Secrets buried in Turner's pocket
THE BOSTONGLOBE

Turner Broadcasting System has bought its way out of any civil or criminal claims related to last week's placing of suspicious devices around Greater Boston.

For some executives, such settlements are just a cost of doing business.

It's a classic case of damage control.

The company apologizes and pays $1,000,000 up front to cover the out-ofpocket expenses of the state, MBTA, and local police forces that responded to the perceived emergency.

Turner also offers up an additional $1,000,000 in "good will" funds to be used to support homeland security efforts in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville.

The settlement, unfortunately, closes important areas of inquiry. Acriminal investigation or civil suit might have revealed if any of the players in the board room had speculated on whether the devices could be mistaken for bombs.

Also unresolved is the question of whether marketing executives might have moved more quickly to inform public safety officials about the supposed lighthearted nature of their scheme.

Unless such matters are explored in the cases of the men still charged, they are likely now buried forever in Turner's deep pockets.

On the Net:

http://www.boston.com

Katrina's effect on mental health

A new study showing that up to 35,000 children -- one-third of them across the Gulf Coast still displaced by Hurricane Katrina - - are plagued by mental health, behavioral and school problems is not one of those documents that can be permitted to rest on some government shelf to collect dust.

This is something that requires immediate and ongoing attention.

The study, jointly conducted by the Columbia University National Center for Preparedness and the Children's Health Fund, also indicates that many of those children 's parents are depressed, leaving them unable to help the children, according to Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the center and president of the health fund.

Redlener's concerns need to be shared by everyone. It's been 17 months since Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast, leveling much of the Gulf Coast and causing levee breaks in New Orleans that swamped the city and nearby St. Bernard Parish with murky and polluted water for weeks.

In addition to the physical devastation, Katrina brought out a smorgasbord of issues totally unrelated to weather and hurricane preparedness, although those are not to be summarily dismissed.

When children -- the true innocents of the entire disaster -- are victimized through no fault of their own, it is time to take notice. That notice needs to come by way of a combination of private sector initiatives, faith-based and civic relief, and government support.

The impact the hurricane had on the lives of the children is not something that is going to be washed away simply by time. It will take recognition and treatment.

-- The Hattiesburg (Miss.) American

On the Net:

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/

Backing the U.S. Senate's proposed minimum-wage increase

Small business is the backbone of the U.S. economy. A minimum-wage increase that cripples small business is likely to be counterproductive.

Therefore, Americans should support the Senate version of legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over two years. The House has approved similar legislation, but the Senate added tax breaks for small business that House leaders oppose.

The House should be reasonable. A wage hike that hurts small businesses, which generally operate on low profit margins, is one that could also hurt workers by costing them jobs.

The Senate has the more sensible approach and the one most likely to truly benefit workers.

It's also revenue-neutral, because the tax breaks would be offset by tax increases on corporations and their top executives. The House should join the Senate so the bill can move quickly to the president's desk.

-- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort

Lauderdale, Fla.

On the Net:

http://www.sunsentinel.

com/news/opinion/

The Bush administration and taxes:

Throughout his six-plus years in office, President Bush has carefully polished his image as a tax cutter. Even today, with the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continuing to escalate, he continues to press Congress to make his 10-year, $1.7 trillion tax-cut package permanent -- a policy he maintains is essential to stimulating the economy.

But now comes his latest budget, at $2.8 trillion, and what can only be described as a backdoor tax increase. Not something one would expect from a tax cutter.

According to a New York Times article Mr. Bush will ask Congress to cease indexing the thresholds that determine who will pay higher premiums for Medicare. Without indexing for inflation, more and more middle class families would suddenly be deemed as upper-income, and subject to the higher premiums.

The $10 billion that the White House expects to generate by ending indexing is seen as a way of meeting Mr. Bush's goal of balancing the budget by 2012. But if fiscal prudence is the goal -- and it should be -- then there are other, more equitable ways to raise revenue.

-- Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

On the Net: http://www.timesunion.com