Of Human Interest: News-lite

COMPANIES FIND RECORDS OF SLAVE INSURANCE

Eight large insurance companies have told California state regulators they have proof that more than 600 policies were once sold to slave owners to protect slaves they considered their "property." According to published state records, some 400 slave owners purchased the policies from ads placed in newspapers, mainly in the South. One such advertisement, published on the front page of an Augusta, Ga., newspaper (The Daily Chronicle & Sentinel) said slaves could be insured for up to five years.

Among those offering such policies was the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Co., the firm that paid for the Augusta ad. That company later went out of business.

There are now questions as to how widespread the practice was in the 1800s and whether reparations are in order.

"DIXIE" SLOGAN OFFENSIVE TO SOME

A flap has developed in Alabama over the use of the word "Dixie" on state license plates. But according to published reports, the debate is nothing new. For the past 10 years many people have covered up that word in the state slogan "Heart of Dixie."

Some say that the slogan is "quaint and folksy." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells the story of one Alabama woman who says she has always found the slogan offensive because it pays homage to Alabama's slave-holding Confederate past.

Karen Taylor is an articulate spokeswoman for her point of view. She teaches criminal law at Alabama State University. Her main problem with the word "Dixie" is that she says it was the fight song of the Confederacy.

LEWIS-TYSON MATCH BIG IN MEMPHIS

When people talk about the positive economic effects of major sports on the growth potential of urban areas, they seldom talk about boxing.

But that's not true these days in Memphis. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that urban researcher Richard Ward says the upcoming Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson fight could "pack a long-term punch" for the economic development of the Memphis area.

In conjunction with the fight, several civic leaders say they might place kiosks in strategic locations around the Tennessee city. The booths would be staffed and stocked with literature promoting the positive economic and recreational benefits of relocating to Memphis.