A handful of county health departments in California, Ohio and New York have adopted a streamlined Web site to improve access to mental health information, legislation and treatment.

Some are white, others are blue. Some are parked in the street or driveway, while others are plopped right on the front lawn. In any case, Portable On-Demand Storage units--or PODS--intended for short- term use, are becoming permanent eyesores in Northern Virginia communities.

West Virginia has long been the butt of jokes about backwoods ways and poor vocabulary. Residents roll their eyes when they hear references to their state bird being the satellite dish or a laptop being where the cat sleeps.

The "vroom, vroom" of engines getting ready to drag race may still be heard on San Diego streets, but the shouts of encouragement from onlookers have diminished markedly. It's not that the "sport" of illegal street racing is any less exciting to aficionados. Rather, those who watch can now be arrested and fined $1,000 or thrown in jail for six months.

Patrick Lynch, the attorney general of Rhode Island, talks about Spider-Man so much that you'd think the action hero, who is returning to movie theaters this month, was his running mate.