American Justice

The trial of Anthony Sowell, a man accused of raping, killing and dismembering 11 Cleveland-area women between 2007 and 2009, is scheduled to enter a second day Tuesday.

Prosecutors spoke for more than an hour during opening statements Monday, detailing each woman Sowell is charged with killing and describing steps police took to obtain arrest warrants and gather evidence at Sowell’s house.

Pictures were shown to the entire courtroom to further illustrate the scene SWAT team officers and Cleveland police encountered.

The defense spoke for just a few minutes, stressing that the state of Ohio has the burden to prove that Sowell committed the homicides.

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As the state’s new collective bargaining law took effect Wednesday, public employee union representatives said they would become more visible in their communities, speaking out on workplace issues at school board, city council, village and county board meetings, now that the law allows certified unions to negotiate only wages.

Prohibiting public unions from helping to resolve disputes over safety, seniority, hours, working conditions and other issues with human resources departments will move the discussion to public meetings, said Rick Badger, executive director of AFSCME Council 40, the union representing about 33,000 members of nearly 600 locals throughout the state outside Milwaukee County.

AFSCME Council 24 represents about 23,000 state workers, while Council 48 represents about 10,000 employees of Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee.

“We are not going to be silent,” Badger said.

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Every couple getting a divorce has financial issues they need to consider, but for couples who own a business together, financial matters loom large and can drag out the divorce process. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, there are more than 1 million husband-wife teams operating businesses in the U.S. When one of those couples gets divorced they must consider:

• How to properly value the business
• Whether to keep or sell the business
• Whether they can continue managing the business together, and if so, how to structure that partnership to minimize conflict
• How to protect the assets of an ongoing business, particularly if the couple is near retirement
• Dividing the assets of a business while protecting money needed for retirement

SmartMoney reports that the downturn in the economy has made it significantly harder to sell a business.

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Oh San Francisco, such a trendsetter, and this one is no different.

A push from animal activists, city supervisors will be considering a pet sale ban this month that will effectively make it illegal to sell any living animal within city limits.

Including goldfish.

But, the measure, named the Humane Pet Acquisition Proposal, has a few exceptions.

For those who like to kill their food and eat it too, the law still permits the sale of live animals for the purpose of consumption.

And pet lovers can still adopt pets, or purchase them from outside the city.

So, whats the sentiment behind the pet sale ban?

Mostly symbolic, the Los Angeles Times reports that supporters want to curb inhumane treatment, overpopulation, and cut back on tax money that goes to animal control.

While the law is probably legal, there are better ways to meet these goals than banning the sale of all pets within the city.

For one, banning puppy mills and kitten factories is a good place to start, as is setting standards for treatment of animals while living in a pet store.

For two, requiring that all pets that leave the home be microchipped so as to cut down on shelter overcrowding is a brilliant idea.

And for three, when animal rights activists speak about overpopulation in cities, they speak primarily about stray cats.

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– A 17-year-old male is facing burglary charges after he and two juveniles were arrested for stealing from vehicles in Bethalto, Illinois on Saturday evening.

A resident in the 4800 block of Culp Lane saw Michael Eldridge and two juveniles entering unlocked vehicles and removing property from them and placing them into their vehicle around 5:00 p.m.

Police were able to take all three suspects into custody before they were able to flee the area.

Eldridge is being held in the Madison County Jail while awaiting formal charges.