USA TODAY THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

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Napolitano tries to reassure flooded city

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told residents in the flooded North Dakota city of Minot on Wednesday that the federal government is here for the duration, but she cautioned that state residents should prepare for future flooding. Napolitano, who oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, took a helicopter tour over the city where 4,100 homes have been damaged by Souris River floodwaters and more than 11,000 people have had to leave temporarily. Only 375 homes in the flooded areas of Minot were insured against flooding, according to FEMA. The agency is making aid available, but Napolitano told residents they should not expect the federal government to make them whole because assistance is capped under federal law.
Photos by Brendan Hoffman for USA TODAY

Impacts of Minnesota shutdown piling up

Businesses, groups in state of disarray
By Luke Kerr-Dineen USA TODAY As the longest government shutdown in Minnesota history reaches its 14th day today, an ever-increasing number of state employees, businesses and non-profits are feeling the consequences of the stalemate over how to solve the states $5 billion deficit. Its really hard on the people who rely on our services, says Christine Durand, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Nonprofits dont run on air. These are critical services that need money to survive. Durand says almost every one of the 35,000 non-profit organizations her council represents has made cutbacks during the shutdown, including the Minnesota AIDS Project, which has reduced its staff of more than 57 to 29 full- and part-time employees, according to public policy director Amy Brugh. Were in a state of disarray, Brugh says. The shutdown resulted from an impasse between Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders over how to erase the deficit. Dayton wants to raise income taxes on the states wealthiest residents to provide more money for social services and public education. Republican lawmakers oppose any tax increase. No talks were planned as of Wednesday. Brewing giant MillerCoors is among those impacted. The state has told MillerCoors it needs to pull its products from stores, bars and restaurants statewide because of a licensing problem caused by the shutdown. Department of Public Safety spokesman Doug Neville said Wednesday that MillerCoors brand label registrations with the state have expired. The employees who process renewals were laid off when the government shut down. Its unfortunate that were stuck in the middle of this shutdown, said MillerCoors spokesman Julian Green, adding that MillerCoors is exploring all its options, including legal action. Bars, restaurants and stores could soon find themselves unable to purchase liquor to sell to customers. Those wishing to sell alcohol in the state get their liquor licenses through their local municipality. Once approved, they must obtain a $20 buyers card from the state Department of Public Safety, which is now not staffed to process them. This doesnt just affect retailers, but wholesalers and the manufacturers and wedding parties and church functions, and one-day liquor licenses for charity events and festivals, and the list goes on and on and on, says Frank Ball with the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association. The states zoos, parks and museums have also been greatly affected by the shutdown. With little or no staff or security left, they are suffering from trash buildup and some vandalism. Theres real health and safety concerns in some of our state parks not just for people, but for all forms of habitat in there says Mark Peterson, executive director of Audubon Minnesota, who visited William OBrien State Park this month. There is a real mess in some of these parks but no one to clean it up. Contributing: KARE-TV in Minneapolis; the Associated Press

Local source of fresh fruits and vegetables: Kyle Bailey, left, executive chef at Birch & Barley, and farm manager Maureen Moodie harvest arugula on the farm at Woodlawn estate in Alexandria, Va.

By Paul Sancya, AP

Ford to be laid to rest next to husband: A military honor guard carries the casket of former first lady Betty Ford after arriving at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Cascade Township in Michigan on Wednesday.

Funeral set for today

Programs cropping up to address food deserts

Plans get fresh produce into areas without grocery stores
By Melanie Eversley USA TODAY ALEXANDRIA, Va. The kale, turnips and romaine lettuce grow in neat rows on a 2-acre plot at Woodlawn estate, a Virginia property once owned by George Washington. Today, a non-profit organization uses the land to raise vegetables and fruit to be sold in inner city Washington, where its hard to find fresh food. Its really poignant, Pat Lute says of the circle formed by the food from land once tended by 91 slaves that is now going to people in need. Lute is executive director of the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture, which is equipping a Salad sampling: Anthony Chittum, the chef at Vermilused school bus to make regular stops in neighbor- ion, tastes some greens at the Woodlawn farm in May. hoods where residents food choices are limited to Baltimarket, program run by grocery stores and the city corner stores, dollar stores and fast-food restaurants. We wanted something that would be a visible Health Department. uIn Ceres, Calif., a community located in a county symbol of better food choices, says Michael Babin, Arcadias founder, who has opened several Washing- with several food deserts, the Ceres Partnership for Healthy Children operates a farmers market and proton-area restaurants. The effort is one of many emerging across the coun- vides referral services for financially struggling families. uIn central Iowa, the organization Farm to Folk try as food deserts impoverished areas with little serves an area that lost two grocery stores. Farm to Folk access to healthy foods attract attention. The 2008 Farm Bill directed the Department of Agri- takes orders for fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers, and customers pick up the goods on a desigculture to study food deserts. First lady Michelle Obama helped nated day at a local church, founder popularize the term in 2010 while Marilyn Andersen says. It was to help discussing her commitment to im- Far from groceries the farmers as well as the consumers. uIn New York City, the Healthy proving access to fresh foods. In the A USA TODAY analysis of DeBodegas Initiative works with the past year, retailers Walgreens, Rite Aid partment of Agriculture data and Duane Reade began selling fruit shows that the counties with the citys bodegas, small stores in poorer neighborhoods, to equip them with and other fresh foods. And in New largest share of residents living more fresh fruit and vegetables. The York, the city is offering incentives to in food deserts tend to be in the program operates in the South Bronx, supermarkets to open in neighbor- Great Plains. Counties with the hoods where there is a shortage of highest percentage of popcentral Brooklyn and Harlem. ulation living in a food desert: groceries selling fresh food. Initiative employees help stores figThe Department of Agriculture deure out how to create better, more Pctg. fines a food desert as a Census tract County, State attractive displays for fruit and vegeta1. Sioux, N.D. 85.54% where 33% or 500 people, whichever bles, says Donya Williams, program 2. Blaine, Neb. 68.62% is less, live more than a mile from a development specialist. grocery store in an urban area or more Youd be surprised at what a sign 3. Jackson, S.D. 66.61% than 10 miles away in a rural area. At can do, Williams says. Usually, when 4. Kenedy,Texas 65.87% least 20% of the residents must live you go to a bodega, there are signs for 5. Costilla, Colo. 65.07% below the federal poverty line, cursodas, energy drinks and cigarettes. 6. Hudspeth, Texas 64.84% rently $22,350 for a family of four. Were giving a different message. 7. Keya Paha, Neb. 64.32% Food deserts exist in segregated urWilliams says two-thirds of partici8. Bennett, S.D. 64.24% ban areas that have income inequality pating store owners reported that the 9. Shannon, S.D. 64.09% and in rural areas that lack transportachanges helped increase sales. tion options, a 2009 Agriculture De- 10. Mellette , S.D. The Arcadia program sells fresh 62.70% partment study concluded. foods in a neighborhood in Southwest Sources: Department of Agriculture; USA The study found that about 4% of the TODAY analysis Washington that specifically asked for nations 170,357 Census tracts geoa farm market. graphic areas that usually have 2,500 to 8,000 residents Residents at community meetings said one of their in 2000 were food deserts. Of those, 75% were urban. biggest needs was access to fresh foods, says developer Harris and Dallas counties in Texas, home to Houston Monty Hoffman, who is overseeing a makeover of the and Dallas, had the most food deserts of all U.S. coun- areas waterfront. ties, but the problem is not limited to urban areas. The market also teaches customers how to prepare Counties where at least 25% of the population lives in a fresh food. Its good business and its good for the food desert tend to be concentrated in the Great Plains. community, he says. What motivates efforts such as Arcadia is the push Lute, former consultant for Chesapeake Bay area for sustainable agriculture and awareness about obesi- farmers markets and the White House Kitchen Garden, ty, says Greg Mills, senior fellow at the Urban Institute. hopes the mobile market will help a generation of Other programs to improve food choices: people who have forgotten the old-fashioned ways of uIn Baltimore, food desert residents may order cooking and eating. Its nourishing people who have groceries from three libraries and a school under the been eating food that doesnt nourish them, Lute says.

Missing boys dismembered body found

A Brooklyn boy who got lost while walking home from day camp in his Orthodox Jewish neighborhood was killed and dismembered by a stranger he had asked for directions, police said. Some of the remains of Leiby Kletzky, 8, were found in the refrigerator of the suspect, Levi Aron, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. It is every parents worst nightmare, he said. When detectives arrived at Arons apartment, they asked where the boy was, and he nodded toward the kitchen, Kelly said. Leiby disappeared Monday on his way to meet his mother.

N.M. ex-mayor guilty in gun smuggling

The former mayor of the small border town of Columbus, N.M., pleaded guilty to charges he participated in a gun smuggling ring that federal prosecutors said sent hundreds of guns into Mexico, U.S. Attorney John Murphy said. Eddie Espinoza, 51, faces 65 years in prison. He was arrested in March with two other town officials: Police Chief Angelo Vega and former trustee Blas Gutierrez. The three were among a dozen people charged in the federal sting.

Atheists target Texas day of prayer

A group of atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit to try to halt an evangelical Christian prayer event next month proposed and endorsed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The Freedom from Religion Foundation claims Perrys day of prayer and fasting would violate the constitutional ban on the government endorsing a religion. The event, billed as a Christian gathering, is set for Aug. 6 at Houstons Reliant Stadium. The group asked the court to keep Perry, a Republican, from using his office to promote or recognize the event. Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the lawsuit will not change his plans.

No charges in roller coaster death

A double-amputee Iraq War veteran who was hurled off a towering roller coaster to his death never should have been allowed on the ride, but operators of the park near Buffalo will face no criminal charges, authorities said. Signs at the Ride of Steel roller coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park & Resort clearly state riders must have two legs, Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said. But an investigation found no recklessness, intent or other criminal wrongdoing, he said. Sgt. James Hackemer, 29, who lost both his legs to a roadside bomb, died Friday after falling about 150 feet.

By Nick Ut, AP

Trampoline parks growing by leaps and bounces

By Bruce Horovitz USA TODAY Been to Disney this summer? Check. A water park? Check. A trampoline park? Boing. The nations ever-expanding amusement world is taking a new twist this summer as indoor trampoline parks approach critical mass. About 50 are operating in a dozen states, and revenue is approaching $100 million. The parks which charge $8 to $14 an hour feature wall-to-wall trampolines, with trampolines even lining side walls. It wasnt on our radar, but I have a feeling it will be soon, says David Mandt, spokesman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. Its certainly on the radar of orthopedic surgeons. Broken ankles, arms, legs and even a non-fatal broken neck have been logged at these parks. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons advises folks to jump with extra caution. We do not recommend recreational use of trampolines, as sad as that may be, says Jennifer Weiss, an orthopedic surgeon at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Even so, celebs and their families have tried out some of these parks, including the Jonas Brothers, Kobe Bryant, David Beckham and Shaquille ONeal. Among the contenders: uSky Zone. Sky Zone opens its seventh arena this summer in Orlando, with 12 more in development, owner Jeff Platt says. Who doesnt love being free from the Earths gravity? he asks. He even got his 81year-old grandmother on a trampoline, but she wasnt doing back flips. uSky High Sports. The company has eight locations now, half of which are in California. Three more open this summer; two in the Chicago area. Co-owner Jerry Raymond quit his job as a computer consultant to open the company. I was looking to do something where my kids wouldnt be embarrassed to come to work with Dad, he says. uJumpstreet. Seven are operating, mostly in Colorado, and six more are in development. Owner Tim Crawford says he came out of retirement to start the company after dreaming that his backyard was filled with trampolines. uRebounderz. Theres one in Longwood, Fla., and one opens this month in Sterling, Va. The firm has video cameras and referees tracking safety, CEO Mark Gurley says. uXtreme Trampolines. Eric Beck, a former Burger King franchisee, owns one unit in Orlando with one planned in Chicago. If its cold or rainy or snowing, were packed, he says. If its sunny outside, were empty.
F

Weapons haul: Members of the news media photograph confiscated weapons during a news conference Wednesday in Santa Ana, Calif., where authorities announced dozens of arrests in raids that followed a 2-year investigation.

Gang crackdown

Also . . .
uSALEM, N.Y. An explosion leveled a twofamily home, killed four people and injured eight. The cause of the blast, which blew debris hundreds of feet, was being investigated. uMEDIA, Pa. Testing was underway to determine whether a brain tumor contributed to an ex-convicts shooting rampage that killed five people. The pituitary gland of Mark Geisenheyner, 51, was removed during an autopsy and sent for tests, said Trish Cofiell, a spokeswoman for the Delaware County medical examiner. Geisenheyner died in a standoff with police July 4. By John Bacon with staff and wire reports

Please recycle

Elevating his game: A camp participant at the House of Air indoor trampoline park in San Francisco reaches for a board grab.