Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
CultureWatch
Those of us who became fans of Lorrie Moore’s when we first read her short stories in The New Yorker will welcome the publication of her new novel, the first in over a dozen years. Ms. Moore, who couples her career as novelist/short story writer extraordinaire with a professorship at the University of Wisconsin/Madison, may take her own sweet time between novels, but what she has produced is worth our wait. more »
Madeleine Vionnet, Fashion Purist
"A socially progressive employer intenton improving working conditions within her business, Vionnetnonetheless geared her exceptional designs to an elite clientele.As was the case of many designers during the Roaring Twenties,she was not concerned with democratizing fashion. Her amazingtechnical skills paved the way for sartorial renewal based oncomplex structural experimentation." more »
More Than Half of FDA's Debarment Proceedings Take Four or More Years
For the 18 proceedings GAO reviewed, the length of time from an individual’s conviction through debarment (or as of November 5, 2008, for pending proceedings) ranged from about 1 year to nearly 11 years. For the 52 disqualification proceedings GAO reviewed, the length of time from initiation of a disqualification proceeding to its conclusion (or as of November 5, 2008, for pending proceedings) ranged from 26 days to more than a decade, with about one-third taking more than 2 years. more »
Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
"From 1995 through 2005, the number of girls’ cases nationwide involving detention increased 49 percent, compared to a seven percent increase for boys. Compared to white girls: African American girls are sent to adult prison over five times as often and Native American girls three times as often." more »
