Alcohol abuse under-treated
CHICAGO -- More than 30 percent of American adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives and few have received treatment, according to a new government study. Alcoholics who got treatment first received it, on average, at about age 30 - eight years after they developed dependence on drinking, researchers reported. "That's a big lag," especially combined with the fact that only 24 percent of alcoholics reported receiving any treatment at all, said study co-author Bridget Grant of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Oil complicates continued flooding
COFFEYVILLE, Kan. --An oil spill added to the misery caused by widespread flooding yesterday as thousands of evacuees in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas waited for water to recede from their homes. More rain was scattered over Texas and eastern Oklahoma. A pumping malfunction allowed 42,000 gallons of crude oil to escape from the Coffeyville Resources refinery into the swollen Verdigris River in south-central Kansas, producing a floating slick. Eleven deaths have been blamed on the storms and flooding in Texas, where two men are missing.
Maine acts to keep college graduates
BANGOR, Maine --Seeking to discourage Maine college graduates from leaving the state, Democratic Gov. John Baldacci signed a bill yesterday giving tax credits to lower the cost of student loans for those who stay in the state. The program starts in January and will apply only to new loans. The tax credit will last 10 years, or until the recipient moves out of state. The tax credits will be capped at $2,100 a year, about the cost of taking 10 credits at the University of Maine's Orono campus, not including fees. Proponents of the legislation say they know of no other similar program.