Free Republic

Judge: Lesbian couple can be foster parents By JOHN SHULTZ The Kansas City Star Missouri cannot block an openly gay Kansas City woman’s efforts to become a foster parent because of her sexual orientation, a Jackson County judge ruled today. In her decision, Circuit Judge Sandra Midkiff ruled the state arbitrarily denied Lisa Johnston’s petition to become a foster parent because she is a lesbian. Johnston and partner Dawn Roginski sought to become foster parents in 2003, but their efforts were stymied by an unwritten state social services policy prohibiting gays from becoming foster parents. The state argued that Johnston...

Kids say they're stressed out, and parents aren't helping To view the KidsPoll, visit http://www.nahec.org/KidsPoll/ If you remember childhood as a time of careless, carefree fun, a recent study indicates that either the times have changed or memory is selective.Asked about their feelings on stress, 875 U.S. children between the ages of 9 and 13 revealed that being a kid, at times, is stressful. KidsHealth.org, a leading pediatric health and wellness Web site, conducted the KidsPoll and released the findings Oct. 12."We live in a pretty fast-paced, high achievement-oriented culture, so kids and adults are over-scheduled, over-committed and overly booked,...

Last March, after an exhausting nine-month schedule, the White Buffaloes, a boys Danville soccer team coached by John Wondolowski, won the prestigious California Soccer State Cup. That was when Wondolowski got the news. He was out and would not be asked back to coach this season. The players needed someone to develop their skills and move on to the next level. So the Mustang Soccer League was bringing in a professional coach. The kicker? The kids on the White Buffaloes were 11 years old. Professional coaches for kids who are still in grade school? Absolutely. In the Bay Area parents...

NO NURSERY FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING BABY Jun 29 2004 By Richard Smith A BOY of three had a full-time nursery place taken away partly because he speaks English and has a garden, says his mum. Christopher Townsend was due to start in September but he no longer qualifies for a place under the council-run school's new admissions policy. Mum Nicki, 39, said yesterday: "I was told he did not fit the criteria as he had English as his first language and that he came from a home with a garden." Nicki, an occupational therapist, has lived in the catchment area for...