Apr

30

UPDATE: Two Separate Cases of Possible Swine Flu in Columbus

Posted on April 30, 2009 at 8:53 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


It has been confirmed that there are two different cases of possible swine flu in Columbus. Officials are still waiting on test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Ohio State case was a man who worked at the medical center and had recently traveled to Arizona. The other was a woman who was recently in Mexico. Hopefully, since it appears the influenza was contracted somewhere else, it hasn’t been spread around Columbus in large quantities.

Franklin County Health Commissioner Susan Tilgner will be available to answer questions in an online chat at The Columbus Dispatch web site at noon tomorrow.

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Apr

29

BREAKING: Probable Case of Swine Flu at Ohio State

Posted on April 29, 2009 at 11:32 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


This evening Ohio State’s newspaper The Lantern is reporting a case of swine flu at the university.

An employee at the OSU Medical Center was diagnosed with probable swine flu yesterday, according to a statement from the OSU Medical Center. Officials are awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient contracted the virus outside of the workplace.

The Lantern

It is unclear whether this is the case reported on in the media today as being the first case in Columbus or a new case. Regardless, the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic. This was expected and planned for. More cases will come. This is the time to contain the virus, this is not a time to panic.

The strain in most cases causes only mild symptoms and the infected person makes a full recovery without requiring medical attention and without the use of antiviral medicines.

World Health Organization

Take prudent measures to avoid spreading the virus.

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Apr

29

Probable Case of Swine Flu in Columbus (Video & Info)

Posted on April 29, 2009 at 10:04 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


Health officials today reported a probable case of swine flu in Columbus. In addition, there are seven other possible cases around the Central Ohio area.


Source: The Columbus Dispatch

I can tell you that Columbus Public Health (CPH) officials having been planning for a flu pandemic for a long time. Last year all health department employees were trained on what to do in the event of an outbreak.
Today the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to phase 5.


Source: World Health Organization

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Apr

28

Coleman Asks for Tax Hike

Posted on April 28, 2009 at 10:41 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | 1 Comment 


After cutting city services as far as is prudent, today Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman asked for a tax hike from 2.0 to 2.5 percent. The city has not asked for a tax increase in 27 years.

“We’ve cut, we’ve cut and we’ve continued to cut,” Coleman said outside a Clintonville fire station, surrounded by all seven City Council members, Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian and several neighborhood leaders.

The Columbus Dispatch

The tax means those who live and work in Columbus would pay an additional $50 for every $10,000 of income. I support the increase. While I cannot vote on it because I do not live in Columbus, I will l have to pay it because I work in Columbus. That’s alright with me.

I have read comments on many of the articles at Columbus media web sites and many are accusing the city of mismanagement. The extra cost to me is worth it to help people who need essential services to live. If you have the ability to comment on a media web site it probably means you have a computer and web access. You are not the people needing essential services I am talking about.

This is not Coleman’s fault. This is the trickle down from a Bush administration that did not regulate business and the financial markets while starting two wars and giving tax cuts to the wealthy.

“Oh, please,” University District resident Mickey Elzay said of the suggestion that city government is operating at a bare-bones level. From a picnic table at Whetstone Park, she ticked off several suggestions for deeper cuts, including the salaries of Coleman and other top city officials.

The Columbus Dispatch

That is the problem with many who accused the administration of fiscal ineptness. Misinformation. You could cut the salaries of all of the top administration officials and it wouldn’t make a dent in the shortfall. It is not the relatively meager salaries of local public officials that caused Columbus this pain, it is the incompetence, perks, and greed of corporate CEO’s who led us to this.

“This is a small price to pay to protect our neighborhoods, our economy and our way of life,” Mayor Michael B. Coleman said in announcing plans for a special election Aug. 4.

The Columbus Dispatch

I always remember a story from a friend who is a teacher and her school district was asking for needed funds. She was amazed that residents whose children were wearing $150 sneakers were unwilling to pay a few extra bucks for the education of their children. Joe Spinelli, owner of Spinelli’s Deli said at the presentation that if he had to run his business today on revenues from 1982, he would be out of business. He is right. We’ve cut services enough. Time to buy cheaper sneakers.

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Apr

24

George Voinovich and the Internet

Posted on April 24, 2009 at 11:25 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


Recently I wrote about supporting the Social Work Reinvestment Act. I sent emails to both of my senators. I blogged about the response’s I received in the post Has George Voinovich Already Retired.

Basically, Sherrod Brown’s staff sent a thoughtful response that let me know they actually read my email because the response contained his view on the reinvestment act. From Voinovich, I got nothing. Then yesterday I am emailed this from Voinovich’s staff.

Thank you for contacting my office. I genuinely appreciate your e-mail and thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. As with all communications with my office, your views have been recorded.

Every day, I hear from the people of Ohio through their phone calls, letters and faxes to my office. As you can imagine, I also receive a significant number of e-mails daily. Mass-generated e-mails sent by a third-party group, which are usually form text, have hindered my ability to respond to the e-mails, phone calls, letters and faxes that I receive. Due to the increasing number of mass-generated e-mails received by my office, effective March 16, 2007, my office will be implementing changes to the constituent correspondence process.

Consequently, I have established a new system on my website to better serve Ohio constituents. If you would like a written response to your e-mail, please go to http://voinovich.senate.gov/ and click on the CONTACT tab to fill out the web CONTACT FORM. By filling out this form, you will receive a written response from my office.

Thank you for your patience. Should you experience any problems with my web CONTACT FORM, please call my office at 202-224-3353 and my staff will be happy to guide you through the electronic correspondence process.

Sincerely,

George V. Voinovich
United States Senator

Mass-generated e-mails sent by a third-party group? First. Yes, I used part of a boilerplate from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). However, mine was not simply a “form” email. I told of my own personal experience as a social worker with a woman who was in desperate need of help and of my frustration with the current state of our social services. The Brown staff picked up on that, the Voinovich staff did not. Second, the Brown response came within a few days of my email. The Voinovich response took over a month. Third, if your getting tons of mass-generated e-mails, it must mean the members of that “third-party group” are passionate about their organizations position. I would think that would be important information for you to know. Finally, I’m glad my views have been “recorded.”

As the world turns more to paperless communication and as the post baby boomer’s move into positions of power, it will be important that politicians know how to use the tools of communication that are used by their constituents. If Voinovich is representative of the Republican party, it is clear they do not understand.

While I generally disagree with Senator Voinovich, I do honor his public service to the citizens of Ohio. Here’s hoping for a long and fulfilling retirement.

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Apr

22

Health Department to Close for a Week

Posted on April 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | 1 Comment 


In an effort to avoid more layoffs, Columbus Public Health and AFSCME Local 2191 agreed that employees would follow Mayor Coleman’s directive and take five unpaid days of leave in 2009. It appears that management had one idea of how this could work and the union had another. A vote was to be held for union members to decide on which plan they would support.

Management and many union members felt that to lessen the impact on their clients, employees would take days off around holidays such as the Friday’s before Memorial Day and Labor Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving. This made sense for several reasons. One, it meant the health department would still be open that week to provide essential services. Second, Friday’s are a light day with very few clients seeking services. And third, it would lessen the burden for those employees who may live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford to miss an entire week of work.

However, in an apparent attempt to embarrass management and the city, local union representatives may have manipulated its membership to force the health department to close for an entire week. That was the opinion of many employees I talked to. If it was not manipulation, it was certainly incompetence. This will put the fortunes of many of the citizens of Columbus at risk. What if there is a mercury spill? What if there is an outbreak of salmonella? What if a woman receiving prenatal care has an emergency? What if an alcoholic needs to talk to someone because he is about to relapse? Sorry citizens of Columbus, the health department is closed.

Here’s how manipulative or incompetent the union was. First, information about the vote was not given to the members until last Friday afternoon. Again, this is a light day and most employees were gone. Not because they were taking time off, but because they worked extra hours prior to Friday when services were needed. So, employees did not find out about the Tuesday vote until Monday. There had been no discussion on the merits of each proposal, no meetings were held, and no union representatives were roaming the building to answer questions. Times to vote were limited to 7am to 9am and 2pm to 3pm. The language of the ballot was so confusing many employees did not know what box to check. Many employees reported that union representatives were less than helpful when asked. The vote was 88 for taking five days off in a row, 80 for taking time off around the holidays. In a vote so close, if people were confused, the results should be ruled invalid.

I believe in collective bargaining. However, this is not the first time this union has under represented its members as I posted about here. The union would not even let its members decide whether to give up their 3% raise in 2009 to avoid layoffs of fellow union members. The idea of closing the health department for what amounts to nine days counting the two weekend is idiotic. People could die. I hope Local 2191 members will remember the actions of their current union representatives when election time rolls around.

Note: In order to remain transparent, I am a member of AFSCME Local 2191.

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Apr

21

David Hobson Doesn’t Make Sense

Posted on April 21, 2009 at 9:23 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


Former Springfield Republican Rep. David Hobson still has a lot of cash in his campaign account. According to the FEC he has around $633,000. He plans to give it to Republican candidates which is not illegal nor unusual. Still, I thought today he said something that was rather odd.

Hobson said he reserves the right to give his personal funds to a Democrat he deems worthy, But he added he would only give money from his campaign accounts to other Republicans, since that money was given to him as a GOP lawmaker by, presumably, Republican loyalists.

The Columbus Dispatch

Soooo … If your a Republican whose willing to give a personal donation to a Democrat you deemed worthy, doesn’t it make sense that some of that $633,000 were personal funds given to you by Democrats who deemed you worthy?

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Apr

16

Britain’s Got Talent - If You Haven’t Seen This, You Should

Posted on April 16, 2009 at 9:13 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under International | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


My boss told me about this YouTube video a few days ago. He said it was from Britain’s Got Talent, an America Idol type show with Simon Cowell as one of the judges. He said it was from the first show in the competition. I figured it was some odd person belting out a horrendous version of a classic song. It was somewhat odd, but horrendous it was not.

YouTube has disabled embedding, but here’s the link.

The cynical side of me said it was all made up. They knew she could sing and it was rehearsed. I hope not. Whether it was an act or not, the line that rang true to me was when she said, “No one gave me a chance.” I think that’s probably true. I did not think I would write about something like this on a political blog. But sometimes your spirit needs lifting and this one lifted mine.

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Apr

15

Conversation on Tea Bags

Posted on April 15, 2009 at 12:06 am by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, National, State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


There has been a respectful discussion on DaytonOS is to advance “citizen journalism” which means encouraging and facilitating citizens to play an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.'>DaytonOS regarding Tea Bag parties. It started with me objecting to the inclusion of Democrats in the equation. It went on from there.

So far it has been concluded with my vision of the role of the government after a commenter suggested the federal government played no role in the ending of our current financial crisis. Here was my response.

No. It’s not government’s job to solve an economic recession (depression). It’s ours. If we do not elect government officials who are working towards the common good, we are in trouble. You govern by solving problems, not creating them. You need a pot hole fixed, you call your mayor. You want to stop gambling machines from coming to your state, you call your state representative. You want to stop the federal government from giving money to wall street, you call your senator. You want to stop your country from spiraling out of control, you elect a new president.

If you want to see what happens when a country does not have a healthy legitimate government, take a look at Somalia. A good strong democratic government does play a role in the health of a nation.

The idea that we have been a country of free market values is just not true. We have been a country that believes in free markets, but in a fair and regulated manner. While I believe Republicans and Democrats all played a part, the fact that we did not regulate our institutions effectively is what led us to the financial meltdown we face today.

It may be worth checking out. More comments may come.

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Apr

13

Free Health Care Event Coming to Cuyahoga Fairgrounds

Posted on April 13, 2009 at 9:45 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


Rebecca Cline, First Vice President of the Ohio Chapter of NASW, has asked social workers to try and get the word out about an important event. Here is part of an email I received.

You may already be are aware that May 2 & 3 will be a groundbreaking event for Remote Area Medical (RAM), during which the first free urban medical exposition will take place in the country at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, Ohio. RAM provides free medical, dental, and eye care services to anyone who shows up.

More information about RAM from the Ohio NASW web site.

RAM has provided services in the United States to the large number of uninsured or underinsured Americans primarily in rural areas. These health care services are provided over a weekend, utilizing donated equipment and staffed by volunteers who provide general medical, surgical, eye, dental, and hearing care.

If you would like to volunteer, you can do so here. Anyone can volunteer. This from Cline.

We are looking to recruit both NASW members, non-members, social work students and allied professionals. There is enough to do that one doesn’t need a license to do much of the weekend’s work.

If you cannot volunteer, please get the word out to those who are in need of health care.

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