Drug use report disturbing
RANT: For a troubling new report from the Centers for Disease Control that finds Alabama high school students say they use illegal drugs and tobacco products at rates higher than the national average. That has grim implications for these young people, but also for our state.
The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report measures six risky behaviors. It indicates that Alabama high school students are more likely than their peers nationwide to use heroin, methamphetamines, non-prescribed steroids and inhalants, and are more likely to have injected an illegal drug with a needle and to have been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property.
Alabama had the third highest rates of students claiming to have used heroin and meth, and the second highest rate of students claiming to use tobacco products.
Surtees solid public servant
RAVE: For the contributions of Tom Surtees, who is leaving state government after serving in two governors' administrations. Gov. Bob Riley appointed him commissioner of the Department of Revenue in 2004, then tapped him to head the Department of Industrial Relations in 2007. Gov. Robert Bentley kept him in that post when he took office in 2011, and named him labor commissioner when DIR merged with the Department of Labor in 2012.
His steady, capable service was an asset to both governors and to our state.
Sculpture garden fine addition
RAVE: For the coming addition of a new sculpture garden at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. A groundbreaking was held last week for the project, which will occupy three acres on the east side of the museum building. It will house temporary exhibitions of the work of contemporary artists from around the country.
Barrie Harmon III, president of the museum board, called it "a place for quiet contemplation, to enjoy the art, and a new venue for our special events."
Court right in cell phone case
RANT: For the unjust criticism of the Supreme Court's decision that will require police to obtain warrants to search the cellphones of arrested individuals. The decision reflects the modern reality that cellphones are far more than telephones; they often contain all sorts of personal data that should be protected from routine inspection.
Writing for a unanimous court, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected the argument that cellphones are not materially different from wallets or purses or address books. "That is like saying a ride on horseback is materially indistinguishable from a flight to the moon," he wrote.
The court got this one right.
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