Today's Globe: life-sciences bill, Maine struggles, Caritas heart care, medical mystery

As the Legislature finally prepares to produce a $1 billion life sciences bill more than a year after it was conceived, some of the industry's most ardent advocates are losing enthusiasm, saying the legislation has been watered down and larded with earmarks.

From 1983 to 1999, as most Americans were living longer, the projected lifespans of women in Washington County, Maine, grew shorter, along with those of women in 3 percent of all US counties, mostly in the South and West, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Washington.

Caritas Christi Health Care yesterday said it will make advanced cardiac care available at more of its community hospitals, giving suburban patients access to top medical treatment without the potential delay of an ambulance trip to Boston.

Tonight at a downtown hotel, 22-year-old Victoria Tolman will walk to the podium and accept a Profile in Children's Courage Award from Franciscan Hospital for Children. Her speech promises to be memorable, whatever she chooses to say. Eleven years ago, Tolman could not speak at all. Or walk. To this day, her doctors and family are not sure why.