TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalBurrell increases minimum wage to expand mental health care access
Burrell Behavioral Health announced Thursday that it raised compensation for employees and outpatient providers in an effort to increase access to mental health care.
The Springfield-based provider raised the organization's minimum wage by $3.15 to $11 an hour for all current and new employees, according to a news release. Missouri's current minimum wage is $7.85 per hour.
The wage increase affects 21 percent of Burrell's employee base, mostly the lowest paid employees, the news release states. Burrell describes itself as the second-largest community mental health center in Missouri.
Additionally, Burrell increased compensation for outpatient clinical providers to exceed industry standards, impacting 52 percent of the organization's provider base. This move to get in line with industry standards is part of Burrell's strategy to recruit and retain "the most qualified and passionate employees," the news release states.
Read more: https://www.news-leader.com/story/marketplace/2018/02/23/burrell-increases-minimum-wage-expand-mental-health-care-access/363201002/
Hawley blames McCaskill for campaign's high legal spending
WASHINGTON -- Top GOP Senate recruit Josh Hawley has spent more than $110,000 on lawyers since he launched his campaign four months ago —about 20 percent of his total spending so far in the race, and a sum that experts say is unusually high.
His campaign blames Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Democrat Hawley hopes to oust in November, for the high legal expenses.
“Claire McCaskill and her allies have a deliberate strategy to smear Josh and his wife, Erin,” said Hawley campaign spokeswoman Kelli Ford in a statement.
Ford pointed to what she said were “multiple frivolous” campaign finance complaints filed against Hawley by the American Democracy Legal Fund, a creation of influential Democratic operative David Brock. The complaints allege that Hawley illegally paid Senate consultants with state campaign funds.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article201655609.html
Kansas can't cut off Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood, appeals court rules
Kansas acted improperly when it tried to cut off Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood under former Gov. Sam Brownback, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
Brownback, who has now taken a position in President Donald Trump’s administration, sought to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding for breast exams, birth control and other services in 2016.
Brownback’s objection to sending Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood stemmed from the fact that the organization also provides abortion services, but those procedures are not paid for with Medicaid dollars. A federal district judge blocked Kansas from cutting off payments to the women’s health care provider in 2016.
Two years later and less than a month after Brownback left office, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that the state lacks the authority to prevent Medicaid recipients from obtaining services from Planned Parenthood.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article201386559.html
KanCare changes leave seniors struggling to get, keep Medicaid coverage
Advocates for elderly Kansans say a number of changes the state made to streamline the Medicaid application and renewal process have actually created a maze that seniors are getting lost in.
In 2015, Kansas moved to a new computer system for applying for Kansas Medicaid, or KanCare. Then it funneled applications and annual reviews that used to be handled in regional offices into a single “KanCare Clearinghouse” in Topeka. It contracted with a company called Maximus to staff the Clearinghouse starting in 2016.
Since then the number of seniors covered by KanCare for in-home nursing help has gone down and so has the number being covered for nursing home beds. Meanwhile, the state’s population has been aging. Dan Goodman, the director of the Johnson County Area Agency on Aging, said it just doesn’t add up unless there’s a problem with the system.
“Some seniors are really having a tough time getting onto Medicaid,” Goodman said. “They get frustrated, are in poor or declining health, become defeated by the process and give up.”
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/health-care/article201430364.html
Samson and the free haircut: Is this finally the end for Eric Greitens?
Missouri now has its own Samson-and-Delilah story.
In the Biblical version, Samson — who could no doubt teach Governor Eric Greitens a thing or two about proper pull-ups — is emasculated by a temptress who figures out the source of his superhuman strength lies in his long hair. She cuts it off, and Samson ends up on the wrong end of a prison mill grinder.
In the Missouri version, the governor who loves to impress with his physique and workout routine also gets involved with a woman who cuts hair. She appears to be more the victim than the temptress, but both stories end with the tough guys being taken away in custody, their dominions in tatters.
In the six weeks since a St. Louis TV station broke the news of Greitens’ 2015 affair with his hair stylist in the St. Louis area, the Republican governor has tried to brazen out the storm. He ignored calls from legislators in his own party to resign. He traveled the state talking up a tax-cut plan. Missourians were treated to television ads featuring the smiling face of their philandering governor, selling his tax plan, paid for by his dark-money political group.
But on Thursday St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner announced that a grand jury has indicted Greitens for felony invasion of privacy. The charge presumably stems from allegations that Greitens allegedly photographed his lover while she was blindfolded and at least partially nude, and threatened to put the photo on the internet if she revealed their relationship.
Read more: https://www.pitch.com/news/blog/20993629/is-this-finally-the-end-for-eric-greitens
Kansas' new lieutenant governor is maybe kind of a birther
Sam Brownback is no longer the governor of Kansas. He is now the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, which in the Trump Administration probably means he travels to third-world countries and explains the Old Testament to warlords and murderous dictators while brokering arms deals. Brownback's lieutenant governor, Jeff Colyer, has replaced him. Colyer is a plastic surgeon from Johnson County, and he has lately been putting political points on the board simply by not being as horrible and dumb as his predecessor. Kansas was incredibly secretive under Brownback, and Colyer has made transparency a priority. To applaud Colyer for this would be like throwing a party for me when I pay my electricity bill on time. But Kansas is starved for good news from its government. So OK.
On Tuesday night, Colyer — who will face a crowded primary in his run for governor this year — announced his new lieutenant governor. His name is Tracey Mann, and he lives in Salina and works for a commercial real estate company based in the Kansas City area. He'll be sworn in on Wednesday.
In 2010, Mann ran for U.S. Congress and lost in the Republican primary to Tim Huelskamp. During that race, Mann said some weird and vile shit.
*At a candidate's forum, Mann said that President Obama "should show his birth certificate" to "resolve it one way or another."
Read more: https://www.pitch.com/news/blog/20992498/tracey-mann-kansas-new-lieutenant-governor-is-maybe-kind-of-a-birther
Ted Cruz uses 'The Simpsons' to make a political point, but the head of the show says he's wrong
When it comes to how Republican leaders view “The Simpsons,” a lot has apparently changed in a quarter-century.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush took a dim view of the then-new Fox animated series, saying of his Republican ticket: “We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons.”
On Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington, reportedly told the assemblage: “I think the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson, and Republicans are happily the party of Homer and Bart and Maggie and Marge.”
To which “Simpsons” showrunner Al Jean replies: “We’ve come up in the world.”
Jean is speaking tongue fully in cheek, because he believes Cruz, a self-professed big “Simpsons” fan, is off base. (Cruz is the man who in 2016 ventured in pop-culture waters to compare then-candidate Donald Trump to the villainous Biff from “Back to the Future”; a year earlier, he notably botched a “Simpsons” quote.)
Read more: http://www.pbcommercial.com/zz/shareable/20180223/ted-cruz-uses-the-simpsons-to-make-political-point-but-head-of-show-says-hes-wrong
Revised funding plan announced for Interstate 69
At the request of local officials, the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) has investigated an alternative option for the remaining Future Interstate 69 federal-aid earmarked and state matching funds. A comparison of the current funding plan to construct the western portion of the Monticello Bypass versus an alternative funding plan that would construct the route from the eastern terminus of the Monticello Bypass to Highway 65 has been evaluated based on the current purpose and need for Future Interstate 69.
Approximately $76 million in funds is available to construct the next phase of Interstate 69. The majority of these funds are Congressional “earmarked” meaning they can only be used for a specific purpose. In this case, these funds may only be used for Interstate 69.
The alternative funding scenario proposed by local officials would construct two lanes from the eastern terminus of the Monticello Bypass to Highway 65 in McGehee in lieu of constructing two lanes of the western leg of the Monticello Bypass. Funding to purchase the right of way for the ultimate four-lane Interstate facility for both segments is included in this alternative funding scenario. The eastern section of the Monticello Bypass now under construction is expected to be completed this summer and will extend from U.S. Highway 278, east of the city, to U.S. Highway 425 to the south.
“Not only would this alternative funding scenario allow freight in southeast Arkansas to move more efficiently and safely through the region, it would also provide a larger footprint for Future Interstate 69,” emphasized Commissioner Robert S. Moore, Jr. of Arkansas City.
Read more: http://www.pbcommercial.com/news/20180222/revised-funding-plan-announced-for-interstate-69
Senator spotlights state's corporate welfare payments (Koch money)
Arkansas Business' Sarah Campbell-Miller reported on a meeting at the Capitol yesterday worth a broader audience — a debate on the value of taxpayer-financed economic development incentives, or corporate welfare.
The hearing was arranged by Sen. Bryan King, a lame duck Republican who doesn't enjoy broad support in the legislature. He has questions, as some conservatives do, about handing out taxpayer money to anyone — poor folks for medical care or rich folks to subsidize private investment. (UPDATE: King said Thursday he's running for re-election after all. He'll face Republican Rep. Bullet Bob Ballinger in the primary.)
Mike Preston, the governor's first-class-flying economic development commissioner, naturally defended the handouts. Friends of the governor in the Senate, his nephew Jim Hendren and Dave Wallace, also defended the handouts. They credit them for good jobs in their districts. They, of course, mistake correlation and causation. Most studies show that, while corporations happily take any handouts on offer, the incentives are rarely the core reason for industrial location. Cheap labor, land, transportation, cheap energy and other factors are more important.
That was the case made by UCA economist Jacob Bundrick.
Bundrick said the money could be better spent on steps that have been proven to enhance competitiveness, like reforming taxes, licensure requirements and infrastructure.
Preston argued that Bundrick's team is funded by special interests slanted against incentives and, even if the funds were used for other things that improve competitiveness, it wouldn't be enough. Incentives are the first thing companies ask about when they meet with him, Preston said.
"Even if everything was perfect — we had no state income tax, no corporate income tax — we still have competitive disadvantages we have to overcome," Preston said. "This is a drop in the bucket for us to still be competitive.”
Read more: https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/02/21/senator-spotlights-states-corporate-welfare-payments
Ex-judge Boeckmann gets five years in prison (sexual predator)
Joseph Boeckmann, the 72-year-old former district court judge from Wynne, was sentenced Wednesday by federal Judge Kristine Baker to five years in federal prison plus a $50,000 fine by on wire fraud witness tampering charges.
She added time to the government's recommendation, giving him the maximum sentence under guidelines He'll have three years of supervised release after the prison sentence. The judge said Boeckmann's abuse of his office set the case apart.
Boeckmann, who quit the bench after a state judicial discipline investigation that triggered the federal investigation, pleaded guilty to federal charges that said he gave lenient sentences to defendants in his court in return for sexual favors, generally related to male defendants posing for suggestive photographs.
Prosecutors asked for a three-year sentence and a $50,000 fine. His attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, said Boeckmann was a broken, elderly man and justice would be served by completion of his sentence in home detention.
Read more: https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/02/21/ex-judge-boeckmann-gets-five-years-in-prison
Another article with more details on the sexual abuse allegations:
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/feb/20/prosecutor-calls-ex-judge-a-predator-ur-1/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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