Midday & Evening

** until 2-8-09 **

017  018  019  026  027  028  035  036  037  045  046  089  125  126  127  134  135  136  145  179  189  234  235  269  278  279  289  359  368  369  378  379  458  459  467  468  469  478  567  568

Please finish the sentence:

I would just love to _____________________.

Cash-strapped states mull seat belt laws

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Drivers better buckle up or pay the price: More cash-strapped states want to give law enforcement officers the authority to pull over motorists just for not wearing their seat belts.

More than a dozen states that are considering making the switch to primary seat-belt enforcement laws need to do so before July to be eligible for millions in federal money.

One of those states is Ohio, which would get $26.8 million if it changes its law. Currently, officers in the state must first have some other reason to stop drivers over before issuing seat-belt citations.

States without primary seat-belt enforcement that want the federal money must pass a bill and have it signed by the governor by June 30 — and begin issuing citations by Sept. 30 — to qualify for federal funds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The federal money attached to seat-belt enforcement can only be spent for highway-related projects.

'Saves lives'
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland proposed the change in his two-year budget plan released Monday. The state Legislature has previously balked at making the change.

"The budget includes a primary seat-belt enforcement law because evidence suggests it saves lives and to bring additional federal resources for highway safety," said spokesman Keith Dailey.

Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia already have primary seat-belt enforcement laws, meaning police can stop a vehicle for a seat belt violation, even if this is the only violation the officers notice.

Ohio faces a $7.3 billion projected budget deficit over the next two years compared to current funding levels, leading Strickland to propose 120 fee and fine hikes, payroll reductions for state employees, and the delay of debt payments into future years.

A 2008 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said states with primary enforcement seat belt laws are averaging about 13 percentage points higher for seat belt use — 88 percent — than states with secondary enforcement laws — 75 percent. Ohio, however, has a seat-belt usage rate of nearly 83 percent.

Congress adopted the federal incentive program in the 2005 federal transportation bill as a way to encourage states to adopt the primary enforcement law. The goal was to save lives, reduce insurance costs, and cut medical bills.

Libertarian opposition
The traffic safety agency found that in 2007, 54 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic accidents were not wearing seat belts.

Still, the proposed change faces obstacles in states like Ohio, where many Republicans — who control the Senate — oppose it because of libertarian philosophies.

"People ought to be able to decide whether they want to drive 75 mph without their belt on," said House Minority Leader Bill Batchelder, a Republican from Medina.

And some lawmakers are hesitant to hand police more authority to stop motorists, believing that would lead to violations of Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure, Batchelder said.

Still, Batchelder said the federal money would likely sway some Ohio lawmakers' votes.

"I would say some will be more willing to look at it," he said.

In addition to Ohio, the other states considering the change are Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Nebraska and New Hampshire.

Also, lawmakers in Georgia — the only state in the nation to specifically exempt adults in pickups from buckling up — are considering changing that law, prompted in large part by their budget woes.

Only New Hampshire still has no seat belt requirement for all adult drivers, costing that state $3.7 million in grants in 2007.

In Arkansas, the sponsor of a primary seat-belt enforcement bill is attempting to allay the concerns of civil rights advocates that the change would lead to more racial profiling.

Sen. Hank Wilkins IV, of Pine Bluff, has said he will introduce a separate bill requiring some law enforcement agencies to collect data on motorists pulled over for not wearing a belt.

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." - Marie Curie -

Wednesday 2-4-09

745, 064, 446, 331, 815, 644, 186, 520

421, 751, 526, 162, 862, 011, 010, 901

129, 681, 378, 123, 586, 257, 302, 301

401, 000, 333, 6828, 6574, 0285, 1904

I was so glad to see one of my favorite shows return from midseason hiatus and it should be a fun ride. Tim Kring will have me as a viewer so long as he does not start drifting towards a "Lost" type of season. The plane crash, the woods/forest/jungle......yeah you get the picture. Glad Ando is on the prowl to help this group take their powers to infinite and beyond. After all, someone has to save the world!!!!!

Tuesday 2-3-09

130, 106, 322, 302, 745, 157, 127, 055, 305, 862

003, 201, 401, 311, 312, 405, 607, 716, 605, 666

000, 604, 493, 398, 362, 111, 0285, 8520, 1904

"One should count each day a separate life." - Seneca -

Garden party: Kobe’s 61 sets MSG record

NEW YORK - Kobe Bryant knew Andrew Bynum was out, and potential taunts from Spike Lee and Mike D’Antoni could be ahead.

That gave him plenty of incentive to deliver a special night at Madison Square Garden — and he unleashed the biggest game the present building has seen.

Bryant broke the current arena record with 61 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers looked plenty potent without Bynum in a 126-117 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

“It’s a blessing to do what you love and to have moments like this,” Bryant said.

Bryant teased and pleased a sold-out crowd that took turns booing him and saluting him with “MVP!” chants during an electrifying performance. He passed Michael Jordan’s opponent record of 55 points at the present building, known as “Garden IV,” when he hit three free throws with 3:56 remaining, then bettered Bernard King’s mark of 60, set on Christmas Day 1984, with two more foul shots with 2:33 to play.

Bryant, who also finished with the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, left to a loud ovation after the 24th 50-point game of his career. It was also his fifth 40-point game here, where the Knicks played their first game in February 1968.

It saved him from a rough night with Lee, the director and Knicks superfan he is working on a project with.

“On a lighter note, I’m going to review this documentary I’m doing with Spike Lee tonight after the game and I didn’t feel like sitting next to him and hearing him talking trash about the Knicks, so that was added incentive as well,” Bryant said. “Seriously. He’s going to get an earful tonight.”

D’Antoni might, too. He’s a rival from past postseasons when he was coaching Phoenix and playfully sparred with Bryant as an assistant with the U.S. Olympic team this summer. Bryant said not to underestimate his desire to quiet the coach.

“We tried to do the rope-a-dope a little bit where he might shoot himself out, but he didn’t,” D’Antoni said. “He just kept on going.”

Pau Gasol added 31 points and 14 rebounds in the Lakers’ first game since losing Bynum, their starting center, for eight to 12 weeks with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. They’ll be fine without him if Bryant plays the way he did Monday, going 19-of-31 with an array of tough jumpers, powerful drives to the basket and perfect foul shooting. He also hit all 20 free throws.

“He was on fire from the start and finished the game almost the same way,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “That was a remarkable performance.”

Bynum was hurt Saturday at Memphis when Bryant missed a driving shot, then crashed into his leg. The center isn’t expected to need surgery and said he was confident he would return in time for the playoffs.

Lamar Odom moved into the starting lineup and Gasol slid to the center spot to replace Bynum, who was carrying a tall black crutch, though he was limping along without using it. Odom had six points and 14 rebounds.

The Lakers reached the NBA finals last season despite losing Bynum for the final 46 games with an injury to his left knee, but they missed his inside presence when they were overpowered by Boston in six games.

Gasol and Odom were too big for the undersized Knicks, but the Lakers will get a truer test of where they are without Bynum when they visit the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers later this week.

Al Harrington scored 24 points, David Lee had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and reserve Wilson Chandler added 20 points for the Knicks, who had won three straight and six of seven, but didn’t have the firepower to stay with the Western Conference leaders in the opener of their brutally tough week.

New York hosts Cleveland on Wednesday and Boston on Friday. It’s the first time a team has played three straight games against opponents with .750 winning percentages after Feb. 1 since the Celtics did it in February 1995, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Odom made a free throw 14 seconds into the game to open the scoring, then Bryant and Gasol combined for the next 30 Los Angeles points. Bryant’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left gave him 18 points and the Lakers a 31-26 lead headed to the second.

“He wouldn’t speak to anyone on the court. He was very quiet tonight. By the time he hit his first two 3s, you could see what he was attempting to do in the game,” David Lee said.

“It was very obvious to all of us by the middle of the first quarter that he wasn’t in a distributing type of mode or in a getting 10 rebounds type of mode, that he was going to try to score the basketball tonight.”

New York was down only one before Bryant returned from a break with 7:25 left in the half and took over the game. He scored nine points in a 1:15 span to make it 49-42 and had 16 points in the second quarter, giving Los Angeles a 65-54 advantage.

He hit the 40-point mark during a 15-4 spurt midway through the third quarter that allowed the Lakers to finally shake free of their Knicks.

Notes: Bryant and Lee both picked up NBA awards Monday. Bryant was the Western Conference player of the month after averaging 27.2 points and 7.1 assists while leading the Lakers to a 12-4 record in January. Lee won East player of the week behind his averages of 19 points and 15.3 rebounds, plus 53.5 percent shooting while helping the Knicks go 3-0. ... Bryant’s previous best at Madison Square Garden was 46 points on Feb. 6, 2003.

Yesterday for Super Bowl Sunday, my husband and I decided to buy Chinese instead of getting traditional Super Bowl party food. Well I got Sesame Chicken and he got Beef Pepper Steak and my fortune cookie had the following pick 3 number on the little paper, 7 0 1. I said they just got that number in SC on 1-28-09 on the evening draw and I decided not to put it in. Well this morning I remembered that last week I dreamed about trying to find my keys (107 - 651)and I had 2 sets with the colored ring coil. When the light bulb went off, I scurried to put the 701 in at my favorite quarter store since it was too late to drive to the local store and whop......out comes 701 today on the midday draw in SC. I am happy as a lark!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Porn airs during Super Bowl

• Story Highlights
• Tucson, Arizona, viewers see 10 seconds of porn during Super Bowl
• Snippet apparently seen by viewers with cable
• Comcast Cable and local stations looking into the interruption

(CNN)  -- Super Bowl fans in Tucson, Arizona, caught a different kind of show during Sunday's big game.

Just as Cardinals' superstar Larry Fitzgerald watched himself sprint into the end zone on the stadium's Jumbotron during Sunday's Super Bowl, 10 seconds of eye-popping pornographic imagery "flashed" across the screens of those watching at home.

"We are mortified by last evening's Super Bowl interruption, and deeply apologize to our customers for the inappropriate programming," Comcast Cable said in a written statement.

"Our initial investigation suggests this was an isolated malicious act," the statement added.

Comcast, and several local television stations that carried the signal, say they are currently investigating what caused the interruption.

"It appears this material was only viewed by some Comcast customers," local Tucson television station KVOA-TV said in a written statement.

Television station KVOA added "when the NBC feed of the Super Bowl was transmitted from KVOA to local cable providers and through over-the-air antennas, there was no pornographic material," KVOA President and General Manager Gary Nielsen said in a separate statement.

Monday 2-2-09

305, 055, 701, 458, 943, 308, 605, 621

543, 798, 098, 262, 362, 807, 052, 491

751, 193, 000, 333, 666, 777, 999, 6828

"A weed is no more than a flower in disguise." - James Russell Lowell -