TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalNo More Oxycontin For Injured Workers In Ohio
As of July 1, the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation will no longer pay for a powerful painkiller that’s at the center of the opioid crisis here in the Buckeye State.
Ohio BWC spokesman Bill Teets says the drug, Oxycontin and its generic equivilent, oxycodone, is being removed from the list of drugs it approves for injured workers.
“They are replacing it with Xtampza which is a sustained release form of oxycodone but unlike other opioids, it is much more difficult to manipulate - crush, snort or inject it. It basically makes it much more difficult to abuse.”
Teets says patients now on the drug can use an appeal process to continue it. He says there’s good news for Ohio’s employers too because they will be getting an overall 20% reduction in the base rate in their premiums. He says that’s the largest rate decrease in sixty years.
Read more: http://www.statenews.org/post/no-more-oxycontin-injured-workers-ohio
Democrats Try Again For Tax Credit For Low-Income Ohioans
With debate over increasing the gas tax and adding another income tax cut in the next budget, Democratic lawmakers and anti-poverty advocates are trying again what they've pushed for years - changes to a tax credit aimed at low-income working Ohioans.
Ohio is one of six states with a non refundable earned income tax credit, which can only zero out tax liability and can’t create a tax refund. House Democrats want to erase the income cap and make the credit refundable.
Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) said it can be paid for with unspent money in the general revenue fund.
And there’s the deduction created in 2013 that allows small businesses to take the first quarter million dollars of their incomes tax free. “That costs us about a billion dollars a year. And there is an opportunity for us to revisit that," Sykes said.
Read more: http://www.statenews.org/post/democrats-try-again-tax-credit-low-income-ohioans
Everyone loved me as Cosmo the Cougar, but would they love who I was behind the mask?
As Cosmo the Cougar at Brigham Young University, I kept the best part of my life a secret from everyone around me by wearing a mask. I traveled the country, performed for millions of people, took pictures with screaming fans, signed autographs and danced like no one was watching — even though everyone was.
My senior year as Cosmo was unforgettable. It was thrilling to watch fans around the globe share Cosmo’s newest dance video, which garnered hundreds of millions of views across social media platforms. I performed live on ESPN at the College Football Awards, and NBC Sports dubbed 2017-2018 the “Year of the Mascot” in honor of Cosmo’s viral influence. When I was Cosmo, I felt invincible.
As scary as it seemed to dance in front of 60,000 people, an even scarier thought often crept into my mind — “If they knew who I really was, would they hate me?”
I wore another mask while I was at BYU — a mask to cover the shame I felt for being “different.” For years I pleaded with God to change my sexual orientation, but after returning to BYU from a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I began realizing that being gay is an integral part of who I am. As I grappled to develop a better understanding of myself, I felt immense pressure to hide my sexual orientation. I was hyper-aware of what some of my peers said about the gay community, how they viewed same-sex attraction and the often unkind and insensitive words they used to describe LGBTQ people — people like me.
Read more: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900057600/guest-opinion-everyone-loved-me-as-cosmo-the-cougar-but-would-they-love-who-i-was-behind-the-mask-byu-lgbt-gay.html
Southern West Virginia students, faculty share opposition to campus carry
On Tuesday, New River Community and Technical College joined a number of higher education institutions publicly opposing the "campus carry" bill under consideration by the West Virginia Legislature.
House Bill 2519, the "Campus Self Defense Act," would prohibit colleges from blocking people, including students, who have a permit to conceal carry a gun on campus. A few exceptions have been written into the bill, which would prevent concealed firearms from being carried in campus daycares, disciplinary hearings, dorm rooms and organized events with the capacity for more than 1,000 attendees.
The bill advanced Tuesday with amendments pending. The amendment and passage debate will be held Wednesday in the state House of Delegates.
"Campus safety is of utmost importance to New River Community and Technical College," the official statement read. "We respect the rights of gun owners and understand the training needed for one to obtain a concealed carry permit, but maintaining campus safety extends beyond HB-2519, the Campus Self Defense Act."
Read more: https://www.register-herald.com/news/state_region/southern-west-virginia-students-faculty-share-opposition-to-campus-carry/article_abb519da-9d9d-5bfe-86aa-4040172b700e.html
West Virginia House passes bills to create $150 million PEIA reserve fund
Two bills intended to fulfill Gov. Jim Justice’s pledge to set aside $150 million to offset future cost increases for PEIA health insurance benefits were headed to the Senate on Tuesday after passing the House of Delegates by wide margins — despite concern that one of the bills poses a $16 million unfunded mandate for state colleges and universities.
The governor’s bill to transfer $105 million in 2018-19 budget surplus into the new Public Employees Insurance Agency reserve fund (House Bill 2665) passed unanimously, but issues arose over a companion measure (House Bill 3139) that requires state agencies come up with $45 million to cover employees who are paid through special revenue — funds raised from fees, not taxes — or federal funds.
That includes about $16 million assessed to higher education institutions to account for the portion of employee salaries paid through tuition and fees, not from state appropriations.
“It’s an unfunded mandate to higher education of $16 million,” Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, declared, noting that would be equal to the $16 million in funding cuts to higher education enacted in 2017.
Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/wv-house-passes-bills-to-create-million-peia-reserve-fund/article_d36427b4-2113-5dbd-a6e3-f96f74594175.html
Senate Declines to Immediately Take Up Teacher Raises
The West Virginia Senate has decided not to immediately consider a bill to raise pay for teachers, school service workers and state police.
The Republican-led Senate on Saturday, Feb. 23, rejected a motion to take up the bill that the House of Delegates passed Friday.
Instead, the Senate referred the bill to its education committee and then the finance committee with two weeks left in the regular session.
Gov. Jim Justice asked the Senate to pass the bill "as soon as possible." Justice requested the raises last fall.
Read more: http://www.wvpublic.org/post/senate-declines-immediately-take-teacher-raises#stream/0
W.Va. Senate Passes Bill to Change Campaign Finance Law, Opponents Say It Lacks Transparency
The West Virginia Senate has cleared a bill that would make changes to the state’s campaign finance laws. While the measure increases the limits on donations to candidates and other political groups, opponents say the bill fails to provide transparency on so-called dark money in elections.
Senate Bill 622 seeks to increase the limits an individual would be allowed to give to a candidate, state party executive committee and a political action committee each election cycle or year. It also offers changes to reporting requirements for funds spent in support or opposition of candidates without their knowledge.
Individual contributions to a candidate committee would be capped at $2,800 per election cycle. Limits on donations to state party executive committees would be set at $10,000 per donor each calendar year. Contributions to a political action committee would be limited to $5,000 per person per year.
All of those limits -- for contributions to a candidate committee, a state party executive committee and a political action committee -- currently stand at $1,000.
Read more: http://www.wvpublic.org/post/wva-senate-passes-bill-change-campaign-finance-law-opponents-say-it-lacks-transparency#stream/0
Spokesman: Dominion Energy to appeal Atlantic Coast Pipeline ruling
RICHMOND, Va. — Dominion Energy plans to keep fighting for the future of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, according to a company spokesman.
Karl Neddenien, ACP spokesman, said the company plans to appeal a decision by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals not to reconsider a ruling that denied a permit allowing the pipeline’s route to go through two national forests and across the Appalachian Trail.
“We are confident that the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture have the authority to resolve the Appalachian Trail crossing issue administratively in a manner that satisfies the Court’s stated objection and in a timeframe consistent with a restart of at least partial construction during the third quarter,” Neddenien said. “We will continue to work to resolve the outstanding biological opinion issue, as well as the Appalachian Trail issue, and continue to believe, as a result, that at least partial construction will recommence in the third quarter of 2019.”
The company plans to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in the next 90 days, Neddenien said.
Read more: https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/spokesman-dominion-energy-to-appeal-atlantic-coast-pipeline-ruling/article_fdcc07fc-bc0a-5c64-8ede-b8d83d531260.html
Justice tells Division of Highways to fix Preston County roads
CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice has directed the Division of Highways to immediately form a rapid response team to address road conditions in Preston County.
“After Delegate Terri Sypolt, House Majority Leader Amy Summers, other legislators, and county officials brought to my attention the seriousness of this issue, I directed the Division of Highways to send an engineer to Preston County to determine road conditions and based on that report I decided that immediate action was needed,” Justice said.
“I want the people of North Central West Virginia to know that their complaints have not gone unnoticed and that we will get to the bottom of this problem and correct it.”
A team of DOH officials including Secretary of Transportation/Commissioner of Highways Tom Smith are on the ground in the area Tuesday and will remain there until a plan of action is in place. The West Virginia National Guard has also offered their support to the Division of Highways.
Read more: https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/justice-tells-doh-to-fix-preston-county-roads/article_84398c3a-cfdd-55ac-a2ac-c354745b6768.html
Bribery scheme investigated by El Paso FBI office lands Presidio County officials in jail
Former Presidio County officials including a commissioner and school board trustee were given prison sentences for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for awarding a county contract to a company.
Former City of Presidio Special Projects Coordinator Carlos Eduardo Nieto, who was also a Presidio Independent School District trustee, and former Presidio County Precinct 3 Commissioner Lorenzo Padilla Hernandez were sentenced Feb. 19 to more than two years in federal prison.
The prison sentences came after both men pleaded guilty last year to one count each of attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Nieto was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, while Padilla received a two-year prison sentence. Both men were also sentenced to three years of supervised release after they serve their prison terms.
Read more: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2019/02/25/bribery-scheme-lands-two-presidio-county-officials-jail-el-paso-fbi-office-investigation/2983004002/
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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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