TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalWith new health law, insurers target diabetics
MIAMI — Diabetics beware. Your insurance company is looking for you.
As hundreds of thousands of diabetics get health coverage under the federal law, insurance companies are aggressively targeting this glut of new patients, who are expensive to treat and often lax in taking medications and following their diet.
Insurers are calling diabetics when they don't pick up prescriptions or miss appointments. They are arranging transportation to get them to the doctor's office and some are even sending nurses on house calls in an effort to avoid costly complications that will have big impact on their bottom lines.
Before the Affordable Care Act, some diabetics struggled to find insurance because of their pre-existing condition. But the new law no longer allows companies to refuse them or charge more, making early intervention even more critical.
More at http://www.caller.com/news/2014/apr/24/new-health-law-insurers-target-diabetics/ .
15 overdose on synthetic marijuana in one day in Austin, officials say
Austin EMS responded to 15 calls of unconscious and sometimes combative individuals in the past 24 hours who they say overdosed on a strain of synthetic marijuana commonly known as “K2.”
No arrests were made in connection to the incidents Wednesday and Thursday, police said. They said the incidents took place in multiple locations downtown, centering around the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless and the Salvation Army.
EMS Capt. Darren Noak said he didn’t know if the individuals were homeless.
Narcotics detectives are investigating the incidents. Police did not know whether the overdoses were connected to a specific brand of the synthetic drug or if it was sold from a specific location, according to officials.
More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/15-overdose-on-synthetic-marijuana-in-one-day-offi/nfm42/ .
[font color=green]Keep it real, folks![/font] 
Surge of Texans signed up for health care in final weeks
New numbers out show that 734,000 Texans bought health insurance through the federal marketplace from last October to April 19, 2014, a report released by Health and Human Services shows.
Prior to March 1, an anemic 295,000 people had signed up, but in the final stretch of the Affordable Care Act first-year sign-up, another 439,000 obtained private insurance through the exchange.
Health care advocates applauded the new sign-up numbers and said the results are impressive, especially in the face of strong opposition from virtually every state Republican leader.
“Texas has made more progress on affordable health insurance in the last six months than in the last decade,” said Stacey Pogue, a health care analyst at the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.
More at http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/surge-of-texans-signed-up-for-health-care-in-final-weeks.html/ .
George W. Bush says “I hope Jeb runs”
WASHINGTON –Sounds like Jeb Bush is really keeping his own counsel when it comes to running for president — to the point that his own brother isn’t sure.
“I hope Jeb runs. I think he would be a great president. I have no clue what’s on his mind and we will talk when he’s ready. I notice he is moving around the country quite a bit,” George W. Bush told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview from the Crawford ranch that aired this afternoon.
“I really have not talked to Jeb about the presidency. It’s hard for people to believe,” Bush said. “Hey Jeb, if you need some advice, give me a call.”
The comments cemented the idea that the family is encouraging or, at the least, not averse to seeing the dynasty extended. Jeb’s son, George P. Bush, is the GOP nominee for land commissioner in Texas.
More at http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/george-w-bush-says-i-hope-jeb-runs.html/ .
Officials monitor Rio Grande River water supply after warning of Pemex release
A “bad” substance is believed to be snaking its way into the Rio Grande.
The unidentified substance, which already could have impacted Falcon Reservoir, was released from a facility in Mexico owned by the country’s oil conglomerate Pemex, and federal and state agencies are advising water rights holders along the Rio Grande, the Valley Morning Star learned.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued a precautionary notification to Falcon Reservoir facilities Tuesday, and to additional water users downstream Wednesday after being advised by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) that its counterpart in Mexico, the Comisión Internacional de Límites y Agua (CILA), had alerted to this.
“They do not know what the material is or the quantity released, but it went into the Rio Salado and is headed toward the Rio Grande near Zapata,” TCEQ’s precautionary notification states.
More at http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley/article_a744e018-d0dd-11e3-ad4d-001a4bcf6878.html .
Texas Is Losing Out on Millions of Dollars Thanks to Its Defective Property-Tax System
After the private company Houston 8th Wonder purchased the former Six Flags AstroWorld site at Kirby Drive and Loop 610 for $77 million in May 2006, the Harris County Appraisal District turned around and said the empty 104-acre lot was worth $74 million. Instead of taking the $3 million savings and going home, Houston 8th Wonder's hired-gun lawyers bulldozed HCAD for the next six years in multiple courts and slashed the AstroWorld site's value to $31 million, resulting in significant lost property-tax revenue for Harris County.
Over the past 18 years, the Dallas Country Club, a members-only group that boasts a 100-acre golf course and dynamite views of the downtown Dallas cityscape, has routinely sued and prevailed over the Dallas Central Appraisal District. In 2013, the Highland Park property was appraised at a little under $22 million, a sum that critics say is ridiculous and allows the Mockingbird Lane club to skirt significant property-tax responsibility.
And in San Antonio, the posh JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa, with a construction price tag that nearly eclipsed $600 million, has been able to lower its value by $125 million by winning multiple lawsuits against the Bexar County Appraisal District. At press time, two outstanding court cases — and millions more in property-tax revenue — are at stake between the resort and the appraisal district.
There are hundreds more cases — from El Paso to East Texas and at many points in between — that will likely be marked in the loss column for appraisal districts. At press time, the Travis Central Appraisal District was locked in a colossal tussle with the owners of Austin's Circuit of the Americas Formula One racetrack while in Port Arthur, a recent win by a Valero refinery forced the Jefferson County school districts to give back $16 million in tax revenue.
More at http://www.houstonpress.com/2014-05-01/news/texas-property-tax-assessments/ .
Collin County Judge Keith Self Is Ready for the "Federal War on Texas"
Last month, Collin County Judge Keith Self received what in normal times would be an unremarkable letter from the Bureau of Land Management.
The agency's Oklahoma office, the letter explains, is beginning an environmental impact study on about 40,000 acres in and around Lake Lavon. It's part of a larger, multi-state review, done in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, of land and mineral deposits.
The BLM, "
i)n the spirit of government to government consultation and cooperation," then asks the Self and Collin County Commissioners Court to become a "Cooperating Agency" to ease the feds' planning efforts.
Not everyone in Collin County is so sure they want to cooperate with the federal government, especially the newly reviled BLM.
More at http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/05/collin_county_judge_keith_self.php .
Economist to Austin City Council: The Good News Is Also the Bad News
Austin's economic boom is expected to continue surging through 2019, according to an Austin economist who presented his forecast to City Council last week.
But John Hockenyos of Texas Perspective Inc., an economic and public policy consulting firm, also cautioned that the kind of economic growth the city is expected to achieve cannot be sustained without continued substantial population growth.
“If we're going to keep this up — and it’s debatable whether that’s desirable or not — at this pace we’re going to have lots and lots of people continue to move here,” he said. “So far that hasn’t been a problem; others might say that is the problem.”
Hockenyos’ projections forecasted a surge of growth in tourism, hotel occupancy, the housing market, multi-family residences, jobs, and manufacturing.
More at http://www.austinpost.org/article/austin-growth-expected-continue-inexorably .
Austin Police Ticket 47 Campus-Area Cyclists on 'Bike to UT Day'
Bicyclists heading to campus this morning as part of Bike to UT Day received breakfast and the chance to win raffle prizes.
But 47 bicyclists also received something else: a ticket.
This morning, multiple Austin Police officers were seen pulling over bicyclists heading toward campus on Speedway Avenue, just south of the intersection at San Jacinto. The ticketing occurred just blocks north of Speedway Plaza, where a Bike to UT Day party was scheduled to begin at noon.
Police tell KUT the action was part of a "special assignment bike initiative" that began in early February, and focuses on enforcing pedestrian, biking and driving safety near campus. The crackdown is part of the same traffic initiative that lead to the controversial arrest of a jaywalker in the West Campus area back in February. Police are now focused on moving violations in the north campus area.
More at http://kut.org/post/austin-police-ticket-47-campus-area-cyclists-bike-ut-day .
Rick Perry's 'Texas Miracle' is a Texas Mess - And He Won't Be Around to Clean it Up
Texas is experiencing exponential growth. This is not news to anyone living in one of the Texas cities at the center of this population boom. With overcrowded freeways and a strained water supply, Rick Perry's 'Texas miracle' of business and population expansion is impossible to miss.
Though Perry may be right in pointing to low taxes in the state as key drivers of this migration of both people and business, it is this same focus on low taxes and low spending that could spell doom for Texas' infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports. When that time comes, Perry will be far away from the Governor's mansion, and it will be up to someone else to clean up his mess.
The population growth seen in Texas in recent years is astounding. 1.3 million people moved to Texas between 2010 and 2013, making Texas the fastest growing state in the country. Between July 2011 and July 2012, half of the cities in the United States with the greatest population growth were in Texas. Houston gained almost 35,000 new residents, and Austin has grown to be more populous than San Fransisco.
A large part of the attraction in Texas is that it wasn't really hit by the recession. Not only did the economy barely experience a trough, but the unemployment rate in Texas is lower than the national average. Many businesses are still planning to move into the state, with Toyota and Epicor Software moving this year.
More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/15168/rick-perrys-texas-miracle-is-a-texas-mess-and-he-wont-be-around-to-clean-it-up .
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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