FLORIDA

• For BROWARD COUNTY residents concerned about the rumor that has another terrorist event taking place at shopping malls on Oct. 31, there is now a place to turn for answers. On Oct. 10, the county call center activated a special hotline to deal strictly with rumors stemming from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The Rumor Control Hotline is available to county residents 24-hours-a-day and is meant to alleviate the amount of calls coming into the county’s 911 system since September.
  The call takers at the center are trained to answer general questions about everything from recent anthrax incidents and the safety of the U.S. mail, to general precautions about personal security, security measures at the local airport and port, and information about any county government agency.
  
  

MARYLAND

• HOWARD COUNTY became the first county, and Maryland the first state to mark the symbolic center of state population based on figures from Census 2000. On Oct. 9, County Executive Jim Robey, along with other dignitaries, unveiled a monument to mark the site in the county’s Savage Park.
  The center is a survey point where an imaginary, flat, weightless and rigid map of Maryland would balance perfectly if all its 5,296,486 residents weighed the same.
  
  

MICHIGAN

• Victims of crime in SANILAC COUNTY are now able to sleep a little bit better at night. In August, the county implemented a system known as the Victim Information Notification Everyday (VINE). The program notifies victims when their attackers are released from prison or jail.
  The program, which requires the victim to register their phone number and the name of their attacker with the county, is operated by the county’s victim services office. The service, available only to crime victims, is paid entirely by defendants through court fees. Each defendant in a felony case is assessed $60 to cover the costs. The program is about to go statewide.
  
  

NEVADA

• For those keeping score at home, add another court proceeding to the ongoing saga of WASHOE COUNTY versus the City of Reno over the annexation of 3,015 acres of land.
  On Oct. 16, the county Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to authorize the District Attorney’s Office to file an appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court regarding the District Court’s ruling supporting the city’s ordinance to annex the Verdi area.
  “If we do not pursue this to the highest court, we would really be letting down the people who have pursued regional planning for the last 10 years,” Commissioner Jim Galloway said in a statement. “The amount of damage that will be done to our region’s quality of life far outweighs any risks the county may face by taking this action.”
  A Washoe District Judge issued a ruling on Oct. 10 supporting the ordinance to annex the property, but included a 90-day stay before implementation to allow the county time to appeal.
  
  

NEW JERSEY

• The MONMOUTH COUNTY Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Crisis Response Team and the National Organization of Victims Assistance, formed the Monmouth County Community Crisis Response Coalition (CCRC) to assist families of the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center.
  The CCRC, comprised of volunteers, caregivers, clergy and mental health specialists from around the county, is designed to assist families seeking information and services. The Coalition was formed to assist community leaders plan ways to deal with the emotional aftershocks of the terrorist attacks.
  All sessions are free of charge and are designed to give participants an opportunity to describe their reactions to the tragedy, and how they have been coping with those reactions.
  
  

NEW YORK

• The aftereffects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks stretch worldwide, but some localities were affected more directly. In light of this, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) added 10 counties in New York to the presidential disaster declaration.
  By being added to the declaration, residents and business owners in Delaware, Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties, who were affected by the attacks may apply for federal and state disaster assistance.
  
  
• This is not your father’s kind of tourism, at least not if SUFFOLK COUNTY Presiding Officer Paul J. Tonna has his way. Tonna has proposed establishing an Eco-Tourism Task Force to evaluate the potential of an ecological-based tourism industry in the county.
  The county already supports many Eco-tourism type businesses including salt and freshwater fishing, kayaking, sailing, hiking, scuba diving and many others. The proposed task force would evaluate the potential of establishing an industry that can generate a steady stream of revenue through worldwide promotion of the county’s “natural wonders.”
  Members of the task force will focus on protecting the environment while balancing the interests of local residents.
  
  

OHIO

• If a SUMMIT COUNTY councilman has his way, no top-level worker in the county government will be able to accept a paycheck from anyone but the county.
  Council member Paul Gallagher wants a clear-cut rule about secondary work to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
  “If they (county managers and those with top responsibilities) want to go out and do things, that’s all right,” Gallagher told The [Akron] Beacon Journal. “I just don’t think they should get paid for it. Let them volunteer.”
  Gallagher doesn’t want any repeat of past practices by county employees who accepted private consulting and legal work from firms and individuals with whom the county did business. The legislation to ban outside employment names 22 specific positions, including several department heads, chief assistants and legal advisers to a number of county office holders.
  The council was expected to vote on the issue at press time.