DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Don't Miss Delegate Mike McDermott's Field Notes
MASSIVE TRAFFIC BACKUP ON RT. 13 NORTH
If your planning on heading up Rt. 13 North, think twice. Right now there's a backup all the way from the construction of the Rt. 13 overpass, (over Rt. 50) all the way up to Pohanka.
If you can avoid traveling north bound Rt. 13, DO IT!
If you can avoid traveling north bound Rt. 13, DO IT!
57% Of US Voters OK With Government Shutdown If It Results In More Cuts
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% of Likely U.S. Voters think making deeper spending cuts in the federal budget for 2011 is more important than avoiding a partial government shutdown.
Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree and say avoiding a shutdown is more important. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.
Republicans want to make more spending cuts in the current budget than Democrats do. 36% of voters think it would be better to avoid a government shutdown by authorizing spending at a level most Democrats will agree to, but fifty-seven percent (57%) would rather have a shutdown until Democrats and Republicans can agree on deeper spending cuts.
This shows little change from late February when 58% of voters said it was better to have a partial government shutdown than to keep spending at current levels.
Since then, congressional Democrats have agreed to some spending cuts but now are accusing Republicans of being held hostage by the budget-cutting demands of 'Tea Party voters.'
Most voters, as they have for years, say cutting taxes and reducing government spending are best for the economy.
The partisan divide is predictable. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democrats say avoiding a government shutdown is more important than deeper spending cuts. Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans - and 67% of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties – disagree.
More details here
Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree and say avoiding a shutdown is more important. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.
Republicans want to make more spending cuts in the current budget than Democrats do. 36% of voters think it would be better to avoid a government shutdown by authorizing spending at a level most Democrats will agree to, but fifty-seven percent (57%) would rather have a shutdown until Democrats and Republicans can agree on deeper spending cuts.
This shows little change from late February when 58% of voters said it was better to have a partial government shutdown than to keep spending at current levels.
Since then, congressional Democrats have agreed to some spending cuts but now are accusing Republicans of being held hostage by the budget-cutting demands of 'Tea Party voters.'
Most voters, as they have for years, say cutting taxes and reducing government spending are best for the economy.
The partisan divide is predictable. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democrats say avoiding a government shutdown is more important than deeper spending cuts. Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans - and 67% of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties – disagree.
More details here
"Gender Identity" Protections
Various localities, states, and the federal government are being urged to expand the protected categories under existing civil rights laws to bar "discrimination" in employment, housing, and/or public accommodations on the basis of "gender identity."
[The Maryland House has just passed HB-235, and it awaits action in the Senate. --Editor]
"Gender identity" is typically described as "a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth."
These bills would provide special protections for "transgender" individuals--an umbrella category that includes transsexuals (people who have had "sex-change" surgery), transvestites (cross-dressers), "drag queens" and "drag kings" (people who cross-dress for entertainment purposes only).
Among the implications of these bills is that the use of sex-specific facilities, such as men's and women's public restrooms, locker rooms, and showers, could no longer be limited on the basis of a person's actual biological sex. As a result, these bills have been dubbed "Bathroom Bills."
1. To suggest that the identification of a human being's sex at birth represents merely an "assignment," as though it were entirely a social construct agreed upon by the child's parents and physician, is absurd. Sex is an objective biological reality, identified based on the presence of external genitalia, internal sex organs, and chromosomes, which in the overwhelming majority of cases are entirely consistent and unambiguous at birth. It is simply foolish to treat this as a characteristic that can be changed at will.
2. Such bills often state that an employer can still maintain "appearance, grooming, and dress standards." However, most ordinary Americans would consider dressing in ways that are culturally appropriate for one's biological sex to be the most fundamental "appearance, grooming, and dress standard" that could be conceived of--yet requiring that is exactly what these bills are designed to forbid. Likewise, for any job involving customer service or contact with other clients, dressing in a way appropriate for one's biological sex may be "a bona fide occupational qualification," because the adoption of the "gender identity" of the opposite sex is often highly unconvincing and therefore disturbing to witnesses.
3. The government should never purposefully threaten the public safety of women and children by creating the legitimized access that sexual predators tend to seek.
4. It would be impossible for a young girl to determine whether or not the man in the restroom is a "peeping tom," a rapist or a pedophile, and it is unconscionable for any legislator to purposefully place her in such a compromising position.
5. No government should be so irresponsible as to deliberately compromise its citizenry's safety and wellbeing in order to appease minority demands based on personal sexual preferences.
6. Bathroom Bills would adversely affect business owners who hold religious, conscientious or moral objections to others' privately held pan-sexual predilections. Advocates have reportedly claimed that transgendered men fear physical attack in the men's room and must therefore use the ladies' room in public. Legislators should not allow the rights of transgendered men to transcend the rights of women and vulnerable children.
(Family Research Council)
[The Maryland House has just passed HB-235, and it awaits action in the Senate. --Editor]
"Gender identity" is typically described as "a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth."
These bills would provide special protections for "transgender" individuals--an umbrella category that includes transsexuals (people who have had "sex-change" surgery), transvestites (cross-dressers), "drag queens" and "drag kings" (people who cross-dress for entertainment purposes only).
Among the implications of these bills is that the use of sex-specific facilities, such as men's and women's public restrooms, locker rooms, and showers, could no longer be limited on the basis of a person's actual biological sex. As a result, these bills have been dubbed "Bathroom Bills."
1. To suggest that the identification of a human being's sex at birth represents merely an "assignment," as though it were entirely a social construct agreed upon by the child's parents and physician, is absurd. Sex is an objective biological reality, identified based on the presence of external genitalia, internal sex organs, and chromosomes, which in the overwhelming majority of cases are entirely consistent and unambiguous at birth. It is simply foolish to treat this as a characteristic that can be changed at will.
2. Such bills often state that an employer can still maintain "appearance, grooming, and dress standards." However, most ordinary Americans would consider dressing in ways that are culturally appropriate for one's biological sex to be the most fundamental "appearance, grooming, and dress standard" that could be conceived of--yet requiring that is exactly what these bills are designed to forbid. Likewise, for any job involving customer service or contact with other clients, dressing in a way appropriate for one's biological sex may be "a bona fide occupational qualification," because the adoption of the "gender identity" of the opposite sex is often highly unconvincing and therefore disturbing to witnesses.
3. The government should never purposefully threaten the public safety of women and children by creating the legitimized access that sexual predators tend to seek.
4. It would be impossible for a young girl to determine whether or not the man in the restroom is a "peeping tom," a rapist or a pedophile, and it is unconscionable for any legislator to purposefully place her in such a compromising position.
5. No government should be so irresponsible as to deliberately compromise its citizenry's safety and wellbeing in order to appease minority demands based on personal sexual preferences.
6. Bathroom Bills would adversely affect business owners who hold religious, conscientious or moral objections to others' privately held pan-sexual predilections. Advocates have reportedly claimed that transgendered men fear physical attack in the men's room and must therefore use the ladies' room in public. Legislators should not allow the rights of transgendered men to transcend the rights of women and vulnerable children.
(Family Research Council)
Dems Search Scott Brown's Health Records
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown — an upstart Blue State Republican in the cross hairs of national Democrats — is lashing out at the party’s opposition researchers, accusing them of prying into his family’s private health insurance records, and demanding that they stop fighting dirty.
“It seems in bad form. Obviously, when it comes to information about my wife and daughters, it crosses the line. I find it offensive and so do they,” Brown told the Herald yesterday.
“They (Democrats) don’t have any business muddling in the private health records of my family,” said Brown, adding that his family is “disturbed” by the intrusion.
Officials from the Group Insurance Commission, the state’s health insurance provider, notified Brown on Tuesday that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee asked them “to provide insurance information,” according to a copy of the GIC letter obtained by the Herald.
The GIC, a quasi-independent state agency, administers health insurance for state employees and their families. Brown’s wife, Gail Huff, and two daughters, Ayla and Arianna, were also on his state insurance plan when he was a Wrentham state senator.
A copy of the DSCC request provided to the Herald asks for “all direct correspondence” between Brown and the GIC under the Massachusetts public records law.
A DSCC spokesman insisted the request was only for public information and never sought private medical information about the Brown family.
“Obviously, the commission has made a mistake. Now Brown is trying score cheap political points to distract from his record, voting in lock step with Republicans in Washington, D.C.,” said spokesman Matt Canter.
“Brown votes with the Republican establishment 98 percent of the time, and that makes him out of step with Massachusetts,” Canter added. “Democrats will mount a strong campaign to elect a senator that cares more about creating jobs, than saving his own.”
More
“It seems in bad form. Obviously, when it comes to information about my wife and daughters, it crosses the line. I find it offensive and so do they,” Brown told the Herald yesterday.
“They (Democrats) don’t have any business muddling in the private health records of my family,” said Brown, adding that his family is “disturbed” by the intrusion.
Officials from the Group Insurance Commission, the state’s health insurance provider, notified Brown on Tuesday that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee asked them “to provide insurance information,” according to a copy of the GIC letter obtained by the Herald.
The GIC, a quasi-independent state agency, administers health insurance for state employees and their families. Brown’s wife, Gail Huff, and two daughters, Ayla and Arianna, were also on his state insurance plan when he was a Wrentham state senator.
A copy of the DSCC request provided to the Herald asks for “all direct correspondence” between Brown and the GIC under the Massachusetts public records law.
A DSCC spokesman insisted the request was only for public information and never sought private medical information about the Brown family.
“Obviously, the commission has made a mistake. Now Brown is trying score cheap political points to distract from his record, voting in lock step with Republicans in Washington, D.C.,” said spokesman Matt Canter.
“Brown votes with the Republican establishment 98 percent of the time, and that makes him out of step with Massachusetts,” Canter added. “Democrats will mount a strong campaign to elect a senator that cares more about creating jobs, than saving his own.”
More
The Bennett Middle School Smoking Gun
Subject: FYI - BMS
The purpose of this e-mail is to bring everyone up to speed on what we were able to uncover this morning her at BMS:
Upon hearing that there was a fight between two of our students after school yesterday (Thursday, March 31st) across the street, and that it was possibly filmed and was on a cell phone of one of our students, that student was called to the office at which time he admitted to having a cell phone on him. He willingly gave me his cell phone and showed me the video of the fight yesterday.
However, at the conclusion of that video were several other videos of fights/"jump-ins" that took place over the last month here at BMS in our boys bathrooms (on each occasion several students were in the bathrooms while someone was on "look-out" for staff). Also seen in one of the videos was another student filming it as well. I went and retrieved this student from class and he also willingly gave me his phone and showed me the videos that he had on there. He had each of the same ones as the other student plus two more (one here at BMS and one at someone's house).
At this point, along with Deputy Geeseman and Sgt. Dolch, we started interviewing the various students who were on the videos. Most students were very cooperative and were able to give us a lot of good explanations to the happenings in the videos. We were able to discover that many of the incidents were gang related as some of the taped fights were "jump-ins" to initiate them into the gang called A.T.L. or A-squad.
All parents have been contacted, and all except one have already been in and met with me face to face. As a result of the videos and the investigation today, two students received 5 days of OSS. Another seven students also received 5 days of OSS and I will also be requesting another 5 days and expulsion for these students as their involvement was directly gang related and put the staff and students at BMS in risk. All students are also being charged by the Wicomico Sheriffs Department (a wide variety of charges depending on the students' involvement).
Thanks in advance for your support of a safe learning environment for all staff and students,
Rick
Frederick L. Briggs
Principal
Bennett Middle School - "Where every student matters!"
rbriggs@wcboe.org
410-677-5140
Principal
Bennett Middle School - "Where every student matters!"
rbriggs@wcboe.org
410-677-5140
HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER
Becky Lee Tourist Home
The era before a large number of motels dotted our highways saw a number of larger homes turned into “tourist homes”. Before the Salisbury Boulevard was built in 1939, Route 13 ran from N. Division St. to Camden Ave. through Salisbury (or from Camden Ave. to N. Division St. if you were heading north).
Along this route was the Becky Lee Tourist Home. It was listed at 1307 Camden Ave. The number of the address was changed by the City of Salisbury in October, 1952, to 1008 Camden Ave., when all the street numbers in Salisbury were changed. The home is now cut up into five apartments. It is on the north corner of Somerset Ave. and the west side of Camden Ave.
The Becky Lee Tourist Home was established around 1930 by Mrs. T. H. Pusey. It was described as being situated in the best suburban section of the city.
Some of the amenities offered were shower baths, spacious porches, shade trees and telephone service.
Most of the old tourist homes have been converted in apartments now due to their size. One family could not possibly heat a house of such dimensions – many rooms, high ceilings, etc. When these homes were built, they probably provided living quarters for the father, mother, several children and other family members such parents, aunts or uncles.
People do not rent out rooms by the night anymore. If they rent a room, it is probably to someone for an extended period.
Puppy Found: UPDATE
Mr. Albero,
Can you please post the following on your site:
Found - 12-16 week old, black lab/chow mix puppy, female, wearing a pink collar, no microchip (we had her scanned at Petsmart). She is crate and leash trained. Found today around 5 p.m. in the area of Beaglin Park/Old Ocean City/Aydelotte Road. Contact: 443-783-8050.
Thanks!
Can you please post the following on your site:
Found - 12-16 week old, black lab/chow mix puppy, female, wearing a pink collar, no microchip (we had her scanned at Petsmart). She is crate and leash trained. Found today around 5 p.m. in the area of Beaglin Park/Old Ocean City/Aydelotte Road. Contact: 443-783-8050.
Thanks!
LIBRARY BOARD SEEKS TRUSTEE APPLICATIONS
The Library Trustees for the Wicomico Public Library are looking for residents of Wicomico County to fill vacancies on the Library Board, beginning July 1, 2011. The term of office is five years, with the eligibility of being appointed for a second five-year term. The Library Board meets from
4 PM to 6 PM on the second Tuesday of the following months: August, October, December, February, April, and June.
The responsibilities of the Wicomico County Board of Library Trustees include the following: determining policy; adopting reasonable rules, regulations, and bylaws; advising in the preparation of, and approving, the library budget, select the location of and approve plans for library buildings, subject to County approval. Board members must be approved by the Wicomico County Council.
Applications are available at the Main Library in Downtown Salisbury, on the Bookmobile, at the Centre Branch, the Pittsville Branch, the Bivalve Station and at www.wicomicolibrary.org.
First consideration will be given to applications received by April 15.
Temporary US Work Visas Go To Unskilled Foreigners
An immigration expert says a visa program designed to help American companies recruit highly skilled workers from abroad has instead become a favorite tool of Indian outsourcing companies, The New York Times reports.
Loopholes in the H-1b temporary worker visa program are allowing India-based outsourcers “to bring in cheaper foreign workers, with ordinary skills, who directly substitute for, rather than complement, workers in America,” Ronil Hara, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, told the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement on Thursday.
From 2007 to 2009, during the economic recession, the only U.S.-headquartered company among the top five users of H-1b visas was Microsoft. Four other companies, all Indian, sent 22,766 workers to the United States in that period.
Studies have found numerous cases of less-skilled American workers being replaced at U.S. job sites by workers sent here from India, often at lower wages.
More
Loopholes in the H-1b temporary worker visa program are allowing India-based outsourcers “to bring in cheaper foreign workers, with ordinary skills, who directly substitute for, rather than complement, workers in America,” Ronil Hara, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, told the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement on Thursday.
From 2007 to 2009, during the economic recession, the only U.S.-headquartered company among the top five users of H-1b visas was Microsoft. Four other companies, all Indian, sent 22,766 workers to the United States in that period.
Studies have found numerous cases of less-skilled American workers being replaced at U.S. job sites by workers sent here from India, often at lower wages.
More
Wisconsin Is 'Ground Zero' Of Battle To Reshape America
The fate of the grass-roots push to limit government growth in America hinges on who wins several pitched battles that continue to escalate in Wisconsin, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and other leading conservatives are warning.
Those melees include recall clashes, high-stakes elections, union campaign scuffles and intense courtroom dramas that have escalated in the Badger State since Gov. Scott Walker set out to cut public-sector entitlements to salvage the state budget.
On Friday, Democrats submitted petitions with more than 20,000 signatures to initiate a recall election against state GOP Sen. Dan Kapanke. Republicans say it’s a blatant effort to punish Kapanke for supporting Walker’s efforts.
Organized labor has poured more than $3 million into Wisconsin to underwrite both the massive recall campaign and a key state Supreme Court election that will be decided April 5.
“Wisconsin is ground zero for the country,” Tea Party Express founder Sal Russo tells Newsmax. “This is the left’s last stand to turn back the tide of what conservatives have been trying to do in the country over the last two years. So we can’t fail there -- it’s ground zero.
“Liberals are trying to say, ‘Even if conservatives win the elections, as we did in a lot of states in 2010, we’ll be able to frustrate and stop them and make it so difficult for them that nobody else will run like that in other states.
“It will bring an end to this conservative tea party revolution that we’ve seen over the last two years,” Russo warns. “That’s their goal: Not just to win in Wisconsin, but to stamp out the tea party movement and fiscal conservatives all over the country. They want to set an example in Wisconsin so that we’ll stop trying in Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and the other states.”
In light of those high stakes, Tea Party Express is airing television ads and a get-out-the-vote campaign on behalf of state Supreme Court Justice David T. Prosser Jr., who is up for re-election Tuesday.
Conservatives on the court, including Prosser, hold a 4-3 advantage over the court’s liberal justices. But if the unions succeed in getting environmental activist JoAnne Kloppenburg elected instead, Democrats will seize control of the court.
That could be critical, because the court is expected to rule on a wave of legal challenges coming from opponents of Walker’s controversial budget-repair bill.
Prosser also has the endorsement of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. But Russo tells Newsmax that Republicans, who perhaps thought the battle against union entitlements had already been won in Wisconsin, are playing catch-up in the contest. More information on the fight over the fate of the state’s Supreme Court is available at TeaPartyExpress.org.
Read more on Newsmax
Those melees include recall clashes, high-stakes elections, union campaign scuffles and intense courtroom dramas that have escalated in the Badger State since Gov. Scott Walker set out to cut public-sector entitlements to salvage the state budget.
On Friday, Democrats submitted petitions with more than 20,000 signatures to initiate a recall election against state GOP Sen. Dan Kapanke. Republicans say it’s a blatant effort to punish Kapanke for supporting Walker’s efforts.
Organized labor has poured more than $3 million into Wisconsin to underwrite both the massive recall campaign and a key state Supreme Court election that will be decided April 5.
“Wisconsin is ground zero for the country,” Tea Party Express founder Sal Russo tells Newsmax. “This is the left’s last stand to turn back the tide of what conservatives have been trying to do in the country over the last two years. So we can’t fail there -- it’s ground zero.
“Liberals are trying to say, ‘Even if conservatives win the elections, as we did in a lot of states in 2010, we’ll be able to frustrate and stop them and make it so difficult for them that nobody else will run like that in other states.
“It will bring an end to this conservative tea party revolution that we’ve seen over the last two years,” Russo warns. “That’s their goal: Not just to win in Wisconsin, but to stamp out the tea party movement and fiscal conservatives all over the country. They want to set an example in Wisconsin so that we’ll stop trying in Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and the other states.”
In light of those high stakes, Tea Party Express is airing television ads and a get-out-the-vote campaign on behalf of state Supreme Court Justice David T. Prosser Jr., who is up for re-election Tuesday.
Conservatives on the court, including Prosser, hold a 4-3 advantage over the court’s liberal justices. But if the unions succeed in getting environmental activist JoAnne Kloppenburg elected instead, Democrats will seize control of the court.
That could be critical, because the court is expected to rule on a wave of legal challenges coming from opponents of Walker’s controversial budget-repair bill.
Prosser also has the endorsement of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. But Russo tells Newsmax that Republicans, who perhaps thought the battle against union entitlements had already been won in Wisconsin, are playing catch-up in the contest. More information on the fight over the fate of the state’s Supreme Court is available at TeaPartyExpress.org.
Read more on Newsmax
Unions Deploy Money And 'Muscle' In Battle Of Wisconsin
If you own a business in southern Wisconsin, you might have received a letter from the Wisconsin State Employees Union, Council 24 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Union leaders want you to join them in opposing Gov. Scott Walker's budget plan, with its limits on collective bargaining for public workers. To show you're on labor's team, the letter asks you to display a sign in your business saying you "support workers rights."
The letter puts you in a difficult spot. Even if you support the unions, you have some customers who don't. Why alienate them? And if you support Walker, you have some customers who agree with the unions. Why alienate them, either? In short, the last thing you want to do is to get involved in the most contentious political issue in the state.
The people at the State Employees Union know how you feel. That's why they've added a little threat to help you see things their way.
Failure to display a pro-union sign, the letter says, "will leave us no choice but [to] do a public boycott of your business." And if you want to remain neutral -- well, that's not good enough. "Sorry-- neutral means 'no' to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members," the letter says.
More at the Washington Examiner
The letter puts you in a difficult spot. Even if you support the unions, you have some customers who don't. Why alienate them? And if you support Walker, you have some customers who agree with the unions. Why alienate them, either? In short, the last thing you want to do is to get involved in the most contentious political issue in the state.
The people at the State Employees Union know how you feel. That's why they've added a little threat to help you see things their way.
Failure to display a pro-union sign, the letter says, "will leave us no choice but [to] do a public boycott of your business." And if you want to remain neutral -- well, that's not good enough. "Sorry-- neutral means 'no' to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members," the letter says.
More at the Washington Examiner
Uncovered: New $2 Billion Bailout In Obamacare
Investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee have discovered that a little-known provision in the national health care law has allowed the federal government to pay nearly $2 billion to unions, state public employee systems, and big corporations to subsidize health coverage costs for early retirees. At the current rate of payment, the $5 billion appropriated for the program could be exhausted well before it is set to expire.
The discovery came on the eve of an oversight hearing focused on the workings of an obscure agency known as CCIO -- the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. CCIO, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, oversees the implementation of Section 1102 of the Affordable Care Act, which created something called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. The legislation called for the program to spend a total of $5 billion, beginning in June 2010 -- shortly after Obamacare was passed -- and ending on January 1, 2014, as the system of national health care exchanges was scheduled to go into effect.
The idea was to subsidize unions, states, and companies that had made commitments to provide health insurance for workers who retired early -- between the ages of 55 and 64, before they were eligible for Medicare. According to a new report prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services, "People in the early retiree age group…often face difficulties obtaining insurance in the individual market because of age or chronic conditions that make coverage unaffordable or inaccessible." As a result, fewer and fewer organizations have been offering coverage to early retirees; the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program was designed to subsidize such coverage until the creation of Obamacare's health-care exchanges.
The program began making payouts on June 1, 2010. Between that date and the end of 2010, it paid out about $535 million dollars. But according to the new report, the rate of spending has since increased dramatically, to about $1.3 billion just for the first two and a half months of this year. At that rate, it could burn through the entire $5 billion appropriation as early as 2012.
Where is the money going? According to the new report, the biggest single recipient of an early-retiree bailout is the United Auto Workers, which has so far received $206,798,086. Other big recipients include AT&T, which received $140,022,949, and Verizon, which received $91,702,538. General Electric, in the news recently for not paying any U.S. taxes last year, received $36,607,818. General Motors, recipient of a massive government bailout, received $19,002,669.
Read more
The discovery came on the eve of an oversight hearing focused on the workings of an obscure agency known as CCIO -- the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. CCIO, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, oversees the implementation of Section 1102 of the Affordable Care Act, which created something called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. The legislation called for the program to spend a total of $5 billion, beginning in June 2010 -- shortly after Obamacare was passed -- and ending on January 1, 2014, as the system of national health care exchanges was scheduled to go into effect.
The idea was to subsidize unions, states, and companies that had made commitments to provide health insurance for workers who retired early -- between the ages of 55 and 64, before they were eligible for Medicare. According to a new report prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services, "People in the early retiree age group…often face difficulties obtaining insurance in the individual market because of age or chronic conditions that make coverage unaffordable or inaccessible." As a result, fewer and fewer organizations have been offering coverage to early retirees; the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program was designed to subsidize such coverage until the creation of Obamacare's health-care exchanges.
The program began making payouts on June 1, 2010. Between that date and the end of 2010, it paid out about $535 million dollars. But according to the new report, the rate of spending has since increased dramatically, to about $1.3 billion just for the first two and a half months of this year. At that rate, it could burn through the entire $5 billion appropriation as early as 2012.
Where is the money going? According to the new report, the biggest single recipient of an early-retiree bailout is the United Auto Workers, which has so far received $206,798,086. Other big recipients include AT&T, which received $140,022,949, and Verizon, which received $91,702,538. General Electric, in the news recently for not paying any U.S. taxes last year, received $36,607,818. General Motors, recipient of a massive government bailout, received $19,002,669.
Read more
Health Care Costs Make Up A Large Chunk Of Maryland's Budget
As Gov. Martin O'Malley and lawmakers look ahead at funding new programs in future years, spending on health care for the poor and health insurance for employees and retirees is chewing up an increasing chunk of the budget, with no relief in sight.
In O'Malley's proposed fiscal 2008 budget, for instance, the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor and disabled takes up 18 cents of every dollar. This year, 643,000 people-- 11 percent of the state population-- get their health insurance this way.
O'Malley wants to cover more children under Medicaid. According to legislative analysts, children make up about two-thirds of Medicaid recipients, but they account only for 20 percent of the costs of the program. The governor also wants to increase payments to doctors and nursing homes, which have borne the brunt of cost-containment measures.
House Speaker Michael Busch and other lawmakers want more of the "working" poor to be eligible for the program to cut the number of people who are uninsured, also a goal of those favoring a $1-a-pack cigarette increase to pay for it.
"Expanding health care coverage is a complex, intertwined and costly problem," said an O'Malley statement in releasing his legislative package.
Even before coverage is expanded, Medicaid and related health programs cost the state $5.2 billion a year, with the federal government matching most of the state contribution. Those costs are going up 8 percent a year. Revenues to pay for it are only rising 5 percent a year. This is part of is called the "structural deficit" in future years.
"Medicaid is going to continue to eat up a larger share of the state budget over time," said David Romans, a budget analyst for the legislature. "Clearly long-term care is where were spending a lot of the money."
Read more
In O'Malley's proposed fiscal 2008 budget, for instance, the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor and disabled takes up 18 cents of every dollar. This year, 643,000 people-- 11 percent of the state population-- get their health insurance this way.
O'Malley wants to cover more children under Medicaid. According to legislative analysts, children make up about two-thirds of Medicaid recipients, but they account only for 20 percent of the costs of the program. The governor also wants to increase payments to doctors and nursing homes, which have borne the brunt of cost-containment measures.
House Speaker Michael Busch and other lawmakers want more of the "working" poor to be eligible for the program to cut the number of people who are uninsured, also a goal of those favoring a $1-a-pack cigarette increase to pay for it.
"Expanding health care coverage is a complex, intertwined and costly problem," said an O'Malley statement in releasing his legislative package.
Even before coverage is expanded, Medicaid and related health programs cost the state $5.2 billion a year, with the federal government matching most of the state contribution. Those costs are going up 8 percent a year. Revenues to pay for it are only rising 5 percent a year. This is part of is called the "structural deficit" in future years.
"Medicaid is going to continue to eat up a larger share of the state budget over time," said David Romans, a budget analyst for the legislature. "Clearly long-term care is where were spending a lot of the money."
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Pemberton Historical Park to Host Rain Barrel Workshop for Public
Spring showers bring great flowers, but rainfall sends harmful stormwater runoff into the Bay. Help do your part by installing a rain barrel at your home! Join us at Pemberton Park in Salisbury on Thursday, April 14 from 1-3pm to discuss how runoff from your property affects the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Bays, and learn simple techniques to help reduce runoff - and lower your water bill - by using rain barrels. Supplies will be on-hand for you to build your own rain barrel to take home! $20 includes the workshop and materials to build an attractive rain barrel for your landscape.
Rain barrels are catching on throughout the Lower Shore. Grow Berlin Green (GBG), a partnership between the Lower Shore Land Trust, Assateague Coastal Trust, and Maryland Coastal Bays Program, has encouraged the use of rain barrels throughout the town of Berlin, distributing almost 100 rain barrels to interested homeowners and businesses. Steve Farr of GBG highly recommends rain barrels as “a great way to conserve water resources and especially convenient for watering your gardens while keeping excess nutrients out of stormwater drains.”
Salisbury area organizations are taking advantage of the benefits of rain barrels, too. Last year, Pemberton Historical Park planted a Children’s Heritage Garden filled with heirloom vegetables and cared for by children using only organic and sustainable gardening practices. In keeping with this theme, the Park has decided to host the rain barrel workshop and build a rain themselves to integrate into the Garden. Kerri Liming, Pemberton Historical Park’s Education Director, said “The rain barrel will be a great addition to our environmental education curriculum, helping summer camp participants and Wicomico public school students learn yet another way they can grow their own food in a manner that is sustainable and also honors to their heritage.”
This workshop is presented in partnership with the Lower Shore Land Trust and Environmental Concern, and funding is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Interested participants are asked to RSVP by April 11. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Christy Hallman at 410-641-4467, or CHallman@lowershorelandtrust.org.
Eagle Nest Cam
JUST READ, ON THE WEB SITE, THERE ARE 3 CHICKS. IF YOU WATCH, YOU CAN SEE THEM, ALL COVERED IN DOWN.
THE THIRD EGG HATCHED THUR. MARCH 17.
HOW COOL IS THIS!! YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAVE THIS ONE SO YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT FROM TIME TO TIME.
LIVE EAGLE NEST WEBCAM, FROM NORFOLK VIRGINIA.
JUST CLICK ON THE WEB SITE BELOW.
Community Invited To Mural In The Park At Billy Gene Jackson, Sr. Park April 9th
(Salisbury, MD) Be part of the solution by volunteering at the Mural in the Park sponsored by Salisbury Advisory Council on Youth Activities (SACYA), affiliate of Wicomico Recreation, Parks and Tourism. The community is invited to join SACYA on Saturday, April 9 from 8am-5pm at Billy Gene Jackson Sr. Park (420 N. Lake Dr., Salisbury, MD 21801) to help paint and clean up the park.
The Mural in the Park is set out to make history known to our community. A local artist will design and paint the mural. SACYA needs help with supplies and manpower, from schools, businesses, community, churches, civic organizations and more. All sponsors will be acknowledged on the mural and community service hours will be given. Food and beverages will be provided to those that help with this project.
For more information on Mural in the Park, please contact April Jackson, West Salisbury Recreation and Parks Commissioner at 410.749.4356.
National Library Week Celebration
WHAT: Celebrate National Library Week
WHO: Everyone
WHEN: Wednesday, April 13th – 2 to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Centre Branch of the Wicomico Public Library
SALISBURY, MD – April 1, 2011 – National Library Week is April 10 – 16th. The Centre Branch will be holding a celebration on Wednesday, April 13th from 2 to 4 p.m. Music, giveaways and refreshments will be enjoyed by all.
The Centre Branch is located in the Centre at Salisbury mall, near the Chuck E. Cheese’s entrance. Visit us on the web at www.wicomicolibrary.org or call 410-546-5397 for more information.
Tourism Officials Teaming To Market Space Launches From Wallops
Tourism officials from Virginia Beach to southern Delaware will gather April 5 to discuss utilizing upcoming launches from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility ( WFF) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to attract visitors to the mid-Atlantic region.
During the luncheon meeting, the nearly 50 officials will learn about the upcoming Department of Defense ORS-1 satellite launch from MARS at WFF, on a Minotaur 1 rocket this spring or summer and will discuss how to use this and other launches this summer as an additional attraction to visitors in the region.
The group has been meeting for nearly two years to discuss the marketing potential of “America’s First Space Coast” with traditional marketing themes they have used in the past. The area is widely known for its beaches and natural attractions. The group wants to take advantage of the rocket launches from Wallops as another activity that would attract visitors to the area.
Speaking during the luncheon at Wright’s Restaurant in Atlantic, Va., will be Valerie Skarupa, Special Assistant to the Director of the Operationally Responsive Space Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Julie Mears, Marketing Communications Manager, Goodrich ISR Systems; and Vicki Cox, Senior Communications Manager for ATK Aerospace Systems.
In addition to the Minotaur 1 launch, there are several NASA suborbital sounding rockets expected to be launched this year from Wallops. Also, Orbital Sciences Corporation is expected to conduct the first launch of its Taurus II launch vehicle later this year.
A steering committee has been formed to distribute the Wallops and MARS launch data and other information to the region’s hospitality industry, organizations and public officials. Liaisons from NASA Wallops and the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport will be working closely with the steering committee.
GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY TO ADDRESS AMERICA’S BUILDING TRADES UNIONS AT 2011 LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley will offer remarks before the Building and Construction Trades 2011 Legislative Conference on Monday. The Governor will join U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (WV), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, among others, at the conference which will focus on jobs and infrastructure investment.
While unemployment nationally has dropped for four straight months, the official national unemployment rate for construction remains around 20%, leaving many skilled workers exiting the construction workforce and infrastructure projects going unfunded. Governor O’Malley will address the need for infrastructure investment in America’s new economy, and our ability to win the future by putting skilled construction workers back to work.
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