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Q: Why do weather forecasts no longer include current and predicted relative humidity? It makes such a difference in how we perceive heat.— Karen LaBarr,
Johns CreekA: Discussing current humidity used to be common in weather reports, said meteorologist Kirk Mellish.

Q: Why is there a long delay in the broadcast of sporting events (including Georgia Tech’s season opener), meaning that the live action precedes the broadcast by 20 to 30 seconds?— Mark Lancaster, DecaturA: In normal circumstances, a true radio signal is fairly immediate, but things change with satellite, said Athens’ Christopher Byrne, publisher of eyeonsportsmedia.

Q: When a criminal is sentenced to two life sentences, why is one life sentence not enough?— Jack Findlan, DecaturA: In general, people are sentenced on every count for which the court has lawful authority to sentence them, said Kay Levine, associate professor at Emory Law School.

Q: In Fulton County a judge is deciding whether a developer can move the graves in a cemetery he bought after a lien was placed on the cemetery for nonpayment of taxes. Are cemeteries taxed?— Betty Stephens, 
MonroeA: Places of human burial are exempt from property taxes, according to Georgia law.

Q: The AJC recently reported that the unemployment rate in Georgia had reached 10.3 percent. Which county has the highest percent of unemployment?— Ann MacLean, Ball GroundA: Jenkins County in southeast Georgia posted the highest unemployment rate in July, at 21.

Q: When a football game is not sold out, the game is blacked out in the home team’s viewing area. But when a baseball game is not sold out, it is still televised. Why the double standard?— Andy Sims,
DouglasvilleA: It is a matter of simple economics and should not be viewed as a double standard, said Athens’ Christopher Byrne, publisher of eyeonsportsmedia.

Q: Who checks the water at Lake Lanier for contamination?— Barbara Turner, 
NewnanA: The Watershed Planning and Monitoring Program of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division Watershed Protection Branch monitors Lake Lanier and five other lakes once a month from April through October, said Kevin Chambers, a spokesman for the Georgia EPD.

Q: Is there a law against our prisoners working? Our highways and secondary roads are horrible with trash and high grass. What’s the problem? 
— Bob Collins, East PointA: Prison work details, which include trash collection, are arranged between each facility and the local county, city or departments of transportation.

Q: Is it legal for a policeman to run your tag for no reason?— Tamara Plummer,
AtlantaA: Yes. License plates are not covered by the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, said Caren Morrison, a former federal prosecutor and assistant professor in Georgia State University’s School of Law.

Q: What accommodations are made for the days of schooling missed by the participants of the Little League World Series?— Paul White,
Stone MountainA: The players on Warner Robins’ girls and boys teams who attend Houston County schools chose not to enroll until they returned from the competition, said Beth McLaughlin, director of community and school affairs for the school system.

Q: I have noticed that the last couple months the Weather Channel puts the rainfall amount, and then a day or two later, subtracts the monthly totals. Why are they doing this?— Kris Holt, CummingA: The Weather Channel makes an immediate estimate of hourly, daily, monthly and yearly rainfall, which is updated every 20 minutes, for about 2 million points in the U.

Q: A recent article about dogfighting in Talbot County made me wonder: Why would an investigative firm in Atlanta be staking out a dogfighting operation in Talbot County? Who paid the firm for their effort?— Jay Brower, AtlantaA: The investigation by Atlanta-based Norred & Associates was paid by the privately held firm owned by Greg Norred.

Q: With all the voting problems in Afghanistan, what has been the role of the Carter Peace Program? Has it been involved at all and, if so, in what way?— Renee VanderBoom, NorcrossA: The Carter Center has not been involved in the Afghanistan elections in any way, said David Carroll, director of the Carter Center’s Democracy Program.

Q: Are there any plans to modify/alter/change/fix/help the I-285 west exit onto Ga. 400 and the entrance ramp to 400? The interchange is one of the worst in the city and only continues to worsen. — Blair Craig, AtlantaA: The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to present several alternatives for modifications to the Ga.

Q: With all of the construction at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, will a cellphone waiting lot finally be built?— Merrie Edelston, Sandy SpringsA: There are no plans to build a cellphone waiting lot at this time, said John Kennedy, an airport spokesman.

Q: One of your recent answers said the Gwinnett Braves had the second-
lowest average attendance in the league. Where do their ticket prices rank in the league?— Grady K. Dukes, ConyersA: Gwinnett Braves individual game adult tickets start at $6, lower than the $7.

Q: I always enjoyed Andy Griffith in his role as Atlanta-based defense attorney Ben Matlock. How is he doing these days?— Vince Castle, AlpharettaA: Griffith, 83, is starring in “Play the Game,” which opens Friday in select U.

Q: How did “Dog Days of Summer” originate, and how is the weather affected by it?— Rick Brewer, SmyrnaA: The term is associated with late summer, when it is traditionally hazy, hot and humid, said state climatologist David Stooksbury with the University of Georgia.

Q: What is the seating capacity and average attendance for the Gwinnett Braves stadium?— Norm Staehling, LilburnA: The stadium, which opened in April, seats 10,427. Average attendance is 5,825 through 64 games, according to International League data.

Q: Regarding the man (Frank Hatley) who went to jail for a year for nonpayment of child support even though he had a paternity test that proved he was not the father. Will he get back the money that he had paid to Child Services in lieu of child support directly to the mother?— Ann Leftwich, 
AtlantaA: Attorney Sarah Geraghty with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta said she is assessing Hatley’s legal options regarding the reimbursement of the support he paid and being compensated for the time he spent in jail.

Q: The U.S. Postal Service is having to consider options for reducing expenses, one of which is cutting weekend (Saturday) mail delivery. How many countries, other than the U.S., offer Monday-Saturday home delivery?— Joyce Alarcón, AtlantaA: The U.S.

Q: Why have lawn fertilizers in the lawn and garden stores doubled, and some tripled, in price from a year ago?— Jimmy Kovacs, East PointA: The reason fertilizer has increased in price over the past year is the cost of fuel, said Clint Waltz, Extension turfgrass specialist with the University of Georgia’s Department of Crop & Soil Sciences.

Q: The old DOT building next to the Capitol and the Archives building in Atlanta is being torn down. What will happen to all the marble?— Lisa Williams, JonesboroA: The company chosen to perform the work will decide to recycle or salvage the marble, according to the Georgia Building Authority.

Q. Is there an estimate of the economic impact in Georgia of the “Cash for Clunkers” program, such as sales tax, tag tax? 
— Fred Smith, TuckerA. The state has not estimated the impact from taxes, and economists with Georgia State University and the University of Georgia have no hard numbers.

Q. Several years ago, a high-rise bridge was constructed over the Brunswick River on U.S. 17 to provide access for cargo ships to the port of Brunswick. The contractor was being fined for every day past the deadline. How much was the accumulated fine? — Al Tate, AtlantaA.

Q. In a recent column, I saw that there was tuition-free education offered to seniors 62 and older. Can you confirm that? — Sheila Pryor, JonesboroA. Georgia law allows Georgians 62 years or older to attend public colleges and universities for free.

Q: Sandy Springs recently enacted an ordinance prohibiting contractors from stopping vehicles in the roadway to pick up day laborers. Does Atlanta have a similar ordinance and, if so, does it also apply to pedestrians selling goods and soliciting for charities in the roadway?— Steve Kilbride, AtlantaA: It is illegal for an operator of a motor vehicle that is in traffic on a city street to commercially solicit for workers or money, according to Atlanta ordinances.

Q: In the Cash for Clunkers program, will the clunkers be destroyed by the government or will they end up back on the road polluting the air? — Ann Lee Bussey, Stone MountainA: Some parts of the trade-in vehicle, excluding the engine or drive train, can be sold before it is crushed or shredded.

Q: Are any of the nuclear power plants in Georgia or elsewhere in the U.S. using nuclear material derived from dismantled weapons in the U.S. or the former Soviet Union states?— Mel Liles, StockbridgeA: Highly enriched uranium from more than 14,700 Russian nuclear weapons uranium has been converted to fuel for use in American nuclear power plants, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy.

Q. Will those of us who got swine flu vaccinations during the last big scare (late ’70s) still have increased immunity to the present strain?— Theda Davis, LilburnA. Some of the people who received the swine influenza vaccine in the ’70s might have developed antibodies to the current virus, said Dr.

Q. What has happened to 
the 911 operator who was 
fired after sending the 911 response to the wrong address? She had applied for reinstatement.— Linn Matthews, AtlantaA. The Fulton County Personnel Board, which heard Gina Conteh’s case in March, affirmed in April the 911 center director’s 
decision to fire Conteh.

Q: Does a retired senator have to pay taxes? — Robert Brooks, East Point A: Senators who are retired from U.S., state positions or currently in office are required to pay taxes. Members of Congress did not pay taxes to Social Security prior to 1984, when they were not eligible for Social Security benefits but covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress that provides non-partisan policy and legal analysis to U.

Q: With the possibility of Lake Lanier becoming off limits for a metro water source, what is happening with the effort to relocate the northern border of Georgia to include a portion of the Tennessee River as called for in the original survey documents?— Jerry Titshaw, HamptonA: A Senate resolution signed by Gov.

Q: I’ve been watching the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing on TV. There are two astronauts frolicking on the moon. I thought there were only two astronauts on the space shuttle. Who was taking the pictures?— Bob Harrison, MabletonA: Astronaut Michael Collins joined Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo II, as its command module pilot.

Q. Are there any accurate figures as to how many Canadians come into the United States for medical service?— Lorraine Vinson, RomeA. Canadian citizens are not required to hold a visa to enter the U.S., so no government agency tracks Canadians entering the country for medical reasons, said Devon Herrick, a senior fellow with the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis, which researches medical tourism.

Q: Now that all TV broadcasts are digital, are there plans and a timetable for them all to be in HD?— David Nugent, CantonA: There is no requirement for TV broadcasts to be in high-definition television, or HDTV, or for a percentage of a station’s programming to be in HDTV, said David Fiske, spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission.

Q: Did the city of Atlanta ever own Lincoln Cemetery on Simpson Road?— Darryl Pitts, AtlantaA: The cemetery, where notable Atlantans such as the Revs. Ralph David Abernathy and Hosea Williams are buried, always has been under family ownership, said Mike Helmase, chief financial officer of Lincoln Cemetery.

Q: There hasn’t been any news recently about the Somali pirates. Do they still hold any hostages or ships?—Linda Jones, NewnanA: Yes, Somali pirates continue to hold hostages, despite the resolution of the headline-making case of Capt.

Q: Who was the Soviet Union fighting in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and who is the United States fighting there now? — Randy Cauthen, HartwellA. Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support President Babrak Karmal, who seized control in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership, according to a New York Times overview of the country’s history.

Q: Who paid for the Michael Jackson memorial service? I heard they were looking for donations.— Judy Wooten, Canton

A: The city of Los Angeles initially set up a Web site urging Jackson’s fans to make tax-deductible donations to help defray the $1.

Q: It is challenging for me to understand how (people in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan) are able to repeatedly assemble the materials for suicide bombings. Surely, someone has to be behind the funding, purchase and transportation of bomb-making materials.

Q: Regarding these czars that President Barack Obama has been appointing, who pays their salary, who determines how much they make and are tax dollars involved at all?

— Mike Chisolm, Snellville

A: Obama has appointed nearly three dozen “czars” — an unofficial name for special aide — to oversee policy areas.

Q. I'm watching the Sotomayor hearing and I wonder: Since when do they let you know what questions they will ask the day before?

— Bob Harrison, Mableton

A. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Q. What percentage of the city of Atlanta’s property taxes comes from each of the districts of the council people that voted for the recent property tax increase?— Zeddie Perry II, AtlantaA. The city doesn’t have a breakdown of property taxes from each council district or ZIP code, according to a spokeswoman for Mayor Shirley Franklin.

Q. I have yet to see an article, including Wednesday’s answer to a related question, regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the New Haven firefighters’ case that clearly explains whether the qualified firefighters received their promotions or if it requires them to be tested all over again.

Q: Air France says it began replacing the Pitot tubes on its Airbus jets after incidents that may be related to the crash of Flight 447. What’s Delta doing with the Airbus planes inherited via the Northwest merger?— Jim Smith, Woodstock

A: After an April advisory bulletin from Airbus, the airline is “installing new Pitot tubes on A330 aircraft and is on track to have the installations completed this summer,” according to Delta spokesman Kent Landers.

Q: In the past election, the two major candidates seemed to have citizenship qualification problems. Is there an independent entity that judges presidential candidates for presidential qualifications?— Jerome Jernigan, Dunwoody

A: “There is no independent entity,” Rick Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said in an e-mail.

Q: What is the approved method of disposing of unwanted medications?— Duncan Cutler,Sandy Springs

A: Consumers were once advised to flush unused meds down the toilet. With a few exceptions, that advice no longer holds.At its 2007 annual meeting in Atlanta, the American Pharmacists Association unveiled a new set of guidelines, developed with the U.

Q: It is starting to feel like the summer doldrums already. What is the record for the highest temperatures in Atlanta?— James Quarles, Atlanta

A: That depends on how you want to quantify discomfort.The record for highest daily temperature was 105 degrees, which occurred on three consecutive days starting on July 17, 1980.

Q. When a member of Congress or his family has a medical problem, is that taken care of through public or private medical insurance, and who handles the paperwork?— Sylvia Teasley, Canton

A. Members of Congress are eligible to receive the same health benefits that are made available to all federal employees, according to the U.

Q. Do baseball umpires receive official feedback on mistakes they make during the course of a game?— Greg Gates, Atlanta

A. Umpiring is monitored on a daily basis by Major League Baseball, which maintains a staff of seven supervisors and a network of field observers to keep tabs on performance.

Q. With the new measures the government is taking to stop teenagers from smoking, is the government is still subsidizing tobacco growers?— Barbara Turner, Newnan

A. After subsidizing the tobacco industry since the Great Depression, the federal government ended financial support in 2004, when the Equitable Tobacco Reform Act offered $10.

Q. I heard that “The Producers” had recently opened in Berlin. Do you have any information as to how well it has done?— Tim Mullis, Roswell

A. Staged at the venerable Admiralspalast Theater, where Hitler himself attended plays during World War II, “The Producers” is in its sixth week, earning strong reviews and a steady box office.

Q. Since Jay Leno retired from “The Tonight Show,” what is he doing now?– Rick Brewer, Smyrna

A. Jay Leno, who ended his 17-year run on “The Tonight Show” May 29, will return to NBC in the fall with a prime-time show broadcast every night at 10.

Q: I read that Chrysler and GM will save money by reducing the number of franchise dealerships. I have not, however, read an explanation of how the money is to be saved. In what ways do the franchises cost the companies more than the income that is produced by the dealerships selling cars and parts? What is the magnitude of this savings? 
— Noojin Walker, Locust Grove


A: Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings brought the closing of 789 dealerships, while General Motors in its bankruptcy filings seeks to close about 1,100 franchises when their contracts end in late 2010, according to an Associated Press report.