SACRAMENTO (AP) – A laptop computer containing health information for more than 1,700 clients of an HIV/AIDS clinic has been stolen in a home burglary.

The computer was taken from the Fair Oaks residence of a University of California, Davis researcher who brought it home to finish a report. The records include the name, age, gender, race, ZIP code and HIV status of nearly every client of CARES, a Sacramento clinic that works closely with the university.

The computer was stolen Feb. 10, and patients were notified in a letter sent shortly thereafter. One patient, identified by The Sacramento Bee only as David, said he felt his trust was abused.

“My question is: Why were my medical records taken on a laptop to Fair Oaks? They shouldn’t ever have been taken out of the building,” he said.

The clinic’s executive director, Marty Keale, said the researcher took the computer home to avoid distractions at the office.

“We deeply regret this happened,” Keale said. “We take the confidentiality of our clients’ health information very seriously.”

The clinic and the university are now considering a policy that would require any data that leave the building to be encrypted.

CARES, the largest provider of HIV/AIDS services in the Sacramento Valley, informed the California Department of Health Services about the breach.

The records did not include addresses, Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers. The clinic will have counselors available to talk to patients about the breach.

BOSTON (AP) – Seven members of the Catholic Charities board resigned March 1 to protest a request by the state’s Roman Catholic bishops to exempt Catholic social service agencies from a law requiring them to place some adoptive children in households headed by same-sex couples.

In a statement, the seven board members said they were “deeply troubled” by the course set by the four bishops, and said it “undermines our moral priority of helping vulnerable children find loving homes.

“We also cannot participate in an effort to pursue legal permission to discriminate against Massachusetts citizens who want to play a part in building strong families,” the statement read.

“The course the bishops have charted threatens the very essence of our Christian mission. For the sake of the poor we serve, we pray they will reconsider.”

The letter was signed by Geri Denterlein, president of Denterlein Worldwide Public Affairs; Donna Gittens, CEO, causemedia; Paul LaCamera, general manager, the WBUR group; Brian Leary, partner, Gadsby Hannah; Peter Meade, executive vice president, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Colette Phillips, president and CEO, Colette Phillips Communications; and Micho Spring, chair, Weber Shandwick New England.

The Vatican opposes adoption of children by same-sex couples. The archbishop of Boston, as well as the bishops of Fall River, Worcester and Springfield, have said the state’s anti-discrimination laws are a violation of religious freedom.

The Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the church’s public policy arm, said the four bishops had planned to request the exemption for some time, but came to final agreement after meeting last week.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Sunflower farmers say a German study looking into possible links between the plant and AIDS medicine may grab headlines, but they believe it’s too early to increase production of the crop.

Scientists at the University of Bonn say a substance used by sunflowers to fight off a plant disease could be used in new drugs to prevent HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from reproducing.

The German researchers have patented their method and are looking for private partners to manufacture the substance, according to the Bonn University Web site. It remains to be seen whether the findings would hold up in clinical trials, a statement said.

The study is not yet on the radar at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a spokesperson for the federal agency said.

“Right now it’s all very preliminary,” said Mike Clemens, a sunflower farmer from Wimbledon, in eastern North Dakota. “It’s pretty exciting to hear the news, but you don’t know if this is something that will take 10 acres, 1,000 acres or 10,000 acres.”

Other farmers also are cautious.

“The bottom line is whether it will do much to increase acreage,” said Dean Sonnenberg, a sunflower producer from northern Colorado. “My guess is that it won’t have much of an impact.”

Researchers said they discovered the link while they were looking at antifungal properties the sunflower uses to fight off sclerotinia, a disease commonly known as white mold. Sunflower groups spent about $500,000 last year to fight the mold, said Larry Kleingartner, executive director of the National Sunflower Association.

The anti-fungal substance in the sunflower plant is dicaffeoyl quinic acid, or DCQA. It can be found in small doses in the artichoke and wild chicory, but researchers said it would be cheaper to make the drug from the sunflower plant.

“I think it’s really premature to say the study will lead to more production,” said Roger Johnson, North Dakota’s agriculture commissioner. “My sense is that it’s pretty early-stage research.”

Johnson said the findings highlight the need for the United States to spend more money on agricultural research and technology.

“We are being sort of a left-behind country with new research,” Johnson said. “It’s really kind of scary. America used to lead the world with new research and new breakthroughs.”

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – State HIV planners will reach out to minorities, targeting language barriers and other culturally based gaps in access to care, according to a recently released three-year service plan.

They’ll build relationships with ethnic and faith-based groups to guarantee treatment to underserved communities, and work on ways to ensure providers are culturally sensitive.

The Statewide Comprehensive Plan for HIV Services outlines problem areas and efforts to address each, explained Health Care Service Director Diana Jordan. The first report was released in 2003.

This year features a more pronounced focus on minority concerns, at a time when many of these communities share a heightened HIV risk.

Among blacks, media coverage surrounding “down low” men – males who sleep with other males and women but identify as heterosexual – has shed light on a new dimension of AIDS risk.

Meanwhile, illegal immigrant communities continue to expand in the commonwealth. Unlike their legal counterparts, they don’t face mandatory HIV testing, Jordan explained.

“The [minority] concern has been apparent to people addressing HIV issues for a long time,” she said. “In this plan, our intent is to take a more tangible approach.”

Among the department’s long-term goals is ensuring non-English speaking HIV victims can access treatment. Officials learned of that issue during public forums last fall.

“What we did hear is that there aren’t necessarily enough providers that have Spanish-speaking capability,” Jordan said, adding, “or that are used to serving populations with special needs.”

The latter include the homeless, recently released prisoners and transgender men and women.

“They report that sometimes providers are uncomfortable discussing their sexual behaviors,” she said, explaining that as a result, high-risk communities may not get prevention messages.

The three-year service report detailed plans to count non-English speaking HIV patients, increase recruitment of multi-language HIV care providers and develop a state directory of which providers are multilingual.

To be sure patients are comfortable when they do receive care, officials will survey state-funded providers’ “cultural competence” and develop a training program to address prejudices.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin voters will decide in November whether to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions after the proposal cleared its final hurdle in the Republican-controlled Legislature Feb. 28.

The state Assembly’s approval, by a 62-31 vote, puts the amendment on the state ballot in November, when voters will also determine whether Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle will get a second term in office.

A majority vote would add 43 words to the constitution declaring the state recognizes only marriage between one man and one woman and does not grant a similar legal status to unmarried individuals, such as civil unions.

Supporters said the amendment would defend marriage from legal challenges seeking to grant same-sex couples the right to marry, such as one that was successful in Massachusetts. The amendment would also ban civil unions in which same-sex couples are granted the same benefits as married couples.

“An issue of this importance will be decided by the people of this state – not an activist judge,” said Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo.

OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) – The attorney of a former Eagle Scout accused of killing a man to see if he could get away with it doesn’t believe he has any grounds to appeal the conviction, court records show.

The public defender assigned to Gary Hirte filed a no-merit notice of appeal last month, court documents show.

Hirte, now 20, was sentenced to life in prison after a jury decided Hirte, a former honor student, wasn’t suffering from a mental illness when he killed Glenn Kopitske in 2003.

His attorney, public defender Charles Vetzner, found no grounds for appeal that would hold merit, and he will leave it to the court to decide whether his assessment is correct, according to the State Public Defender’s Office.

Winnebago County District Attorney William Lennon said the matter remains open until the court rules on the no-merit report.

“I certainly don’t think we left any avenues open for appeal,” Lennon said.

The case would continue if the court finds appellate issues with merit, according to the public defender’s office.

Hirte, who was 17 at the time of the attack, claimed a drunken homosexual encounter with Kopitske sent him into a murderous rage.

Hirte was a track, football and wrestling star and a straight-A student at Weyewauga-Fremont High School. Winnebago County prosecutors said Hirte killed Kopitske because he wanted to know how it felt to kill someone and to see if he could get away with it.