Life Vest Lessons

Life jackets have come a long way since I've been a kid. I remember when I was out on a boat, they were always the bulky, annoying part of the trip. But after taking a look today many of the vests are much less cumbersome, more lightweight. Today, my story centered around whether or not folks should be forced to wear the jackets on the water. I've covered several drownings in recent days, so I can certainly see their importance. Even more hard hitting --- the comments from many of the LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents. They say, between 2005 and 2008 not a single drowning victim in a fatal accident covered by their office had been wearing a life vest. Stark statistics that may have me reaching for life vest next time I climb on board a boat. I am a strong swimmer, but as one boater told me, those swimming skills don't really matter all that much if an accident knocks you unconscious.

Daring to fly

As a person who works in news, I feel like sometimes I tend to hear the worst case scenario on a daily basis. It's hard to get away from the reports of crime, and recently, it seems like I've heard about my share of plane crashes. But fear of flying has never been a problem for me. In fact, sometimes a little turbulence just makes the ride more interesting. It's not that I'm particularly brave, to the contrary I'm a wuss --- you'll never catch me sky diving or bungee jumping or even riding Disney's Tower of Terror. I guess I've always felt that there aren't really that many crashes in the large commercial planes I fly so often. Today my story was about a plane crash where the two people involved walked away. Just another reason for me to take a deep breath and relax during my next plane trip.

Hi-Tech Thieves

Today my story focused on identity theft. It's a topic that comes up a lot in the news, but I'm always surprised at just how many scams find their way to our area. For the last two weeks, I've been receiving e-mails from a group claiming to be Bank of America. They've got the logo and even a convincing-looking link, but it's all just a scam. I've done so many stories on the topic that I knew right away to be cautious, but I can see how people are fooled. Now there are even 'phishing' text messages. But perhaps the most annoying, at least for me, those "your warranty is about to expire" calls. Answering my work phone to hear some woman or man yelling about me through a taped recording that it's my "final warning" is unnerving at best. I guess one price of all the wonderful technological advances is that there's always hi-tech thieves and scammers following close behind.

Missing the Ocean

You can tell we're making our way towards summer. The air has gotten thick and the sun has reached a level of unbearable brightness. And for me that means I start missing the beach. But not just any beach --- Long Beach Island. It's a little island off of the coast of New Jersey. Now, I can already hear the snickers and the jokes. I realize the Jersey shore is not considered prime beach territory. The water is more green-grey then crystal blue and it's usually pretty chilly until late into the summer. But it's the place where I spent many summers as a kid, learning to love the taste of the salt in the air and all the different things a sleepy shore town has to offer. Like Freddy Herman's, a tiny, rickety convenience store where penny candy is sold alongside the fishing bait. And, of course all the crazy tourist shops selling cheap flip flops and hermit crabs. But no matter how appealing, for now I'm in Louisiana and the vacation days are pretty limited. I'll just have to make do with a picture of the dunes on my desktop.

Tough Choices...

Today my story talks about a place where health care and morals meet. The result is a controversial bill going through the senate. The bill protects doctors if they refuse to give patients treatment that violates their moral code. This has a number of groups, like planned parenthood, concerned. They worry that it could bar access to things like birth control and the morning after pill, especially for women in rural areas with limited access to health care. It's a thorny topic that we're probably only going to see more to come. The issue of choice comes to the forefront --- it just seems like it's a matter of who gets to chose...doctors, patients or the government.

Growing old, facing choices

Whether you're in your 20s or 90s, you've probably been touched by the tough decisions that come with growing older. Like many in my generation, I'm watching my parents struggle with how to care for aging parents. Can the parent live on their own, or is a nursing home a must? How do you find the right facility? And with baby boomers making their way toward social security, it's an issue that will only continue to become more important. Today my story focuses on cuts to independent care programs. These programs provide nursing services to people in their own homes so that they don't have to go to a nursing home or group home. I can understand many of the people's concerns when faced with these cuts. The idea of losing your independence can be even more daunting than losing your health. I can only hope that as I grow older, the options will continue to increase, making some of life's toughest decisions a little bit easier.

Speed Van manners

In tv news, there are some moments that are gritty and even hard to watch. But just as often, people are especially polite when the camera is pointed their way. Today my story focused on speed vans --- the automated vehicles that read your speed and capture a photo if you're going over the limit. If you're just talking with your friends on an average day, you'd be hard pressed to find anybody singing the praises of a system that gives you tickets. But it's a different world when carrying the camera and the mic. Everyone was remarkably diplomatic today --- citing the need for the vans to slow people down. Even the speed demons out there admitted they should maybe back the speedometer down. And with police saying they've seen fewer accidents, I can see their point. I guess sometimes a little ticket or fine might be a necessary evil. But that doesn't mean I'll be smiling for the camera if I ever get caught by the speed van putting the pedal to the metal.

Swine Flu continues

The weekend is over and it's time to pick up the swine flu story. Today I visited Lake Elementary where one student has been diagnosed with a confirmed case of the disease. But unlike some other areas, they didn't close the school. While that follows the recommendations of the state Department of Health and Hospitals, it did concern some parents. I can understand both sides of the issue. Luckily, it looks like the disease is not nearly as dangerous as first feared. It has been no more fatal in the United States than the regular flu. But I feel like at least for the time being, we may all be waiting and holding our breath for the next flu season. Waiting to see if this strain could mutate into something more dangerous. I just hope in the meantime, the wonderful advances in science get a vaccine on the table just in case.

Swine flu swarm

There hasn't been much time to blog recently. The swine flu has taken over a good part of life, not because I'm sick (there are still no official cases in Louisiana, thank goodness), but because it's my story every day. I always enjoy following a beat, especially in a big story like this one. You get to know who to call and all the ins and outs of the topic --- it makes you feel like you're on top of things. I now know more about the H1N1 flu than I had ever hoped to know. So far, my feelings about the disease change day by day. In some moments, I'm amazed and worried at how quickly the disease has spread across the country. At other times, like today, I feel comforted. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is now saying that the virus may not be as ominous as originally thought. I visited with one 2nd grader in my story today who has a different take on the whole scary event. Her school is closed because of a sick student. In her eyes, she's just excited to have the day off. You can catch that story tonight at 10.