Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ THE MIX.__ Yanessa Vazquez, a medical assistant, works for the Solantic Medical Clinic in an Orlando, Fla. Wal-Mart Supercenter. Supercenter ^offers on-site medical clinic One Wal-Mart joins national trend toward ojfering walk-in treatment in retail stores Jeannette Riuera-Lyles KRT CAMPUS ORLANDO, Fla. — Not far from the front-door greeters at an east Orange, Fla., Wal Mart Supercenter, you can get your hair cut, buy a new pair of eyeglasses and get that broken arm put in a cast. Perhaps not in that order, of course. Customers can see a doctor at the place they shop for “everyday low prices.” A new emergency-care walk-in clinic opened there recently. “It’s a great concept,” said Sherry Sylvain, who visited the clinic for a flu shot. “Very convenient. And if you are already here, it saves you a trip.” And in perhaps a nod to its retail partner, the clinic lists prices on a menu in the reception area: $65 to see a doctor, $105 for the consultation plus one diagnostic test and $165 if more than one test is needed. “Why didn’t I think about it?” said Lynn Walker, a Waterford Lakes, Fla., resident and an advertising professional, as she read the clinic’s brochure outside the store. », . II I it maices an me sense in the world. It’s open longer hours than a regular doctor’s office, is at a convenient location, and you' can even shop a little while you wait if you’re not too sick. It’s brilliant.” The clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. This is the retail giant’s first Florida store to house its own clinic, right by the front door, in between the hair salon and the optometry center. Solantic, a Jacksonville-based company, runs it. A second clinic is planned for a Kissimmee Wal-Mart next month. Although new in Florida, the east Orange Wal-Mart clinic is part of a growing national trend to place walk in clinics in pharmacies, malls and supermarkets. In the Great Lakes area, for instance, Target has been testing the concept in several stores. CVS Pharmacies recently announced that it plans to open 60 clinics in stores nationwide. The clinics offer immunizations, an array of diagnostic tests, treatment for minor ailments and basic emergency care at prices usually lower than an emergency room. “You walk in, and you know what you are expected to pay from the get-go,” said John Barnett, Solantic’s regional manager for Central Florida. Not all or the new store housed clinics that are sprouting throughout the nation are staffed with doctors. This is something Solantic hopes will separate it from the rest of the pack. “This is a full-service doctor’s office, and we will always have a board-certified doctor in-house,” Barnett said. The clinic accepts most major insurance. Sonia Alvarez, 19, a University of Central Florida student who was shopping for groceries, was happy to hear about the clinic. “I’m on my parents’ HMO, but it’s so hard to see my doctor when I need to,” she said. Alvarez said she would consider the Wal-Mart clinic the next time she needs a doctor. “Unless something is very serious, it’s just a drag to go to an emergency room,” she said. “This definitively beats that.” r. . ' ■ ' •• I ’ "_V.,f ''"L ji,'..' ^ '■ gj ■ " _ r. V . . * S^uSSsS&SbSBZ i'"' . ' V r 1 ^ Home video game system debuted 20 years ago, reversing downward trend in struggling market Jeremy Turnage FOR THE GAMECOCK On Oct. 18, 2005, a milestone was reached in gaming history: the 20th anniversary of the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was on this date in 1985 that the established arcade company released its console in the United States, and the stakes were extremely high. Back in 1983, the video game market in the United States was a desolate ghost town. The first home video game company in the US, Atari, had made a series of bad business moves and bad games that sunk the industry low for almost two years. This period in history is referred to as the “Video Game Crash of 1983.” It seemed the industry would never recover, but Nintendo saw hope in the desolation. In the years before the crash, Nintendo had created and released a console in Japan known as the Family Special to I HE uAMEHjUUK The Nintendo Entertainment System debuted Oct. 18,1985 and was packaged with “Super Mario Bros.” Computer, or Famicom for short. Nintendo saw immense potential in the console for the American market. Quickly, Nintendo began redesigning the system for America, and in June 1985, they unveiled the console as the Nintendo Entertainment System at the Consumer Electronics Show. Nintendo would need a hit game to cement the success of the system worldwide. In 1985, nmTenoo • i * Darwin’s descendent observes school ‘intelligent design’ trial Great-great-grandson of famous biologist reports for BBC, Harpers Magazine Rmy UJorden KRTCAMPUS HARRISBURG, Pa. — Charles Darwin might not be in the federal courtroom to hear witnesses challenge his theory of evolution. But his DNA is. As one of Darwins most vocal modern-day critics testified in a landmark lawsuit last week, the eminent scientists great-great grandson sat six feet away in the jury-box-turned-press box. In the courtroom, Matthew Chapman, a New York author and screen writer, is one of the 75 reporters from the United States and abroad covering the Dover School Board trial, the first court proceeding ever on the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. But outside the court, Chapman recognizes that he plays other roles: lightning rod for the anti-evolution crowd and a living connection to the 19th century scientist whose theories on natural selection and the origin of species provide the foundation for modern biology. Chapman, 55, a British-born American citizen, says he is stunned that debate continues in the United States 140 years after Darwins death and 80 years after the Scopes “monkey trial,” which questioned the legality of teaching evolution in a ptiblic school. “Evolution is such a non-issue everywhere /else in the world,” un,nn /tnihia, said Chapman, who counts among his screenwriting credits the John Grisham thriller “Runaway Jury.” Chapman, who is on assignment for Harpers Magazine and also is working on a documentary for the BBC, has tried to remain an observer on the sidelines, joining the press gaggle, tape recorder in hand, after court each day. He also has been spending time in Dover, talking to students and sitting quietly through anti-evolution speeches by local ministers. “This is really the first courtroom scientific debate, since science wasn’t allowed in the courtroom in the Scopes trial,” said Chapman. Last week he listened to testimony from the lead witness for the defense — Lehigh University biochemist Michael Behe — and intently scribbled in his notebook. Behe, author of the bestselling book „ “Darwin’s Black Box,” testified that what he calls the “purposeful arrangement of parts” in certain biochemical processes is evidence that intelligent design is a scientific idea. “I’m appalled by the lack of respect for the evidence,” said Chapman. “Darwin spent 23 years compiling evidence he gathered to present his theory.” Behe said later he was not surprised when Chapman turned up a few feet away from the witness stand. “Oddly, I felt reassured by his presence,” said Behe, who met Chapman during a break in the trial. “He’s such a friendly guy, like I imagine Darwin was, who’s interested in chewing over ideas.” Chapman says he is amused by the tone of some evolution opponents who he says spit out the word “Darwinists” with the same vitriol as the word “Communists” was uttered during the Red Scare in the ’50s. Among those Darwin foes Chapman has encountered was the Rev. Jim Grove, of Heritage Baptist Church, easily the most vocal creationist in the Dover area. Grove organized a mid-trial event attended by 150 people entitled “More Reasons Why Evolution Is Stupid.” Chapman said he feared evangelicals such as Grove are more concerned “with the future of their souls than the future of American education.” Grove said he hoped to interview Chapman one day, perhaps influence him. “He isn’t what we would call saved,” Grove said. “We’re praying for him.” Chapman said he doesn’t feel defensive about his ancestry. “The only time I’ve felt proud of being descended from Darwin is in opposition to creationists,” he said. Scott S. Hamrick / KRT CAM PUS Matthew Chapman, the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, has been covering the Dover School Board intelligent desigtUrial for Harper’s Magazine. He is also working on a BBC documentary. Wiernrb rnrn_