From the NEW YORK TIMES: The main lesson to draw from Thursday’s health care forum is that differences between Democrats and Republicans are too profound to be bridged. That means that it is up to the Democrats to fix the country’s dysfunctional and hugely costly health care system… Mr. Obama should jettison any illusions that […]
Month: February 2010
Dead End for Hummer
AOL.COM: (Feb. 25) –GM’s Hummer — the gas-guzzling behemoth people either love or hate — is headed for the scrap heap of automotive history. A deal to sell the brand to a Chinese company has collapsed, and General Motors says it will shut down production. America has “always been obsessed with largeness, equating it with […]
PA gets an “F” for children’s dental care
In a report released this week from the Pew Center on the States, Pennsylvania was among nine states given a failing score for their provision of children’s dental care. Pennsylvania only met national averages in two of eight separate categories for policy improvement, including…
Construction unemployment still on the rise
USA TODAY: As the jobless rate hovers around 10%, unemployment in construction jumped to 24.7%, highest on record since 1976. Construction has accounted for nearly a quarter of all job losses the past year, though the industry employs 4.3% of non-farm employees. Even manufacturing added 11,000 jobs in January, its first net increase since the […]
INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL
In “Zero tolerance makes zero sense”, columnist Larry Alexander writes, “…School officials say Alexa used a green marker to write on her school desk, ‘I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10,’ followed by a smiley face… “The appropriate, common-sense reaction would have been to punish the girl by making her clean […]
Bickering mars US health summit
Any hopes for reaching cross-party agreement at President Barack Obama’s healthcare summit on Thursday were soon dashed, when Republicans and Democrats quickly descended into bickering over whether reform would raise health insurance premiums. Democratic and Republican leaders sat down with the president on Thursday morning for a much-hyped bipartisan summit, which analysts said would be more about politics than policy.
Loans shrink at some Lehigh Valley banks
(Over a recent lunch, an executive for a state wide bank mentioned the national fall off in loan demands and also that consumer debt was also shrinking. He attributed it to “Too much uncertainty.” Neither bode well for recovery of the economy.) THE MORNING CALL: The nation’s historic drop in loan volumes in 2009 didn’t […]
Lancaster Dog breeders say SPCA hypes cases for publicity
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: Philadelphia animal-cruelty officers say six Lancaster County breeders sold sick, defective dogs at an Ohio auction last October and should be prosecuted for animal abuse. The breeders say the investigators fabricated phony abuse in a stunt to fan media attention and spur donations from pet-lovers. A judge will decide who’s right, because […]
INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA
An article headed “Fry may leave Franklin & Marshall College for Drexel” reports, “F&M’s 49-year-old president is one of two finalists for the top job at the downtown Philadelphia university of about 22,000 students. The identity of the other finalist is not known.” WATCHDOG: John Fry has a way of doing the best possible things […]
A high-stakes gamble
From the PATRIOT NEWS: …Analysts who handicap the betting on Wall Street said the payoff will depend upon casinos’ ability to attract higher-end gamblers who typically drive table game profits. And they predicted there will be a wide gulf between table game winners and losers among casinos across the state… Speaking at a two-day conference […]
Commissioners pass urban grants 2-1; Over $180k saved with discount drug cards
In December 2009, County Commissioner Scott Martin told NewsLanc that, in his opinion, the board of commissioners should consider cutting the annual urban enhancement fund for 2010, citing an already-strapped County budget and as-yet-unspent allocations from previous years. At the Wednesday, February 24 commissioners meeting, Martin maintained that position by voting against the $2 million program for 2010…
EDITORIAL: LNP can learn from Japanese culture
Give the Japanese credit. As part of their culture, their leaders are expected to acknowledge mistakes, apologize, and then go on to do better. When Knight-Ridder owned the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader and the newspaper lost its way in slanting its coverage to favor plans for an arena as a run up to a referendum, the publisher […]
Toyota ‘lost way’ in rapid expansion
FINANCIAL TIMES: Akio Toyoda, the embattled Toyota chief executive, has admitted that the company lost its way and its sense of priorities in its rapid rise to the top, culminating in a massive vehicle recall and a loss of consumer trust… While safety used to be the company’s top priority, followed by quality and volume, […]
The stimulus program bolstered Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: …Last February Congress approved a $787 billion economic recovery program, $26.8 billion of which was allocated for Pennsylvania projects and residents. Although the state is still coping with an 8.9 percent unemployment rate, it is not for lack of investment by the federal government… The state Department of General Services reports that $11 […]