A Hanover area resident is suing an online sex site powered by Friendfinder Network Inc., and Various Inc., an affiliated company, for allegedly posting a feigned profile that used her personal information next to a nude photo of another female, according to the Nashua Telegraph. The profile was created by someone using the Dartmouth College network in 2005. The New Hampshire police department found the individual who posted the profile, who admitted to creating it, according to the companies' lawyer, Ira Rothken. The woman, who filed the suit under the pseudonym "Jane Doe," claims the fictitious profile was posted for over a year before a friend brought it to her attention. A federal judge threw out five of the woman's claims because internet sites are protected under federal law from liability for false postings by others, but allowed two to stand in an order handed down Thursday.
A new bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana will move to the State Senate after passing in the New Hampshire State House, according to the Concord Monitor. The bill, which would drop the offense from a misdemeanor to a violation, follows debate about the penalties of marijuana convictions and how the convictions affect young people. The penalties are "excessive" and "life-altering," the bill's supporters told the Monitor, adding that they often affect a student's ability to receive federal financial aid and loans. Marijuana possession is considered a misdemeanor under current state law and can be punished by a maximum $2,000 fine and up to a year in jail. The new bill proposes a maximum fine of $200.
One in five college-aged students does not possess health insurance, according to a report from the United States Government Accountability Office released Friday. The report also found that coverage and premiums vary dramatically -- from $30 to $2400 annually -- among the 57 percent of colleges and universities that offer students health plans. Most students are covered under the health insurance plan of someone else, like a parent, according to the report, and 67 percent of student's health insurance was provided through employer-sponsored plans in 2006. The approximately 1.7 million uninsured college students have a similar demographic makeup to the uninsured population as a whole. Those most likely to be uninsured include students who study part-time, students between the ages of 22 and 23, students from families with lower incomes and Hispanic, Black and Asian students, according to Insidehighered.com. Students from Western and Southern states are also less likely to be insured than students from the Northeast and Midwest. Senator Edward Kennedy, D.-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the report's findings were unacceptable, adding, "Students must be healthy to learn, and guaranteeing that they have quality health coverage should be a priority for our nation."
