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US: Great American Smokeout 2009 -- Which states have most smokers?



Those promoting Thursday's Great American Smokeout 2009 have their work cut out for them. That's because cigarette use among Americans, after declining for decades, has remained virtually unchanged for five straight years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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AL: US survey -- Southern counties most obese



ATLANTA -- The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia, with two Alabama counties -- Greene and Dallas -- having adult obesity rates that are among the highest in the nation.
Read More
AL: White Rock: EBSCO dumped hazardous waste


At a press conference today, representatives of White Rock Quarries, a company that wants to put a limestone quarry in Vincent, said EBSCO Industries is trying to block the project to hide 15 years of illegally dumping hazardous waste from its nearby plant.   Read More
AL: Baldwin's new coroner officially appointed by governor


ROBERTSDALE, Ala. -- After two months as interim Baldwin County coroner, Stan Vinson has been officially appointed by Gov. Bob Riley, he and other local officials said.   Read More
AR: Fight health bill, ex-Clinton adviser urges


The health-care overhaul bill being considered in the U.S. Senate is "the most serious threat to our lives and our liberties we Americans have faced since World War II," former Clinton adviser Dick Morris told about 250 Arkansans who rallied against the legislation. The group gathered Thursday on the Capitol steps in front of a "Hands Off Our Healthcare" tour bus.   Read More
AR: Swine flu death toll 20 in state


Two more Arkansans have died from swine flu, pushing the death toll from the H1N1 virus to 20 in the state, the state Health Department said today.   Read More
CA: California, Sacramento County to probe in-home care


California teamed with Sacramento County officials Thursday to launch a first-in-the-state multi-agency task force to investigate fraud in In-Home Supportive Services. The program could benefit from the state budget approved last July that included $10 million to bolster anti-fraud efforts in the rapidly growing in-home care program.   Read More
CA: UC regents approve partnership with L.A. County to reopen King medical facility


In a unanimous vote that sparked cheers of "thank you" from the audience, University of California regents on Thursday approved a partnership with Los Angeles County that clears the way to reopen the Martin Luther King Jr. medical facility in Willowbrook, possibly by 2013.   Read More
CA: California flu-related deaths, hospitalizations slowing


California health officials reported Thursday that flu- related deaths and hospitalizations slowed last week but emphasized that the H1N1 strain is still a major concern.   Read More
CA: California adopts stricter rules for drug abusers in the health industry


In a major shift, California will impose tough new standards on drug-abusing health professionals, strictly scrutinizing those in treatment and immediately removing from practice anyone who relapses.   Read More
CO: Hit hard by times, Colorado woman still standing


She watched her rewarding job in the mortgage industry disappear and her financial security dissolve in a $3 million bankruptcy.   Read More
CT: Schools shift strategy on swine flu, staying open more


Despite a handful of school closings last month when a second wave of swine flu hit the state — including one decision to close schools in a district where only 6 percent of the students were out sick — superintendents overall now seem to be showing more restraint when deciding whether to close.   Read More
FL: Medicaid providers get electronic records access


Florida health care providers will now be able to access information on Medicaid patients, including diagnoses and prescription history, electronically.   Read More
FL: Broward grand jury recommend pain clinic reforms


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A Broward County grand jury issued a damning report Thursday bemoaning the explosion of illegal painkillers sold through Broward pain clinics -- and warning that reforms passed by the Legislature may not be enough.   Read More
GA: No new patients being admitted to Central State Hospital


Georgia's state-run psychiatric hospitals continue to have serious problems, and a recent Department of Justice visit to the largest facility — Central State Hospital in Milledgeville — led the hospital to stop taking new patients indefinitely.   Read More
GA: Health reform in D.C. could influence gubernatorial race


The fractious debate over health care reform has mostly been a federal affair. But if the version favored by the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate becomes law, leaders in the states could play a huge role by choosing to opt out of the so-called "public option."   Read More
ID: 1 in 10 Idaho babies born prematurely


Kristi Burke was just 25 weeks into her pregnancy in 1999 when she awoke in the night doubled over with pain.   Read More
IL: Group hears how mentally ill fare in nursing homes


Mentally ill residents of Illinois nursing homes often don't know their rights and some are confined against their will, a lawyer with 35 years' experience in mental health law told a state task force Thursday.   Read More
IN: Group to rally for saving parts of current health care system


A group opposed to the health care legislation pending in Congress will rally Saturday in downtown Indianapolis.   Read More
KY: Latest death brings H1N1 toll to 30 in Kentucky


BURLINGTON, Ky. — A northern Kentucky woman in her 30s has died from complications related to swine flu.   Read More
MA: Bay State flu 'crisis'


Weeks before its predicted peak, the swine flu pandemic already has hit a historic high in the Bay State, with one hospital unit reporting a third of its nurses felled by the raging virus and a local health official warning that the Thanksgiving holiday could only accelerate the outbreak.   Read More
MA: Shrewsbury opposes medical waste facility


SSHREWSBURY, Mass. — Shrewsbury residents are mobilizing against a proposal to build a 21,000-square-foot medical waste disposal facility near a residential neighborhood in town.   Read More
MD: State slashes budget by $362M


The latest round of state budget cuts imposed yesterday will limit student financial aid, slice Medicaid payments to hospitals and even reduce commuter bus trips for state employees when the legislature is not in session.   Read More
MD: Legislators fight closure of Eastern Shore mental health facility


Maryland lawmakers and supporters of Kent County's Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center promised on Wednesday to use the upcoming legislative session to fight the facility's closure by the Board of Public Works.   Read More
ME: Flu vaccine slow getting to Maine


Fewer than two-thirds of the very highest-priority Mainers — children and pregnant women — have been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu, largely due to the national shortage of vaccine, according to Maine's top public health official.   Read More
MT: Montana, federal officials more tolerant of bison leaving Yellowstone, report says


BILLINGS -- Federal and state officials are drafting new strategies to deal with bison coming out of Yellowstone National Park, but still don't have an alternative to periodic slaughters of the iconic Western animal.   Read More
MT: Montana's Children -- Healthy, but poor, study shows


First, the good news, and there's a lot of it: Montana's children are healthier than kids in the rest of the country.   Read More
NC: Doctor is brusque. Patient complains. Doctor fires back.


Dr. Earl Sunderhaus, an Asheville eye doctor, has what might charitably be described as a brusque bedside manner. That much is not in dispute. But the N.C. Medical Board may decide Sunderhaus overstepped the bounds of decency when he recently told a patient she was irresponsible for being unemployed, on Medicaid, and relying on taxpayers to cover another pregnancy after giving birth less than a year earlier.   Read More
ND: Dakotas deal with vaccine shortages


The uncertainty over weekly allotments of a limited supply of H1N1 vaccine has complicated efforts to organize immunization clinics and distribute it to hundreds of providers in North Dakota and South Dakota.   Read More
NE: As pressure mounts, McClurg mum on stem cell vote


The man who holds the pivotal vote in today's embryonic stem cell research showdown is prepared to make a difficult decision.   Read More
NE: State patrol asking motorists to buckle up


The Nebraska State Patrol will be stepping up enforcement as part of a national campaign emphasizing seat belt use and keeping holiday travelers safe.   Read More
NJ: Colleges spot chance to fight sexual assault


On college campuses across the state, students mix in dormitories and mingle at parties, but experts say they remain dangerously shy about confronting the warning signs of sexual assault.   Read More
NM: State mulls reducing Medicaid coverage


Gov. Bill Richardson's administration is proposing to overhaul Medicaid and scale back health care services to some lower-income New Mexicans to cope with a projected budget shortfall of $300 million next year in the state's largest health care program.   Read More
NM: Soft drink taxes could raise a lot of dough


The second meeting of Governor Bill Richardson's budget balancing task force happened today.   Read More
NV: Regulators holding off to let court rule in Watanabe case


Back in May, a high roller went public with his allegations that Harrah's Entertainment not only kept him drunk but provided him drugs to induce his massive gambling losses.   Read More
NY: First H1N1-linked death hits Monroe County


ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Monroe County has recorded its first H1N1 death, Health Department director Dr. Andrew Doniger announced Thursday evening.   Read More
OH: School-based H1N1 vaccination clinics expected to soon begin across Ohio


School-based clinics for H1N1 flu vaccinations are expected to begin statewide in the coming weeks, Ohio Health Director Dr. Alvin Jackson said Thursday.   Read More
PA: State taking heat for 'chaotic' flu shots


In the last several weeks, as the H1N1 flu has swept through the nation and health officials scrambled to find scarce vaccine, questions have been raised about how Pennsylvania chose to handle the process of distributing the limited doses available.   Read More
SD: H1N1 toll in S.D. hits 19


The report comes as communities dispense free vaccines to fight the virus.   Read More
TN: UK goes smoke-free


LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky's flagship public university gave the official heave-ho to tobacco on Thursday, touting the health benefits of a smoke-free policy covering all of its sprawling campus in the heart of burley tobacco country.   Read More
TN: TN budget cuts could close longtime institution for people with severe disabilities


The only state institution in Middle Tennessee for people with severe intellectual disabilities could be closed under a plan introduced Thursday to cut spending.   Read More
TX: Hospital war


DALLAS — As lawmakers in Washington hammer out a health care reform bill, physician-owned specialty hospitals — a quarter of which are in Texas — face an uncertain fate. Those under development could see bulldozers, not cranes. Those already in operation may face serious limits on growth.   Read More
TX: Who's got the swine flu vaccine?


State health officials said Thursday that they have funneled most doses — about 147,000 in Travis County — to private physicians, urgent care clinics and hospitals, where workers must decide whether patients meet the criteria to receive the scarce immunizations.   Read More
UT: Abortion bill approved by Utah legislative committee


A bill that would make seeking an illegal abortion a second-degree felony as well as remove any immunity for Utah women seeking illegal abortions was approved by a legislative committee Wednesday morning.   Read More
VA: Va. has 3 more swine flu deaths, 1 in Norfolk


HAMPTON ROADS, Va. -- Three more deaths in Virginia associated with swine flu have been confirmed, including a Norfolk woman with underlying health problems.   Read More
VT: Worker deaths hold fast in Vermont


Work-related fatalities last year in Vermont remained the same as a year earlier, bucking a decline across New England and the nation.   Read More
VT: Vermont smokers seek help quitting


Vermont is likely to fall short of reducing the number of adult smokers to 11 percent of the population -- the target set in 2000 for 2010. Still more smokers are seeking help, especially from the state's online Web site -- Vermont Quit Network.   Read More
WA: Ranks of uninsured swell in state


Washington state is on pace to reach a dangerous milestone within 14 months, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said Thursday: 1 million uninsured residents.   Read More
WA: Unpaid Wash. medical bills near $1B per year


Washington's insurance commissioner says unpaid medical bills in the state will cost about $1 billion a year by 2011.   Read More
WA: Saving two programs funded by state focus of public forum


The Southwest Washington Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities will hold a public forum Saturday to build support for the preservation of two state-funded programs that help seniors and the disabled and their families.   Read More
WV: Foster-care agencies seek higher payments


Private foster-care agencies in West Virginia hope state lawmakers will boost their daily payments, saying it will help them retain good foster parents and social workers who care for abused and neglected children.   Read More
Budget insiders see worse ahead in Calif., Mich.
By Daniel C. Vock, Stateline.org Staff Writer

Two of the states hit hardest by the Great Recession–California and Michigan–are bracing for an even tougher time making ends meet next year, putting big spending cuts or outright elimination of some services on the table, top budget officials from both states said Friday (Nov. 13).   Read More
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