What did 2014 Legislature do for you? Here's what

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- As Minnesota lawmakers break from the Capitol for the campaign, they leave behind a tale of two sessions.

Last year: tax increases to fix a broken budget. This year: tax breaks from a budget surplus.

Last year: A new gay marriage law grabbed tons of attention. This year: medical marijuana.

It didn't take long for ruling Democrats and minority party Republicans to shift into full campaign mode.

"I think Minnesotans are going to be happy with the results they've seen come out of these last two years of progress for Minnesota," said House Majority Leader Erin Murphy.

Not so, said House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt: "Unfortunately Minnesotans have seen this session and last session that single party control with Democrats controlling all of state government hasn't served Minnesotans well."

BOOZE SALES

Just give up, Minnesota — or stock up. Lawmakers gave the bounce to yet another attempt to liberalize liquor laws to allow the purchase of alcohol from stores on Sundays. They brushed aside even small changes like letting taprooms sell takeaway growlers on the seventh day.

BROADBAND

A top issue for Greater Minnesota was getting state support to expand high-speed Internet, with many communities calling it a key to their vitality. They aimed high, shooting for the same $100 million recommended by a governor's task force, and claimed a win in getting a mere $20 million. Boosters say it's a down payment on addressing the half-million Minnesotans who can't get a fast connection right now.

BULLYING

Minnesota went into the session with an anti-bullying law that some regarded as one of the weakest in the nation, with little guidance to schools on policies to prevent bullying. Legislators toughened the law to require schools to track and investigate cases of bullying, and to better train teachers and staff on how to prevent it. But passage didn't come without a fight that had echoes of Minnesota's gay marriage dispute over the past two years, with familiar opponents lining up on either side. Many Republicans questioned whether changing the law would have much effect, worried about loss of local control and raised free speech concerns. Some schools also worried about costs of the mandate.

CONSTRUCTION

The regular scuffle over how much Minnesota should borrow for statewide construction ended in a tie. The overall package of $1.1 billion for public works is closer to what Democrats wanted, but borrowing is held to $846 million thanks to plans to get the rest in cash from the state surplus. The Capitol renovation gets the most dough, while Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud get long-sought money to help with civic center projects. Have a pet project nearby, find out if it made the cut: http://bit.ly/1sB9Fsj

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES

Vaping is trending, and public health advocates wanted the state to clamp down hard on electronic cigarettes by treating them the same as Joe Camel — that is, banning them in most public establishments under the state's indoor air act. They argued that e-cigarettes that heat liquid nicotine into a vapor may endanger public health and are likely to hook new generations of kids for life. Too many lawmakers, and Gov. Mark Dayton, had reservations about that until more research on the vapors is done, and they settled on a range of steps aimed at keeping the devices away from minors.

GUNS

Lawmakers took a rare step to tighten gun laws. People convicted of certain child or domestic abuse charges in Minnesota now have to give up their firearms. People hit with an order of protection will lose them at least temporarily. Supporters said the move would cut down on fatal instances of domestic violence.

LAWMAKER IMMUNITY

A student-driven effort to make clear lawmakers can't avoid arrest for drunk driving and other crimes during session stalled. The constitutional clause dates to frontier days and was originally intended to avert political dirty tricks by arresting someone to keep them from being present for votes. Lawmakers who stood in the way say the supposed get-out-of-jail-free-cards legislators are issued don't actually prevent arrest and argued an educational campaign should suffice.

LOTTERY TICKETS

Minnesota Lottery officials went in search of new revenue and decided the Internet might be a good way to get it. But the Legislature slapped down their embryonic efforts to distribute games online and via other channels such as ATMs and gas station pumps. A coalition of anti-gambling legislators and tribal casino interests banded together to successfully pull the plug on such games by this fall barring a veto by Gov. Mark Dayton.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Moves by Colorado and Washington to legalize recreational marijuana legal probably made it palatable for Minnesota to take a much lesser step, but it was the emotional appeals of chronic disease sufferers that finally pushed medical marijuana into law. In the end, legislators settled on a tightly drawn law that forbids smoking the drug or vaporizing any actual plant material. Patients must use it in oil or pill form. The state now faces a complex buildout of a distribution and monitoring system that should start making the drug available in 2015.

MINIMUM WAGE

Majority Democrats delivered big to their base with a big bump to the minimum wage. It will go up more than $3 over the next few years, landing at $9.50 by 2016, with inflationary increases thereafter. Not a single Republican got on board as Minnesota moved from one of the nation's lowest minimums to one of the highest. Business groups warned of potential layoffs as a result and questioned the wisdom of moving so far above surrounding states.

MNSURE

MNsure, the state-run health insurance exchange, got off to a terrible start with long wait times on a hotline and plenty of problems with the website. But with no real legislative power, Republicans could do little but criticize the exchange. Most of their attempts to force legislative changes were ruled out of order. Look for the health overhaul to be a major campaign theme.

OFFICE BUILDING

Lawmakers signed off on a new office building for state senators that became a political wedge issue for Republicans. They repeatedly attacked Democrats and Dayton for what they characterized as an opulent project. The proposal that ultimately passed scaled the project back a bit. It's cost $90 million — with $77 million covered by taxpayers — and will move ahead unless a longshot lawsuit stops it.

OIL SAFETY

The North Dakota crude shipped through Minnesota will come with extra safeguards. Lawmakers established a railroad and pipeline safety account to pay for emergency personnel training and response in the event of a spill. Railroad operators would have to provide training in dealing with oil and hazardous substances. There are also pollution control preparedness plans. The money comes from annual assessments of rail and pipeline companies.

TAX RELIEF

Is this an election year? Just look at all that tax relief. Lawmakers took advantage of a strong financial position — a projected $1.2 billion surplus — and agreed to send about half of that back to citizens (and voters). Some of the tax relief came in the form of income and property tax breaks, like refund checks typically distributed in October. Some other money undid 2013 changes that boosted business sales taxes, leading Republicans to accuse Democrats of political opportunism.

TRANSPORTATION

Advocates for big spending on transportation didn't get it this year, as lawmakers quailed at a proposed tax hike that would have raised about a half-billion dollars. The problem with that? It would have bumped the cost of a gallon of gas by more than a dime. And legislators chose to send much of a projected budget surplus to tax cuts and cash reserves. Some tiny consolation prizes made it into the borrowing bill.

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC SECURITY

Watch for updates to workplace protection laws. Parents can be able to take 12 weeks of pregnancy/parental leave when they give birth or adopt. That's up from six weeks. Nursing mothers are assured of private space to express milk. "Familial status" was written into employment practice law to keep women from being passed over for promotions by a boss who thinks their family will get in the way of their work. And companies with state contracts above $500,000 must prove they pay men and women the same money for similar work.

UNSESSION

Dayton pushed to give the state's law books a good spring cleaning, purging outdated or duplicative laws. His goal was to speed up service delivery and reduce permitting wait time in the process. His administration came forward with more than 1,000 ideas — many so obscure they'd long been forgotten — and his tally of wins was at 925 as of Friday.

VISTA member emphasizes the arts in Oxford

By M. SCOTT MORRIS Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

OXFORD, Miss. -- Stacey Sanford won't win the War on Poverty all by herself.

But she's spent the past year trying to win little victories as a VISTA member based at the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council in Oxford.

Volunteers in Service to America was created during President Lyndon Johnson's administration, and was brought under the AmericaCorps umbrella in the 1990s.

"It's like the Peace Corps but in America," the 27-year-old University of Mississippi graduate said. "We are supposed to alleviate poverty. We're supposed to help people live better."

Sanford has taken direct aim at those two goals while working at the arts council.

She's overseen programs to expand access to concerts, plays and other events, and also helped teach struggling artists the skills needed to compete in a tough economy.

"The thing about Stacey is she's a go-getter," said Andi Bedsworth, 43, an Oxford-based artist and educator. "She is focused on what she's doing."

It's important to note that Sanford didn't spend the past year re-inventing the wheel. It's more precise to say she's put wheels in motion.

"A lot of the things that have happened were part of our long-range goals," said Wayne Andrews, executive director of YAC. "She was able to carry them out. She's our full-time person who's making these programs happen setting them up, meeting with people, making connections."

Sanford has a deep appreciation for what the arts can do for individuals and communities. She cited a 2008 study that found young people who painted, acted, sang or otherwise expressed themselves through the arts were more likely to apply for higher education.

"The arts prepare kids for future opportunities," she said.

Art for Everyone is a simple concept: Get event tickets into the hands of people who otherwise wouldn't be able to take advantage of Oxford's thriving arts and entertainment scene.

"How do we make it an equal opportunity for them?" Sanford said. "We didn't want to make it feel like a handout. We wanted to do it without making them feel less than."

Sanford worked with venues and donors to create an ongoing supply of tickets, then partnered with the Lafayette County & Oxford Public Library to get those tickets into the right hands.

"There is no card to swipe that says, Oh, you're poor.' There's no fee and no paperwork," Sanford said. "You don't have to prove how poor you are, so you don't have to tell your story. You just use your library card. That's it. Anybody can get a library card."

It's not a new idea. Library officials have wanted to put something like Art for Everyone in motion for years.

"They just didn't have the staff to call around and get it organized," Sanford said. "They needed someone to be the middleman and make it happen."

Andrews heard about VISTA more than two years ago and decided to apply. The result was a three-year grant that will provide a new person to work at YAC each year. Sanford was the first.

"For us, it's like having a grant that pays for an employee here," Andrews said. "We didn't have to raise ticket prices and we didn't have to ask someone for donations."

Sanford had attended arts council programs and events in the past, and she was familiar with the staff, so she was a natural fit.

"We needed someone who understands the goals we have and is enthusiastic about them," Andrews said.

By the time her year of service ends, Sanford will have made a little more than $9,000. That's because of VISTA's requirement to work below the poverty line.

"You have to make a budget. You have to look at your expenses," the Tupelo native said. "My dad always tells me, It's not the money coming it, it's where it's going.'"

Sanford knits, quilts and sews, though that's been put on hold for the past year so she could focus on strengthening Lafayette County's creative community.

"So many of our artists are struggling. Only a limited handful make the big time," she said. "It's hard out there for most artists."

Gov. Phil Bryant has declared this the year of the creative economy, and Sanford and YAC take that seriously.

"We like to say, Artists are really good at arting, but not necessarily good at business,'" Sanford said.

The ARTomaton was designed to teach business practices like budgeting. Located at The Powerhouse on University Boulevard, it's a vending machine that sells small pieces of original paintings, woodwork and more.

"We told all the artists that since it will be sold for $5, don't spend $800 on supplies," Sanford said.

Oxford artist Frank Estrada painted some pieces with the words "Hotty Toddy." They might seem like sure bets in the home of the Ole Miss Rebels, but they haven't been his biggest sellers.

"Believe it or not, he sells more of his roosters," Sanford said. "People love them."

Estrada, 24, won't be quitting his day job. The ARTomaton hasn't directly resulted in sales of his larger work, but it is helping get the word out.

"It's good to have exposure at The Powerhouse because there are a lot of events that go on there, so a lot of people come see the art," Estrada said.

Sanford has set up workshops about long-range planning, applying for grants and art shows, and advertising on websites, as well as applying watermarks so work on websites isn't stolen.

"She does all the technical stuff because I'm clueless about all that," Bedsworth said.

When Lafayette Middle School cut its art program, Sanford and YAC stepped in to hire Bedsworth to teach a once-a-week art club for kids who love art. The school provides the space and the materials.

"These are kids whose parents might not be able to afford art classes," Bedsworth said. "A lot of these kids come from homes where it is out of the question to pay for extracurriculars like this."

Sanford also started Howdy Neighbor, a pen pal program for Lafayette County residents. It uses letter writing to encourage storytelling, handwriting and literacy.

Her VISTA term ends May 23, and one of her last big projects was to find her replacement.

That new person won't be alone. Sanford will be around to help because she'll transition into a part-time job at the arts council.

"Hopefully, I'll be able to see all these programs become self-sustaining," Sanford said. "All the kinks will be worked out. All the contacts made. People will know they exit, and people will use them."

No matter what happens with the programs, the War on Poverty will continue, but the end of Sanford's VISTA year provides an opportunity to savor a small victory or two.

"I know this," Bedsworth said, "She's impacted the arts in Oxford definitely."

Downtown Port Huron's newest lofts nearly done

PORT HURON, Mich. -- Lofts in the Ben's Fine Furniture building are expected to be done soon.

Work on the 11 luxury lofts began late last year, said Dave Witt, who owns the lofts with his wife, Georgina.

The Witts' Port Huron loft total will reach 43 upon completion, he told the Times Herald of Port Huron ( http://bwne.ws/1oaLEud ). The Witts have completed six other loft renovation projects, the majority in downtown Port Huron, and including the construction of the Arashi Lofts just north of the Military Street Bridge.

"I picture it when they're done, and it's going to be very neat looking," Dave Witt said.

The Witts purchased the landmark furniture store, which has been in downtown Port Huron for 62 years, in December 2012. Ben's Clearance Center remains on the first floor of the building.

The lofts will be on the second and third floors.

Just as with their other lofts, the Witts won't have trouble filling them — they already have a list of potential renters.

It's unclear what the rent will be at this point, but the range for the Witts' other lofts is $700 to $950 a month plus utilities.

Dave Witt said there have been some people who move after a year or so, but there also are many tenants who have been there for at least four years.

He said he has noticed a change in downtown since he and his wife started adding lofts about seven years ago.

"The town used to be a ghost town when we started. It isn't anymore," Witt said, talking about the bustling downtown bars and restaurants.

The increase in downtown living and added vibrancy of business and entertainment are related, said Kevin Vettraino, regional planner at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.

"Anything our communities can do to attract (people) in cities like Port Huron or Plymouth or Royal Oak or Ferndale or places that have downtowns that are walkable and vibrant, it's a great thing to add residents to that mix," Vettraino said.

Adding downtown living spaces is a major component to revitalization, he said.

"To keep (people) there and have life on the street, activity going on past five o'clock when people leave their jobs and go back home," Vettraino said. "... That's how the cities were originally set up. People worked, did all of their shopping and living within the downtown, and we've lost that with the generations. Bringing it back is a good thing."

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Information from: Times Herald, http://bwne.ws/PsHO0w

This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Times Herald (Port Huron).

Family sues California rail line over worker death

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Family members of one of two track workers struck and killed by a San Francisco Bay Area commuter train have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the embattled transit agency.

Two daughters of Laurence Daniels say in the suit filed Friday in Alameda County Superior Court that a Bay Area Rapid Transit train was driven by "an inexperienced and not properly trained operator-in-training," the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/1j7GuMB ).

Calls to a BART spokeswoman for comment were not immediately returned Saturday.

Daniels, 66, a BART engineer, and Christopher Sheppard, 58, a rail consultant, were killed Oct. 19 during a training and maintenance run as the train traveled in excess of 60 miles per hour. Their deaths occurred while workers from two of BART's largest unions were on their second strike within four months and train service was halted.

Amber and Sarah Daniels filed the lawsuit for unspecified damages a month after the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined BART $210,000, stating the train was operated by an inexperienced driver with inadequate supervision.

A high-ranking manager who was supposed to be instructing the driver of the four-car BART train was not in the cab with the trainee when the incident occurred, Cal/OSHA said in citing the rail agency for "willful serious safety violations."

Cal/OSHA also faulted BART for its since-discontinued practice of making track workers solely responsible for their own safety. Under the procedure, the men received no prior warning that a train might be coming through the area. One worker was supposed to be acting as lookout, but neither did, state workplace safety inspectors found.

BART has since changed its rules, requiring trains to slow down, stop or change course as they approach track workers, and implemented new communication protocols.

Pipeline collapse in coal mine kills 11 in China

BEIJING -- A pipeline in a coal mine in northwestern China has collapsed, killing 11 people, the official Xinhua News Agency and a local work safety official said Saturday.

The official at the provincial work safety bureau, who only gave his last name Han, said that two more people were missing from the accident that took place Wednesday in the city of Yulin in the northwestern province of Shaanxi. He said odds were slim they would be found alive.

Xinhua said 37 people were in a shaft when a cement pipeline collapsed in the state-owned mine that was under construction. It said rescued recovered two bodies and pulled out 24 people alive Wednesday.

China has some of the world's deadliest mines, killing more than 100 people since the start of the year, but they are getting safer with stricter work safety enforcement.

NYT publisher again defends removal of Abramson

NEW YORK -- New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. says his removal of executive editor Jill Abramson had nothing to do with his company's treatment of women but with Abramson's management style.

Sulzberger provided a fresh defense Saturday of his recent decision.

He says in a statement that during her tenure, he heard many complaints that she arbitrarily made decisions, didn't communicate adequately and mistreated colleagues in public.

Sulzberger says "the saddest outcome" of the management change is it's been cast as an example of unequal treatment of women. He says Abramson's compensation package wasn't less than her predecessor's and was actually more than 10 percent higher before she left.

Abramson hasn't commented publicly. No one answered her home phone Saturday, and she didn't respond to a LinkedIn message.

Casinos pitched near New York City worry Catskills

WOODBURY, N.Y. -- Ailing areas of the Catskills finally close to landing a casino after decades of trying could be looking at sharing the jackpot with casinos closer to New York City.

Five of the 22 development groups that paid a $1 million application fee said they were looking at Orange County, within the edge of the city's commuter belt. Big-name operators such as Caesars Entertainment believe a casino on the outskirts of the nation's largest metropolitan region could win big.

But it also would siphon business from any companion casino built in the Catskills. The less prosperous area has explicitly been mentioned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others as an intended beneficiary of New York's gambling expansion.

Final bids in the process are due June 30.

Israeli team designs prosthetic fin to save turtle

MICHMORET, Israel -- A badly injured sea turtle's prospects are looking up — thanks to a new prosthetic fin designed by an Israeli team and modeled after the wings of a U.S. fighter jet.

The green sea turtle, named "Hofesh," the Hebrew word for "freedom," was caught in a fishing net off Israel's Mediterranean coast in early 2009. With his two left flippers badly wounded, rescuers had to amputate, leaving him with a pair of stumps that made it difficult to swim.

Yaniv Levy, director of Israel's Sea Turtle Rescue Center, said Hofesh was initially fitted with a diver's fin, but it provided little relief and he bumped into things as he tried to swim.

Shlomi Gez, an industrial design student at Jerusalem's Hadassah College, read about the animal on the Internet and wanted to help. He designed a prosthetic based on a fish's dorsal fin. The contraption provided some improvement, but Hofesh still had trouble breathing and rising to the surface.

Then, inspired by the design of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-22 Raptor warplane, Gez designed a new prosthetic with two fins. The device, somewhat resembling the aircraft's wings, was strapped onto Hofesh's back on Thursday, allowing him to move easily around his tank.

"I discovered it worked better than one fin on the back," Gez explained. "With two fins, he keeps relatively balanced, even above the water."

Levy said that Hofesh will never be able to return to the wild.

But he shares a tank with a blind female turtle named Tsurit, and researchers are optimistic the pair will mate, potentially adding to the local population of the endangered green sea turtles. He said it is difficult to say exactly how old the two turtles are, but they are estimated to be between the ages of 20 and 25, and approaching the age of sexual maturity.

"We have great plans for this guy," Levy said.

"They will never go back to the wild, but their offspring will be released the minute they hatch and go immediately into the sea and live normally in the wild," he added.

Hyundai recalling 137,500 Tucson SUVs

DETROIT -- Hyundai Motor Co. is recalling 137,500 Tucson SUVs because the air bags aren't correctly mounted to the steering wheel.

The recall involves 2011-2014 model years. The affected vehicles were built between Jan. 3, 2011, and Dec. 23, 2013.

Hyundai says the air bag assembly in the steering wheel may come loose from its mounting. That increases the risk of injury in a crash.

The company discovered the issue through warranty claims. It has no reports of injuries or accidents related to the issue.

Hyundai dealers will repair the air bag assembly for free starting next month. Hyundai will notify owners.

Ida making its pitch for welcome center

IDA, La. -- The village of Ida wants to be the home of a Louisiana Welcome and Visitors Information Center on Interstate 49.

It's working with the Coordinating and Development Corporation — a nonprofit that helps governments, businesses and civic groups by providing services and programs for economic development — to make that happen.

The nonprofit started a 12- month feasibility study to identify the best site and type of facility for a future welcome center. The study examined an area from the Louisiana-Arkansas border to just south of Ida, a town of about 220 people.

While the center is hoped-for, there is no guarantee it will be in Ida. Ida Alderman Tom Tebbe said the state didn't request the study and has not committed to Ida as the location for the welcome center.

But if the village can get a commitment from the state, Ida can use the proposed center as leverage to get approval for other infrastructure and help attract federal grant money, he said. It also is hoped a welcome center — the first for I-49 — would spur economic development in the Ida area, Tebbe said.

It would be good for the community and the state of Louisiana, he said.

"If things develop in a positive way then we hope to set up a meeting with (Tom) Schedler, Secretary of State, to give this project consideration," said Tebbe, who also is a CDC member. Discussions with local officials about an I-49 welcome center in Ida go back to former Gov. Kathleen Blanco's administration, he said.

The first stage will examine the scope of work and look at general overview of the project. The remaining study will evaluate costs and available financing, functional aspects of the visitor's center, conceptual designs, staffing and contract services for janitorial and landscape and maintenance costs and other factors.

At the completion of the study, a discussion is planned with stakeholders including state Sen. Greg Tarver, D-Shreveport, Rep. Jim Morris, R-Oil City, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Caddo Parish Commission, among others. Tebbe said Tarver already has written a letter supporting Ida as the location for the center.

Those involved with the study say a tourist welcome center would be economically beneficial for Ida. Maxfield LeComte, CDC president, said communities, such as Natchitoches and Stonewall, prospered after I-49 on and off ramps were constructed and opened the towns to travelers.

Natchitoches' population grew 40 percent after I-49 opened in the 90s, LeComte said. The corridor brought more commerce and opportunity for existing companies to expand their operations.

"It brought more people to downtown Natchitoches," LeComte said.

Mayor Kenny Shaw said the main vision for Ida is to improve the water system and get the sewer system completed, and he'd like to see the extra commerce from the welcome center and a truck stop to go along with it.

"There's always some people who don't want to see Ida grow a lot," Shaw said. "I think it's good that the area grows and we see some jobs."

LeComte said Ida is appealing because it's the first city that has utilities south of the Arkansas border on Interstate 49.

"You can't put it out in an area where there's no infrastructure and where there's no public services," he said.

Michael Sam saga apt to expand NFL's gay fan base

NEW YORK -- Years before Michael Sam was born, gay-rights activists Kate Kendell and Paul Guequierre were already die-hard National Football League fans.

Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, grew up in Ogden, Utah, far from any NFL city, and became a fan of the Los Angeles Rams because she's an Aries and liked their uniforms.

For Guequierre, raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and now a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, it was a family affair. Treasured season tickets for the Green Bay Packers were acquired by his grandfather, passed on to his father, and now are his. The cover photo of his Facebook page shows the towering statue of a Packers wide receiver.

For Kendell, Guequierre and other gay fans of the NFL — their passion for pro football was rewarded May 10 with a moment they describe as thrilling: the decision by the Rams — now of St. Louis — to make Sam the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team.

"I feel like my support for the NFL now doesn't have an asterisk come with it," Kendell said. "It's now truly America's game."

The milestone has made gay fans more enthusiastic and already is drawing newcomers into the fold. Many may become Rams fans or — like Guequierre — henceforth consider St. Louis "my second favorite team."

The NFL says it hasn't done any marketing research to gauge the size of its gay and lesbian fan base. Gay sports fans surveyed by Outsports said pro football was their favorite sport by far.

Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said that Sam — if he makes the Rams' roster — will further boost the NFL's popularity among gays.

"People who have never liked football are buying Michael Sam jerseys," he said. "People who have never watched a game watched the draft."

As of midweek, Sam's Rams jersey was the No. 2 seller among rookies at NFLShop.com, trailing only Johnny Manziel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

Sam — although drafted 249th out of 256 players — also was among just 10 draftees selected by the league to be featured on special bronze and silver commemorative coins, according to McCarthy.

Howard Bragman, a public relations expert has been working with Sam, expects the NFL and advertisers to capitalize on fans' excitement over Sam's debut.

"The first time he plays, you're going to have huge numbers watching," said Bragman, the vice chairman of Reputation.com.

"The NFL is a business," Bragman added. "It understands very well that LGBT fans are passionate, they have good incomes, they're concentrated in NFL cities."

Sam already has done a nationally televised ad for Visa.

"The tide has turned," Bragman said. "Martina Navratilova said she lost endorsements after she came out. You'll find that Michael will do very well."

That doesn't mean the NFL's advertisers will shift their focus away from heterosexual young males, nor are sexy female cheerleader squads likely to disappear. But gay fans may be all the more at peace with such things.

"We know who they're marketing to with those ads," said Guequierre. "Most (gay) people I know are OK with that. We don't feel like we're being left out."

Now based in Washington, D.C., Guequierre, 36, tries to attend at least one Packers home game per year, and makes his tickets for the other games available to relatives and friends, including a lesbian couple who are devoted fans.

Guequierre said gay fans, like gay athletes, increasingly feel less pressure to conceal their sexual orientation while at games.

He recalled an incident at a Packers game a few years ago, when he stood up and vocally scolded a fan behind him who had called a Chicago Bears player a faggot.

"No one else gave me a hard time," Guequierre said. "The guy looked embarrassed. ... He came across as the bad guy."

Guequierre's passion for football extends to the playing field — he's an avid competitor in the D.C. Gay Flag Football League, which has 20 teams and about 275 players.

One of the main sponsors is Nellie's Sports Bar, one of a wave of gay sports bars that have opened up in cities nationwide.

Doug Schantz, co-owner of Nellie's, says there are now 25 TVs in the bar, all tuned to sports, with pro baseball and the NFL neck-and-neck as the most popular.

"With the Redskins, it doesn't matter if they're bad or good," Schantz said.

On the other side of the country, Kate Kendell has settled into San Francisco, and is a zealous 49ers fan — though her girlhood love of the Rams is now rekindled. She has raised her 17-year-old son to share her football passions.

"On Monday nights, we break with tradition of sitting around the table as family," Kendell said. "We all watch the game. I leave office early to make sure we're there for kickoff."

Kendell expressed delight that gay youths would now be able to grow up with openly gay sports stars as role models.

"Many of my gay male friends are not sports fans — not because of lack of interest, but because their earliest introduction to sports made them feel stigmatized and shamed," she said, evoking epithets such as "You throw like a girl."

"While surely there will continue to be homophobic remarks, there is a sense of a corner being turned," she said. "What I feel more than anything is a sense of elation and joy, that the game I loved since I was a kid I can now embrace without reservations."

New England editorial roundup

The Portland (Maine) Press Herald, May 15, 2014

The sale of a downtown Gardiner, Maine building came to a screeching halt last month when the buyer received a flood insurance quote.

Instead of paying $2,000 a year, the new home of the Gardiner Food Co-op was told to expect to pay $20,000 a year, a bill the nonprofit could never afford.

The jump was the result of a new federal flood insurance policy that is phasing out the subsidy for coverage of buildings in harm's way, forcing property owners to pay the real cost for the risk they face.

The new policy could create a real hardship for many of Maine's historic downtowns that are close to rivers and harbors and are trying to reuse old industrial buildings. But the problem is not with the new policy.

Congress was right to pass the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which attempts to bring sanity to a system that rewarded risky behavior.

Property owners received heavily subsidized flood insurance, allowing them to build in precarious locations. If their property was wiped out in a storm, they were given the money to build there again, through the generosity of their fellow taxpayers. What started as a disaster relief program became an opportunity for a few people to hit the casino with house money.

With sea level rise and climate change-related floods expected to increase over time, this was a gamble that the people should not be expected to bankroll. An unintended consequence of this new policy, however, has been heavy penalties paid by people in places like Gardiner who can't sell their property to developers because the sale would trigger a quick rise in insurance costs.

Stories like these could get members of Congress in an election year to promise to ease those standards. But that would be the wrong way to fix this problem.

There is a role for relief from the federal government, but it should come in the form of grants and low-interest loans to help individual property owners and local governments make their buildings more flood-resistant.

There are many improvements that could help, including the dikes and drainage ditches that have been employed for centuries in the Netherlands, keeping below-sea-level developments safe from flooding. Buildings can be flood-proofed to either keep them dry in floods or to let floodwaters pass through them without destroying them.

Financing these kinds of improvements makes sense. Continuously rebuilding properties that never should have been built where they are does not.

Congress should resist pressure from beachfront developers to bring back subsidized insurance rates, and instead increase access to programs that would help property owners and municipalities reduce insurance rates by lowering the risk.

The Connecticut Post of Bridgeport, May 15, 2014

In telling the stories of the survivors of Sept. 11, 2001 three years ago, we learned that many of them had saved mementos from that day: An evacuee kept the shirt he was wearing; a firefighter saved a shard of glass; many held onto keys to buildings that no longer exist.

The everyday objects serve as bookmarks to the day we will keep turning back to for the rest of our lives.

The National September 11 Memorial Museum, which was dedicated Thursday May 15, is filled with such bookmarks. Some are physical: The heels of a survivor who scrambled down 77 flights of stairs; a mangled fire engine; fliers still pleading for news of missing loved ones.

Other senses are stirred as well. Museums are traditional hushed, yet here are the sounds of pealing church bells at funerals, bleating sirens and the voices of the dead.

It's human nature to seek to record only the warmest moments in our lives. Parents record their child's victories, but seldom their failures. Cameras are tucked away at times of loss.

But learning from history sometimes requires gazing upon the darkest of moments. The museum freezes in time some of the gravest hours in American history. Most of the museum is underground, along 16 acres forever known as ground zero. It is now a tomb, and a reminder.

The museum is a testament to the finest and most grotesque of human behavior. It marks the day when almost 3,000 people were killed, including dozens of our neighbors here in Connecticut. It also is the day strangers reached out to strangers through unimaginable circumstances.

Future generations will not brace for the anniversary as late summer temperatures cool. For them, the museum will not be a bookmark, but a classroom.

The museum has inspired debate since it was proposed, and it will evolve in years to come. One lingering issue is the price of admission. When it opens to the public on May 21, it will cost adults $24 on most days, though there will be no admission fee for 9/11 family members and rescue workers who register. There will be window from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays when it will be free to everyone.

For Americans, this is hallowed ground looked about with the same solemn respect as Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor. We encourage U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and their colleagues to pursue ways to reach a compromise between the private foundation that runs the museum and the federal government so it can become more affordable. Cost should not be an obstacle to Americans who want to pay respect to the dead.

We will keep turning back the pages to Sept. 11, 2001. We will continue to flinch when we gaze upon these bookmarks of the day, but we should never look away.

After huge win, next Indian PM begins victory lap

NEW DELHI -- Thousands of cheering supporters have welcomed India's next prime minister on his arrival in the capital after leading his party to a staggering victory in national elections.

Standing on the footboard of his SUV, Narendra Modi flashed a victory sign as he drove past jubilant supporters outside the New Delhi airport on Saturday. He is scheduled to meet leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party to discuss the formation of a new government.

His BJP wiped out the Congress party that has long dominated the country's politics.

The victory parade comes a day after the party crossed the 272-seat majority needed to create a government without forming a coalition with smaller parties. By Saturday morning, of the 517 seats declared, the BJP had won 278 seats and led in four more.

Religious conventions big business in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Religion is big business in the state capital when it comes to bringing in convention and tourism dollars.

Between now and the summer of 2015, nearly 20 conferences and conventions are planned in Springfield, and those are just the events handled through the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

They include next month's Rapture Forums Prophecy Conference, which is expected to draw about 400 people. Then there's the American Baptist Association's gathering in June 2015, which could see 2,000 participants.

Bureau sales manager Dawn Bernardes tells The (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/1n7UDJ3 ) the competition for religious conferences is no different than that for other conventions.

She says they like the city's affordability and history.

Interim Bureau director Gina Gemberling says it's a market in which the city has had a lot of success.

Obama to trumpet tourism at Baseball Hall of Fame

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says he's heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame to stress how tourism can lead to good-paying American jobs.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama announces that he'll visit the hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, on Thursday. Obama says tourism is an export that can grow the U.S. economy.

Obama is describing the pitch to Congress to spend more to modernize U.S. bridges, roads and ports. He says first-class infrastructure attracts first-class jobs.

Obama warns that almost 700,000 jobs are at risk if Congress doesn't authorize more transportation dollars by the end of summer.

In the Republican address, Sen. John McCain of Arizona says the reported delays in care for veterans is unconscionable. He says Veterans Affairs needs a top-to-bottom overhaul.

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Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://bit.ly/1eKnHjK

Government fine hardly the end of GM recall saga

DETROIT -- General Motors' agreement to pay a $35 million federal fine for concealing defects in small-car ignition switches and to give the government greater oversight of its safety procedures closes one chapter of the automaker's recall saga. But it's far from over.

Besides agreeing to pay the penalty — the largest ever assessed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — GM admitted that it broke the law by failing to quickly tell the government about the problems. The automaker agreed to report safety problems a lot faster — it only started recalling 2.6 million small cars this February, more than a decade after engineers first found a flaw in the switches.

The switches in older-model small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion can slip out of the "run" position and shut down the cars' engines. That disables the power-assisted steering and brakes and can cause drivers to lose control. It also disables the air bags.

The company says at least 13 people have died in crashes linked to the problem, but trial lawyers suing the company say the death toll is at least 53.

GM faces issues both in the near-term and longer term related to the recall. Here's a breakdown:

— THE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION: Late this month or early in June, former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas will finish an investigation for GM into why the company delayed recalling the cars. GM has promised an "unvarnished" report and said it will make at least some of the results public. The company must provide NHTSA with the full report.

— THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Justice Department is investigating GM's conduct and may bring criminal charges. The same team that got Toyota to agree to a $1.2 billion penalty for hiding unintended acceleration problems from NHTSA is working on the GM case. In the Toyota case, the company agreed to a long statement of facts that included multiple allegations of cover-ups. That investigation lasted four years.

— CONGRESSIONAL ACTION: Two congressional subcommittees have promised to call GM CEO Mary Barra back to Washington for further hearings after the Valukas report is released. At hearings in April, Barra repeatedly said she couldn't answer questions because the internal investigation wasn't finished.

— RECALLS: Barra promoted longtime engineer Jeff Boyer as GM's safety chief, with the mandate to look into other safety issues that should have resulted in recalls. On Thursday, GM announced it would recall another 2.7 million cars and trucks. So far this year the company has had 24 recalls with a total of 11.2 million vehicles. GM is working to get new ignition switches as well as parts for the other recalls from suppliers. Its ignition switch maker plans to add two assembly lines this summer to the one already working. GM expects to have all the switches made by Oct. 4.

— BOTTOM LINE: So far, recall-related charges are up to $1.5 billion, mostly for repairing vehicles. GM also faces dozens of lawsuits from families of those killed in crashes and from people who were hurt. The company has hired compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg to negotiate settlements. Lawyers say they have at least 400 possible cases against GM. That could cost the company billions. GM also faces lawsuits from shareholders and people whose cars have lost value. In addition, GM must pay NHTSA $7,000 for every day it fails to answer a list of questions from the agency. The fines started April 4 and already are above $300,000.

High On Tea Party Hit List, Idaho Congressman Looks To Hold On

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hide captionIdaho Republican House candidate Bryan Smith is trying to unseat eight-term GOP Rep. Mike Simpson. The May 20 primary is viewed as a tea party vs. establishment test.

Kim Raff/AP

Idaho Republican House candidate Bryan Smith is trying to unseat eight-term GOP Rep. Mike Simpson. The May 20 primary is viewed as a tea party vs. establishment test.

Kim Raff/AP

Mike Simpson has been atop the Tea Party hit list for much of this election year.

And Tuesday's primary contest between the Idaho Republican congressman and Tea Party challenger Bryan Smith had been billed as a big one in a string of GOP primary mash-ups that would signal the sway of the tea party faction — or the ability of traditional conservatives like Simpson to fight back in a deep red state.

"It's been a real deal campaign here in Idaho," says Skip Smyser, the conservative founder of Boise-based government relations firm Lobby Idaho.

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hide captionU.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, poses for a portrait in Boise in Oct. 2012.

John Miller/AP

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, poses for a portrait in Boise in Oct. 2012.

John Miller/AP

In the campaign's waning days, however, internal polls suggest that Simpson, who according to most recent finance reports has raised $1.9 million to Smith's $781,425, appears on track to beat back his tea party challenger after a campaign swamped with outside money.

While Simpson has a solid 80-plus rating from the American Conservative Union, he ran afoul of the Tea Party by voting for the 2008 Wall Street bailout. It doesn't help that he's a close ally of a face of the GOP establishment, House Speaker John Boehner.

In his deep-red eastern Idaho district, the only real danger for Simpson is in the primary. And there he has shown some weakness: In 2010, he won 58 percent in the GOP primary, a relatively low percentage for an incumbent. (In 2012, Simpson bounced back by winning 70 percent against a tea party challenger.)

All of that made him an early target of the D.C.-based Club for Growth, a small-government and free-market-oriented group which moved aggressively to help bankroll Smith, a lawyer and debt collector.

Outside Money, Divided Party

The campaign has been peppered with fierce attack ads, including those from both sides that starred one of the GOP's most enduring villains, House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"Mike Simpson is a very energized candidate right now and is working his tail off," says Patrick Sullivan, a Republican lobbyist and campaign consultant based in Idaho, where in 2010 tea party activists took control of the state Republican Party.

"Establishment Republicans – I call them traditional Republicans — are starting to reactivate, to take the GOP back," Sullivan, a Simpson backer, says. "The Club for Growth may have come storming into town, but I think people are really tired of D.C. money coming in."

The D.C. money is flowing on both sides — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is among outside groups that have invested heavily in Simpson's campaign.

Adding intrigue to the race is the deep divide in Idaho's Republican Party, a rift that has developed since tea party activists took control of its apparatus. They have been warring with mainstream conservatives over tea party opposition to the establishment of the state's health insurance exchange, and over aspects of a party platform adopted in 2012 that calls for repeal of the Constitution's provision for the direct election of U.S. senators, the end of the Federal Reserve, and "sovereignty" for the state.

"We're a conservative state, and the Tea Party that used to be talking about cutting taxes has now has moved into an anarchist movement," says Sullivan.

Trade and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber, have poured money into Simpson's reelection bid. Opensecrets.org reports that the chamber invested about $600,000 in the incumbent's effort. It also reported that Club for Growth Action, the group's super PAC, spent nearly $480,000 attacking Simpson.

Recent reports suggest, however, that the club has stopped spending in Idaho, and moved its resources to Nebraska, where earlier this week a Senate candidate it supported, Ben Sasse, won a GOP primary.

"We did move considerable resources into the Nebraska Senate race in the last two weeks," says Barney Keller of the Club for Growth. "We're in a constant state of assessing and re-assessing our races, moving resources in and out — depends on the day or week."

Idaho's biggest business lobby has also been involved in the race, on behalf of Simpson, and specifically to push back on the Club's efforts.

"Clearly the business community has stepped up and been involved," says Alex LaBeau, president of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry. "We are working together to make sure the Club for Growth won't be successful in the state of Idaho."

"They have overestimated their ability to send an incorrect message to voters in the state of Idaho," says LaBeau, asserting that state party organizations have "become more about sticking to an ideology than doing what their job should be – electing candidates."

Outside groups supporting Simpson, including the GOP super PAC Defending Main Street, have aired critical ads about the influence of tea party-affiliated outside groups, as well as Smith's work as a personal injury lawyer and debt collector. The Club for Growth has run ads attempting to link Simpson to Pelosi, and hammering him for his bailout vote.

Pushback To "Wild Right"

The state's other congressman, two-term Tea Party Republican Raul Labrador — who last year was one of a dozen GOP House members who refused to support Boehner for speaker — has backed Smith and endorsed Republican Gov. "Butch" Otter's tea party challenger.

In a district with one of the heaviest concentrations of Mormons in the nation, Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee, has campaigned for Simpson, saying he wants to prevent voters from veering "wild right."

"It's all a matter of turnout," says Smyser, the conservative Boise lobbyist. "You can count on the Tea Party Republicans voting in a higher number than the Main Street or business Republicans."

"If we get 28 percent of registered voters out, I think you'll see Simpson and Otter win big," he says.

How Simpson fares against this year's tea party challenge won't be the only thing Idaho Republicans will be watching Tuesday: the local GOP precinct committee races are also being decided.

The winners of those parochial contests will represent their area party members at the state Republican Party's June convention, and will determine its direction of the party.

"There is a battle going on at the precinct level that we haven't seen in my memory," says Smyser, a fifth generation Idaho resident. "It is a battle for the soul of the party."