From the FINANCIAL TIMES: States around the US are cutting costs wherever possible as they prepare budgets for the fiscal year that starts this week for most of them. Their combined deficit is projected to reach $112bn by June 2011. Local government activities, such as funding police, school buildings, fire departments, parks and social programmes, […]
Month: June 2010
LETTER: The two fold importance of saving PAM
Watchdog, what you wrote was: “Concerning a move in 2011 to the Brunswick Annex, a non-musician Board member told NewsLanc: ‘This project is far beyond the reach of current Board of PAM, technically & financially.’ ” I understood what you were referring to; I don’t think you presented the board member’s quote out of context.
Is the convention center project feasible? Delay seizes defeat from jaws of victory
From the time the hotel and convention center project was introduced, the sponsors of the project consistently referred to the “feasibility” studies that they said supported building it. Beginning with the Ernst & Young “Market Study” of 1999 (1), two studies by PricewaterhouseCoopers, one in 2000 (2) and a 2002 “Update Draft,”(3) a 2003 HVS “Market Study, ” and finally the C.H. Johnson “Memorandum Draft,( 4)” the sponsors publicly referred to them as “feasibility” studies by name.
State publishes “crude rates” for hospital incurred infections
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article entitled “Report finds drop in hospital infections” states “A state Department of Health report released Thursday shows that Pennsylvania’s hospitals reported their patients contracted 25,914 infections in 2009, an estimated 12.5 percent fewer than a year earlier. “Though the report seems to show we’re making progress, 25,914 is still a very […]
A bad day for NewsLanc’s accuracy
After years of not making a significant factual mistake, the editor bungled twice in a 24-hours period.
As previously reported, the Watchdog confused Lancaster General Comprehensive Care Medicine with LGH’s Suboxone program.
LETTER: Why did PAM not make provisions for its move?
One leader who has both a business and education background should be sufficient. PAM is so small. It surely doesn’t need two leaders. There are plenty of folks graduating from arts management programs who could handle the job. But I think it is far more important for the next leader to have some education experience. PAM is a school first and foremost. Its leaders need to understand private school markets and how to recruit students in a crowded market.
Do Pesticides and Allergens Cause ADHD?
From AOL HEALTH: In the United States alone, an estimated 4.5 million children ages 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and rates of diagnosis have risen 3 percent a year between 1997 and 2006. Yet it is unclear what is causing […]
Give PAM endowment back to donors or to MU
I do not agree that PAM should be allowed to tap into its scholarship fund to pay teacher salaries and other operational expenses. That money was given by donors with the understanding and expection that it would be used to pay for lessons for deserving music students preparing for a career in music. Rather than […]
Way clear for Wall Street overhaul
From the FINANCIAL TIMES: The US Congress finalised an overhaul of the financial sector on Friday that would impose a $19bn levy on Wall Street and force banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to retreat from lucrative businesses. If approved as expected, the legislation would mark the most dramatic change in financial rules […]
Correction and apology
It has been brought to the editor’s attention that NewsLanc mistakenly confused the Lancaster General Comprehensive Care Medicine (LGCCM) with the Lancaster General Hospital Suboxone clinic.
We are told that the LGCCM is independent of Lancaster General Hospital. We apologize for confusing the two and offer our apology. We will try to take greater care in the future
PAM’S funding shortage result of lack of vision, business acumen and attention
On Thursday, failing to make payroll, the leadership of PAM finally got around to requesting that the bankruptcy court judge release $250,000 from over a million dollars in the endowment funds to cover the school expenses over the summer.
According to the Intelligencer Journal New Era, “The troubled Pennsylvania Academy of Music says it is too cash-strapped to cut paychecks. To tide it through until students return to the fall, PAM asked a judge to let it tap its $1 million endowment.”
Chester curfew a start, not a solution
From the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Declaring a state of emergency in Chester and imposing a curfew was a drastic but necessary move to try to stem the bloodshed… It remains to be seen if the nighttime curfew in five high-crime areas of the city will make a dent. The mayor and City Council on Wednesday extended the emergency order for 30 days – which only puts a Band-Aid on the bigger problems of poverty, lousy schools, and a lack of jobs, which have become entrenched in this hardscrabble city of about 36,000…
GOP Senators May Still Block More Jobless Benefits
From NEWSMAX: A Republican filibuster appears increasingly likely to kill long-sought legislation extending jobless benefits and a host of other spending and tax measures, despite a new round of cuts to the measure Wednesday that reduced its deficit impact even further. A senior Senate Democratic aide said Wednesday evening that several days’ worth of negotiations […]
US inches closer to financial reform
From the FINANCIAL TIMES: Congress edged closer to a landmark financial reform on Wednesday as Democrats patched up differences over restrictions on bank investments in hedge funds and private equity firms. The battle between lawmakers urging moderation for Wall Street and those demanding punishing terms for banks came to a head in private meetings, producing […]