Cross Country
More State Action on Climate Change
The Governator is bringing in reinforcements for his battle against global warming. Last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was joined by the governors of four other western states— Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, and Washington—to set a regional target for cutting greenhouse gases. Last year, Schwarzenegger signed into law the country's most aggressive climate change bill, targeting a 25 percent reduction in heat-trapping gases by 2020. The new Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, announced in Washington, D.C., will help California meet its goal, most likely through a cap-and-trade program, which puts a ceiling on emission levels and creates a market for entities to sell and buy pollution credits. New England states have created a similar coalition, though it targets only emissions from utilities. States have been acting in the absence of federal legislation, generating apprehension among utility providers and others who see a patchwork quilt of regulation as burdensome and costly. The coalition of western states is likely to add more fuel to the federal debate over a comprehensive climate change bill.
Prescription for Big Trouble
Scandals involving the use of performance-enhancing drugs have focused on high-profile athletes up to now, but last week, authorities turned the spotlight on a less sexy but crucial part of the illicit-drug puzzle: the distributors. After an investigation by the district attorney in Albany, N.Y., agents busted an Orlando pharmacy suspected of using the Internet to widely distribute steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs. The Albany Times-Union said four people associated with Signature Pharmacy, including the married co-owners, were arrested and held without bond. The paper also said a handful of pro athletes were among the pharmacy's customers, but the Albany DA, David Soares, insists he's not concerned with the "celebrity factor." Indeed, the pharmacy's client base is most likely made up of ordinary Joes who want to be less ordinary; human growth hormone is approved only for specific medical conditions but is touted by some as a way to turn back the clock by maintaining muscle mass, avoiding fat gain, and keeping skin taut.
The Windy City's Enduring Dynasty
The Democrats are suddenly running the show in Congress, and presidential candidates are getting in and out of the 2008 race so fast, it's hard to tell the players without a score card. But in Chicago, for more than 50 years, it's been a pretty good bet that the mayor is going to be named Daley.
Last week, Mayor Richard M. Daley, who's been in office 18 years, won his sixth term in a landslide victory over two obscure opponents, garnering 71 percent of the vote in the process: Hizzoner got more than 80 percent of the vote in 21 of the city's 50 wards. If Daley, 64, finishes a full four-year term, he will have served as boss a year longer than his father, Richard J. Daley, who was mayor for 21 years.
The younger Daley won re-election despite opposition from organized labor and a federal probe into his administration's hiring practices. Some of the mayor's top aides have been indicted, but Daley, a Democrat, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
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