Dangerous Toys
When children are in danger, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission isn't doing enough to protect them, Patricia Callahan reports in an impressive investigation running in Monday's and Sunday's Chicago Tribune. Her "Kids at Risk" is full of powerful examples of how the agency moved slowly or not at all when confronted with dire warnings of hazards to children. I like how Callahan doesn't mince words. After describing how a Seattle toddler died from a dangerous toy, she writes: "Kenny Sweet's death is emblematic of how a weakened federal agency, in its myopic and docile approach to regulation, fails to protect children. The result: injury and death." www.chicagotribune.com/safety
Sunday's Tribune also has a nice feature by Joseph Sjostrom about the winners of the newspaper's annual scholarship contest. "At the Top of the Best" includes profiles of these 10 top high school students along with a fun photo gallery of these winners. I've often seen this type of attention showered upon top athletes. It's great to see it given to well-rounded scholars as well. www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0705050695may06,1,3685849.story?coll=chi-news-hed&?track=sto-relcon