Gomers: What's going wrong

HARASSMENT TOLL: An Iowa Pride Network survey of 203 students, 88 of whom identified themselves as gay, suggests that bullying and harassment of gay, bisexual and transgender students is common in Iowa despite the 2007 law requiring schools to have policies that protect all students. The survey sample is small but if it's close to accurate, it affirms that no law will curb bullying and harassment if local schools don't or can't enforce the policies.

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COURT CUTS: All state judges, magistrates and court system staff must take 10 days of unpaid leave this fiscal year, and 105 court employees will be laid off. That follows five days of unpaid leave ordered last spring, also to meet mandated budget cuts. Expect less access and more delays in our courts.

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IT STINKS: For at least a year, stench from Iowa City's landfill has often infiltrated neighbors' homes. City officials are making efforts to fix it but acknowledge it's been more difficult than expected. Saturated debris from last year's record flood and unusually wet weather for the past couple of years are being blamed; extra moisture accelerates decomposition before the garbage is contained adequately.