Region/state briefs 02/21/03

Busch to brew up new fruity beverage

ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world's largest brewer, is launching a new malt beverage with a citrus twist, as the company looks to increase its share of the "malternative" market.

The company early next month expects to roll out Bacardi Silver O3, named for its makeup of its flavoring of three oranges -- mandarin, Valencia and tangerine.

"It results in a refreshing, less-sweet beverage from what's out there," Marlene Coulis, the company's director of new products, said Friday.

"We're launching it on 03/03/03," she said, an easy date for consumers to remember should they be looking for the drink in bars or stores.

The company has planned a "Pass the Orange" campaign, based on the game where people pass an orange from one person to the next.

State ordered to restore Medicaid coverage for glassesST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis judge has ordered the state to restore Medicaid coverage of prescription eyeglasses for hundreds of thousands of Missourians, eight days before the $600,000 cut imposed last summer was to become permanent.

In his ruling Wednesday, Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer called eyeglass coverage "a mandated benefit" for Missouri's Medicaid-eligible adults, and that Missouri law bars the cut made by the state Department of Social Services.

Ohmer's order permits Medicaid providers to begin submitting claims on Monday for reimbursement for eyeglasses. The budget cut had limited Medicaid-eligible adults to one pair of eyeglasses needed as a result of cataract surgery.

Gov. Bob Holden approved the cuts last summer in trying to balance Missouri's budget.

Husband of slain radio personality attempts plea

ST. LOUIS -- The husband of a slain radio personality tried to tell a judge Thursday he did not need a lawyer and wanted to admit what he had done.

Thomas Erbland Jr., 43, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal assault in the death of his wife, Nan Wyatt, on Tuesday.

St. Louis County Associate Circuit Judge Thea Sherry cut off Erbland twice in mid-sentence.

She advised him of his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney. A plea of innocence was automatically entered on his behalf, and he remained jailed without bail.

Wyatt, the host of St. Louis radio's top-rated morning show, was found Tuesday evening in a bedroom of her home in the St. Louis suburb of Twin Oaks. Police said she had been shot several times with a .357-caliber Magnum handgun.

State to investigate rate of ALS, MS in county

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri health officials are about to embark on a three-year investigation into the prevalence of multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's disease in Jefferson County, south of St. Louis.

Missouri and applicants in four other states were awarded grants from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to determine the prevalence of the two chronic neurological diseases in communities near sources of hazardous substances.

Some residents of Herculaneum -- home to a Doe Run Co. lead smelter, the nation's largest -- say their Jefferson County town of 2,800 people has a higher-than-expected number of cases of Lou Gehrig's disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

ALS attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis affects the central nervous system and the ability of nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain.

The study could begin in mid- to late March, said Eduardo Simoes, state epidemiologist for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Pharmacist appeals sentence for drug dilution

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Robert Courtney on Thursday asked a judge to reduce his 30-year prison sentence for diluting chemotherapy drugs.

Courtney's attorney, J.R. Hobbs, argued in a filed motion that U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith erred in giving Courtney a longer sentence than called for under federal sentencing guidelines.

Courtney was sentenced last December to 30 years in prison -- the maximum sentence possible -- after pleading guilty to 20 counts of misbranding, tampering with and adulterating cancer drugs.

-- From wire reports