “group caring for the ancestors of Hawaii.”
Hui Malama Executive Director Edward Halealoha Ayau, 63, says he will present himself for imprisonment rather than reveal the locations in the Big Island caves near where they were dug up. Hui Malama claims that Western archaeologists stole the funerary artifacts in 1905.
Two other Native Hawaiian groups sued Hui Malama and the museum for return of the objects.
Hui Malama members say removal of the items would result in kaumaha, or “spiritual heaviness,” and “anger from the kupuna.”
“The pending District Court order amounts to stealing from the dead,” the group said in a statement.
Yao Ming Out for Several Weeks
HOUSTON — Houston center Yao Ming is expected to miss several games after undergoing surgery on his infected left big toe.
The 7-foot-6 Yao, who is averaging 19.9 points and nine rebounds, has a toe infected with osteomyelitis, a common inflammation of the bone caused by bacteria. The surgery was performed by Rockets chief physician Dr. Tom Clanton, at the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston.
The Rockets said the procedure was successful and that Yao will require antibiotics and rest for several weeks in order to allow the infection to properly heal.
Yao, 25, had missed only two games in his first three NBA seasons. He started all of Houston’s first 22 games this year.
U.S. Speaker Hastert, Jindal to Visit India
WASHINGTON — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert and Indian American Congressman Bobby Jindal will visit India in January ahead of President Bush’s 2006 trip.
The visit follows a July 18 agreement between Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, charting a strategic cooperation between the two democracies, including nuclear technology.
Hastert is the third highest-ranking official in the American government hierarchy. Jindal (R-La.) is the first Indian American to win a Congressional seat in 46 years after his victory in November 2004.
“[It] is an indication of the rising importance of India, that the speaker of the House will be visiting India,” Rep. Joe Wilson(R-S.C.) said.
Hastert is supportive of the Bush agreement to help India’s civilian nuclear industry, and treating its military nuclear technology separately.
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