Advocacy Group

A public health advocacy group is calling on Maryland's hospitals to stop handing out free infant formula to new mothers because it can encourage them to give up on breastfeeding. Public Citizen says the distribution done by at least two-thirds of U.S. hospitals is unethical and violates good public health policy. It also undermines the efforts that many hospitals have undertaken to encourage breast feeding. Officials there have written letters, co-signed by more than 100 other organizations, to administrators of 33 Maryland hospitals . They're doing the same thing in other states.

National advocacy groups for people with Down syndrome are seeking an independent investigation into the January death of a Frederick County man after off-duty sheriff's deputies tried to remove him from a movie theater. Robert Ethan Saylor, 25, suffocated on Jan. 12 after three Frederick County sheriff's deputies attempted to remove him from the Theater 9 Westview Cinemas in Frederick. He died later at a local hospital. "We want to just find out more information to see if Ethan's rights as an individual with a disability were violated.

Southern chef Paula Deen makes no apologies for her butter-filled unhealthy recipes. So it's no surprise that her cookbook tops the list of worst of the year in terms of health in a report by the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine. The group, that promotes healthy foods and eating, said Deen's and other unhealthy cookbooks encourage Americans to fill up on high-fat, meat-heavy meals. Jamie Oliver, the chef known for his aggressive campaign to make school lunches healthier, is also listed as one of the worst offenders.

Pop quiz: 1.         Telemarketers using robocalls with pre-recorded sales pitches can only call your home phone or cell phone if they get your permission in writing. True or False 2.         Putting your name on the Do-Not-Call list means no telemarketer is allowed to call you. True or False 3.         If you don't put your number on the Do-Not-Call, a telemarketer can continue to call you unless you submit a written request for calls to stop.  True or False.

A new education advocacy group, formed late last year, has pledged to lobby for charter schools, funding for pre-kindergarten education and leave time for parents attending meetings with teachers. MarylandCAN, which is affiliated with a national coalition of school reformers called 50CAN, announced its agenda this week. Curtis Valentine, executive director of MarylandCAN, said he was "quite optimistic about passing" a bill that would give more students access to pre-kindergarten and legislation that would allow parents to take time off from work to attend teacher-parent meetings without being penalized by their employer.

WASHINGTON -- People for the American Way named Ralph G. Neas, a civil rights activist and former Democratic candidate for Congress from Maryland, as its new president yesterday.Neas, 53, will start his job Jan. 3 at the organization, a liberal advocacy group that pushed hard last year against the impeachment of President Clinton.Neas, a former executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, ran unsuccessfully last year against Rep. Constance A. Morella, a Montgomery County Republican.

Alianza de la Comunidad, an advocacy group for Hispanic residents of Howard County, has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Columbia Foundation to expand its outreach efforts. The organization operates Centro de Ayuda, a resource center, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Cradlerock School. A hot line (443-812-8486) for Hispanic residents is available. The grant will allow Sandra Gutierrez, the center's coordinator, to visit neighborhoods, churches and community centers to inform residents about the resources provided by Alianza and other groups.

Three-fourths of the college scholarships in a new federal program intended to encourage students to go into mathematics, science or engineering have been awarded to boys, according to a study released today by a research and advocacy group based in Cambridge, Mass.A total of 352 boys and 84 girls received the scholarship money, which totaled $2.2 million, in the 1993-94 academic year, said the organization, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.The $4,000 annual scholarships from the National Academy for Science, Space and Technology were awarded solely on the basis of high school students' performance on a standardized test, the American College Testing Program Assessment.

Casa de Maryland launched a program Tuesday to offer small loans to legal permanent residents who would like to apply for U.S. citizenship, the nonprofit said. The pilot program will loan 125 individuals each $680, the fee charged for naturalization, the immigrant advocacy group said in a statement. Borrowers will be required to repay the loan over a six-month period at an interest rate of 8.5 percent to 9 percent, according to the statement. Applicants will pay a $25 application fee that will be returned upon full repayment of the loan, Casa said.

Releasing its own survey of doctors who work for the Food and Drug Administration, an advocacy group accused the agency yesterday of lowering its standards for safety and efficacy, working too hastily and approving drugs that should never have been allowed on the market.The report drew a scathing rebuttal from the drug industry, an oblique defense from the agency and criticism from representatives of chronically ill people who advocate swifter drug approval.But some scientists said the report raised significant concerns.

J. Kirby Fowler resigned from the state's gaming commission Thursday, saying that his role as a regulator for Baltimore's downtown casino represented a conflict of interest. Kirby is the president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, an advocacy group. Kirby made the announcement at a regularly scheduled meeting of the recently renamed Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, a spokesman for the MLGCA said. He was the chairman of the group and will be replaced by vice chair Kimberly Roberston Pannell, a D.C.-area accountant.

Maryland voters are supportive of health care reform even though some still haven't grasped all the details, a new survey has found. The survey sponsored by independent health philanthropy The Horizon Foundation and advocacy group Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition , found that those who would gain the most from health reform seemed to know the least about it. The study results were based on a telphone poll of 1,413 voters conducted September 14 to 23. Fifty-nine percent of respondents support health reform, compared to 19 percent who oppose it. The other 22 percent are unsure.

Ellen Bravo of the labor-aligned advocacy group Family Values @ Work claims there were few consequences in San Francisco following passage of that city's paid sick leave mandate ("Paid sick leave urged in Maryland," Nov. 12). However, even the research Ms. Bravo cites suggests otherwise. According to data published in a survey conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, industries in San Francisco that didn't offer sick leave prior to the mandate were more likely to report a negative impact on profitability.

For people who want to live past 100, the first step is taking a whole bunch more steps. A recent survey found half of all centenarians are exercising almost every day. Most are walking, but many also are lifting weights, practicing yoga, biking or playing group sports. There are an estimated 72,000 centenarians across the country, and the number is expected to grow to 600,000 by 2050, according to UnitedHealthcare, which conducted the poll. To get into this group, others who work with seniors and some who are in their advanced years say, senior citizens should tie on some sneakers and get moving.

A public health advocacy group is calling on Maryland's hospitals to stop handing out free infant formula to new mothers because it can encourage them to give up on breastfeeding. Public Citizen says the distribution done by at least two-thirds of U.S. hospitals is unethical and violates good public health policy. It also undermines the efforts that many hospitals have undertaken to encourage breast feeding. Officials there have written letters, co-signed by more than 100 other organizations, to administrators of 33 Maryland hospitals . They're doing the same thing in other states.

Jonathan Browning built his career on four wheels, but his passion rides on two. Browning, Volkswagen Group of America's top executive, doesn't see why cars and bikes can't — to steal a slogan from the automaker — coexist on the road of life. "Almost every family in the country has a car and a bike in some condition in the garage," said Browning Tuesday morning as he sat in the lobby of a downtown Baltimore hotel, cycling helmet in his hands and a blue Volkswagen jersey stretched across his lean torso.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke will visit Havana next week as part of a U.S. contingent on a fact-finding mission.Schmoke will travel as a guest of the Center for International Policy, a Washington advocacy group pushing to end the U.S. embargo with Cuba.Schmoke will join former Maryland Rep. Michael Barnes, a center director. Also on the trip will be the Rev. Leo J. O'Donovan, Georgetown University president, and Marine Gen. John J. Sheehan, retiring head of the U.S. Atlantic Command. The group will leave Tuesday and return March 14.The men will review Havana's urban planning policies, study the impact of Pope John Paul II's recent Cuba visit and review calls for the United States to provide more humanitarian aid in the form of food and medicine to the country, center officials said.

An unusual solution to the nation's economic downturn was proposed last night at Baltimore's second annual Cultural Town Meeting - spend more money on the arts. "Our research shows that it's illogical public policy to cut funding to the arts at a time when governments need revenue to pay for critical services," said Randy Cohen, vice president of research for Americans for the Arts, a nationwide advocacy group. "Support for the arts does not come at the expense of economic development," he said.

If James "Buzz" Cusack and his daughter, Kathleen Lyon, have their way, they'll be cutting ribbons by Christmas for a restored Senator Theatre that will preserve the original cinema and add three screens and a small restaurant. Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Tuesday that they would receive $300,000 in a 2012 Sustainable Communities Tax Credit — administered by the Maryland Historical Trust and known previously as the Historic Tax Credit — to rehabilitate the movie house, a North Baltimore landmark since 1939.

The Susan G. Komen for the Curebreast cancer advocacy and charity group backed away Friday from a plan to slash funding to Planned Parenthood programs, but the public apology might not be enough to repair its damaged image right away. Experts in public relations and crisis management said some may not be ready to accept Komen's reversal. The group said it pulled funding for Planned Parenthood because of internal policy changes, but some perceived the move as driven by political pressure from abortion opponents.