Gomers -- What's going wrong

SHOOTING SPREE: The three shooting incidents during the week of April 16 brought the year's total in Cedar Rapids to 18 as of last week. That's already more than in all of 2011, when there were 11 shooting cases, and in 2010, with 3. It's a challenging time for police, led by three captains who are rotating as interim chiefs as the city searches for a permanent replacement for Greg Graham, who left in January for a Florida job.

lll

MORE WHOOPING: Reported cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, are 83 percent higher in Iowa this year than the state's five-year average. Nearly 100 cases, most of them involving children, have been recorded, and many are in Linn County. The illness can last for months. State health officials recommend vaccinations, although they are not mandated in Iowa as they are in 40 other states.

lll

SEXUAL VIOLENCE COST: A new report by the University of Iowa College of Public Health projects that one in 35 Iowa women ages 18 to 44 will experience sexual violence this year. In 2009, about 55,000 Iowans were affected by such crime, with total direct and indirect costs of $5.8 billion.

n Comments: thegazette.com/

category/opinion/editorial or

editorial@sourcemedia.net