Jacko Arrives at Court for Jury Selection
The pop icon got to court about noon EST (9 a.m. PST), wearing all white and shielded from the sun by an umbrella. He waved to supporters as he strode inside. After more than an hour’s wait, Jackson and his attorney stood and faced the first group of prospective jurors filing into the courtroom. Some predicted jury selection could take a month or more. Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a cancer patient – then aged 13, now 15 – after plying him with alcohol. Before the singer’s arrival on Monday, dozens of dancing, hollering fans gathered outside the courthouse. Supporters blasted a Jackson song deriding the district attorney and booed a woman who held a sign backing the alleged victim. Many had camped out overnight. Read the story here.
Costs Make Employers See Smokers as a Drag
Employers have recently tried every carrot they can think of – including cash incentives and iPods – to persuade employees to quit smoking. Now some are trying the stick. Pointing to rising health costs and the oversized proportion of insurance claims attributed to smokers, some employers in California and around the country are refusing to hire applicants who smoke and, sometimes, firing employees who refuse to quit. “Employers are realizing the majority of health costs are spent on a small minority of workers,” says Bill Whitmer, chief executive of the Health Enhancement Research Organization, an employer and healthcare coalition in Birmingham, Ala. Federal and state laws bar employers from turning down applicants or firing workers based on race, religion or gender. Some states have enacted laws offering similar protections for smokers. But experts say workers in nearly half the states, including California, have few legal options if employers decide to prohibit them from smoking outside the workplace. Read the story here.
Driver’s license saga could end this year
The ad – headlined “Nominated: Best Nanny in a Supporting Role” – featured a Latina and two young children, and called on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to allow illegal immigrants to obtain California driver’s licenses. No stranger to the intersection of Hollywood and politics, Schwarzenegger said he appreciated the ad, which ran last week in the trade paper Variety before the Academy Award nominations were announced, and the entertainers who signed it. But during an appearance at the Sacramento Press Club, the governor indicated he is not likely to soon sign the measure offered by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. “The federal government is coming up with a solution in the next 18 months to let us know what the guidelines should be,” he said, referring to supporting documents that applicants would have to present to guard against terrorists’ acquiring driver’s licenses. The long-running debate, however, could be put to rest this year if Schwarzenegger calls a special election to press a package of reforms. That could pave the way for a separate measure on the November ballot that would deny state benefits, including driver’s licenses, to illegal immigrants. Read the story here.
