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Most Dangerous States for Driving This Summer

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:15:00 -0700

The national Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) at the University of Minnesota recently released a list of the states where Americans are more likely to die in a traffic crash on a rural road. To see where your state falls in the top 15 most dangerous states to drive, read more

1.) Maine
2.) North Dakota
3.) South Dakota
4.) Iowa
4.) Vermont
5.) Montana
6.) Wyoming
7.) South Carolina
8.) Mississippi
9.) Arkansas
10.) West Virginia
11.) Kansas
12.) Nebraska
13.) New Hampshire
13.) Kentucky
13.) Idaho
14.) Oklahoma
15.) Missouri
15.) Minnesota

...And no, I am not losing my mind. There are double numbers because some states tied.

So please be extra careful this summer if you're going to be taking a trip in the car and buckle-up too!

The Most Active States in America

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:45:00 -0700

Are people in your state active?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, has put together a list of the most active states, as well as the least active states in the nation. Each state is ranked based on the percentage of people in each state meeting physical activity recommendations. Does your state make the top ten?

Alaska: 56.7%
Vermont: 55.9%
Wisconsin: 55.6%
Wyoming: 54.8%
Montana: 54.7%
New Hampshire: 54.4%
Oregon: 54.3%
Washington: 52.9%
Maine and Utah: 52.8%
California: 52.7%

Yay California - woot, woot!

To see the most sedentary states, just read more

The following ranks states by the percentage of people who are physically inactive, defined as those who report being physically active for less than 10 minutes per week.

Puerto Rico: 37.3%
Kentucky: 28.8%
Louisiana: 25.3%
Tennessee: 24.3%
West Virginia: 24%
U.S. Virgin Islands: 22.3%
Mississippi: 21.9%
Alabama: 20.1%
North Carolina: 19.5%
Georgia: 19%

To see the full list, visit the CDC website.

Missouri State Rep: Do Poor Kids Really Need Free Lunches?

TresSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:30:00 -0700

"Hunger can be a positive motivator."

- Missouri State Representative Cynthia Davis, responding to a press release from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on a Summer food program that provides “food during the summer for thousands of low-income Missouri children who rely on the school cafeteria for free or reduced-price meals during the regular school year.” According to Feeding America, one in five kids in Missouri often goes hungry. To watch Stephen Colbert's response, read more

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Tip/Wag - Cynthia Davis & Fox News

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jeff Goldblum

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Does Your Personality Match Your State of Residence & Mind?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:00:00 -0700

Think you can judge a person by the state they live in? It might not be such a crazy notion according to new research on the geography of personality. Controlling for factors like race, income, and education, the study profiled 600,000 Americans with a 44-question personality test that evaluates five traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness.

Using those results and cross-checking them with stats on crime and health seem to seal the deal on one's state of mind lining up with one's state of residence. High amiability means lower crime, high anxiety points to poor health and lowered life expectancy.

Of course the results spark questions like whether certain states encourage specific personalities by culture, climate, or common history - or whether we just choose to live where we feel most at home. Those questions aside, the results and the interactive maps? Fun times! Very nicely done, Wall Street Journal.

To see some of the most unusual findings, read more.

North Dakota was pegged the most outgoing state in the union.
Despite Puritanical stereotypes, New England ranked at the bottom of the "conscientious" scale.
Scoring well on the "openness" scale strongly correlates to liberal social values and Democratic voting habits - however three of the top ten "open" states (Nevada, Colorado and Virginia) tend to swing Red.
Most conscientious? Florida. (Maybe there's a tie between living in a coastal paradise and pitying others who don't?)
Anxiety isn't just tied to high-powered jobs and a fast lifestyle. States stressed by poverty, like West Virginia and Mississippi also proved highly neurotic.

Where does your state stack up? Is it possible to make generalizations about the personality of an entire state's population? Do you match yours?

States Struggling: Budget Crises Lead to Desperate Measures

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:01:09 -0700

If you thought your wallet was feeling light, it's not just you - states are feeling the budget crunch just as hard - with unique ways to manage the money meltdown.

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has just threatened to pay state employees federal minimum wage in an effort to push lawmakers to agree on a budget. Even though minimum wage hikes up today, it would still mean thousands of workers would only take home $6.55 an hour (which is still $1.45 an hour less than CA's minimum wage.)

The budget stall comes as Republicans and Democrats battle to bridge the $15.2 billion budget shortfall California is facing. Republicans want to deal with money crisis through cuts, Democrats are angling for more taxes. Schwarzenegger says he won't sign a budget unless it contains improvements like a rainy day fund to help the state through tough times. Hmm. Just like we're supposed to have at home!

Also in the category of, "Governments! They're just like us!" Gas! Though consumers have been concerned about the price of fuel for months, state budgets - especially for driving heavy departments, like the police - are way overdrawn on fuel bills. To see how cops have to carpool, read more.

In Montana, where the Highway Patrol sometimes has to drive up to 100 miles to answer a call in their fuel inefficient Crown Victorias (a big ol' 15 m.p.g) they've busted their budget by $340,000 in gas bills alone. Where's the money coming from? The personnel budget. No new cops 'til the tanks get filled.

Over in New Mexico, they're in similar straits, and are waiting for the governor to call a special legislative session to get their gas card paid off. They're trying to though! In addition to carpooling whenever they can, one Lieutenant says, "we have asked officers to shop around and know where the cheapest gas is to buy." Shopping for gas - that won't take time out of the "keeping us safe" part of the day or anything.

Nevada is $1 million dollars over budget on gas. Their solution is getting officers to drive less. So less patrolling, more speed-trapping. If you're headed through the Silver State, watch for smokies under the overpasses - they'll be sitting there, saving fuel.

Are any of these state measures to save, smart? What's the solution when states are as pinched as taxpayers - the same ones who give the states money to begin with?

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Schwarzenegger's Wage Threat: A State Employee's Reaction

SavvySugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:00:51 -0700

As California Democrats and Republicans struggle to find a satisfactory compromise and seal the deal on a new and overdue state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's frustration has risen to the point of making threats. He's considering an executive order that would reduce 200,000 state employees' salaries to the $6.55 per hour federal minimum wage, which CitizenSugar points out is $1.45 less than the state's minimum wage.

A good friend of mine happens to be a hard-working California state employee, so I asked him for his thoughts on the governor's threat and how it would affect him should the order go through this week.

SavvySugar: How would something like this affect the public sector?

State Employee: I think it is a fair assumption that state employees do not jump into the public sector expecting some great financial windfall as a result. No, most people are doing it for a sense of security. Every month you are going to get your paycheck and you are going to get it on the first or the 30th and that's it. Likewise, you are going to have not just financial security, but job security. In general terms a concept such as the one which Arnold is proposing would overthrow one big benefit of being a public sector employee.

See his thoughts on the concept of Arnold's threat and how he'd personally be affected when you read more.

SS: What's your opinion on the concept in general?

SE: The fact of the matter is these are hard financial times for many people and by cutting people's salaries, in some cases up to 90 percent, you are putting their livelihood in dire straits and for what purpose? Stymieing the ability for 200,000 state employees to subsist on their own financially seems like a very backward way to help quell the budget crisis.

SS: How would you be affected? Does the fact that your salary would be paid retroactively make it no big deal?

SE: For me personally, I have enough savings that I could stand a few months without making my regular hourly pay, but it would be tight. I actually figured out what my pretax paycheck would be under the governor's proposal of lowering the salary to $6.55 an hour, and it comes out to $1135 a month. My paycheck after taxes would pay rent and that's it. No food, no water bill, no electric bill, nothing, just rent.

Source

Top 10 Most Medicated States

FitSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Where you live affects many elements of your daily life, like how often you walk to your destination as opposed to drive. Based on a new study by Kaiser Family Foundation, which side of the Mason-Dixon line you live on could affect how medicated you are.

According to numbers compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation the top ten medicated states, based on the number of retail prescriptions filled per capita annually, were in the South. Many states were considerably higher than the national average of 11.1 prescriptions filled annually. Here are the top 10 medicated states.

Public health experts believe the high prescription drug usage is related to obesity rates, which are also higher in the South. Obesity is a risk factor in many chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

To see the least medicated states, read more.

To see how all 50 states and the District of Columbia fare, check out State Health Facts. Were you surprised where your state ranked? Tell me in the comments section below.

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Wild West! 22% Think States Have Right to Secede-Some Did!

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:30:16 -0700

Ride 'em cowboys! Here's a little poll for you state's rights-ers out there: a new Zogby poll shows that one in five Americans believe that any state or region has the right to "peaceably secede from the United States and become an independent republic." Those in the South and East agreed a little stronger with the notion of ditching the "United" part (perhaps because they've done it before?) and young people agreed with the notion much more strongly - 40 percent of them in fact.

It's one thing to believe in it - but would they support an secession effort by their state? Yup, 18 percent would buy in, with another 10 percent not being sure.

Though the South Carolina secession could be the most famous historical example of breaking away, the Times has a smashing tale of a rogue state fantasy of rebels in 1939 to grab chunks of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana to form a new state, Absaroka. The plan was complete with license plates, a Miss Absaroka 1939, and a visit from a foreign King (of Norway.)

If this tale, combined with the fact that 22 percent believe a state can secede - should the US be fearing for the union? Would you support an effort to secede?

View 5 Photos ›

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Healthiest State of the Nation Is...

FitSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:30:00 -0800

Compared with last year, there has been a little shake up in the rankings this year of the healthiest state. Vermont edged out Minnesota, but the real take away message from the United Health Foundation annual survey is: health rankings for all states show a decline in health. That my friend is not good news at all.

The survey is based on a variety of health indicators as well as state policy regarding health. Here are some of the factors taken into consideration for the rankings: obesity rates, tobacco and alcohol use, high school graduation rates, as well as state laws and regulations promoting better health. The survey also measures access to health services and also environmental issues like pollution, infectious disease rates, and crime.

The top 5 states are:
1. Vermont (also voted best state for raising children)
2. Minnesota
3. Hawaii
4. New Hampshire
5. Connecticut

If your state is not in the top and you want to see where it ranked, just read more

6. Utah
7. Maine
8. North Dakota
9. Massachusetts
10. Nebraska
11. Rhode Island
12. Washington State
13. Wisconsin
14. Iowa
15. Idaho
16. Colorado
17. South Dakota
18. Montana
19. Wyoming
20. Oregon
21. New Jersey
22. Virginia
23. Kansas
24. Pennsylvania
25. California
26. New York
27. Illinois
28. Maryland
29. Ohio
30. Alaska
31. Michigan
32. Indiana
33. Arizona
34. Delaware
35. Missouri
36. North Carolina
37. Texas
38. New Mexico
39. Nevada
40. Georgia
41. Florida
42. South Carolina
43. Kentucky
44. West Virginia
45. Alabama
46. Tennessee
47. Oklahoma
48. Arkansas
49. Louisiana
50. Mississippi

I have to admit I was bummed to see California smack dab in the middle of the list. How do you feel about your state's ranking? Tell me all about it in the comments section below.

Oh Snap! Kylie Minogue Lights Up Empire State Building

TresSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:30:00 -0700

Kylie Minogue lends her megawatt smile during a lighting of the Empire State Building in honor of the Coty-DKMS Linked Against Leukemia partnership yesterday in New York City.

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