Commentary
Commentary
Push Algebra on Eighth-Graders?: YES: Don’t accept failure as the standard
The state Board of Education recently unveiled a plan to require all eighth-graders to take algebra by 2011. That sparked opposition from education officials, including state schools superintendent Jack O’Connell, who said the move was “irresponsible” and “setting up schools for failure.” That might strike parents as odd, like a ...
Business & Economics
Study: State is a ‘saint’
SAN FRANCISCO — The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has released its report comparing the legal climates of all 50 states. And the report is favorable for Mississippi, ranking it ninth. According to the “U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report,” North Dakota ranks best in tort costs and litigation risks, while ...
Business & Economics
How has the state’s legal climate changed since tort reform was enacted?
This feature contains responses from industry professionals to questions posed by Business First. Warren M. Enders – Partner, Reminger Co. LPA Ohio’s recent tort reform legislation imposes “caps” on the amount of damages a medical malpractice plaintiff can recover for “noneconomic damages,” i.e., pain and suffering. In cases involving catastrophic ...
Business & Economics
Who Deserves the Tech Vote?
Nine months after Barack Obama, John McCain has unveiled his own technology plan for America. At last, both candidates can be graded for their long-term friendliness to the tech sector. Lost beneath the theatrics of Obama’s pledge to announce his VP choice via text messaging and McCain’s successful YouTube “fan ...
Business & Economics
High-Tech Lessons for Sacto from SF
Sacramento Union, August 21, 2008 For nine days last month, San Francisco’s state-of-the-art new computer network was held hostage by a convicted felon. Even a team of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest engineers working around the clock could not crack his code. Finally, in a secret midnight meeting at the ...
California
A New Lesson for California School Superintendent
When middle-class parents in California opened their newspapers recently and read that the leviathan Los Angeles Unified School District had overpaid their employees by $53 million, many likely took comfort in the belief that at least the school districts in their own cozy suburban neighborhoods were well managed. These parents, ...
Commentary
What Bill Gates says “Isn’t Supposed to Happen” – Did
Bill Gates, one of the most successful men in history, has weighed in on a problem that will prevent others from achieving success like his. American students now languish near the bottom on international rankings. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” Bill Gates told Oprah Winfrey on an August 7, 2008, ...
California
Why Governor Schwarzenegger’s – and Organized Medicine’s – War on Choice in Health Insurance Will Backfire
Ever since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ABX1 1 stumbled just short of the finish line last January, he and his Democratic allies in the legislature have been looking to move bits and pieces of the failed health reform plan forward. Amazingly, one that he favors is sponsored by the legislator who ...
Commentary
Code for drug reps should fend off new regulations
The pharmaceutical industry’s trade group just announced a new voluntary code of conduct. The updated rules, which take effect on Jan. 1, severely restrict drug company sales reps from giving gifts and purchasing meals for doctors. The rules also impose new regulations on consulting arrangements between physicians and drug companies. ...
Commentary
Questions about a Blues For-Profit Conversion in New Jersey
New Jersey’s biggest health plan, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, has applied to the state to convert to for-profit status. As discussed by the Philadephia Inquirer, the state will likely require Horizon BCBS to disgorge its retained earnings into a charitable foundation that will fund expanded health care – as ...
Push Algebra on Eighth-Graders?: YES: Don’t accept failure as the standard
The state Board of Education recently unveiled a plan to require all eighth-graders to take algebra by 2011. That sparked opposition from education officials, including state schools superintendent Jack O’Connell, who said the move was “irresponsible” and “setting up schools for failure.” That might strike parents as odd, like a ...
Study: State is a ‘saint’
SAN FRANCISCO — The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has released its report comparing the legal climates of all 50 states. And the report is favorable for Mississippi, ranking it ninth. According to the “U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report,” North Dakota ranks best in tort costs and litigation risks, while ...
How has the state’s legal climate changed since tort reform was enacted?
This feature contains responses from industry professionals to questions posed by Business First. Warren M. Enders – Partner, Reminger Co. LPA Ohio’s recent tort reform legislation imposes “caps” on the amount of damages a medical malpractice plaintiff can recover for “noneconomic damages,” i.e., pain and suffering. In cases involving catastrophic ...
Who Deserves the Tech Vote?
Nine months after Barack Obama, John McCain has unveiled his own technology plan for America. At last, both candidates can be graded for their long-term friendliness to the tech sector. Lost beneath the theatrics of Obama’s pledge to announce his VP choice via text messaging and McCain’s successful YouTube “fan ...
High-Tech Lessons for Sacto from SF
Sacramento Union, August 21, 2008 For nine days last month, San Francisco’s state-of-the-art new computer network was held hostage by a convicted felon. Even a team of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest engineers working around the clock could not crack his code. Finally, in a secret midnight meeting at the ...
A New Lesson for California School Superintendent
When middle-class parents in California opened their newspapers recently and read that the leviathan Los Angeles Unified School District had overpaid their employees by $53 million, many likely took comfort in the belief that at least the school districts in their own cozy suburban neighborhoods were well managed. These parents, ...
What Bill Gates says “Isn’t Supposed to Happen” – Did
Bill Gates, one of the most successful men in history, has weighed in on a problem that will prevent others from achieving success like his. American students now languish near the bottom on international rankings. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” Bill Gates told Oprah Winfrey on an August 7, 2008, ...
Why Governor Schwarzenegger’s – and Organized Medicine’s – War on Choice in Health Insurance Will Backfire
Ever since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ABX1 1 stumbled just short of the finish line last January, he and his Democratic allies in the legislature have been looking to move bits and pieces of the failed health reform plan forward. Amazingly, one that he favors is sponsored by the legislator who ...
Code for drug reps should fend off new regulations
The pharmaceutical industry’s trade group just announced a new voluntary code of conduct. The updated rules, which take effect on Jan. 1, severely restrict drug company sales reps from giving gifts and purchasing meals for doctors. The rules also impose new regulations on consulting arrangements between physicians and drug companies. ...
Questions about a Blues For-Profit Conversion in New Jersey
New Jersey’s biggest health plan, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, has applied to the state to convert to for-profit status. As discussed by the Philadephia Inquirer, the state will likely require Horizon BCBS to disgorge its retained earnings into a charitable foundation that will fund expanded health care – as ...
