(Reriani Communications) --- Rates of divorce have declined in the last few years, and many family law practitioners have attributed the reduction in dissolutions to the economic challenges posed by the Great Recession. Even if a couple believes that a marriage will no longer work, they may accept the fact that maintaining two households in a time of economic uncertainty has not been a risk worth taking. Diminished real estate equity and uncertainty about jobs opportunities have left some spouses resigned to postponing legal solutions until they feel more secure.

But recent reports suggest that divorce rates are increasing, and some commentators speculate that the reason is that Americans have become accustomed to the new economic reality. Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in August that her organization's membership is seeing an increase in divorce clients. "With the recession, there was initial shock that paralyzed people. They were frozen, not wanting to make any more significant changes in their lives. They weren't any happier than before, but too afraid to do anything about it. Now people are stabilizing, acclimating themselves to the new economic realities, and saying, 'Things may not change soon, but at least I can have a happy life on an emotional level.'"

(Reriani Communications) --- According to The New York Times, 14 states have passed laws allowing marijuana use for medical purposes. Colorado passed its law in 2000 and since that time, the industry has been rapidly growing throughout the state. Recent amendments to the law, however, have set new restrictions on who may own these businesses and new requirements for the doctors prescribing the drug.

Stricter Licensing Requirements
In June, Governor Bill Ritter signed two laws that will change the way marijuana growers and distributors do business. Notably, the laws create stricter licensing requirements on owners and operators.

(Reriani Communications) --- In 2008, distracted driving caused nearly 6,000 deaths and injured over 500,000 people according to the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration. In New Jersey alone 1,821 crashes involved handheld devices and another 1,383 involved hands free during that same year.

Texting While Driving
One of the more prevalent causes of distracted driving is texting behind the wheel. According to distraction.gov, a website launched by the U.S. Department of Transportation, texting is one of the most dangerous activities a driver can do because it involves drivers taking their hands off the wheel, eyes of the road and minds off of driving safely. Studies have indicated that driving while using a cell phone, either hands-free or handheld, can delay the reaction time of a driver as much as having a blood alcohol concentration of .08.

(Reriani Communications) --- While no one looks forward to paying taxes, the vast majority of people understand the purpose and importance of taxes. Without this revenue, our government would not have the funds to pay for important programs that benefit all citizens, such as:

- Medicare/Medicaid
- Social Security
- Repairs to infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.)
- Public schools
- Military defense
- Law enforcement

(Reriani Communications) --- With the economy showing some signs of recovering, many companies have ended hiring freezes. While positive for the jobless, the influx of new workers into the corporate world often means an increase in on-the-job injuries - and increased workers' compensation costs for employers.

Harry Shuford, chief economist for the National Council on Compensation Insurance, noted, "When the rate of hiring increases, we see some upward pressure on injury rates and frequency."

(Reriani Communications) --- A 60-year-old Arizona bicyclist who had lost his ability to walk due to a traumatic brain injury 20 years ago was killed when riding through North Carolina in late July. Arnold Arnott, of Phoenix, was returning home after cycling cross country from Los Angeles to New York City when his recumbent bicycle was struck from behind by a pickup truck. According to the NC Highway Patrol, Arnott died instantly from his injuries.

Bicyclists, whether touring Piedmont back roads or riding on Outer Banks recreational trails, are always in jeopardy when they must ride in close proximity to motor vehicles. Narrow shoulders, blind intersections, open car doors, and negligent or reckless drivers can turn a pleasant day of riding into an obstacle course with zero room for error. In Arnott's case, his use of a recumbent bike may be suspected by some as a contributing factor, because they ride so close to the ground. But in a profile of the long distance rider published in the Greensboro News & Record, Arnott had a large yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flag flying above and behind his bike.

(Reriani Communications) --- The Ohio State Highway Patrol regularly conducts checkpoints to deter violations of the law against operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI). The Patrol conducts checkpoints on holidays such as Labor Day, the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, as well as randomly throughout the year.

According to state data, 370 people were killed in drunk driving-related crashes last year in Ohio. More than 24,000 drivers were arrested on OVI charges in 2009.

(Reriani Communications) --- Hiding acne can be easy if you use the right makeup. Houston-based Heidi Schulze, one of America's top makeup artists, proves it in a new how-to video at youtube.com/watch?v=YuptUKD_MGg, which transforms a self-conscious car saleswoman with adult acne into a drop-dead gorgeous top-model lookalike.

If only more acne sufferers had tried this approach. Instead they took Accutane, which cleared up their blemishes but also gave many users severe, lifelong and debilitating digestive disorders that often involved surgery. Now these victims are taking Accutane creator Roche Pharmaceuticals to court - and they're winning.

(Reriani Communications) --- 420 College (420college.org), a relatively new, premier medical marijuana school in California, has seen over four-hundred students pass through their program in their first year alone. Many of these individuals are now starting their own cannabis businesses. The success rate of these new businesses is high, thanks in great part to how the role of 420 College has evolved to constitute more than the standard education equals diploma methodology.

According to the graduates who have recently started businesses, this would not possible, or at least not easy for them, if not for the reliable legal resources that have been extended to their post-graduation interests, thus, their new established entrepreneurial efforts.

(Reriani Communications) --- A push by the American Bar Association - arising from their recent "Families Matter" symposium - seeks to collaboratively create an alternative system of conflict resolution for couples involved in custody disputes. Family law attorneys from around the nation gathered to flesh out a plan to revolutionize the process of resolving family law issues, particularly those relating to divorces, custody battles and relocations.

Why Is Change Needed?
At present, even relatively simple divorces or other family court matters can easily take a year to resolve and cost parties thousands of dollars in legal fees. Hotly disputed and contentious matters regularly take several years to settle and involve many trips to the courtroom. By the time any sense of closure is reached, court costs and legal expenses can be in the six-figure range. Lives can be turned completely upside-down - parties in these adversarial cases find every aspect of their home, personal and professional lives affected, leading to lost relationships, poor work performance and financial ruin.

(Reriani Communications) --- As crime rates continue to serve as a hot-button political issue, campaigners have increasingly held a "get tough on crime" stand. While attempting to take a bite out of crime has become a bipartisan pastime, America's prisons have filled with more than murderers, rapists and violent gang members. According to The Economist, there are currently approximately 200,000 inmates over the age of 50; this is roughly the total number of prisoners of all ages in 1970.

Prison is expensive. To house the state's incarcerated population, Pennsylvania taxpayers annually pay approximately $33,000 per inmate.

(Reriani Communications) --- For as long as there have been police dramas on TV, there have been dramatic jailhouse confessions -- the accused breaks down, sobbing, and admits to the police that yes, he committed the crime. But for many innocent people, the drama of a police interrogation is entirely real, and it's enough to make even innocent people confess to crimes they never committed.

The Innocence Project, a national organization dedicated to establishing (through DNA testing) the innocence of those wrongly convicted, says that 25 percent of the wrongful convictions it has overturned included false confessions.

(Reriani Communications) --- Imagine suddenly losing your hair in a narrow ring around your head (right about where a hat would sit) but have no idea why. That dilemma was the start of a very troubling discovery for hundreds of people across the country who had been the victims of radiation overdoses during CT scans.

In the summer of 2009, reports of the telltale hair loss and other symptoms began surfacing, as medical experts and the victims themselves began putting the pieces together. All signs pointed toward radiation overdoses during CT perfusion scans -- tests for blood flow in the brain, commonly used to diagnose a stroke.

(Reriani Communications) --- Everyone agrees that well-trained, devoted nurses are a crucial component of quality health care. Not everyone agrees on what nurse staffing levels are needed to maintain high-quality care or on how to create and sustain a sizable pool of good nurses. Some Massachusetts health care advocates are now focusing on the state's "charitable immunity" law as an overlooked contributing factor to substandard care.

What is the "Charitable Immunity Law"?
Massachusetts is one of the few remaining states to recognize the doctrine of "charitable immunity." In short, this legal concept is designed to protect charitable and nonprofit hospitals in cases of medical malpractice. It is based on the idea that it's bad public policy to require those hospitals to pay medical malpractice judgments because it reduces the hospital's ability to effectively treat patients.

(Reriani Communications) --- Attorneys from the New York law firm of Cellino & Barnes obtained a $1.1 million settlement from the County of Erie for a New York man who was injured in a 2006 auto accident.

The settlement was secured for the plaintiff in the case, Sundberg v. County of Erie and Richard J. Syracuse (Index No. I 2007-5715), just prior to the commencement of a damages-only trial scheduled to be heard before State of New York Supreme Court Justice Timothy J. Drury. The plaintiff, Steven J. Sundberg, was badly injured in an auto accident with an Erie County Highway Department truck.