I got this great story idea from Al's Morning Meeting reader
Josh DeVine, a reporter for
WJRT ABC-12 News in Flint, Mich. He writes:
We had been looking into an abandoned funeral home in Flint, Mich., for suspicions of cremated remains in the basement.
Turns out, it's not uncommon and (at least in Michigan) it could be tough for prosecutors to charge a crime against the owner.
We checked with the
Cremation Association of North America (see the link below) and [its]
executive director told us cremation is becoming more popular each year
and could average 45 percent of all deaths by 2025. Right now, there
are
more than 700,000 each year (about 30 percent of all deaths), but
35,000
remains go unclaimed.
In a lot of states (like Michigan) there are no laws allowing
funeral homes to dispose of cremated remains in a respectable
fashion. Some states (like Ohio and Indiana)
allow funeral homes to make that decision after 60 days. But
associations in states without such laws generally recommend funeral
homes hold on to those remains for fear of civil lawsuits should a
family finally decide to pick up the remains.
Our piece turned out
well and had good viewer reaction, but I was surprised to find out just
how many remains go unclaimed. Perhaps readers of the "Morning
Meeting" will feel the same.
[A] link to our coverage.
More resources:
Grain-Bin Shortage Ahead
Agriculture.com says it is a looming problem.
"Dud Vinci Code"
Groups are planning protests for the movie, which critics have panned. In rural Louisiana, for example, Catholics plan to picket theaters this weekend. The Detroit News put the controversy over the film on the front page, as did several other papers coast to coast. The Detroit News said:
The Vatican
has not released an official position on the movie. But Archbishop
Angelo Amato, who as the secretary of the Doctrine of the Faith is the
church's second-ranking official in the doctrinal office, encourages
Christians to be more aggressive in rejecting "lies and gratuitous
defamation," according to media reports.
"If such lies and
errors had been directed at the Quran or the Holocaust, they would have
justly provoked a world uprising," Amato told a Catholic conference in Rome. "I hope you will boycott the film."
Many
Catholic and fundamentalist Christian groups have organized boycotts of
the movie and established Web sites to publicize what they believe are
inaccuracies in the film. Demonstrations have been organized at
theaters showing the film in a dozen communities in Metro Detroit and
16 elsewhere in Michigan, and theater owners are declining to comment on any security precautions they are taking.
For more coverage worldwide, click here.
Certainly, the protests will be the best thing to happen to this film
. Rolling Stone said, "'Da Vinci'
is a dud -- a dreary, droning, dull-witted adaptation of Dan Brown's
religioso detective story that sold 50 million copies worldwide."
The protests will inevitably stir up free publicity, then people will flock to the movie to see what all the fuss is about.
The Immigration Waiting Game
The (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Press Democrat ran an insightful piece on how difficult it is to get immigration paperwork signed and sealed.
With millions of
illegal immigrants and supporters taking to the streets this spring,
many observers ask why so many can't simply go through the proper
channels to become legal.
If preceding generations of newcomers could play by the rules, why not immigrants today?
The answer is
anything but simple. Indeed, it's somewhat mind-numbing because of the
complexity of the nation's immigration laws, with different rules for
different categories of immigrants.
One hundred years ago, America's
borders were essentially open while today's immigration caps do not
come close to meeting the demand for visas. It's a system that can
create waiting periods of eight to 15 years -- just to apply for
residency.
The story included this helpful look at who can enter the United States legally:
There is no overall cap on U.S.
immigration. That's largely because there is no limit on the issuance of permanent visas for people who are spouses, parents and minor
children of U.S. citizens. Of the 1.12 million people worldwide who
were granted legal U.S. residency in 2005, 39 percent -- 436,802 -- met
that standard.
Nor is there a limit
on political refugees and asylum seekers, and 142,962 -- 13 percent of
the total -- were granted residency in those categories in 2005.
Beyond those groups,
the immigration funnel narrows rapidly, and numerical guidelines come
into play. Two classifications, one for other family ties and one for
employment, account for most of the remainder of legal immigrants --
and nearly all of the painful delays for those who otherwise qualify.
For 2006, Congress
has set an annual worldwide cap of 226,000 people for other
family-sponsored immigrants and 140,000 for employment-based permanent
visas.
No single country
can get more than 7.1 percent of those categories. That means Mexican
nationals face a limit of 25,620 visas this year -- and virtually none
for unskilled workers. These limits are what the State Department calls
"pierceable caps," meaning they are not ironclad. Laura Tischler, a
department spokeswoman, said typically the cap guidelines are exceeded.
In 2005, the employment-based visas exceeded the cap by about 20
percent.
The Census Bureau
estimates about 500,000 illegal immigrants enter the country every
year, but only about 5,000 visas are available to low-skilled workers.
Immigration attorneys said the door is closed to millions of
foreign-born nationals with no family or employers in the United States to sponsor them.
"They only let in a trickle," said Stephen Scribner, a Santa Rosa
immigration attorney with 10 years' experience. "If they find that they
are issuing visas too quickly, that they're on pace to run out of visas
before the end of the fiscal year, they close the gates."
Dangerous Inflatable Pools
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sent out this note:
As consumers get
ready for summer fun, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) is warning about the increase in drowning deaths reported in
inexpensive, inflatable pools and again reminding parents and
caregivers to take critical steps that will help protect children from
drowning hazards in all types of pools.
CPSC reports there
are about 280 drowning deaths of children younger than five each year
in swimming pools, and an estimated 2,100 children were treated in
hospital emergency rooms for pool submersion injuries in 2005 -- mostly
in residential pools.
CPSC has reports of
17 drowning deaths involving inflatable pools in 2005, up from nine in
2004 and 10 in 2003. Small inflatable pools, about 2 feet deep, can
cost as little as $50, and larger pools, up to 4 feet deep and 18 feet
wide, can cost under $200. These pools often fall outside of local
building codes that require barriers, and may often be purchased by
consumers without considering the barriers necessary to help protect
young children from the dangers of pools.
Wireless Phone Headsets
I fly nearly every
week to do seminars around the country, and I see these things
everywhere. They are wireless headsets that people (mostly guys, I
think) jam into their ears and talk away. Are they dorky or cool? The Dallas Morning News helps figure it out.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a
compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a
variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When
the information comes directly from another source, it will be
attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is
fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the
original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
The document requirements for BCIS if you're applying for a...
