Rape victims must pay their hospital bills

When someone goes to the hospital after being raped, doctors use a rape kit to test for evidence. Who would have thought those same rape victims would later receive a bill in the mail for that test?

The News & Observer’s Mandy Locke highlighted this burden today in a well-researched article that left me sad and angry at the system:

The vast majority of the 3,000 or so emergency room patients examined for sexual assaults each year shoulder some of the cost of a rape kit test, according to state records and victim advocates. For some, it’s as little as a $50 insurance co-payment. For those without insurance, it’s hundreds of dollars left when a state program designed to help reaches its limit.

The average hospital bill for a rape kit is $1,600, according to the article. Could you imagine how haunting it would be to receive a bill for those services when you’re trying to put such a horrible violation behind you?

I noticed the N&O posted a follow-up article on its Web site this afternoon saying state leaders are looking for ways to cover the costs not covered by insurance and other reimbursements. It appears that declaration is a direct result of Locke’s article.

It’s important to note that in some cases, Locke reported, hospitals will forgive the balance of the bill for rape victims. But what if a rape victim doesn’t realize this and shells out a few hundred bucks of their hard earned money just to put the past behind them? Or worse, what if a rape victim can’t afford to pay and the bill lingers on their credit report? I’m so glad Locke brought this to light and I hope state lawmakers make good on their word to find money in the state budget to make sure this no longer occurs.

I have a confession: I watched American Idol last night

I’m one of those people who doesn’t really watch American Idol (I say really because I’ve been sucked in a few times before while flipping through the channels). But I sorta pride myself on not being addicted to the show. I like that the TV gods haven’t been able to spoon feed me their latest reality show creation (even if they’ve snagged 30 million+ other people). I like that when one of my co-workers declared she was super excited that Jordin Sparks was singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl this year, that I had to ask whether Jordin was a guy or a gal.

But, alas, I’m going on day four with the flu. And in case you haven’t noticed, there is absolutely nothing worth watching on TV in the wake of the writer’s strike. And while the strike is officially over, it will still be couple weeks before we’re back to semi-decent programming. So last night, I watched Simon, Paula and Randy (I just had to Google his name, I started to type Ruben, but that didn’t seem quite right) narrow down the season’s contestants to 24. I have to admit, the show is kinda catchy, but I don’t think I’ll be seeking it out anytime soon.

Other shows I’ve watched while sick include:

Married with Children, Flip this House, King of the Hill, the Home Shopping Network (I haven’t bought anything yet, but have you seen these creepy stuffed bunnies Marie Osmond is trying to peddle, creepy and cute), Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, the Andy Griffith Show ( in color *yuck*) lots of CNN, Fox News and C-SPAN (I sat through about 15 minutes of an Ann Coulter speech, which may actually have made me more sick) and my final confession … I’ve watched about two full episodes of Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

Oh, and I’ve also discovered this weird little show on Nickelodeon called “Wonder Pets.” If you haven’t seen it before, let me tell you what just happened. The baby chick was happy they helped the bullfrog, so he said something along the lines of “let’s celebrate with some celery” and pulled a piece of the vegetable out of thin air and then the bullfrog said “wait, try it with some Louisiana hot sauce” and pulled a bottle of the sauce out of thin air and poured it on the celery. Then they all ate the celery and lived happily ever after. I may have been hallucinating because of my fever, but I swear I just saw that happen.

So, the question I have for you today is this: Do you watch American Idol? If so, what is it about the show that you like so much. Also, feel free to rib me for my other TV picks. It’s always good to kick a sick girl while she’s down.

Live from I-85: Ginny and Wayne Talk Texting

I’m heading to Atlanta with co-worker and fellow blogger Wayne Sutton. I’ve already read the latest issue of Glamour, blogged about the circus and filled out Valentine’s Day cards. I had to find something else to keep me amused, so I made this video:

So what do you think? Should it be against the law to text while driving? What about talking on your cell phone while driving?

Check Out How Much Cooler NBC17 Just Got

Tonight marks an extremely exciting day in the NBC17 newsroom. We’re launching our new set. If you’re reading this blog from outside the NBC17 viewing area, don’t worry, you can still see the changes on our daily Web casts.

Our new set allows us to bring the news to you from many different angles, including this one:

Here’s a sneak preview of our new set:

Twitter 101 and More Scenes from Krispy Kremes

Here’s my final clip from Saturday’s Krispy Kreme Challenge in downtown Raleigh (see below for more details). It features my co-worker Wayne Sutton, who introduced me to the world of Twitter.com, and another local Twitter user named Ryan.

You’ve probably noticed my Twitter feed in the left-hand column of my blog. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Twitter is a Web site that asks users to answer one simple question: “What are you doing?” You can do this by posting updates on Twitter.com or you can even text your updates from your cell phone directly onto your page.

I usually post my updates via text, so you’ll sometimes see that I’m “grocery shopping” or “drinking beers at Flying Saucer” or something else Ginny-like. Having my texts, Twitter account and blog synced up allows me to stay plugged in all the time (not sure if this is cool or lame, but it can be fun).

Anyway, you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/ginnyskal or by constantly checking the lefthand column of my blog. You can follow Wayne at twitter.com/waynesutton and Ryan at twitter.com/theRab.

And now for the Triangle Twitterholics at the Krispy Kreme Challenge:

Are you familiar with Twitter? Would you consider joining? Already a member and I don’t know about it?

If Barack Obama was the Mayor of Durham

What would Durham’s “state of the city address” have been like if it was delivered by presidential hopeful Barack Obama instead of Mayor Bill Bell?

Well, first of all, I can guarantee city hall would have been packed (although, it’s likely that even with a packed crowd the public-to-journalist ratio still may have been in the range 10-to-1 range that Kevin referenced in his Bull City Rising blog.)

Independent Weekly editor Lisa Sorg speculated how the annual address might have been different in her most recent column. Her rendition includes some words Obama is known for dropping, such as “hope” and “change.” This may be the most spot on paragraph in her psuedo-speech:

Yes, we have challenges, but we also have hope. We hope someone will visit downtown after six o’clock. We hope someone will pay $60 to see a show at the Durham Performing Arts Center. We hope, someday, someone will speak of Durham without uttering the words “Duke” and “lacrosse.”

Anyone else want to try their hand at guessing what Mayor Bell’s speech would have sounded like if it were delivered by John Edwards, John McCain or maybe even Ron Paul?

Because If It Says ‘Britney’ You’ve Got to Click on It

It’s always amusing to see the hook publicists use to try to get local media outlets to interview someone. The NBC17 news desk receives dozens of these a week, and I’ve become accustomed to deleting them pretty quickly. The latest comes from a publicist who wants us to interview Dr. Alex Kopelowicz, a professor at UCLA, about bi-polar disorder.

The subject line on the e-mail was “Britney and Bi-Polar,” so I couldn’t resist clicking because for some reason I’m still fascinated by her antics. The publicist pitched the interview by saying the topic is timely “these days especially on the heels of the Britney Spears meltdown and mental health experts now saying that it could be that she is Bio-Polar.”

(In case you’re not familiar with her latest meltdown, and for some reason want to be, click here.) Anyway, I guess I can’t be too annoyed with the publicist, because bloggers know a good headline can mean the difference between someone clicking on your post or not.

What are some of your favorite headlines you’ve used to pull readers into your blog? Or, if you don’t blog, what are some headlines from news sites that have pulled you in today? Better yet, tell me why you think some of us always click when we see ‘Britney’ in a headline (I realize I’m opening myself up to some harshisms with that question).

Help Wanted: Durham City Manager, Must Have Common Sense

It’s that time of year when we get a little reflective and start thinking about the woulda-coulda-shouldas. For a lot of people, that includes reflecting on job satisfaction and deciding whether it’s time to update the old resume and start hunting for a new gig.

This week, The Independent Weekly takes a playful look at one of the area’s most high-profile job vacancies: Durham City Manager. The paper has published a spoof application for the post, which is being vacated by Patrick Baker.

Anyway, if you don’t know anything about Durham city government, you might not get the not-so-subtle digs the Indy makes. The fabricated, multiple-choice application asks questions like:

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Have You Ever Spoken Up at a Public Hearing?

As a former government reporter, I’ve probably sat through at least a few hundred public hearings at meetings of city and county councils, school boards and even state legislative committees.

Sometimes they’re well attended (particularly in Durham, a city where residents actually come out to speak on everything from speed humps to theater designs). But often the public never shows up and residents lose their chance to have any say with a quick tap of the gavel.

It’s disappointing more people don’t get involved in the way governments spend their taxes. But it’s not always convenient to show up to city hall in the evening and wait your turn to speak. Apparently a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ administrator recognizes this. The Herald-Sun reports today that Steve Scroggs has started a blog to generate feedback from the public on the district’s 10-year plan for building and renovating new schools.

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Excuse Me, Professor, What’s a Blog?

If one year on the Internet is like dog years … the equivalent to seven years per year lived … then what will blogs look like a year from now?

I’m going to the North Carolina Science Blogging Conference next month in RTP to learn some skills, meet other bloggers and absorb the energy that will no doubt be produced when you bring 200 bloggers with similar interests together.

It will be my first blogging conference. Man, if my journalism professors could see me now. When I was in J-school, blogs didn’t exist and Google wasn’t even on our radar (we were taught to use ixquick to do all of our searches). But times change, the Internet evolves and we either decide to either get on board or get passed by. I, for one, plan to enjoy the ride.