Free Republic

Some 911 calls in Manhattan will now bring out two ambulances, one hurrying to the scene and one lagging slightly behind. The first one will try to save the patient’s life. The second one will try to save the patient’s kidneys, in case the first ambulance fails. After months of grappling with the ethical and legal implications, New York City medical officials are beginning to test a system that they hope will one day greatly increase the number of organs collected for transplant. For five months starting Wednesday, the city will deploy a specially trained team that will monitor 911...

Big Mama has big problems. Brenda Franklin says she might shut down Big Mama's House of Southern Cuisine and take her signature fried chicken, ribs, pulled pork and peach cobbler to another city because parking violations have cost her more than $3,000 in fines. "I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to figure out how I'm going to pay my rent," Franklin said. "I've been trying to hold on and maintain. But they've been making it impossible." Franklin appeared on the CBS "Early Show" in 2008 as part of "Small Businesses, Big Rescues," a series...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — To some towns it’s an important stream of revenue. To some drivers it’s highway robbery. Tim Gant, a guardrail inspector from Clarksburg, says his tiny West Tennessee town is a speed trap that artificially drives down speed limits so it can drive up collections from speeding tickets. Gant has persuaded state Rep. Chris Crider, R-Milan, to introduce a bill that would require blue speed limit signs for any municipality that gets more than half its revenue from traffic tickets. "Most folks around my speed-trap town refer to the problem as ‘legal highway robbery,“’ Gant said in...