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Will education be a top focus of the 2020 elections?
Bambi Majumdar EducationEducation is not always a top-tier issue in presidential debates, but it has increasingly become a topic that needs to be addressed. 2016 candidates touched it almost in passing, disappointing many. This is not the case with the candidates for 2020. They are vocal and are not afraid to address the biggest questions in education. The Democratic primary field has thus far taken education up as a major issue rather than leaving it to state and local authorities like before.
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Interesting notes from recent TPWD law enforcement reports
John McAdams Recreation & LeisureThe Texas Parks and Wildlife Department publishes some of its more interesting events compiled from TPWD law enforcement reports each month or so. These reports are usually good for a laugh and sometimes even provide a good lesson or two. As I noted in a previous article, usually those lessons contain good advice on what not to do, though. Interestingly enough, neither of these episodes involve any social media mishaps or alcohol use, which makes them somewhat unique among noteworthy game warden encounters.
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How will the Bipartisan Budget Act affect businesses, government?
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementNow that President Trump has inked the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, what does it mean for businesses and the federal government? For one thing, the BBA 2019 suspends the national debt limit until after the 2020 election and hikes spending by $324 billion over two years. "That makes it easier for Congress to do something to help small businesses if it wants to," Frank Knapp Jr., head of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, told MultiBriefs in an email. "We'll see."
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Parental participation in IEPs
Howard Margolis EducationSome parents of children with disabilities readily accept whatever the school’s IEP team members recommend. After all, they reason, these people are the professionals. They know best. Other parents believe it’s critical that they participate in every aspect of developing, implementing, and assessing their child’s IEP. They believe that they know a great deal about their child’s needs that school-IEP team members need to address but may not know or fully appreciate. They see much that school personnel don't.
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US economy adds 164,000 new hires; unemployment rate stays at 3.7%
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIn July, U.S. payrolls added 164,000 workers versus job gains of 224,000 in June, as the unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 6.1 million unemployed workers in July, close to the same number as June. The number of long-term unemployed persons decreased 248,000 in July from June. The employment-to-population ratio rate stayed nearly the same in July versus June, the BLS reported.
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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: The 30-day requirement for diabetic foot ulcers
Tiffany Hamm and Jeff Mize Healthcare AdministrationHyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) has been shown to improve healing rates and decrease the number of major amputations in the diabetic population. Recent research and evidence have driven the new paradigm of aggressive treatment and the attempt to save a limb, if at all possible, to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with a major amputation. This article outlines how to prevent Medicare denials of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) when treating diabetic foot ulcers (DFU).
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Cruises are popular, but what effect do they have on the environment?
Bambi Majumdar Waste Management & EnvironmentalPrincess Cruises, a Carnival subsidiary, recently made news for the wrong reasons. Carnival will have to pay a $20 million fine after illegal and environmentally damaging acts were revealed on Princess ships. Princess violated the terms of its 2017 probation when it was convicted for improper waste disposal. Perhaps even more damaging was that the cruise line did not report the findings of environmental inspections to the authorities. Carnival is not the only cruise line to flout regulations, and the environmental costs of these firms' negligence are high.
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Health data groups urge Senate to adopt unique patient identifiers
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationHealthcare lobbyists made their way back into the limelight recently when several major groups took to the U.S. Senate to speak passionately about removing the two-decade-old ban on unique national patient identifiers. These health information management leaders told members of Congress that the use of federal funds to adopt such a nationwide identifier would allow collaboration between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the private sector. Additionally, the groups assert that this federal funding is crucial for identification solutions that may reduce medical errors and protect patient privacy.
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Are we witnessing the death of Main Street, or its rebirth?
Lucy Wallwork RetailThe decline of America’s downtown "Main Streets" is nothing new. First, the rise of the automobile meant they were displaced as the nexus of community and commercial life by out-of-town malls. More recently, even the malls have fallen victim to the rise of online shopping, with 1 in 4 expected to be closed by 2022. The outlook for Main Street doesn’t look good, as the headlines tracking empty frontages keep telling us. But are we giving in to nostalgia too much? Perhaps the rebirth of Main Street might not look to the past at all, but to the future.
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After months of controversy and consequences, Boeing may end 737 Max production
Michelle R. Matisons ManufacturingWhen news of the Boeing 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia spread, repercussions were immense. So far, Boeing reports an $8 billion loss. After the second crash, the company rolled production back from 52 to 42 planes per month. Recently, Boeing suggested it may even end 737 Max production, which could cause "the financial equivalent of a prolonged government shutdown or a significant natural disaster." Already, Southwest Airlines has cancelled Newark service because it cannot fly the 737 Max, for example.
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