Since the epidemic began, a few cities and states have begun collecting data on drug seizures, arrests, overdose deaths and other collateral effects of the opioid epidemic. Indiana, for example, is working on a statewide, multi-agency database that includes information on pharmacy robberies, overdose-related ambulance calls and the use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone. Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Virginia have declared the opioid epidemic a state of emergency, in part to enable better information sharing among agencies.

The Downton Abbey-themed experience has opened: The Exhibition opened in New York City on Nov. 18, and runs through the month of January before traveling throughout the US. It will connect fans with their favorite characters, costumes, locations and historic events of the era, as well as showcase never-before-seen footage. In the meantime, the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida is presenting a costume history of the period surrounding World War I, a period that changed the social fabric of Great Britain.  

Joan L. Cannon wrote: The Internet has become the conduit to confidants I didn’t know I needed, and now I behave as though I couldn’t survive without them. Actually, I doubt if I could. Nowadays I need to remind myself of how easy it’s going to be to overwork my new roster of what I can think of only as friends — real friends in most instances, as opposed to acquaintances. It’s such a temptation to tap out an email whenever a thought strikes me that I know would be of no interest or would be likely to be misunderstood by available ears, or worse, to raise hackles or prejudices that would spoil the relationship on the spot.

In recent weeks there have been many media reports about the process for employees in the legislative branch to file claims with the Congressional Office of Compliance (OOC) under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA). Several of those reports contain incorrect information about that process. The questions and answers [in this post] address the most common misconceptions about the OOC; more detailed information is available [at the website].

Jo Freeman writes: Forty years ago over 20,000 people gathered in Houston, Texas to celebrate International Women's Year (IWY) and identify goals for women for the next decade. On November 6 and 7, 2017, a few hundred people gathered at the University of Houston to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that conference. It was not sponsored by the federal government, though some would argue that today's federal government made it necessary. Speakers discussed what happened in 1977, what didn't happen, what should have happened, and what it all meant.

The New Jersey tax compromise included a 23-cents-per-gallon hike in the gas tax, bringing it to 37.5 cents a gallon. The legislation also cut $1.4 billion in other taxes, including income taxes on elderly residents who can now exempt the first $100,000 of retirement income (a couple) from state income tax. Supporters said the tax break for middle-income seniors was a way to counter arguments that eliminating the estate tax was a gift to the wealthy. New Jersey took in nearly $320 million in estate taxes in 2014. The increase in the gas tax is expected to raise more than $1 billion a year.

In the previous open-enrollment season, 12.2 million people nationwide selected individual market plans through the marketplaces. The number dropped off during the year because not everyone paid and some found coverage elsewhere. Forty-five percent of all respondents to the KFF survey and 52 percent who said they were uninsured said they have heard less about open enrollment this year compared to previous years. Insurers are trying to pick up some of the challenges of publicizing enrollment, and some of those ads are getting noticed.

Rose Madeline Mula writes: The church I attend these days isn't the Roman Catholic Church of my parents — or even of my youth. No, despite my profound disgust with the pedophile priests horror and the Church’s anti-woman and anti-gay leaning, I haven't converted to another religion. But if the 20-year-old me were to come back to visit me today, she would be sure I had defected.