News Cut: May 19, 2009 Archive

Five at 8: May 19, 2009

Posted at 7:48 AM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Live-blogging Midmorning: Taxes

Posted at 9:00 AM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Now that we've heard from lawmakers for the past five months, it's your turn. On Midmorning , Kerri Miller is discussing taxes with Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhasen, and Rep. Diane Loeffler.

News Cut is live blogging and awaiting your comments.

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Why are people so chipper about the economy?

Posted at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

According to people who know, consumer confidence has reached a high point for 2009, driven by an improving short-term outlook.

Now the question. Why? Is it because there is genuinely good news about the economy? Or is it because if you tell people something often enough, they'll believe it? In the wake of the collapsing economy, there was pushback against the media for telling "too much bad news." The assertion, not without merit, was that the media was making it worse.

Since then, politicians have done their best to put a happy face on things by viewing a declining economy as good news because it isn't declining as fast as it was. And the media have picked up on the "improving economy" narrative in many of their stories.

But where's the evidence that things are improving?

Today, for example, Medtronic announced it's going to slash 1,500 jobs, 600 of them in the Twin Cities.

Everyone is waiting for the real estate market to bounce back, and while there have been a few stories documenting an increase in home sales, I tend to pay attention to clued-in people like Teresa Boardman, who writes the St. Paul Real Estate blog and yesterday suggested that it's a stretch to say things are brightening.

In the last couple of weeks I have been reading that we have hit bottom and things will get better. I want to believe it but I don't.

Activity has picked up in the housing market but the prices have gone down, there are too many foreclosures and there are two many people who want to sell but can not because they owe more on their homes than they can sell them for.

On Monday, the stock market jumped 3 percent on "brightened" housing news. But today, reports show a steep decline in housing starts for apartments and condos.

The auto industry has just ordered many dealerships in Minnesota to close. And on Midmorning today, legislators reminded us that the tide of job losses in Minnesota aren't expected to ebb until next year... maybe. And in the wake of the mess at the Capitol, hospitals are laying off people already.

Maybe things are getting better for people. How about you? Are you more optimistic? Why or why not?

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Honor amid the gathering gloom

Posted at 2:10 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

A ceremony to honor emergency medical services personnel couldn't escape the long shadows cast by the nearby Capitol and the looming gubernatorial race today.

On the former helipad of Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman, a possible gubernatorial candidate, said, "We all need to stand up... to protect people who don't have the ability to provide for themselves," referring to Gov. Pawlenty's promise to cut medical care for the poor and mentally ill. "Let's not lose what we have here," he said outside a new wing of the trauma hospital.

Hospitals have started -- or are expected to start -- laying off people in anticipation of the cuts. "I'm humbled in light of what all of you are facing in the next few months," Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, (on the right in the photo below) told the crowd of mostly hospital employees. He has announced plans to run for governor.

Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, (on the left in the photo above) who is also a candidate for governor, claimed some victory in the tax bill sent to Gov. Pawlenty; a provision that extends the ability of communities to increase the property tax for emergency medical services. "It was one line in a 300 page tax bill," he said.

By the time the ceremony got around to the people who provide those services, however, most of the politicians had disappeared.

While the Capitol's eight-month summer vacation is underway, the EMS people have gone back to work, stopping long enough for a rare moment in the spotlight.

Moses Alejado, Scott Swenson, Tony Vanneli, and Michael McGaene - St. Paul's Medic 23 C Shift unit -- responded when Mike Popovich felt his chest tighten during a post-bike-ride shower. They treated him, and took him to Regions, where the cardiac team performed an angioplasty. It took all of 31 minutes.

"There was a time, there, that I thought I might, perhaps, die," Popovich told them today, shortly before asking them to sign a picture he took of them.

A helicopter medical team was also honored for rescuing a young girl in Baldwin, Wisconsin.

And representatives of Hennepin County Medical Center EMS, Allina Transportration, North Memorial Hospital, Lakes Region EMS and Kannebec County EMS were acknowledged for their works at the I-35W bridge collapse.

"In one hour and 35 minutes, they had cleared all four sections of the bridge and treated and transferred over 50 patients," Minneapolis Fire Chief Alex Jackson said. "By the time the national media flew in to see the rescue, it was over."

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A picture is worth a picture

Posted at 3:07 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Surveys and trivia

You have to feel a little sorry for Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, who picked a bad time to rub his eyes on Monday as the Legislature wrapped up its work.

The picture made the front page of both the Pioneer Press....

... and the Star Tribune.

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The silent scandal

Posted at 3:17 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

After being mostly ignored in these parts, the case of Angellika Arndt is getting the attention of the national news media after a General Accounting Office report showed, according to a report by National Public Radio, "children have died or been injured when they have been tied, taped, handcuffed or pinned down by adults or locked in secluded rooms, often to be left for hours at a time."

Yeah, no kidding.

In late May 2006, Angellika Arndt was placed in a "control hold" at a "counseling center" up in Rice Lake after several infractions, such as gargling her milk, an initial state investigation showed. She died. I know the case was "mostly ignored" in the media because I was one of the people who ignored it.

Here's the full report from the GAO. But here's the shameful bottom line:

Examples of these cases include a 7 year old purportedly dying after being held face down for hours by school staff, 5 year olds allegedly being tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape by their teacher and suffering broken arms and bloody noses, and a 13 year old reportedly hanging himself in a seclusion room after prolonged confinement. Although GAO continues to receive new allegations from parents and advocacy groups, GAO could not find a single Web site, federal agency, or other entity that collects information on the use of these methods or the extent of their alleged abuse.

GAO also examined the details of 10 restraint and seclusion cases in which there was a criminal conviction, a finding of civil or administrative liability, or a large financial settlement. The cases share the following common themes: they involved children with disabilities who were restrained and secluded, often in cases where they were not physically aggressive and their parents did not give consent; restraints that block air to the lungs can be deadly; teachers and staff in the cases were often not trained on the use of seclusions and restraints; and teachers and staff from at least 5 of the 10 cases continue to be employed as educators.

Almost all of the incidents involved children with disabilities.

Currently, eight states specifically prohibit the use of prone restraints or restraints that impede a child's ability to breathe. Minnesota is not one of those states, according to the report.

Currently, seventeen states require that staff receive training before being permitted to restrain children. Minnesota is not one of those states, according to the report.

In 2008, the Special Education Task Force submitted its report to the Legislature on the issue, including recommended language on a proposed state regulations on the use of restraint.

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Jesse being Jesse

Posted at 5:02 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura is continuing his book-selling tour (but not in Minnesota) and on Monday he appeared on the Sean Hannity program on Fox. Ventura was typical outspoken but also fell into the mistake of discussing the John McCain - Osama bin Laden race for president. Whoops.

Ventura patted himself on the back for talking about the U.S. budget deficit "before the election," and says the topic never came up in the campaign. He's wrong, of course, and it came up in the presidential debates.

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Graduation speeches

Posted at 5:40 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Life

I had planned to pluck the occasional commencement speech and present them here during this graduation season, then I went and forgot to post up this one last weekend at Tulane by Ellen DeGeneres.

My favorite line in a speech of favorite lines: "Your definition of success will change as you get older."

Now then, does anyone remember anything from their commencement speaker? My college commencement speaker was Lee Remick, and I can't recall a thing she had to say.

(h/t: Gerry Tyrrell via Facebook)

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