Published: March 15, 2008 09:16 pm         

Two hate groups exist in area

Last week’s reports of racism at Fort Hill High School prompted us to check with the Southern Poverty Law Center to see if there are any documented findings of hate groups in the area. It turns out there are two in nearby West Virginia.

The National Socialist Movement is listed for Romney, while the American National Socialist Workers’ Party is active in Fisher, according to the center. It said the groups share a hatred for Jews and a love for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. They also profess a hatred for other minorities, homosexuals and even sometimes Christians.

According to the center: “While some neo-Nazi groups emphasize simple hatred, others are more focused on the revolutionary creation of a fascist political state.... American neo-Nazi groups, protected by the First Amendment, often publish material and host Internet sites that are aimed at European audiences — materials that would be illegal under European anti-racism laws.”....

Why are more Hispanic visitors from Northern Virginia coming to Allegany County?

Who is the Cumberland man who has visited 48 countries in the last 23 years?

Do they still teach Latin in high school?

What is the smell that is creating a financial success for a Garrett County couple?

How many elementary school teachers in Allegany County are male?

We’ll give you the answers beginning a week from Monday when the annual Regional Update sections appear in the Times-News.

The publication schedule is:

March 24 — Recreation and Entertainment

March 25 — Automotive and Transportation

March 26 — Real Estate and Development

March 27 — Health and Wellness

March 28 — Religion

March 29 — Education

March 30 — Commerce

March 31 — Industry and Technology....

Daylight Saving Time saves energy, right? Not so, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper says researchers have concluded that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during DST is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased costs on cool mornings. The findings were revealed at a National Bureau of Economic Research conference....

Parade Magazine inside today’s paper has a nice feature on how to save money on taxes. The piece also tells about various scams and information about the “economic stimulus” tax rebate that will be mailed out to more than 130 million Americans....

The Lundberg gasoline survey late last week found the cheapest price was in Cheyenne, Wyo., at $2.95 per gallon. Highest, on average, was in San Francisco, at $3.58,,,,

Carpal tunnel syndrome is no longer plaguing workers, according to a report from MSNBC.com.

The report said the lumping of nearly every patient with an achy arm into the carpal tunnel category has diminished. Instead, other labels are being used, like repetitive stress syndrome (RSS), cumulative trauma disorder (CTD), and musculoskeletal disease (MSD).

Maybe so, but it still hurts....

West Virginia is planning to use toll roads in the Eastern Panhandle as a way to pay for highway improvements. No specific roads have been targeted, but preliminary studies show that W.Va. 9, U.S. 340 and U.S. 522 could support the tolls, according to the Hagerstown Herald-Mail....

Seen on the Internet — David Letterman’s campaign promises from Ralph Nader:

• Fund universal health care by making Wesley Snipes pay his taxes.

• Can fill out a pantsuit better than Hillary.

• Will hover in polls between 1% and “Statistically Insignificant.”

• Will not sleep with lobbyists, or for that matter anyone else.

• Get Bush re-elected in 2000.

Jan Alderton is managing editor of the Cumberland Times-News. His email address is jpalderton@times-news.com.