September 2009

Eco Brokers interpret ‘green living’ costs, benefits

When people are hunting for a new home or planning renovations, “eco-friendly” is quickly rising on their list of priorities. The National Association of Home Builders recently asked consumers to list their top 12 influences in buying a home, and energy efficiency ranked No. 2, right behind the quality of living space. In 2004, energy

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City expanding energy demand management program

Kraig Kahler and his staff at Columbia Water and Light are increasing their efforts to persuade people to make their homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient. They want owners to replace their drafty windows or coat them with clear insulation, add insulation to their attics and exteriors, buy better heating and air conditioning systems

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DNA lab solves crimes, changes lives

Kim Gorman checked and rechecked the test results in her Columbia lab. There was no doubt: They locked up the wrong guy. It wasn’t Johnny Briscoe who raped and robbed a woman at knifepoint in her apartment.
Cigarette butts from the crime scene, stored away and forgotten in a St. Louis Police Department crime lab, were tested for DNA. The saliva came from an acquaintance who framed Briscoe.
Twenty-three years after being wrongfully convicted of rape, after spending nearly half his life in a Missouri prison, Johnny Briscoe was set free in 2006.

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