Digest

Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 13, 2007

Supreme Court passes decision on state tax plan to lower court

The state Supreme Court doesn't want to touch the legal challenge to the Legislature's property tax plan, at least for now. The high court issued an order Thursday transferring the case to circuit court in Tallahassee. The move isn't a commentary on the merits of the challenge - filed Monday by the mayor of a small city in South Florida - and it should be heard expeditiously, the court noted. The suit argues the proposed constitutional amendment is misleading and overstates the tax savings.

Swim diapers don't catch it all, and that's sickening

Think you're helping public health when you put a swim diaper on your kid? Not so much. A new study from the University of Florida found that swim diapers don't necessarily keep the water clean. (Stop reading now if you get squeamish easily.) Infectious disease experts found that a common illness called Norovirus, which causes vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, is easily transmitted in the water and can't be killed by chlorine. Swim diapers trap solid waste, but aren't so effective when it comes to diarrhea. So if a sick child swims, other kids who ingest the water or touch their mouths with wet hands could catch it.

Plan penalizes water guzzlers

Use a lot of water at your house? Be glad you don't live in Orange County. A commissioner there wants to charge high-consuming homes up to 27 percent more than their conservative counterparts. Commissioner Bill Segal told the Orlando Sentinel that the plan could encourage conservation, not to mention bring in $2.3-million.

Correction

Adm. Eric Olson, the new commander of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973 and is an officer in the Navy. A biographical box published in the Times on Tuesday contained incorrect information.

[Last modified July 13, 2007, 00:25:22]