TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalWorms found in food at two Kentucky McDonald's
At least two people have reported finding worms in burgers at two Kentucky McDonald's restaurants, according to reports by WPSD-TV.
A Mayfield resident said she visited the local McDonald's Sunday for her 1-year-old son and said a live worm fell out of a hamburger.
About 25 miles away from Mayfield, a resident of Draffenville said she also found a worm in her burger on Tuesday.
The Mayfield resident said she contacted McDonald's about the incident and they sent her a $10 gift card.
Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/life/food/2016/08/28/worms-found-food-2-ky-mcdonalds/89507110/
[font color=330099]So someone finally found some protein in their hamburgers?[/font] 
Agency: University of Louisville may have accreditation issues
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The group that accredits the University of Louisville says U of L appears to be out of compliance with several significant standards because of Gov. Matt Bevin's June overhaul of the Board of Trustees.
In an Aug. 18 letter, Belle S. Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, told acting U of L President Neville Pinto that "there is evidence of significant accreditation-related issues" stemming from Bevin's reorganization.
The letter says that "it appears that the institution is out of compliance" with certain SACS comprehensive standards due to Bevin's apparent involvement in negotiations involving former President James Ramsey's resignation and his executive order abolishing the university Board of Trustees and appointing members of a new board.
Wheelan said in the letter that "the potential for undue political influence in institutional governance appears to be present."
Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-governor/2016/08/26/u-l-has-accreditation-issues-agency-says/89398066/
Bonds form quickly among students at new medical school
LAS CRUCES – Spirits were high Thursday morning on the campus of the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, the state’s newest medical school. On Wednesday, students in the inaugural class had taken their first exam — 100 questions in 150 minutes. It covered what they had learned in the first seven days of school.
By all accounts, it was intense. Many students were studying 10 hours or more each day leading up to the exam.
“In many ways, this will be their hardest test,” said Robert Ketchum, associate dean for academic affairs and preclinical education. “They’re still adjusting to this amount of material, a new style of testing and a new approach to learning. But they’re doing pretty well.”
Med school chemistry
Classes began Aug. 15 at BCOM, but even in the second week, a spirit of camaraderie is beginning to develop among the 162 students in the school’s first class.
Read more: http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/2016/08/27/bonds-form-quickly-among-students-new-medical-school/89498918/
N.M. health care costs set to increase in 2017
Most individuals and small businesses will see double-digit increases in their health insurance costs next year because of new rates approved this week by the New Mexico superintendent of insurance.
The increases are across the board except for small-group coverage by UnitedHealthcare, which is reducing that rate by almost 4 percent.
Molina Healthcare, the largest provider of individual insurance on HealthCare.gov in New Mexico, received an increase of 24 percent.
New Mexico Health Connections is boosting individual rates 33 percent.
Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/health_and_science/n-m-health-care-costs-set-to-increase-in/article_67cb6ef4-3e1a-57e0-93fb-ddc11db6d39e.html
State cash reserves hit zero as budget troubles mount
RED RIVER — Falling tax revenues have left a $654 million hole in the state budget, and New Mexico lawmakers learned Wednesday that the reserve fund for day-to-day government operations is completely drained.
That operating deficit includes a $223 million carryover from spending during the fiscal year that ended June 30, and a projected $431 million shortage for the 2017 budget year, now in its second month.
Legislative Finance Committee members heard the bad news from legislative staff and members of Gov. Susana Martinez’s Cabinet. The numbers were more dire than anticipated because the general fund reserve balance ended fiscal 2016 in the negative.
“We’re down to zero reserves,” noted Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, who raised concerns about how the bleak fiscal picture will affect borrowing costs.
Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/state-cash-reserves-hit-zero-as-budget-troubles-mount/article_41e9db76-e9c1-5f3f-8fee-0f114cfa4eae.html
DPS considers furloughs of up to 23 days, including state troopers
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Department of Public Safety on Wednesday said it is considering furloughs of up to 23 days for employees, including Highway Patrol troopers.
The agency has 1,454 employees, of whom about 810 are state troopers, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Chief Rick Adams.
The furloughs would be in response to budget cuts. The agency has submitted a request for a $12 million supplemental appropriation in an effort to avoid the furloughs.
Public Safety Commissioner Michael Thompson said he was optimistic that state leaders would move to support public safety.
Read more: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/capitol_report/dps-considers-furloughs-of-up-to-days-including-state-troopers/article_7681f7f4-af9a-5216-865e-51f6cc1179df.html
State senator's record becomes issue in forfeiture debate
OKLAHOMA CITY — State Sen. Kyle Loveless, who has done battle with police and prosecutors over political issues, has also had some more practical problems with the law.
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, one of Loveless’ biggest opponents, did a background check on him recently before a planned drug interdiction tour.
He discovered the Oklahoma City Republican had an outstanding arrest warrant arising from a speeding ticket, a suspended driver’s license, court judgments for failure to pay debts and garnishment of his Senate wages.
“This routine check resulted in the discovery of issues that make you ineligible to tour the COMIT (Central Oklahoma Metro Interdiction Team) facility or ride with our officers,” Prater wrote in an email to Loveless on Tuesday.
Read more: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/state-senator-s-record-becomes-issue-in-forfeiture-debate/article_4c2c27de-9ed0-5c57-9322-39dea15efb48.html (subscription required)
Gov. John Bel Edwards unveils new plans for Louisiana flood recovery housing
State leaders are responding to the housing crunch that has followed mass flooding across South Louisiana with a three-pronged plan to assist flood victims shift into the next phase of housing needs, including bringing in temporary manufactured housing units, as was done in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
More than 2,000 people remain in shelters, and already 120,000 households have applied for disaster assistance from the federal government, after deadly floods that have left thousands of people displaced from their homes.
Leaders have spent the past week working to craft a plan for how to aid people who cannot immediately return to their flood-damaged homes, with Gov. John Bel Edwards often stressing the need to tailor a program to the flood victims' needs.
News that the plan would include mobile homes didn't come as a surprise, but officials remained light on details Wednesday in announcing it.
Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_1745f3ca-699d-11e6-8b55-c347e5d1f1e3.html
Much like post-Katrina, a major homeowner aid package could make or break flood recovery
Drop the phrase “Road Home” around New Orleans and other parts of southern Louisiana, and you're likely to hear groans, followed by horror stories about interacting with the suits who ran a homeowner-aid program that became synonymous with government inefficiency.
But dig deeper, and many people will tell you the money that flowed through the Road Home — even if it was too little and very late — was the difference between rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina or walking away.
“The Road Home was the key to the region’s recovery,” says former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who traveled to Washington nine times to seek money for the program and then opted not to seek a second term in the wake of its frustrating launch.
Now, after historic flooding in Baton Rouge and other areas of the state, Louisiana may have arrived at another moment where a decision by lawmakers in Washington on how generously to respond will be make-or-break for a whole region.
Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/louisiana_flood_2016/article_dbd9423a-6bca-11e6-9490-1721745d0c8b.html
With insurance claims in the balance, flooded homeowners fed up with debris pickers
The piles of debris lining the streets of many flooded neighborhoods now come with their own signage – “Our crap, not your's,” or “you loot, we shoot,” or even more to the point, “do not touch.”
The signs written on plywood or messages painted on appliances started popping up soon after the flooding subsided and residents had a chance to start cleaning out their homes.
“Right after we put our stuff out, we had people asking if they could take the washer and dryer,” said Kim Halphen, 46, from Walker, who had large “do not touch” signs in front of the house debris. “We can’t get rid of it until the (insurance) adjusters come.”
The problem has received a lot of attention in neighborhoods and on social media where people with pickups or even trailers are going through the piles of debris and taking anything of worth. It has riled many homeowners who are concerned it's hurting their chances of collecting from insurance or FEMA aid.
Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_c99acf3a-6af8-11e6-81f4-efa9a963c740.html
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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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