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This paper examines taxable sales in the Los Angeles and Miami metropolitan areas to find evidence of the short- and long-run effects of the Rodney King riots and Hurricane Andrew on their respective economies. The comparison of these two events shows that the King riots had a long-term negative effect on Los Angeles' economy while Hurricane Andrew had a short-term positive effect on the Miami economy. The paper also applies the contrasting experiences of Los Angeles and Miami to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In some ways, Katrina is a hybrid of these two events since it combines elements of both a natural disaster and a social disaster. The paper examines how Katrina is similar to each of the previous incidents and how these similarities might affect the recovery of New Orleans following the storm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2002, Louisiana was one of the first states to begin a motion picture incentive (MPI) program to lure film and television production away from Los Angeles. Today, Louisiana, and especially its media capital, New Orleans, has been described as "Hollywood South," a prominent North American film and television production center. This satellite production center is the outcome of a trend in local and national governments to use MPI programs to encourage the outsourcing of labor from Los Angeles since the mid-1990s. Using in-depth interviews with location managers in Louisiana, a review of policy documents, and an analysis of public discourse around the phenomenon in Louisiana, we examine the geography of Hollywood South, focusing on local labor and the consequences, efficacy, and ethics of its MPI program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this study were (1) to examine the association between neighborhood alcohol outlet density and individual self-reported alcohol-related health outcomes in the last year—sexually transmitted infections (STI), motor vehicle accidents, injury, liver problems, hypertension and experienced violence; (2) to determine whether the relationship between morbidity and alcohol outlet density is mediated by individual alcohol consumption; and (3) to explore the role of alcohol outlet density in explaining any observed racial and ethnic differences in morbidity. Method: Hierarchical models from a random sample of Los Angeles, CA, and Louisiana residents (N = 2881) from 217 census tracts were utilized. The clustering of health and social outcomes according to neighborhood varied by health problem examined. Results: There was substantial clustering of STI (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 12.8%) and experienced violence (ICC = 13.0%); moderate clustering of liver problems (ICC = 3.5%) and hypertension (ICC = 3.9%); and low clustering of motor vehicle accident (ICC = 1.2%) and injury (ICC = 1.4%). Alcohol outlet density was significantly and positively associated with STI (crude OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.10–3.00), liver problems (crude OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.02–1.75) and experienced violence (crude OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.13–1.51) although not with other morbidity outcomes. Mediation analyses of morbidity outcomes revealed partial mediation of individual alcohol consumption in the relationship between alcohol density and STI and violence, and full mediation for liver problems. Conclusions: Findings support the concept that off-premise alcohol outlets in the neighborhood environment may impact health and social outcomes, either directly or indirectly, through individual alcohol consumption and these associations may be heterogeneous with respect to race and ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic with powerful sedative and hallucinogenic properties. Despite the wide variability in reported subjective experiences, no study has attempted to describe the particular factors that shape these experiences. This manuscript is based upon a sample of 213 young injection drug users recruited in New York, New Orleans, and Los Angeles with histories of ketamine use. Qualitative interviews focused on specific ketamine events, such as first injection of ketamine, most recent injection of ketamine, and most recent experience sniffing ketamine. Findings indicate that six factors impacted both positive and negative ketamine experiences: polydrug use, drug using history, mode of administration, quantity and quality of ketamine, user group, and setting. Most subjective experiences during any given ketamine event were shaped by a combination of these factors. Additionally, subjective ketamine experiences were particularly influenced by a lifestyle characterized by homelessness and traveling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The objective of this study was to examine the associations between alcohol availability types and community characteristics in randomly selected census tracts in Southern California and Southeastern Louisiana. Outlet shelf space and price by beverage type was collected from all off-sale alcohol outlets in 189 census tracts by trained research personnel. Three aspects of alcohol availability at the census tract level were considered—outlets per roadway mile, shelf space, and least price by beverage type. Using multivariate analyses, we examined the associations between census tract socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and alcohol availability types. Fifteen measures of alcohol availability were calculated—total shelf space and shelf space by beverage types (beer, malt liquor, and distilled spirits); outlets per roadway mile, per tract, and per capita; and least price by beverage type (including wine). In multivariate analyses controlling for state, male unemployment rate was inversely associated with total shelf space (p = 0.03) and distilled spirit shelf space (p = 0.05). Malt liquor shelf space was inversely associated with percent White (p = 0.02). Outlets per roadway mile was positively associated with household poverty (p p = 0.03). Beverage-specific least prices were not associated with any socioeconomic or demographic community characteristics. Alcohol availability types, but not least price, were associated with some community characteristics. More research exploring how alcohol availability types vary by community and their relationship to alcohol-related harms should be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article invites readers to send news items related to cataloging and classification and also offers information on meetings and conferences on the same topic. Information is given about the conference titled "Moving Beyond the Catalog: Bibliographic Access in a Web World," held at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, on December 11, 2001, in which issues related to cataloging and information architecture were discussed. The article further discusses the meeting minutes of the Association of Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) Technical Services Directors of Large Research Libraries Discussion Group held during the Midwinter American Library Association Meeting, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 18, 2002.