Correcting the record

A headline on a Page 1 story in Friday’s editions about plans for a regional airport in Jonesboro being dropped misidentified the organization overseeing the proposal. It is the Federal Aviation Administration – FAA.

A Page One story in Tuesday’s paper about a ban on smoking in cars when children are present inaccurately paraphrased the testimony of Bangor pediatrician Robert Holmberg before the Bangor City Council. Holmberg did not state there was a causal link between exposure to secondhand smoke and heart disease in children, as reported. Reached for clarification Thursday evening, Holmberg said there is a strong correlation between smoking and heart disease in adults. While most cardiac disease in children is congenital, he said, medical experts are concerned that long-term damage to the heart muscle may be linked to childhood exposure to the toxins contained in cigarette smoke, although current studies do not support a direct correlation. Exposure to secondhand smoke is strongly correlated with a number of childhood respiratory disorders, however.