STATELINE.

DANGER! POWERBALL FEVER

The Connecticut legislature passed a bill last summer that would allow towns inundated with hordes of jackpot-seekers to ask the state lottery commission to suspend sales there for 24 hours. The bill was proposed after Connecticut towns bordering New York were overrun with Powerball players from New York, New Jersey and other states that do not offer the game. Unlikely as it may seem, last year the state had to reimburse Greenwich for $93,000 in police overtime, trash removal and other costs of controlling mobs of ticket buyers flooding into town for a record $295 million jackpot. According to the Associated Press, people swooned from the heat, there were no bathroom facilities and many shops closed because the huge lines prevented customers from getting into the stores. As it happened, 13 Ohio machine-shop workers shared that jackpot with a single ticket bought in Indiana.

RAISE YOUR KIDS IN MAINE

A Washington-based child advocacy organization, the Children's Rights Council, recently announced the results of its fifth annual survey of states where it's beneficial to bring up children. Looks like New England is the place to be: Maine ranked No. 1, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. The next five are North Dakota, Maryland, Kansas, Wisconsin and Iowa. Down at the bottom are Washington, D.C. at No. 51, then Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. The survey measured rates of child abuse and neglect, mothers not receiving prenatal care in the first three months of pregnancy, immunizations under age 2, high school dropouts, child poverty, infant mortality, child deaths, juvenile arrests, teen births and divorce. Rankings were based on the average of all 10 factors for each state.

MOVE OVER, STROM

Back in 1973, aging Missouri activists managed to establish the first Silver Haired Legislature to try to influence bills pertaining to medical care, consumer protection and age discrimination, among other things. They must have been pretty effective, because 26 years later, there are chapters in 27 states, plus a National Silver Haired Congress. Their advocacy is not limited to matters affecting senior citizens. During the 1999 session, for instance, the Texas group worked to lower the DUI blood alcohol level from. 10 percent to .08, opposed legislation supporting school vouchers and opposed a merger between the state departments on aging and health and human services.

HIGH LODGING TAXES

A tax...