| State at bottom when it comes to the disabled
Federal figures show that Kentucky has the nation's second-highest percentage of people with disabilities, behind only West Virginia. The U.S. Census shows nearly one of four Kentuckians has a physical, mental, sensory or self-care disability. And a 2005 survey for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that disabilities limit the activities of almost 23 percent of adult residents. "If they were to all be registered voters, it would be the biggest voting bloc in the state," said Tommy Clark, disabilities coordinator for Louisville's metro government. A major factor driving up those numbers, experts said, is the overall poor health of Kentuckians. State officials said they are trying to improve health with initiatives such as Get Healthy Kentucky, which Gov.
Tattoos, piercings less taboo at work
STOCKTON - In what resembles a physician's exam room, David Russell sits. His ears are swabbed with antiseptic first. A taper (large needle) is slowly pushed through his left ear lobe. His lobes were being stretched by his wife, Tam Russell, owner of Redemption tattoo studio. Soon after the piercing, studs are implanted, filling the newly formed holes. His body, covered in tattoos, is further modified. The next day, Russell will button up his shirt, slip on some slacks and head to work, as a systems analyst in the corporate world. .
Starbucks work perks amid some bitterness
Next month, a 3-foot Starbucks logo will adorn the historic Main Street facade where inside Revolutionary schemes were once traded over draughts of ale and cider.
The opening of the city's third outlet of the worldwide coffee chain in late March will cap a year of securing city approvals and renovations in the Maryland Inn - but it is not likely to decaffeinate the controversy.
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A new beginning: Center to help wounded troops rebuild lives
Some limped gingerly, some rode in wheelchairs as they made their way into the tent. They had missing arms and legs, faces with no ears or with rebuilt noses, bones rebuilt with steel, shrapnel still visible in places. They are the faces of war and its cruel costs, the "wounded warriors" as they were called Monday, and they were the guests of honor at the dedication of a $40 million rehabilitation center built just for them. One of those soldiers is Spc. Lucas Schmitz, a 22-year-old college student from rural Minnesota, whose right leg was blown off by a bomb in Iraq last July. "The center will give me the opportunity to adapt," said Schmitz, a member of the Minnesota National Guard. "I'm never going to be the same, and I won't be able to do things exactly like I used to.
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