I consider this good news–Caritas Christi Health Care has formally asked for permission to enter in to talks with Landmark:
Landmark Medical Center has revealed its intention to become part of Caritas Christi Health Care, a Massachusetts-based chain of six Catholic hospitals.Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein, who has been supervising the struggling hospital’s management for more than a year, on Thursday approved Landmark’s proposal to negotiate exclusively with Caritas Christi.
It will take many months to bring the proposal to fruition. But Thursday’s ruling marks a significant milestone in the effort to save the Woonsocket hospital, which asked for court supervision in 2008 because it was in danger of financial collapse.
You can read the whole ProJo article here. I’ll add my press release to this shortly…
The budget for FY 2010 appears on the general assembly website, but it is not exactly easy to find. So, in case anyone is looking for the budget, here you go. (Each link will open up a PDF file)
2009-H 5983 SUB A ENTITLED, AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE STATE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2010 Article 1 ; RELATING TO MAKING APPROPRIATIONS IN SUPPORT OF FY 2010
Article 2 ; RELATING TO BORROWING IN ANTICIPATION OF RECEIPTS FROM TAXES AND INTERFUND BORROWING
Just by way of a quick update, I think that we expected to see the House Finance Committee’s budget this week. The process would have been a caucus on Thursday and a hearing on the actual budget today. This hasn’t happened, and as far as anyone can tell, it is supposed to happen next week.
I’ll make a video update when the budget document is revealed. Until then, have a nice weekend!
It may be hard to believe, but sometimes I agree with Arlene Violet. I saw her at the Tea Party at the State House yesterday, but wasn’t able to get over to introduce myself. Political ideologies aside, she has been a fighter for what she believes in, and I admire that.
Speaking of the tea party, here is a sample of the emails that I’ve been receiving from some of the Woonsocket taxpayer coalition folks:
1. Pass Fair Funding Formulas for the State- Don’t lose federal stimulus money because we do not have a formula-
2. Request waivers and extensions to S3050 mandating changes to the tax class gaps now!
Providence has a waiver, why shouldn’t Woonsocket??
3. General and massive cuts to spending to close budget gaps- stop supporting the Lobbyists..
Support the taxpayers!
4. Restore state aid to cities and towns like Woonsocket that desperately need it and that are educating inner city children.
Well, that seems like a sensible agenda to me, bearing in mind that massive cuts per #3 are easier said than done. We seem to be getting to the point where the next cuts will likely hurt the areas of community hospitals and MRDD services, neither of which will really help Woonsocket taxpayers in the long run. Striking a balance in the cuts has got to be a priority as well.
Yesterday, I voted against the e-verify bill. I did not take an ideological stance against the bill so much as a technical one. The two major factors that I see are:
The e-verify program’s uncertain future. Currently, the database and system are not funded. The Obama administration has stated that they’ll make a decision on the system at the end of this month—it would have been nice to be able to vote on a system that we know the federal government is going to back. Until they make it official, this is a potential unfunded mandate.
Identity theft. The e-verify system does not detect identity theft, it just assures that a name and SSN go together and are legit. There is no means to verify that someone is indeed who they say they are. Identity theft is already rampant in this digital era—so if any valid name and SSN combo will get you through the system, we are going to see more and more cases like this one.
I also received many emails like this one from concerned citizens and small business owners:
·COST to SMALL BUSINESSES – This will adversely affect ALL businesses in RI and imposes just one more obstacle to doing business here. Implementation and training, as well as time spent paying staff people while they appeal inaccurate information, will be costly to businesses both small and large. One small business in MD refused to implement the program saying that it would cost an additional $27k per year in administrative costs.
·ERROR RATE – To operate E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will rely on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) database, which has been identified as a source filled with over 17.8 million errors, many related to name, date of birth or citizenship status.
·DISCRIMINATION – The system has major faults, as it often inaccurately identifies immigrants and U.S. citizens as not being “employment-eligible.” This will, in some cases, prevent qualified, documented immigrants and U.S. citizens from getting jobs and will unfortunately encourage discrimination among employers.
·MARRIED/DIVORCED WOMEN – Potential and current employees are likely to be faced with erroneous results of the E-Verify system, especially those who have immigrated here or changed names after a marriage or divorce. This means it is another piece of legislation that will affect everyone, but unfairly target the immigrant population.
I did not speak out against this measure on the house floor out of respect for its sponsor, my colleague from Woonsocket. But I want to go on record with you, my constituents, about why I voted the way that I did…
I can’t help but feel terrible for Mayor Menard, who lost her daughter yesterday. As a parent, I can imagine that she is devastated–but I can’t even fathom it. As I look at my little kids, my stomach turns just thinking of it. The Mayor, and her family, particularly her two and four-year old grand kids, will certainly be in my thoughts.
In a devastating personal blow to Mayor Susan D. Menard and her family, the mayor’s 31-year-old daughter was found deceased at her residence in Massachusetts yesterday.
