–Smoking in the Boy’s Room: A study by the Centers for Disease Control finds high school students are more likely to smoke a joint than a cigarette. A survey of 15,000 students last year found that just 18 percent reporting smoking a cigarette in the previous month, but 23 percent said they had smoked pot during that time frame. Health officials speculate that teens have been drilled on the risks of tobacco, but many of those same kids don’t believe marijuana is as dangerous.
–The Girl’s Got a Leg: As high school football teams go through their summer drills, the number one kicker for the Morgantown Mohigans is Megan DeBastiani. Coach John Bowers says Megan is the real deal. “I’m not into novelty acts,” Bowers said. “The girl can play the game or we wouldn’t even fool around with her. Megan, who played on the MHS girls soccer team, was 12 for 12 on PAT’s at Monday’s practice.
–What a Coincidence: EPA administrator Lisa Jackson says in an interview with environmental website Grist that coal’s downturn has nothing to do with her office. “In my opinion, the problem for coal right now is entirely economic,” Jackson said. “The natural gas that this country has and is continuing to develop is cheaper right now on average.” The interview appeared Monday, three days after Alpha Natural Resources Chairman and CEO Kevin Crutchfield announced the company is idling four coal mines and two prep plants in Kentucky. Crutchfield blamed the market conditions and the switch by power plants to natural gas. But he added ominously, “Future sales forecasts are also being affected by a series of regulatory actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
–And the Reasons Are… : Delegates to the state Democratic Convention passed a resolution this past weekend calling on all Democrats to support the entire ticket, including President Barack Obama. Former Democratic Party Chairman Pat Maroney whipped up the crowd by calling for a “political baptism,” urging Democrats to “cleanse your political soul” by voting straight ticket. That was a crowd pleaser for the loyalists, but why not explain to the state why voters should support the President. Appealing to voters to back Obama because it’s good for the Democratic Party sounds like a tactic from a bygone era.
–Strange Bedfellows: One of the more interesting relationships that developed in the U.S. Senate in recent years was the deep friendship between Senators Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy. The two couldn’t have come from more different cultural and political backgrounds—Kennedy a wealthy New England liberal and Byrd a poor Appalachian conservative Democrat (at least for most of his life). West Virginia author Denise Giardina has written a play about what she calls the “bromance” between the two, called “Robert and Ted.” Giardina will perform a stage reading of the play tomorrow night at the Clay Center, kicking off the FestivALL, the 10-day arts series in Charleston.
—Junk Food Junkie Still Profitable: Larry Groce is best known in West Virginia as the host of the nationally-syndicated music show Mountain Stage, but those of us over 50 will remember Groce’s hit Junk Food Junkie. It was a funny song about a guy who eats only health food during the day when everyone is watching, then gives in to the tasty temptation of Fritos, Moon Pies and Ding Dongs at night. The song reached #9 on the charts in 1976. Groce says even 36 years later he still occasionally gets a royalty check.