Survey

An annual survey of airline food gave Virgin America the top spot with the "healthiest" food choices in the sky, with Air Canada a close second and Alaska Air not too far behind. The 2012 Airline Food Survey conducted by the website DietDetective.com rated foods for 12 airlines, assigning an overall health score based on seven criteria: health of meals, health of snacks, food variety, calories, improvement from last year's survey, menu innovation and cooperation in providing nutritional information.

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.

There are a bunch of companies in Maryland (plus Johns Hopkins ) that are focused on mobile health -- using mobile devices to encourage healthy behaviors -- and the latest poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project should be encouraging for them. The Pew report found that nearly one-third -- 31 percent -- of cellphone users had used their device to access health information. That was nearly double the 17 percent who said they did so two years ago, according to Pew. ( You can read the report here.

Wanted: Flexible schedules and telecommuting options for congressional staffers who frequently work more than 40 hours per week and seek a better balance between their work and personal lives. After interviewing more than 1,400 U.S. House and Senate employees for "Life in Congress: Aligning Work and Life in the U.S. House and Senate," researchers concluded that congressional staff members are less likely than private-sector workers to be satisfied with the flexibility in their jobs.

This afternoon, I received a call from someone asking if I would participate in a quick survey on an issue. I agreed, and she posed a question on the amount of revenue the gambling would generate, furnishing multiple choice responses. I replied that I had no idea. Whereupon, she gave me the "right" answer, and launched into a lecture on it. I stopped her to point out that she said this was a survey, in which she takes and tabulates my answers. She replied, "I was just giving you the right one. " When I asked what made it right, she hung up. I had not really cared one way or another on this issue, as I generally regard gambling as a tax on stupidity (State Lotto?

Two college savings plans managed by T. Rowe Price rank among the best in the country - the eighth time that the Baltimore-based investment firm has been included in Morningstar's annual survey of top plans. Only once - the year after the 2008 market crash - has a Price-managed plan not made the list since Morningstar began ranking so-called 529 plans in 2004. "They have been an industry leader for a long time," said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, head of Morningstar's 529 plan research.

The number of young striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay fell to a record low this year, a drastic decline from a near-record high the year before, state officials reported Tuesday. State biologists checking Maryland's part of the bay found the fewest newly spawned striped bass that they've tallied in any year since annual surveys for the fish began 59 years ago, the Department of Natural Resources reported. Maryland's state fish, also known as rockfish, is closely monitored because it supports a multimillion-dollar recreational and commercial fishing industry that employs thousands.

Fewer children were poisoned by lead-based paint in 2011 than in any year since Maryland began tracking cases nearly two decades ago, prompting the state to expand its focus to newer rental properties and owner-occupied homes. A survey released Thursday by the state Department of the Environment showed 452 children had dangerous lead levels in their blood last year, down from more than 14,500 youngsters who tested positive for the substance in 1993. In 2010, 531 children were found to have the same level of lead poisoning.

The U.S. Geological Survey Saturday reported an early-morning earthquake of 2.1 magnitude in parts of western Carroll County and eastern Frederick County. The USGS said the epicenter was about three miles from Linganore, in Frederick County, and about 11 miles from Westminster in Carroll. A spokesman at Linganore Winecellars in Mount Airy said the vineyard had no awareness of the quake. According to the Richter scale, a 2.0 magnitude earthquake is large enough to be detected but generally not felt.

Americans are paying a little more for health coverage this year. Premiums rose modestly for single and family employer-sponsored coverage, according to an annual survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust. The average annual premium in 2012 was $5,615 for single coverage, a 3 percent increase from 2011, while family coverage was $15,745, a 4 percent increase.   Companies continued to offer insurance despite the country's sluggish economic environment.