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LIL WAYNE HURTS FEELINGS IN CANADA
Lil' Wayne is gettin a little big headed...He was supposed to make an appearance @ th Tribe Hyper Club in Montreal. There's not telling whether or not he was to perform since he's bigger than night clubs. Still, promoters at the club told people all night he was on his way. A bouncer even said Wayne was at the airport on his way there. Never showed up. Now, they say Wayne was to do another show on the 30th. I hope he makes it, because fans are quick to go from hurt to anger…
The Australian hometown of the late actor Heath Ledger named a theater in his honor Tuesday for his commitment to acting.
The $87 million, 575-seat Heath Ledger Theater in Perth is a fitting tribute because Ledger was always supportive of other young actors, Western Australia state Premier Alan Carpenter said at a naming ceremony.
Kim Ledger, the actor's father, called the tribute a pleasant surprise.
"He was such a giver to the arts right across the board. I really feel that there's not a lot of things he'd put his name to, but he'd put his name to that," said Kim Ledger, who attended Tuesday's ceremony.
Kim Ledger said family members would travel to New York later this month to attend a screening of "The Dark Knight" Heath Ledger plays the Joker in the movie, his final full film role. The actor's performance has already been lauded by critics.
The renewed attention on his son because of the film has made the family's grieving process difficult, Ledger said.
"It's just been a little more public and the films make it a little more public as well," he said. "It's been a little bit hard, but we've always been extremely proud of his work and that hasn't changed."
Ledger received a best-actor Academy Award nomination for his role in 2005's "Brokeback Mountain."
"The Dark Knight" opens in theaters July 18.
ALICIA KEYS TO RETIRE?
There's a word on the street that Alicia Keys is going to retire by the age of 30. It seems like more of an plot to store the perverbial nuts for the winter meaning that her real plans seems to be…is to work really hard from now until 30, so she can be straight on the money side. At that point, she will take some time to travel the world and see things you can’t see when touring. “I am working hard now so I have the choice to retire when I want. I would like to travel the world and stay in places instead of having to move on like I do now. I want to experience difference cultures,” she told contactmusic.com. I don’t see it happening. Her music is way to classic to just depart like that.
MENTHOL CIGARRETTES
The Congressional Black Caucus is calling for changes to a House tobacco-regulation bill, demanding that the legislation place restrictions on menthol cigarettes, the type heavily favored by African-American smokers.
The 43-member caucus is taking aim at a provision in the bill that would ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but that specifically exempts menthol. In recent weeks the exemption has become the focus of controversy because menthol brands are heavily used by black smokers, who develop a large share of smoking-related cancers and other health risks.
Donna M. Christensen, the Congressional delegate from the United States Virgin Islands who heads the black caucus’s health task force, said the caucus was working with Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is House bill’s sponsor, to address concerns about menthol.
“We are very aware and gravely concerned about the disproportionate incidence of lung cancer in the African-American community and, along with so many minority health experts, have long been concerned about the role menthol may play,” Ms. Christensen said in an e-mail response to a reporter’s query.
Ms. Christensen did not disclose the exact wording of any proposed changes to the legislation. But she said the group was working to strengthen the bill’s language on research and reporting about menthol and to give the Food and Drug Administration explicit authority to ban menthol.
On the other side of the debate, Lorillard, the cigarette company that would stand to lose the most from a ban on menthol, is mounting a counteroffensive. In e-mail messages sent on June 22 to smokers of its leading menthol brand, Newport, the company urged them to call their Congressional representatives.
“Urgent! Urgent!,” the message said. “Congress wants to make it illegal to smoke Newports and other menthol cigarettes. Call your member of Congress now and tell them to oppose any amendment to ban menthol cigarettes.”
A spokesman for Lorillard, Michael W. Robinson, said, “We think it’s important that consumers know what’s going in Washington and have an opportunity to make their voices heard.”
The legislation has passed crucial committees in both the House and the Senate, and supporters are hoping for floor votes this year. Mr. Waxman has predicted a House vote after members return from the July 4 recess.
With or without a menthol exemption, enactment of the bill is not a certainty.
Opponents of the proposal are hoping that opposition from the White House, as well as tobacco state senators, along with a series of delays in moving the bill to the House and Senate floors and an abbreviated election-year schedule, might mean the bill would not be adopted this year.
Menthol is a racially charged additive, in part because of the tobacco industry’s heavy marketing of mentholated cigarettes to African-Americans since the 1950s. The flavor helps to mask the harsh taste of cigarettes and may make it easier to start smoking,
Menthol brands account for 28 percent of the $70 billion American cigarette market. While only 25 percent of white smokers choose menthol cigarettes, an estimated 75 percent of African-American smokers do.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials have raised concerns about the possibility that menthol cigarettes might increase tobacco addiction and possibly cancer rates among black smokers.
There is also evidence that some menthol brands, including Newport, contain among the highest level of nicotine of leading cigarettes. Some experts believe that higher nicotine levels increase the addictiveness of cigarettes.
Some lawmakers have said the decision to exempt menthol from the bill’s flavorings ban was intended to win support for the legislation from Philip Morris, the country’s dominant tobacco company, whose Marlboro Menthol is the second-leading menthol brand.
Some smoking opponents have said they consider the menthol exemption as a necessary compromise to get the legislation passed. They have said that the bill as currently drafted would give the F.D.A. the authority to limit or eliminate additives, including menthol, if proved to be harmful.
The American Medical Association, in its meeting in Chicago in June, voted to ask its board to consider the question of whether menthol should be banned. The decision effectively rebuffed members who had wanted the group to speak out this year against the bill’s menthol exemption. Leaders of the organization cited the possibility that removing the menthol exemption might disrupt the compromise that has engendered broad support for the bill on Capitol Hill.
Some supporters of the bill’s current language on menthol have argued that, because menthol is widely used by many smokers, the effects of banning it outright are hard to predict. Among possibilities they have suggested is that menthol smokers would turn to an illicit cigarette market to obtain menthol cigarettes.
In a letter to several lawmakers on June 11, a coalition of health groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, reiterated their support for the bill without changes to the menthol provisions.
“The impact of modifying or prohibiting such a large portion of the current cigarette market is unclear,” said the letter, sent to Mr. Waxman as well as John D. Dingell of Michigan and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, House Democrats who head the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its health subcommittee.
The Congressional Black Caucus took up the menthol issue in June after Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, an African-American who was the secretary of health under President George H. W. Bush, met with members of Congress and their staffs to voice concerns about the bill’s treatment of menthol.
Dr. Sullivan, president emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, was one of nearly a dozen former federal health officials who had signed a letter expressing concern about the bill’s treatment of menthol.
A black antismoking organization, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, withdrew its support for the bill in late May, citing the menthol exemption.
4 day work week in UTAH!
Utah this summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy and resources.
Gov. Jon Huntsman, a first-term Republican, says he's making the change to reduce the state's carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and provide workers more flexibility.
RELATED STORY: Gas prices spurring switch to 4-day week
"The reaction (from the public) has been very much a willingness to give this a go," he says.
The change will apply to about 17,000 employees, roughly 80% of the state workforce, Huntsman says. Public universities, the state court system, prisons and other critical services will be exempt. Residents still will have sufficient access to state offices, many staying open from 7 a.m.- 6 p.m., and more than 800 state services are available online, he says.
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Leslie Scott, executive director of the National Association of State Personnel Directors, says Huntsman's action is a first. "Most states have a four-day work week option for their employees, but Utah is the first to go to a mandatory four-day work week," she says. "A good number of the states are encouraging their agencies and managers to offer a four-day work week whenever possible."
The four-day work week is fairly common among city and county governments. Rex Facer, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University whose research team is studying the four-day work week concept, estimates that about one-sixth of U.S. cities with populations above 25,000 offer employees a four-day work week. His projection is based on the team's continuing survey of 150 city human resource directors.
Facer expects more cities to begin shuttering offices on Fridays. "The increasing pressures the American is facing around gas prices is certainly a significant factor, and the overall fiscal pressures governments are facing in general," he says.
Jacqueline Byers, director of research at the National Association of Counties, says the four-day work week is gaining in popularity among county governments. Marion County, Fla., has a mandatory four-day work week for employees; Oconee County, S.C., and Walworth County, Wis., have it for road work crews, while Will County, Ill., has it for the auditor's office. Oakland County, Mich., is seeking volunteers for a four-day work week, and Miami-Dade County, Fla., and Suffolk County, N.Y., are moving toward it, she says.
"They like it for a couple of reasons," says Byers. "They're not able to give raises, so this is like a bonus, to cut off one day's commute. Also, if they can close a whole department (for a day), they save money for the county."
It takes some adjusting. "One thing that has to be changed is the level of expectation from taxpayers, because they've always wanted five-day access," Byers says. "They have to adjust to offices that are open longer on weekdays, but closed on Fridays."
Cities offering employees condensed work weeks include Coconut Creek, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., and Avondale, Ariz., according to the National League of Cities.
In Utah, the new schedule starts Aug. 4. In the meantime, Huntsman says, the state is moving to iron out problems for employees with child-care concerns and those using public transportation that currently would not accommodate a longer workday.
Huntsman says the change will help Utah reach its goal of reducing energy use 20% by 2015.
Beyond the energy and financial implications, the four-day work week is a quality-of-life issue for many. Huntsman says it is especially popular among younger employees and that his action will make Utah more competitive in luring talent.
Facer agrees that an improved "work-life balance" often results from a shorter work week.
"More and more young workers are entering the work force," Facer says. "They're looking for ways to enhance their work-life balance. Alternative work schedules offer more of this work-life balance than do traditional work schedules."
What are the pros and cons of a four-day work week? Would you switch to a four-day week if you could? Would you rather have government offices open five days a week or open longer hours for four days a week?
