Gomers -- What's going wrong

BROKEN BROKERAGE: Big, bad financial investor news hit close to home last week. Peregrine Financial Group Inc., a Cedar Falls futures brokerage with offices in Chicago, is being investigated by federal regulatory officials regarding an alleged $200 million shortfall in customer funds. The investigation was launched after the company's founder, Russell Wasendorf Sr., unsuccessfully attempted suicide. Most employees were out of a job by Tuesday. So are workers at MyVerona, a restaurant under the Peregrine company umbrella that closed Monday. At least 10,000 creditors were listed in federal documents.

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MORE DECAY: Both nationally and locally, tooth decay in children is increasing for the first time in four decades. Cedar Rapids and Iowa City dental experts are seeing more severe tooth decay in large numbers of elementary-age kids, especially among children from low-income families. Not surprising: Too much sugar in the diet and not practicing good hygiene, such as regular brushing, are the main causes. Any coincidence that this trend has emerged as the decade-old obesity epidemic among our youth shows little sign of slowing?

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