A federal patient privacy rule has had a chilling effect on medical research, making it tougher to recruit patients and use their health records, the first national survey on the topic suggests. ...more

November 14, 2007

LAKE PLACID — After last week's cut-off against water permit holders using Lake Istokpoga's water, the South Florida Water Management District is preparing a brand new drawdown request. SFWMD spokeswoman Missie Barletto wrote a press release last week saying they were going to apply to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a "temporary deviation to Lake Istokpoga's regulation schedule" to allow more water than usually permitted from the lake to supply farms and residents downstream. In other words, Lake Istokpoga's water level could drop down if homes and farms need the water, although given the sluggish approval of the last drawdown request, it could be a few months before that happens. "The District intends to file a new request to the Corps for a revised deviation, which may provide some relief for users whose withdrawal points are directly connected to the lake," Barletto said in the e-mailed release. ...more

October 16, 2007

The U.S. government does not conduct surprise inspections of laboratories handling the world's most dangerous organisms and poisons, but regulators said Thursday that they may change their tactics. ...more

October 5, 2007

Tampa Electric Co. said today that it has dropped plans to build a $2 billion coal gasification plant in Polk County, citing regulatory uncertainty and potentially high costs for equipment to lower carbon dioxide emissions. ...more

October 4, 2007

Tampa Electric Co. is touting its proposed $2 billion coal gasification power plant in Polk County as 'clean coal technology.' ...more

October 4, 2007