March 3, 2003
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Mold Stories
-- The growth of mold - First lead paint, then asbestos, now ... (Henderson Gleaner, KY - March 2, 2003)
-- Mold blamed for court relocation; city officials forced to seek temporary quarters (Carlsbad Current Argus, NM - February 27, 2003)
-- When It's Time to Break the Mold (Wired News - February 26, 2003)
-- Inspectors not trained for mold detection - Area against interracial couple, agency says (Belleville News-Democrat, IL - February 24, 2003)
-- This mold house - HEALTH: The American Lung Association campaigns against indoor air-quality problems. (Duluth News Tribune, MN - February 26, 2003)
-- Children Encounter Pests, Mold And Lead At Home - A group of concerned people are working on ways to protect children from dangers that lurk in their own homes. (Albany Area Advertiser, GA - February 25, 2003)
-- Mold of the Month: Alternaria spp. (03/10/3003: Features of Alternaria; 03/17/2003: Pathogenicity of Alternaria; 03/24/2003: Treatment for Alternaria)
-- School Mold: Investigators: Is School Mold Making Your Kid Sick? (WPLG, FL - February 28, 2003)
-- School Mold: Steiner School reopening after mold cleanup (Berkshire Eagle, MA - February 28, 2003)
-- School Mold: Nonprofit says school structural problems cause kids to get sick (Sauk Valley Newspapers, IL - March 2, 2003)
-- For Fun: A cure for the stupid
-- The Law Offices of Cynthia Coulter Mulvihill, APC - a general law practice

Dear Cynthia,

With a three year old and a six year old, it's rare that I have time for television, especially in the "8:00 p.m. Homework, Tubby and Story Hour." However, last Monday, I caught the show "The King of Queens" for the first time. Mold was in the plot . . .

The show features working class Doug and Carrie Heffernan. Doug and Carrie were having money problems because a leaky pipe was causing mold under their house. At the show's opening, a claims adjuster was patiently explaining to Doug that the mold wasn't covered because the person they purchased the home from six years ago had disclosed the leak problem. The cast features the ever-so-funny Jerry Stiller. The show is on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 PST. It doesn't look like mold is going to be made a recurring character, though.

The growth of mold - First lead paint, then asbestos, now ... (Henderson Gleaner, KY - March 2, 2003)
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It's black, it's green, it's alive and it's probably growing somewhere in your house. But is mold really dangerous? The exasperating answer is, it depends. The bottom line is undisputed: Don't wait to find out.

Neil Sandler of Frederick, Md., was horrified when he casually dug into some moldy bathroom grout, only to find the problem was much worse than it first appeared.

Click here for: The growth of mold - First lead paint, then asbestos, now ... (Henderson Gleaner, KY - March 2, 2003)

Mold blamed for court relocation; city officials forced to seek temporary quarters (Carlsbad Current Argus, NM - February 27, 2003)
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CARLSBAD - An environmental company has confirmed mold in Carlsbad's Municipal Court, prompting city officials to search for an alternate home for the court.

Havona Environmental of Roswell confirmed the presence of mold in the building at 401 S. Halagueno St., after several court employees reported respiratory ailments and allergies last week, City Administrator Jon Tully said. The environmental company found enough mold to warrant the court's relocation.

Click here for: Mold blamed for court relocation; city officials forced to seek temporary quarters (Carlsbad Current Argus, NM - February 27, 2003)

When It's Time to Break the Mold (Wired News - February 26, 2003)
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Mold exists in abundance in the environment, but when it gets inside a house it can cause serious problems.

Mold spores, which float through the air, can take up long-term residence in the home, digesting whatever they are growing on. And they can grow on pretty much anything -- wood, paper, carpet and foods are all fair game.

Click here for: When It's Time to Break the Mold (Wired News - February 26, 2003)

Inspectors not trained for mold detection - Area against interracial couple, agency says (Belleville News-Democrat, IL - February 24, 2003)
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BELLEVILLE - Although a family with small children was forced to move from their home to a motel because of an alleged "black mold," infestation, the city's housing inspectors aren't trained in mold detection.

And the director of a St. Louis-based nonprofit agency that investigates discrimination in housing for the federal government, said the reason the family was forced out two weeks ago may be because they have an interracial child.

Click here for: Inspectors not trained for mold detection - Area against interracial couple, agency says (Belleville News-Democrat, IL - February 24, 2003)

This mold house - HEALTH: The American Lung Association campaigns against indoor air-quality problems. (Duluth News Tribune, MN - February 26, 2003)
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Experts say mold, asbestos, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds are permeating the air in our houses.

But unless you live in a tent year-round, you're stuck with a house that potentially could be contaminating its air. The American Lung Association hosted a demonstration Tuesday to help people make their homes as safe as possible.

Click here for: This mold house - HEALTH: The American Lung Association campaigns against indoor air-quality problems. (Duluth News Tribune, MN - February 26, 2003)

Children Encounter Pests, Mold And Lead At Home - A group of concerned people are working on ways to protect children from dangers that lurk in their own homes. (Albany Area Advertiser, GA - February 25, 2003)
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Low-income and minority children in particular are disproportionately exposed to the devastating health effects of pests, mold and lead, according to a report by the non-profit organization National Organization of African Americans in Housing (NOAAH).

The report cites a lack of knowledge about the threats that pests, mold and lead pose; the physical neglect of predominantly low-income areas; and residents' limited resources to solve the problems as the reasons poor children suffer more than others.

Click here for: Children Encounter Pests, Mold And Lead At Home - A group of concerned people are working on ways to protect children from dangers that lurk in their own homes. (Albany Area Advertiser, GA - February 25, 2003)

Mold of the Month: Alternaria spp. (03/10/3003: Features of Alternaria; 03/17/2003: Pathogenicity of Alternaria; 03/24/2003: Treatment for Alternaria)
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Alternaria is a cosmopolitan dematiaceous (phaeoid) fungus commonly isolated from plants, soil, food, and indoor air environment. The production of melanin-like pigment is one of its major characteristics. Its teleomorphic genera are called Clathrospora and Leptosphaeria.

The genus Alternaria currently contains around 50 species. Among these, Alternaria alternata is the most common one isolated from human infections. Some authorities suggest that Alternaria alternata is a representative species complex rather than a single species and consists of several heterogenous species. While Alternaria chartarum, Alternaria dianthicola, Alternaria geophilia, Alternaria infectoria, Alternaria stemphyloides, and Alternaria teunissima are among the other Alternaria spp. isolated from infections, some Alternaria strains reported as causative agents remain unspecified.

Click here for: Altnernaria spp.

School Mold: Investigators: Is School Mold Making Your Kid Sick? (WPLG, FL - February 28, 2003)
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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. -- Channel 10 Investigators have learned of a looming lawsuit against the Miami- Dade Public School District by teachers who believe their school is sick and has put their health at risk. They say it's being caused by mold. Investigative reporter Jilda Unruh joins us with what she has uncovered.

Unruh: The Investigators have received so many complaints about Miami-Dade Schools with mold problems it would be impossible to report on every one of them. So we have focused on two schools, where teachers were willing to talk openly about the health crisis they say they've faced, because of what they and their doctors believe is an unhealthy work environment.

Click here for School Mold - Investigators: Is School Mold Making Your Kid Sick? (WPLG, FL - February 28, 2003)

School Mold: Steiner School reopening after mold cleanup (Berkshire Eagle, MA - February 28, 2003)
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GREAT BARRINGTON -- On Tuesday at least some Steiner School students sat at their own desks, in their own chairs, for the first time in over a month.

Board of Health Inspector Sandra Martin deemed the lower school wing of the West Plain Road school safe for re-entry Tuesday. Students of the school have been attending classes at Hevreh of South Berkshire and St. Peter's on Cottage Street since school representatives closed the building on Jan. 24, after receiving tests that revealed high levels of stachybotrys, a potentially toxic mold, in the lower levels of the school.

Click here for School Mold: Steiner School reopening after mold cleanup (Berkshire Eagle, MA - February 28, 2003)

School Mold: Nonprofit says school structural problems cause kids to get sick (Sauk Valley Newspapers, IL - March 2, 2003)
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Rochelle Davis of the Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign said structural problems such as asbestos, lead paint and an increasing prevalence of mold are barriers to learning.

"There is simply no excuse for trying to educate our children in buildings that make them sick," Davis said.

Click here for School Mold: Nonprofit says school structural problems cause kids to get sick (Sauk Valley Newspapers, IL - March 2, 2003)

For Fun: A cure for the stupid
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London - James Watson, the British biologist who won a Nobel Prize for his role in unlocking the structure of DNA 50 years ago, has advocated using genetics to "cure stupidity", in a documentary television series to be broadcast next month.

People of low intelligence who do not have a recognised mental disability are suffering from an inherited disorder as real as cystic fibrosis or haemophilia, Watson says in the series, according to a report in Friday's Times.

Click here for Fun: A cure for the stupid

Hyde Mulvihill APC

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Hyde Mulvihill APC