July 2, 2019

Democratic Presidential Candidates To Address Education Policies At Houston's GRB Convention Center

This Friday, Houston will hold its second Democratic presidential candidates’ forum in just over two months. The latest event will focus on candidates’ education policies.

The National Education Association will host the #StrongPublicSchools Presidential Forum, as the centerpiece of its annual assembly. Confirmed participants include former Vice President Joe Biden, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Jay Inslee, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Thousands of potential questions have already been submitted online. NEA president Lily Eskelsen García says there are definite trends.

“A whole lot of folks are asking questions about [Education Secretary] Betsy DeVos and whether or not the new president would go in a different direction than Betsy DeVos has gone, which has been to really cut funding for things like special education [and] English language learners, who has not been at all a champion for protecting the rights of our public school students,” Eskelsen García said.

Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2019/07/01/337805/democratic-presidential-candidates-to-address-education-policies-at-grb-friday/

July 2, 2019

Harris County Adds Protections for LGBTQ Workers

Days after Houston celebrated its annual Pride festival and parade, Harris County continued efforts to affirm the queer community by enacting a policy to protect its LGBTQ workers.

In a 3-2 vote during a meeting on June 25, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved revisions to explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity protections in its nondiscrimination policy. The court’s new Democratic majority—county judge Lina Hidalgo, along with the commissioners Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia—voted in favor of the pro-equality measure.

Ellis, a longtime LGBTQ ally, first proposed adding LGBTQ employee protections for Harris County employees.

“It’s fitting that we [did] this during Pride Month,” said Ellis. “We have come a long way from the Stonewall Uprising of 50 years ago, but we still have work to do to ensure full equality for LGBTQ people. [Adding this policy language] is an integral step toward equal protection for members of the LGBTQ community. ”

Read more: http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2019/06/harris-county-adds-lgbtq-employee-protections/

July 2, 2019

Julian Castro's Busy Weekend Included the Pride Parade and a String of Sunday TV Appearances

Considering Julián Castro's busy weekend, you'd think the former San Antonio mayor was running for president or something.

Fresh off his well-received performance in the first Democratic presidential debate, Castro marched in San Antonio's Pride Bigger Than Texas Parade Saturday night with twin brother U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro. In contrast to other participating politicos, the two didn't ride in a car but hoofed it along the route, shaking hands and snapping selfies.

Early the following morning, the former Obama housing secretary made the rounds on political talk shows, putting in appearances on CNN's State of the Union, ABC's This Week and NBC's Meet the Press. Castro spent much of his air time discussing immigration, but during his ABC appearance he also jabbed at President Trump for his weekend meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

"What's happened here is that this president has raised the profile of a dictator like Kim Jong-un and now three times visited with him unsuccessfully, because he's doing it backward," Castro said.

Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2019/07/01/julian-castros-busy-weekend-included-the-pride-parade-and-a-string-of-sunday-tv-appearances?utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures&utm_content=HomeTopFeature
(San Antonio Current)

July 2, 2019

'A Mockery of Public Trust': Bexar County Sheriff Cleans House, Angers Deputies' Union

SAN ANTONIO -- Javier Salazar has bounced between scandals since he took over the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in 2017. During his first year, the department drew national attention after deputies gunned down a woman wielding a metal pipe they’d mistaken for a gun, killing a 6-year-old bystander in the process.

The ensuing years have been similarly rocky for Salazar. In 2018, police arrested 23 of the sheriff’s deputies and jailers, more than twice the number arrested the previous year, and charged many with violent crimes. Inmates at the county lockup, which was recently flagged for violating state standards, continue to allege serious misconduct. A lawsuit filed in March accuses guards of organizing a fight club among inmates and betting on the matches. The same month, Salazar announced the unrelated firings of seven employees, most of them for criminal misconduct.

Salazar has held up such firings as proof that he’s committed to reform. The local deputy’s union, however, called his crackdown “blatant political pandering” ahead of Salazar’s re-election bid in 2020. In late April, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Bexar County accused Salazar of violating the union’s collective bargaining agreement, which contains protections for deputies facing disciplinary action. The spat demonstrates how law enforcement unions pit reforms against protections for officers, and why reformers have focused on changing union contracts that make it hard to fire bad apples.

The union focused its complaint on Ryan Ferrell, a six-year veteran of the sheriff’s office. San Antonio police officers arrested the off-duty jailer the night of St. Patrick’s Day after they saw him swerving on the highway and speeding up to 97 mph. A police report says officers followed Ferrell and shouted over the intercom several times before he finally pulled to the side of the road. The report says Ferrell flashed his sheriff’s office credentials and that his breath smelled of alcohol and mints.

Read more: https://www.texasobserver.org/public-distrust-bexar-county-sheriff-deputies-union/

July 2, 2019

With the price of insulin skyrocketing in recent years, Blumenthal pushes legislation to lower drug

With the price of insulin skyrocketing in recent years, Blumenthal pushes legislation to lower drug prices


The price of insulin has more than doubled since 2012, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said during a Hartford press conference Monday, reinforcing the need for a law that will lower drug prices.

Appearing with several people with Type 1 diabetes, Blumenthal said bipartisan legislation approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee aims to lower drug prices by limiting the ability of pharmaceutical companies to abuse the patent system.

“Americans are paying astronomically, abhorrently high drug prices for ... medicines that have been around for years and years,” Blumenthal said. “Not a new wonder drug, but it is absolutely vital to survival."

Stockpiling insulin, keeping watch on the calendar to track the most cost-effective times to purchase their life-sustaining medication, exercising more and eating less — these are just some of the methods diabetics have had to resort to as the price of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years, said several people who appeared with Blumenthal on Monday.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/politics/capitol-watch/hc-pol-insulin-pharmaceutical-drug-industry-combat-practice-blumenthal-20190701-nl2xl45hnbgzdahgf3uhrvtihe-story.html

July 2, 2019

Citing climate change, Swiss insurer Chubb announced Monday it will stop insuring coal-fired power

Citing climate change, Swiss insurer Chubb announced Monday it will stop insuring coal-fired power plants


Chubb Ltd. announced Monday it will stop insuring coal-fired power plants, establishing a climate change policy intended to bear down on an energy source increasingly falling out of favor.

The Zurich, Switzerland-based insurer, which is the largest commercial insurer in the U.S., said it will no longer sell insurance to new coal-fired power plants or sell new policies to companies that get more than 30 percent of revenue from thermal coal mining.

Insurance coverage that exceeds this threshold will be phased out by 2022, and for utilities beginning in 2022.

Chubb also will not make new debt or equity investments in companies that generate more than 30 percent of revenue from thermal coal mining or energy production from coal.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz-chubb-coal-plants-20190701-ruh3urqktvbznkdpsiebtjhfpi-story.html

July 2, 2019

House Spending Bill Includes Funds to Study Crumbling Foundations

WASHINGTON — The National Institute of Standards and Technology could get a boost in funding to develop a cost-effective and standard method for testing the soundness of concrete foundations under legislation approved in the House this week.

The $4 million provision was added into the broader spending bill by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who spoke about as many as tens of thousands of homeowners in Connecticut and Massachusetts experiencing crumbling home foundations due to a naturally occurring mineral called pyrrhotite.

“The crumbling foundations crisis has impacted our friends and neighbors in eastern Connecticut — many in my own neighborhood — and it’s had a major financial impact on local municipalities as entire schools now will be closed for repair due to crumbling concrete foundations,” he said.

The crumbling is thought to be caused by pyrrhotite that was found within the aggregate from a quarry that has since been closed. The chemical reacts with water and sunlight to cause the concrete to crumble over time.

Read more: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20190626_house_spending_bill_includes_funds_to_study_crumbling_foundations/

July 2, 2019

State to End 2019 With A Surplus

HARTFORD, CT — The state is on track to end the 2019 fiscal year with a $770.9 million surplus, according to state Comptroller Kevin Lembo.

However, Lembo warns about $540.9 million of that is accounted for to cover funding for a new capital reserve fund for the Teachers’ Retirement System and the tax settlement with the hospitals. Both were part of the 2020 and 2021 budget agreement signed into law last week.

In his monthly letter to Gov. Ned Lamont, Lembo said he agrees with the Office of Policy and Management that revenue categories are performing above what was projected in the April consensus forecast. Sales tax revenue is $39.9 million ahead of projections, the corporation tax is $25 million ahead of projections, the inheritance and estate tax by $16.5 million, and public service corporations tax by $17.5 million.

“These over-performing revenue categories are positive signs – however, in order to help protect against future economic downturns, Connecticut must maintain financial discipline and continue building the Budget Reserve Fund balance to the statutory target of 15 percent,” Lembo said.

Read more: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20190701_state_to_end_2019_with_a_surplus/

July 2, 2019

2 Insurers Will Participate In Connecticut's Exchange in 2020

HARTFORD, CT — Anthem Health Plans and ConnectiCare will again submit health insurance rates for review next week to the Connecticut Insurance Department.

It will be the seventh year both companies are participating in Connecticut’s insurance exchange established through the Affordable Care Act. Both companies are expected to submit rates for plans on and off the exchange as they’ve done in past years for both the individual and small group markets.

James Michel, CEO of Access Health CT, said last month that he’s been in constant communication with the carriers and expects both will participate. At the same time he said he doesn’t expect any new insurance companies to get into the market.

Both Anthem Health Plans and ConnectiCare confirmed Monday that they will submit rates and participate in the marketplace.

Read more: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20190702_2_insurers_will_participate_in_connecticuts_exchange_in_2020/

July 2, 2019

New Haven teachers union buyout plan falls short of target

NEW HAVEN — A union-led plan to give senior teachers an incentive to retire early to help the cash-strapped school district save money and avoid potential lay offs or involuntary personnel moves was thwarted when the plan fell short of its goal.

Leaders of the New Haven Federation of Teachers union had proposed a plan that would give the district an initial savings in year one, allowing it to avoid paying out accrued sick time for retiring teachers, but would give those teachers additional sick days to cash out in the following four years. The union targeted a minimum of 40 teachers for the plan, but said it was aiming for a maximum of 100.

“We had examined it and determined there could be savings there. The unions agreed they’d be the ones to carry the water,” said New Haven Public Schools COO Michael Pinto.

However, only 29 teachers signed up for the plan, he said, below the level of incentivized retirements that would make the Medicare supplement payments worth it for the district. On average, 30 teachers retire from the district annually.

Read more: https://www.nhregister.com/news/nhregister/article/New-Haven-teachers-union-buyout-plan-falls-short-14065221.php
(New Haven Register)