A quick scan last week of police reports published by various weekly and daily newspapers throughout the state found a number of stories with headlines featuring phrases related to the theft of cigarettes. In fact, further investigation found dozens and dozens of cigarette-related crimes that began shortly after July 1, which by no coincidence is when the new tax went into effect.

Only one thing you can say in response to this: "WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN!?" Dumbass prohibitionists.

“Where did you steal that from?” the officer, Pablo Perriera, asked Kyle Scheibe and his assistant, the claims says.

Scheibe, who is 19, told the officer he was running a small landscaping business and that the equipment belonged to his father, Ron Scheibe. He also provided the address of the job he had just completed and showed the officer a flyer as proof of their business.

“I tried to tell him I had all the receipts for everything at my house, I told him it’s just a block away, you can come at anytime and look. He said, ‘No, I’m not going that far,’ ” Scheibe told the Star.

Today, NCLR launched a national media campaign to bring visibility to a tragic new case where Sonoma County, California officials separated an elderly gay couple and sold their worldly possessions despite the measures the men had taken to protect their relationship.

Local and state tax collectors have added a new tool to their arsenal to locate tax cheats. The agencies have gone to Facebook and MySpace looking for those who have failed in paying their share of taxes. According to one report the tax collecting agencies are finding it a great tool in locating those who post their profiles and share their location, new job status and how much they are making.