TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalJudge finds ‘revenge porn’ law unconstitutional
On an October day last year, a Bennington County woman got a call telling her that naked photographs of her had been posted on Facebook.
The woman had seen the photos before. In fact, she had taken them and shared them via private message with a man. Now, without her consent, they were posted publicly and she was tagged in them.
The incident became one of the first cases to be brought in criminal court under Vermont’s newly enacted law on what’s known as revenge porn. However, earlier this month, a judge dismissed the case because he found the law unconstitutional on free-speech grounds.
Now, just over one year after the bill was signed into law, the statute appears poised to be tested before the Vermont Supreme Court.
Read more: http://vtdigger.org/2016/08/01/judge-finds-revenge-porn-law-unconstitutional/
Lawmakers mull holding hearing on hospital profits
Top lawmakers are considering whether to hold a formal discussion on the growing profit margins at Vermont hospitals.
The move comes in the wake of a VTDigger investigation showing that, despite regulation to control health care costs, hospitals tripled their profits and doubled their assets over the past 10 years.
Rep. David Sharpe, D-Bristol, the chair of the House Education Committee, was the first to raise questions about hospital profits at a meeting of the Joint Fiscal Committee on July 25. He said the data in the VTDigger investigation concerned him.
Sharpe said in an interview that insurance companies, the state’s Medicaid program and the Green Mountain Care Board may not have “demonstrated the ability to control costs in our health care system, and as a legislator that concerns me.”
Read more: http://vtdigger.org/2016/08/02/lawmakers-mull-holding-hearing-on-hospital-profits/
State union presses for more security upgrades
The state is installing a series of security enhancements in an effort to improve safety in Vermont offices, but the union that represents state employees questions whether the measures are enough.
The upgrades come nearly one year after the shooting death of social worker Lara Sobel.
Human Services Secretary Hal Cohen sent an email to employees recently outlining steps the state plans to take to improve security.
The state is implementing “several important physical enhancements” this year, he wrote. They include adjusting state office complexes so there is a single entrance point, creating safety glass secured reception areas, and installing panic buttons, lockdown buttons and security cameras.
Read more: http://vtdigger.org/2016/07/31/state-union-presses-for-more-security-upgrades/
Sen. Donnelly undergoes brain surgery
BILLERICA -- State Sen. Kenneth Donnelly underwent successful brain surgery Tuesday, according to a post on his Beacon Hill Facebook page.
The veteran senator from Arlington was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital Sunday evening after undergoing a medical issue as the Legislature was wrapping up last-minute business on Beacon Hill, according to published reports.
"Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, texted, tweeted, facebook'd, and sent their good thoughts and prayers to Senator Donnelly and his family," the post states.
"Senator Donnelly underwent successful brain surgery today where doctors removed a tumor. His medical team is very pleased with the outcome of the surgery and he is resting comfortably.
Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30199699/sen-donnelly-undergoes-brain-surgery
Mass. governor's veto of long-term coverage for Lyme disease is overridden
After nearly 15 years of fighting to get insurance coverage for long-term treatment of Lyme disease, the Legislature finally did it, just two minutes before a midnight deadline on Sunday.
The legislation that requires private health insurers to cover the cost of long-term treatment for the disease went into effect as soon as the overriding votes in the House and Senate were cast. Previously, most coverage was only for 28 days of antibiotics. Proponents say people with chronic Lyme disease may need longer treatment.
“I’m very happy,” state Rep. David P. Linsky, D-Natick, sponsor of the bill, said Monday. “This measure will help a lot of people and a lot of families in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and that’s the most important thing. It is law at this moment.”
Gov. Charles D. Baker Jr. vetoed the legislation that was attached in June as a budget amendment as the July 31 end to this session was drawing close. Legislators overrode the governor’s alternative and restored the original language in the bill. They also attached an emergency preamble, making the legislation, if approved, effective immediately.
Read more: http://www.telegram.com/news/20160801/mass-governors-veto-of-long-term-coverage-for-lyme-disease-is-overridden
New bill would ban sex offenders from playing Pokemon Go
BOSTON — A lawmaker from Gardner wants to keep sex offenders from playing Pokemon Go, the cell-phone based game that created a craze last month.
Using location software, the game allows players to wander around in the real world to capture creatures known as Pokemon in the app-based game, while also visiting Pokestops and gyms — both in-game creations tied to real-world places.
The Boston Common and other areas have been swarmed with people playing the game on their phones in recent weeks, and the game was referenced in a Senate debate about whether to allow the State Lottery to offer online games.
Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, a Gardner Democrat, filed a bill Monday that would bar sex offenders from playing "augmented reality" games, including Pokemon Go.
Read more: http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/08/new_bill_would_ban_sex_offende.html
Liz Warren calls on both sides to unite against Trump
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pleaded with both far-left voters as well as Republicans to set aside their differences with Democrat Hillary Clinton to avoid putting an “unfit” president in the White House — even as she slammed the GOP.
“What this is about is how we take our government back. That’s the key,” Warren said after a speech at the Somerville Theater last night. “They have all the money and power on the other side — the side that wants to keep things just the way they are. What we have on our side is our voices and our votes and it only matters if we use them.”
Warren, who regaled the packed theater with a policy talk that
focused on raising the minimum wage, regulating big banks and
expanding Social Security, echoed the sentiments of President Obama, who yesterday said GOP candidate Donald Trump is “unfit to serve
as president.”
“Donald Trump proves every day that he is unfit to be president of the United States,” Warren said. “If he were a reality TV show, at this point he would have been
canceled.”
Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2016/08/liz_calls_on_both_sides_to_unite_against_trump
Baker administration prepares for Israel trade mission
After steering clear of overseas trade missions in his first 18 months on the job, Governor Charlie Baker now appears poised to travel to Israel with business leaders later this year.
Israel’s population isn’t much bigger than that of Massachusetts, and the country doesn’t rank in the state’s top 20 markets for exports.
But proponents say Israel, like Massachusetts, punches above its weight class, the two places’ world-renowned startup sectors are natural matches, and this state has much to gain from Israel’s expertise in cybersecurity. There’s a common language and, to a significant extent, a shared heritage.
Governor Deval Patrick made Israel a priority during his tenure, leading two entourages there, in 2011 and 2014, among his 10 overseas trade missions.
Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/08/02/baker-administration-prepares-for-governor-overseas-trade-mission-israel/Q7ew0dCH9Ctp0bLUEz1UOO/story.html
State to upset dentists: Medicaid proposal won't hurt a bit
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — In his mid-30s, Jonathan Hensley was unemployed and caring for some disabled family members. He needed to take care of himself, too, because his teeth hurt.
Historically in Kentucky, someone like Hensley — a single, able-bodied adult with no job — would likely not have had health insurance. But because the state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act in 2013, Hensley and some 400,000 other Kentuckians got taxpayer-funded medical, dental and vision coverage.
Hensley, now 37, got some needed fillings.
That routine dental coverage is now at risk, as Gov. Matt Bevin seeks to overhaul the state's Medicaid system. The Republican governor's proposal would eliminate routine dental and vision coverage for Medicaid recipients, but allow them to earn those benefits back by doing things like volunteering, undergoing a health assessment and getting a job.
Read more: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/us/article/Kentucky-s-proposed-Medicaid-changes-rile-dentists-9061774.php
Federal grand jury subpoenas state Democratic staffers, contractors
Federal law enforcement authorities have ordered state Democratic Party insiders to appear before a New Haven grand jury investigating possible violations of clean-government laws during Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s 2014 re-election campaign, sources close to the investigation tell Hearst Connecticut Media.
The U.S. Department of Justice, sources said, has also subpoenaed state contractors who are prohibited from contributing to General Assembly and top-of-the-ticket races — including governor — but are allowed to give to the Connecticut Democratic Party’s federal account, which traditionally funds Congressional election campaigns.
A federal grand jury is looking at the entire fundraising operation of the Democratic State Central Committee, particularly the controversial transfer of more than $300,000 from its federal account to pay for two late-campaign mailers. The panel in U.S. District Court is also investigating the use of up to $1 million from the federal account to pay for staff salaries, sources say.
While the grand jury proceedings and FBI investigations are secret, there are a variety of potential subjects that could interest federal prosecutors, including possible conspiracies and false reporting to the Federal Elections Commission, sources say. In recent years, federal prosecutors have won guilty pleas for violations of federal campaign law in Connecticut, including so-called straw contributions, in which someone reimburses another for making campaign contributions.
Read more: http://www.thehour.com/local/article/Federal-grand-jury-subpoenas-state-Democratic-9070965.php
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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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