A worker dead? So what--In Delaware City, Delaware, Motiva Enterprises, an oil refinery, was fined $259,000 for failing to inspect a boiler that exploded last summer, killing boilermaker Jeff Davis. His body has yet to be recovered. The company will contest the fine.

Deliberate speed--Herculaneum, a tiny town in Missouri, is the home of Doe Run, the country's largest lead smelter. Hundreds of residents are to be evacuated and a cleanup crew brought in. Dangerous lead levels have been found in the soil and streets, and inside homes and schools. The plant has been operating since the 1890s.

Remember Japan's 'lifetime' jobs?--"A record 1 million heads of household are now out of work in Japan, with statistics showing the number of jobless climbed again to the highest point in nearly half a century."--Daily Telegraph, London.

Indispensable--We often wonder how we would manage without the experts. For instance, the ones cited by USA Today: "Hiring discrimination continues to put African-Americans and Hispanics at a disadvantage, experts say."

How about vacant morgue slabs--Tennessee officials warn that unless more prisons are built, nearly 5,000 prisoners will be without beds.

Life jackets available--Our atlas didn't indicate what the body of water is, but offshore from Madison, Illinois, an entertainment dome is slated to be built on a 45-acre landfill. The state environmental agency says it should be safe as long as the builders don't dig into the underlying garbage.

A little privacy, cool--A member of the Walton family--the Wal-Mart chain biggies--recently bought a $20 million house in a spiffy area outside Los Angeles. Now she's buying an adjacent $6-million piece of property to avoid neighbors. There is a house on the property. But real estate sharks assure it's a "tear down."

Never occurred to us--"Enron proves a touchy topic for both parties."--News headline.  
 
 
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