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If you were born in the United States after 1979 and have lived here since, you've grown up in a polio-free country.

Don't take it for granted.

Timelines note the highly contagious virus predates recorded history. More than 3,000 years ago in Egypt, cryptic evidence showed signs the disease always was a far greater crippler than a killer.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted polio at age 39, the virus drew even more attention and soon medical philanthropy took flight via his March of Dimes campaign.

In my childhood home, I lived with it, too. My mother caught a mild case of polio when she was pregnant with my younger brother, Jim. I remember waving to her as she peered from the window of the train she'd boarded in Muncie, Ind., headed to Cleveland Clinic for a checkup.

In the early 1950s, the U.S. reported its most cases ever when the epidemic hit nearly 60,000 individuals.

Folks were frightened. No one knew the cause of the transmission of the disease. Families avoided swimming pools, water fountains and other public places.

What health professionals did know, however, is that polio attacks the nervous system, quickly destroying nerve cells that activate muscles, causing irreversible paralysis within hours. Paralysis caused immobilization of breathing muscles.

I recall collecting dimes for coin saver booklets to give to the March of Dimes, the charity that advanced development of Jonas Salk's injected vaccine as well Albert Sabin's live oral vaccine (OPV).

Back then, my father's construction business built a camp designed for children who had been crippled by polio kids about my age who wore leg braces or were bound to wheelchairs.

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Why the battle against polio isn't over

The Vancouver Business Journal accepts press releases about the business activities, accomplishments and recognitions for businesses located in Southwest Washington or for residents of Southwest Washington who work outside the area. Releases should be typed in MS Word. By clicking on the Browse button you will be able to upload your Word document. The contact information is to confirm who should be contacted if the release leads to a story.

In addition to uploading your press release here you are welcome to email the release to nkulmac@vbjusa.com with the text of the release copied into the body of the email.

Press release information runs in the Vancouver Business Journal on a space available basis. Every attempt is made to include this information.

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Related Story: Secret Service intercedes as reporters descend on Mitt Romney's beachfront house

Americans' attitudes toward Mitt Romney are firming up, and a new free-association poll by the Pew Research Center suggests they are now less focused on his religion and more aware of his wealth.

When 1,009 adults were asked to give a one-word response about Mitt Romney in December, the top response was "Mormon," with "rich" 18 spots down the list. Last week the same poll was repeated, and this time the top slot went to "no/no way" with "rich" right behind. Another word that shifted significantly was "flip-flopper," which fell from third to seventh.

Romney's negatives on this measure are high. With the general adult population sample (not registered or likely voters), Pew notes that 14 percent offered positive words, while 30 percent offered negative words and 29 percent used neutral terms. According to Pew, 28 percent offer no opinion, down from 43 percent in December.

December's top Romney responses were Mormon (47 percent), no/no way (23), flip-flopper (19), good (15), OK (15) and religion (10).

The current top responses for Romney are no/no way (31 percent), rich (30), good (19), Mormon (18), moderate (15), business (15), flip-flopper (11), idiot (11), possibility (11) and untrustworthy (10).

Romney also lags in favorability ratings in a new ABC/Washington Post poll of adults. Again, this is not a poll for registered voters or likely voters. It shows Romney falling to 50 percent unfavorable and 34 percent favorable and sets that against President Barack Obama's 43 percent unfavorable to 53 percent favorable status.

Jon Cohen in the Washington Post points out that in 2008, after Obama had been through a tough primary fight, his standing among independents was much higher than Romney's. "Obamas relative low point among independents in 2008 was in mid-April, when 57 percent said they had favorable impressions and 37 percent had unfavorable ones. In the new poll, Romney is underwater with independents: 35 percent view him favorably, 52 percent unfavorably," the article says.

But these polls are more emotional than intentional. More on point may be a series of Quinnipiac University polls out this week that suggest that Romney has slipped somewhat in key swing states but remains competitive.

Florida: Obama leads Romney 49 to 42 percent

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More rich, less Mormon: One-word attitudes toward Mitt Romney shift

29 March 2012 Last updated at 10:26 ET

A court in Spain has dropped a rape case against a Saudi prince over "contradictions and vagueness" in evidence from the alleged victim.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world's richest men, was accused of raping the woman, a model, aboard a yacht moored off Ibiza in August 2008.

He denied the charge, saying he was not even in Spain at the time.

A judge ordered the case to be closed for lack of evidence in 2010 but it was re-opened on appeal from the plaintiff.

In its ruling released on Thursday, the provincial court on Palma de Majorca, capital of the Balearic Islands, ordered a stay of proceedings.

"In light of recent statements by the complainant, we cannot firmly establish with evidence what happened overnight August 11-12, 2008, on the yacht," it added.

The prince, 57, is pursuing criminal actions against the accuser, her mother and their lawyer, and professional sanctions against the lawyer for unethical behaviour.

He said in a statement that he had not even heard of the case against him until it was resurrected last September.

"No-one's character should be subject to such dishonest attacks," the statement added.

Read more here:
Saudi rape case dropped in Spain

A Spanish court has dropped a rape probe against a Saudi prince who is one of the world's richest people, saying his accuser's allegations are inconsistent and do not stand up.

The ruling clearing Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, 57, was dated March 26 and released Thursday by a court in Palma in Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

The drugging and sexual assault of a young Spanish model was alleged to have occurred aboard a yacht moored at the island of Ibiza in the wee hours of Aug. 12, 2008. A judge on the popular resort island quietly closed the probe in 2010, citing a lack of evidence.

However, a higher provincial court in the Balearic Islands, which include Ibiza, accepted an appeal by the plaintiff and issued an order in September 2011 instructing the same magistrate to resume the probe and question the prince as a suspect.

The prince was listed 29th on the latest Forbes list of the world's richest people ,with a net worth of $18 billion. He is a leading investor in both Citigroup and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire.

The prince said the court's final decision dismissing the allegations vindicates his argument that he was not even in Ibiza that day but rather in France with his wife, children, grandchildren and other witnesses.

The court in Palma said the accuser's version of events was riddled with inconsistencies in her several appearances to give testimony.

It said the woman did not initially accuse the prince by name as being her rapist. Rather, her lawyer did so much later. The court called this is a "procedural anomaly that since then has tainted the entire investigation."

The ruling also said she presented a photo of a group of people purporting to identify the prince as the man who allegedly raped her. There is an arrow pointing to a man in the background, and the word "rapist" written there. But the prince is standing in the foreground, front of that man.

The ruling says when asked about this, the accuser said it was her mother who drew the arrow on that and several other photos.

Read more here:
Spain Drops Rape Probe of Saudi Prince