Below The Fold: Your "Get Well Soon From Bird Flu" Card Probably Won't Have A Feather On It

With plenty of big stories like Sam Alito's confirmation hearings and Ariel Sharon's delicate condition taking up headlines, here's a look at a few of the less prominent stories from across the country that caught our Eye.

As critics wonder why the media has largely ignored the issue of mine safety following the Sago, West Virginia, mine explosion, The Denver Post today addresses just that by examining the question of whether Colorado's mines are "safe or lucky." While three mines in the state each received more citations in 2004 and 2005 than the Sago Mine, "no Colorado coal mine had as many 'significant and substantial' citations as Sago ... That designation means the violation could injure a worker." Will more papers across the country begin asking similar questions?

And while the tribulations of Jack Abramoff has Washington pundits taking swings and the capital's lobbying machine, The Dallas Morning News reports that lobbying the state Capitol for the interests of Texas suburbs no longer involves just "a friendly phone call," but full-time lobbyists. Several suburbs in the state have now employed lobbyists to "navigate the flurry of action in Austin." The assistant city manager in Lewisville told the Morning News that legislators " 'get so flooded with information, it's so much better if you have someone that's well-known in Austin that can knock on a door and say, 'Hey, the city of Lewisville has these concerns.' It opens a lot of doors.'"

Wondering when in heaven's name Indiana will start inspecting bungee-jumping facilities? The Indianapolis Star's Bill Ruthhart opens the door to some details about that pending legislation and others among the nearly 500 bills currently filed for the new session of the Indiana legislature that don't get much regular attention in the news. Some other examples: a bill that would require interior designers to register with the state and a measure to make shining a spotlight on a wild animal between Oct. 1 and Jan. 15 illegal.

In Chicago, the growing trend of criminals posing as police officers has generated a lengthy investigation by the Chicago Sun Times, which revealed that "it's easy to obtain a badge, uniform and official-looking credentials to pose as a cop." The newspaper itself "purchased several badges for real police departments from Web sites." The Sun Times followed up with another piece today, examining the elaborate schemes of two criminals who impersonated police officers and other officials.

And, apparently the threat of bird flu has reached critical mass as far as the greeting card industry is concerned, leading to some unfortunate news for feather-covered-greeting-card enthusiasts (and who isn't, frankly.) American Greetings and Hallmark have heretofore decided that real bird feathers will be removed from their products due to "public concerns over bird flu," reports the Associated Press. "The companies insist the moves are not safety precautions but rather are guided by public relations," says the AP. I'll start worrying when the Department of Agriculture starts regulating international greeting card sales.