“But the problems described Friday in an internal audit are remarkably similar to those documented six years ago in a report to the department by Booz Allen Hamilton, the management consulting company. The Booz Allen report found “chronic delays in care” at veterans hospitals and clinics, resulting in part from ‘the current shortage of nurses, nurse practitioners, primary care providers and specialty physicians.’ ”
Month: May 2014
US inflation rise adds to Fed confidence
FINANCIAL TIMES: …The Fed forecasts core inflation of 1.5 per cent this year, 1.85 per cent in 2015 and 1.9 per cent in 2016 because it thinks continued unemployment will keep downward pressure on wages. The behaviour of inflation is crucial: if wages and price rises start to accelerate, it will be evidence of lower […]
For Lessons About Class, a Field Trip Takes Students Home
Still, for all of the school’s commitment to diversity, openly acknowledging who lived where and how well was complicated. It became easier for the parents when they realized that the children had no issues with it; at 4 or 5, they’re still a few years away from wielding the word “rich” as a weapon or experiencing deep and lasting class envy.
Veterans’ Crisis Put Obama on the Defensive as Others Failed to Do
NEW YORK TIMES: This time, President Obama did not wait. Confronted by reports of mismanagement and besieged by members of his own party, he gave in to the pressure and performed the sort of ritual Washington sacrifice he has resisted in other times of crisis over the last five years. The quick exit of Eric […]
EPA carbon rules could speed U.S. shift from coal
USA TODAY:…Aimed at fighting climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency rules will require states to develop and implement plans to cut power plant emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. They will give states a range of options to comply, including the trading of pollution credits. Critics, however, say they could drive up electricity prices and shutter […]
Most Russian Troops Leaving Ukraine Border, Officials Report
HUFFINGTON POST / AP: U.S. defense officials said Thursday that Russia has pulled most of its forces away from the Ukraine border, a withdrawal that the U.S. has been demanding for weeks.
Tom Corbett Met With Jerry Sandusky Investigator Examining His Handling Of Sex Abuse Case
HUFFINGTON POST / AP: — Gov. Tom Corbett has met with a special prosecutor investigating his handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case while he was attorney general and why it took so long to bring charges against the former Penn State assistant football coach… The investigation into how the Sandusky case was […]
CNN and FOX confuse “birth rate” with “fertility rate”
We were startled to hear broadcast over CNN that the “fertility rate” for the USA had ‘dropped’ to 63 births per thousand. That is a rate of 6.3%.
Bee decline overshadows Endangered Species Act’s 40th anniversary
ALJAZEERA: Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act being signed into law; the occasion, however, is being eclipsed by criticisms about whether government agencies are doing enough to protect some species – bees, especially. A lawsuit, the first to invoke the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in defense of bees, was filed in […]
House of Representative offers support for medical marijuana
“Early this morning, the U.S. House made an historic move by voting to prohibit the Drug Enforcement Administration from interfering with state medical marijuana laws. The bipartisan amendment passed with 219 ‘yes’ votes.”
Notice of special Convention Center Authority meeting on June 6
Legal notice posted by Lancaster Newspapers: Notice is hereby given that the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority shall hold a special meeting Friday, June 6, 2014 at 5:30 P.M. (prevailing time) in City Council Chambers, Southern Market, corner of South Queen and Vine Streets, City of Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for the purpose of considering […]
Progressive report links Gov. Corbett gifts to Pa. business
ABC27: Pennsylvania Peoples Campaign said investigators used public records to compile the report which outlines nine different businesses and their documented gifts. According to [John] Hanger and [Gene] Stilp, the most egregious display of “bribery” came from John Moran, owner of Northumberland County trucking company Moran Industries. The report said on July 1, 2011, Moran […]
Serious questions surround ATF stings
USA TODAY: Two federal judges have ruled that widely used sting operations designed to ensnare suspects with the promise of a huge payday for robbing an imaginary drug stash house are so “outrageous” that they are also unconstitutional. One judge said the charges were so unfair that he threw them out after three suspects already […]
Doctor Shortage Is Cited in Delays at V.A. Hospitals
NEW YORK TIMES: Dr. Phyllis Hollenbeck, a primary care physician, took a job at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Jackson, Miss., in 2008 expecting fulfilling work and a lighter patient load than she had had in private practice. What she found was quite different: 13-hour workdays fueled by large patient loads that kept growing […]