| State to borrow out of veterans health insurance fund to pay death ...
CHICAGO - The state will borrow $1 million from a veterans health insurance program to compensate 22 families of fallen soldiers and Marines that have been waiting for death benefits, officials said Sunday.Under the 2004 Line of Duty Compensation Act, families of Illinois troops killed while on active duty are entitled to about $277,000 from the state, the same benefit granted to those of police officers and firefighters who die on the job.Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan have been higher than expected, overwhelming the fund, state officials have said. So far, Illinois has paid more than $27 million in death benefits to 102 troops' families.Four families that have been waiting the longest will get the full benefit, Quinn and Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth said at a news conference Sunday.Each remaining family will get $50,000, borrowed from the Veterans Care health insurance program, Duckworth said."We are taking immediate action to help these 22 families and as this war continues, we will be taking steps to address the needs of the growing number of families of our fallen heroes," Duckworth said.
State Senate Bill Provides Health Care for All
Fifty percent of all personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are caused by a medical situation; either a person's insurance has limits and he or she surpasses them, or the person cannot be insured at all due to a preexisting condition. Last April, California State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) introduced Senate Bill (SB) 840, the California Universal Health Care Act, to solve grievances with California health care. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill in September of 2006, but its supporters continue to campaign for its passage. In order to promote SB 840, the Santa Cruz Health Care for All Chapter is putting its One Care Now Campaign in the spotlight on March 30 at the Veteran's Memorial Hall. According to Carol Robertson, co-chair of Health Care for All Santa Cruz, the primary goal of the event is to educate the public about the bill.
Lincoln Employer Markets Announces Strategic Hires
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) recently named six new members of its Lincoln Employer Markets Group Insurance team in its Omaha and Atlanta offices. Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) March 16, 2007 -- Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) recently named six new members of its Lincoln Employer Markets Group Insurance team in its Omaha and Atlanta offices. Lincoln Employer Markets offers a broad breadth of products focused on Retirement, Group Insurance and Executive Benefits and was strategically created to provide employers with integrated solutions for all non-healthcare-related benefits. Timothy Bird, Assistant Vice President of Risk Services
Timothy Bird has been named Assistant Vice President of Risk Services for Lincoln Employer Markets Group Insurance business segment.
MASSPIRG statement on the release of the Massachusetts Automobile ...
Dan Crane, the director of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation convened an Auto Insurance Study Group at the request of Governor Patrick to identify opportunities within the existing system to increase competition and reduce costs while maintaining equity. The report filed today is good news for consumers. A few of the key recommendations include lowering our premiums through reducing our highest-in-the nation accident rate, delay of the implementation of the Assigned Risk Plan adopted at the end of the Romney administration but put on hold by the Patrick administration pending review; maintaining important consumer protections like limitations on rating factors and some rate flattening; and a re examination of the Safe Driver Insurance Plan to more accurately or better reward good drivers.
What's the price of a pet? Ask my animal-crazed daughter
For those who are either clueless or Fido-less, on Friday a pet food maker called Menu Foods recalled 48 brands of dog food and 40 brands of cat food. 60 million containers.
The tainted food could kill pets by causing their kidneys to shut down. After Menu Foods received the first complaints of pets dying from kidney failure on Feb. 20, they began their own tests on 40 to 50 animals. And about 15 percent died.
To consider the impact of a 15 percent mortality rate, remember: The Humane Society of the United States estimates there are 73 million dogs and 90 million cats in the country.
If even a fraction of those ate the gravy-infused products made by Menu Foods, it could result in the deaths of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats.
But there's one problem: It might not be so easy to know if the renal failure is tied to the food.
Drunk Driving Penalties - Un-Constitutional?
Other than being able to fly your own plane, driving is probably one of the most liberating physical activities known to man. Before we graduate from high school most of us have experienced the exhilaration of the freedom that comes with our first driver's license and our first vehicle. If you were raised in an agricultural environment you probably learned to drive as soon as you could reach the pedals and see over the steering wheel. I got my first license when I was 14-years-old and remember my first $300 vehicle quite fondly. But this is not about the vehicles I have owned, loved and cursed. That may come in a future story. This is about the loss of freedom that comes when you lose your ability to drive. You see, in addition to driving, I enjoyed drinking and partying with friends.
Motorcycle Insurance 101: The Essentials
(NAPSI)-A motorcycle is a significant investment. Before you get your motor running and head out on the highway this season, you owe it to yourself to make sure your insurance is up-to-date and you're properly covered. "Just as riding a motorcycle is much different than driving a car, riders should know that their motorcycle insurance needs are different, too," said Rick Stern, motorcycle product manager, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies. Here Are Some Tips: Update Your Policy. First, verify that all your coverages are still in force. Be aware that some companies have a winter layaway period during which some coverages are restricted. Check with your insurance company to see if you currently have any type of limited coverage. Next, note any changes such as additional riders or a new garaging address.
Sunway Medical mulls listing in FY 2009
PETALING JAYA: Sunway Group's healthcare arm Sunway Medical Centre may consider the possibility of seeking a Main Board listing in financial year 2009 after the completion of its RM150 million expansion plan, chief executive officer Dr Chong Su-Lin said here Wednesday. She also said that Sunway Medical was projecting a turnover of RM114 million for this year from RM100 million in 2006 and RM86 million in 2005. Issues to be ironed out before listing included placing some the group's properties under a real estate investment trust (REIT) to ensure long-term rental earnings, she told Bernama in an interview. Sunway Medical is 70 percent-owned by property firm Sunway City Bhd while the remaining equity is controlled by a group of specialists. Sunway Group is reportedly planning to launch one of the biggest REITs in Malaysia later this year while Sunway City, part of the group, is armed with commercial, retail, residential, hotel and college properties.
Business Milestones
Middle Tennessee Medical Center announces the appointment of Debbie Delbridge Cope, Gordon B. Ferguson and Tom Provow to the MTMC Board of Directors.Cope is a native and life-long resident of Murfreesboro and was born at Rutherford Hospital, now known as Middle Tennessee Medical Center. Prior to her appointment to the board of directors, Cope served and continues to serve on the MTMC Foundation Board.MTMC has done an incredible job meeting the need for high quality medical care, and remains committed to doing so in the future. It is an honor to lend support to our hospital in any way that I can, Cope said. I am the eighth generation of my family to be born and raised in Rutherford County, so it is very special to me. I have been blessed to live in such a wonderful community.Cope is a member of the Murfreesboro Charity Circle since 1982, serves on the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Rutherford County and the Childrens Discovery Center Advisory Board.Cope is a founding member of the board of directors for both the Rutherford County Chapter of Friends of Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital and the Junior League of Murfreesboro.
Tales of pot's dangers may not be just smoke and mirrors
Were you in Oxford, England, you might have already heard this, but since you're in Oxford, Miss., we'll let you know: Pot might just be really bad for you after all.
The Independent (newspaper) out of London has recently made an about-face on its 1997 call for decriminalization of cannabis in England. At that time The Independent led a campaign to decriminalize the drug, culminating in a 1998 march on Parliament and eventual softening of drug laws in England, allowing physicians to prescribe cannabis for medical use. The drug was even downgraded in 2004 to a class C drug, making possession illegal, but not arrestable.
Fast forward 10 years, and now The Independent has printed a front-page apology to its readers for its earlier stance. Mounting evidence in British scientific cirlces in recent years has indicated that cannabis use can impair mental health.
To Shore Up the Force, SDPD Bails Out of Task Forces
Monday, April 9, 2007 | For the last two years, as dozens of police officers have left the San Diego Police Department, the city has pulled police officers out of some of the region's most cutting-edge public safety programs. The city is now no longer represented on at least two major crime task forces that it contributed officers to until 2006. The SDPD has also reduced the number of its investigators on several other task forces, a move that has sparked criticism from the local law enforcement agencies who have been left to pick up the slack. .
Housing giveaway in Honolulu raises eyebrows as it lifts spirits
HONOLULU: One morning a few weeks ago, as Dorie-Ann Kahale was straightening the room she lived in with her five daughters, a visitor arrived sporting coiffed gray hair and keys to a mansion. The visitor, Genshiro Kawamoto, a Japanese real estate tycoon, had come by to tell Kahale that he was about to change her life. She and her girls would be leaving a homeless shelter for one of his multimillion-dollar houses in Honolulu's Kahala neighborhood, the Beverly Hills of Oahu. "It's God's miracle," Kahale said, standing barefoot on the marble tile floor of the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath, modified Colonial-style house. "Look! I have crystal chandeliers in every room." At the shelter, she had been sleeping on the floor of a room smaller than her new kitchen, and her daughters, ages 6 through 20, had been sharing one double bed.
Flak flies as energy alternatives compete for funding
WASHINGTON — In what one industry representative calls a struggle for supremacy, advocates of various sources of alternative energy are beginning to point out the competition's warts. "Everyone wants to use the energy crisis as leverage to support his solution," said Bob Rose, executive director of the Fuel Cell Council. .
Baldacci reform plan calls for mandatory insurance
AUGUSTA - A broad package of health insurance reforms that builds upon Dirigo and would lead to mandatory coverage for businesses and individuals was unveiled Wednesday by Gov. John Baldacci.
Baldacci's plan, designed to move Maine closer to universal health care, also includes market reforms such as a state reinsurance plan, requiring insurers to give discounts for nonsmokers and worksite wellness programs, and more rigorous reviews before rate increases are allowed.
In the MaineCare program, Baldacci proposes a 50 percent increase in prescription copays, reducing administrative costs and recovery of more money from insurers, workers' compensation and Department of Veterans Affairs. The plan also sees a modest increase of roughly 1,000 people in the Dirigo Health program to 14,500 over the next year or so.
Panthers Sign David Carr as Insurance
If Jake Delhomme gets injured this season, the Panthers don't want to worry about their backup situation. The Carolina Panthers signed the former No. 1 overall pick in the draft, David Carr, to a two-year deal on Friday. Carr was released by the Houston Texans about a month ago."It's a case where we were obviously looking for someone to come in back up Jake and the opportunity to get a quarterback the caliber of David in free agency is unique," said Panthers general manager Marty Hurney. "We thought it was a good situation and a good opportunity for us."Carr had started for the Texans the past five years, but two statistics stood out during his time with the team: 65 interceptions and 249 sacks. Carr never really performed horrible as an individual, but the Texans' offensive line was never of a quality standard.
Tax implications of your vacation home
As a certified public accountant with a real estate license, Erich Faber knows the ins and outs of owning a vacation home from two sides of the issue. Faber, who has owned a CPA firm at the lake for more than 15 years, said there are three general categories in which vacation homes fall: those used exclusively by the homeowner, those rented for fewer than 15 days per year and those rented for more than 15 days annually. "If it is purely a vacation home that you are not renting, the owner can deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes," he said. Federal tax laws permit homeowners to write off the interest and taxes as itemized deductions on one home in addition to the primary dwelling. In the case of homes rented for fewer than 15 days annually, the Internal Revenue Service does not require homeowners to claim the rental income or rental expenses, but on homes rented more than 15 days per year the income and expenses must be reported.
Letters, faxes, and e-mail
Obviously, neither Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine nor Press-Register editors have ever lived next to more than five dogs, barking and fighting all day and night. Both of the county's proposed documents (animal and junk control ordinances) were extremely well written and already had wording excluding breeders from this limitation. Now, because of politicians and the press, it will be watered down and useless, just to please a few, even though it was voted for and approved by the people of Mobile County. Of course, the biggest problem will not only be non-compliance, but lack of enforcement. Anyone really interested in cleaning up our county and living in a pleasant environment should read the documents at www.mobilecounty.org.
SEX PISTOL STEVE JONES TURNED DRUNK LOST STAR ONTO SOBRIETY
"When I first got here I met a guy who was the Sex Pistols guitarist, Steve Jones, at a party and I remember the evening going very well and I was getting drunker and drunker and he wouldn't drink or smoke anything. "He told me he was sober and I thought, `If he can do it, maybe I have a chance.' "I don't think I would have had any kind of future if I had continued to go that way and I certainly wouldn't be able to be a parent or a human being." .
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