Congratulations, Hoosier lawmakers. South Carolina is now less backward than Indiana:
For the first time in Columbia, stores were able to sell beer and wine on Sundays. Some people didn't waste anytime getting in line to buy.
"You might want to sit back, watch a game or something and drink a nice cold one. Sales will be picking up," said Dennis Best.
The law of unintended consequences:
Enacting city smoking bans appears to increase drunken driving, a study of arrests conducted by Wisconsin researchers asserts.
A national study to be released by the Journal of Public Economics found an increase of fatal accidents involving alcohol after communities prohibited smoking, compared to arrests in communities without a ban.
Now, this is a good judge:
BELEN, N.M. - Marlene Chavez stood before a hushed courtroom, acknowledging the consequences of her second drunken-driving offense. Among the spectators were hundreds of teenagers who hung on her every word.
Most of us in the press and the blogosphere -- including me -- were pretty tough on Jack Trudeau when the story broke about his apparent hosting of a drinking party for his child's graduation. Here's a different point of view:
Criminal genius of the week:
18-year-old Ruben Zarate, entered a muffler shop in the 2600 block of North Laramie Avenue yesterday and declared a robbery. He allegedly waved a gun around and demanded money, according to police.
When he was told the money was in a safe and that the manager who knew how to open it was not there, the suspect had a brilliant idea; at least he thought it was brilliant.
Be careful whom you talk to; it coud be a crime:
After an El Dorado Hills mom reported observing a strange man speaking with her two children at each of three children's-story events, deputies arrested the man at his Folsom home.
Victor Emmer, 49, was arrested March 13 on suspicion of loitering where children gather.
While we were all talking about property taxes and gay marriage and illegal immigration, the Legislature snuck in a new bill (it escaped my attention, anyway) requring sellers of adult materials to register with the state. The exact effect of the law is being debated. Crtitics say it is too broad and covers anyone that has even one book about sex on the shelves, even if it deals with sex education.
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has gone into therapy in the wake of the hooker scandal that swept him out of office, a Spitzer insider told The Post yesterday.
As part of the therapy, Spitzer will explore whether he has an addiction to sex, the source said.
The state would seem to be in a bind here:
Ahmad Edwards was convicted of attempted murder and other charges in 2005 for a shooting at an Indianapolis store.
He was initially found to be schizophrenic but by 2005, he was judged competent to stand trial.
The state denied Edwards' request to represent himself. Edwards was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He appealed and the Indiana courts agreed his right to represent himself had been violated.
Kathleen Quilligan, who recently left The News-Sentinel, has landed at The Times of Northwest Indiana with an interesing feature about the coming movie about John Dillinger -- "Public Enemies," starring Johnny Depp -- which will be shot partly in Crown Point:
