| Tom Eagleton's last words Les AuCoin
BlueOregon is a place for progressive Oregonians to gather 'round the water cooler and share news, commentary, and gossip. Learn more about BlueOregon and meet our contributors. (Huh? What's this?) BlueOregon Sponsors Advertise on BlueOregon LEGAL STUFF This site is published by Kari Chisholm at Mandate Media, but copyright to and responsibility for all posts and comments are owned by their respective authors. Obviously, the posts and comments here are the views of their authors, and not of anyone else. While we're strong believers in free speech, we reserve the right to delete comment spam or other offensive material. Our contributors, however, reserve the right to embarass themselves in public.
Hershey moves symptom of ugly economics
What a horror! This is what I felt after reading that Hershey "will cut as many as 250 jobs at its hometown Reese's candy factory in Pennsylvania as part of a wider move to reduce domestic labor costs by switching production to contractors and a new plant in Mexico." Hershey's callous decision is representative of what has been occurring more and more throughout America as "cheap labor" is intensely sought after by owners and CEOs of companies who are literally throwing away the jobs of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans. How can a company whose name has been seen as such an American icon treat its workers in such a barbaric way? I learned from Eli Siegel, the great economist and founder of the Aesthetic Realism, that for some people to profit from the lives and labor of other human beings comes from the ugliest thing in man.
Your calendar
Financial workshop series: "An introduction to credit." The Woodlands, 195 Union St., Newark. 6 to 7 p.m. (740) 349-7066, ext. 202. Ice cream social: This is for students who achieved goals for the third grading period. Central Intermediate School, Church Street, Newark. (740) 349-2331. Lay responder first aid/CPR/AED instructor's training: American Red Cross of Licking County, 196 S. Fifth St., Newark. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To register, call (740) 349-9442. Linnville Lighthouse Afterschool Program: Open to fifth through 12th grade. St. John's Lutheran Church, 6004 Linnville Road, Newark. 3 to 6 p.m. Moundbuilders Toastmasters: Meet in room 71 of Hopewell Hall. Open to all persons who desire to improve their communication skills. Newark Campus of Ohio State University and Central Ohio Technical College, 1179 University Drive, Newark.
Saunders speaks her mind
We expect our graduates to be competent people, but we can have some real conversation on how we can ensure that competence. It will be wonderful if we can say, 'if you graduate from here, we'll make sure you always stay on your game.' And our employers will say, 'if you hire a USM graduate, there is always that resource.'"
On increasing quality and accreditation:
"Those of us that have professional accreditations within our units and then institutional accreditations sometimes we roll our eyes and think that it's a big chore. There is a good purpose for accreditation, it set standards. That is one way that I make sure that we are on top of where we are because it sets the level. We spend an awful lot of time getting the best and we have to compete. When talking with the deans, they said that were losing a lot of them to the South.
Anxious owners asking about food
One of the largest pet food recalls in history has pet owners on edge and many scrutinizing what they buy. In Sioux Falls, the recall of products made by Menu Foods caused Shannon Crayne to take a second look at what she feeds her cat and two dogs.
"We checked all of it out before they were fed anymore," Crayne said. Local veterinarians say about half the inquiries they've received in recent weeks have been about pet food safety. And new recalls are popping up as grocery and pet stores scramble to remove tainted food.
"It's a big mess is what it is," said Dr. Dennis Somers, veterinarian at Best Care Pet Hospital.
Pet foods believed to be contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine have been in the news since the middle of March, when the recalls began.
Stuart Cable on the Stereophonics and his new band
EVERY time he mentions the 'sacked' word, Stuart Cable makes quotation marks in the air. It's as if the term doesn't really exist in his world, at least by his definition. As he tells it, he couldn't have been 'sacked' as the drummer of the Stereophonics because he was going anyway. And people knew about it, including singer Kelly Jones. It's just that he actually hadn't got round to fixing a leaving date, although he'd mentioned to his ex-wife Nicola it would be after a tour to promote the last album he made with the band, You Gotta Go There To Come Back. He didn't have time to bow out with a bang however, because he was 'sacked' while recuperating from an operation in that infamous phone call from bandmate and frontman Kelly. He was beaten to the punch by him, his best friend, the one who he'd been playing in various bands with since the age of 15, and regrets that he didn't get to throw the first one before he was 'let go, left, sacked, whatever' at the height of the band's career.
VA director advocates for 'families initiative'
DECATUR - Tammy Duckworth knew she could quote statistics all day, but sharing an account about meeting a woman who is without health insurance and can't afford prostheses for her amputated arms and legs told the true story."We need to make sure all Illinoisans have access to affordable coverage," said Duckworth, director of that Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, who also is an amputee. "What kind of country have we become when good families are now without health care insurance?"Duckworth addressed a small crowd on Thursday morning at the Illinois Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 974 building to advocate for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "Investing in Families Initiative," which is the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008.The initiative includes the "Illinois Covered" plan to provide insurance to all Illinoisans, the "Helping Kids Learn" plan to invest an additional $10 billion in Illinois schools over the next four years and requiring big businesses to pay a "gross receipts tax," as well as a plan to address the state's longtime pension deficit for thousands of retired state workers."This is a historic budget proposal; it's time to invest in the schools - improve the environment and make it better for students, better for teachers and administrators," said Bob Arya, senior adviser to the governor."We need to reform our tax system; it's broken, doesn't work and is not fair.
Shelter has housed more than 200
(Editor's note: Jill Durrant, executive director of the Next Step Center in Somerset, visited the Daily American to discuss a variety of issues related to the temporary homeless shelter with Vicki Rock, staff writer, and Brian Whipkey, editor.)Q: How long has the Next Step Center been open? A: The Next Step Center received its first guests in 2003, although the project was conceived in 1996. There was a need established because over 500 people in Somerset County were being serviced in Cambria County. As in most areas, the “not in my backyard" syndrome played a major part. People are always very scared of a homeless shelter because we see the homeless population as being dirty and lazy and the typical stereotype. So understandably the community was very reticent to have a shelter in this area, but the house was found, and the neighbors did not disapprove or have any problems with the concept, and the house was chosen because it's fairly near the services in town, and we have the Roof Garden Market opposite, so they can access some of the things they need.
Zila Pharma Says Guardian Life Insurance To Cover ViziLite Plus ...
(RTTNews) - Zila Inc.'s (ZILA | charts | news | PowerRating) subsidiary Zila Pharmaceuticals Inc., noted that The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America would offer coverage for ViziLite Plus exams. Zila Pharma is the marketer of ViziLite Plus with TBlue630 system for the early detection of oral abnormalities that could lead to cancer. ViziLite Plus exam is the device that takes only minutes to diagnose oral cancer and is totally painless and non-invasive, the company said. Copyright(c) 2007 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved .
Property owner says association is effective
When Ron Fraze moved from his West Coast home into a rural subdivision outside of Columbus, regulations were the last thing he wanted to live by. "I was one of the biggest rebels against the (homeowners association) board," he admits. In the 12 years since, his tune has changed. In fact, for the past four years, he has served as the association's president. "All in all, I think it makes better neighbors," he said. "Because, no matter where you live, there are laws to follow." Over the years, Fraze and former president Gene Aubrey have served as the sounding board for homeowner complaints that run from grazing to snow removal. They have also worked closely with board members to build on the strong groundwork laid by their predecessors. For any subdivision, the strength of its homeowners association rests with the will of the people involved.
Candidates talk about tackling state's health care woes
(LOUISVILLE) -- Along with the emergencies that Dr. Amir Ahmad treats in eastern Kentucky, he gets his share of patients suffering from sore throats, ear infections and mild breathing problems. "Most of them could be treated in the clinic," said Ahmad, emergency room medical director at Harlan Appalachian Regional Hospital. "The main reason is they don't have insurance -- that's why they come here." Ahmad estimates that 15 percent of patients treated each year in the hospital's emergency room have no health insurance. Even if the cases appear minor, they routinely undergo X-rays and blood work as a precaution -- costs the hospital often ends up absorbing and which drive up the overall expense of health care, he said. "It's a broken system," Ahmad said in a phone interview.
|
