Few nursing homes have clean records

Washington

More than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes, federal investigators say in a report issued Monday.

About 17 percent of nursing homes had deficiencies that caused "actual harm or immediate jeopardy" to patients, said the report, by Daniel Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition, and abuse and neglect of patients.

About two-thirds of nursing homes are owned by for-profit companies, while 27 percent are owned by nonprofit organizations and 6 percent by government entities, the report said.

Albany, N.Y.

Greenhouse-gas auction raises $40M

The nation's first cap-and-trade greenhouse-gas auction raised nearly $40 million that will be spent by Northeast states on renewable and energy efficient technologies.

Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, all fossil fuel-burning power plants in a 10-state region are required to buy credits to cover the carbon they emit. The results of the first of a series of quarterly auctions were released Monday.

The initiative is viewed as a possible model for a national program to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas blamed for global warming.

Energy, financial and environmental interests paid $3.07 per allotted ton of emissions, about 65 percent more than the minimum set price of $1.86. RGGI said most of the bidders were power generators.

Dallas

Depression an issue

with heart patients

Heart patients should be regularly screened for signs of depression, the American Heart Association recommended Monday.

Depression is about three times more common in heart-attack survivors and those hospitalized with heart problems than the general population, according to the recommendations published in the journal Circulation. The authors said only about half of heart doctors say they treat depression in their patients — and not all those diagnosed with depression are treated.

New York

Judge unmoved by

unpopped kernels

Movie munchers beware! A New York judge says popcorn purchasers worried about breaking a tooth on unpopped kernels should nibble carefully — or eat something else.

Insurance broker Steve Kaplan says he encountered a double dud while watching the movie "Superbad" at the AMC-Lincoln Square Cinema a year ago: His tooth hurt and the movie was awful.

Kaplan sued the theater to recover $1,250 for dental repairs. But Manhattan Civil Court Judge Matthew Cooper ruled that Kaplan could not reasonably expect every kernel to be popped.

Seattle Times news services