Chanhassen Villager - Comments

***Revision 4: Agenda

FAdams — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:33:13 -0500

***Revision 4: Agenda change***
Committee on Health, Housing and Family Security
Chair: Sen. John Marty
10 a.m.
Room 15 Capitol

Agenda:
S.F. 2815-Lourey: Physician clinics and hospitals quality improvement program establishment.

S.F. 2934-Lourey: Personal care assistance services modifications; home health services extension, unique medical provider identification numbers, electronic training, ventilator training exemption, transitional assistance expansion, personal care support services.

S.F. 2851-Lynch: Public health occupations licensing provisions modifications.

S.F. 3199-Berglin: Human services commissioner duties to state medical review team disability appeal process modification.

S.F. 3201-Berglin: Controlled substances registration regulations; controlled substances prescription electronic reporting system modifications.

S.F. 2877-Latz: Licensed professional counselor continuing education requirements exception.

S.F. 2983-Torres Ray: Qualified clinical trial participation health insurance coverage requirement.

S.F. 3276-Ortman: Resolution urging congressional delegation to vote against the federal health care reform bill.

A hearing is scheduled this

FAdams — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:41:41 -0500

A hearing is scheduled this afternoon on Senator Ortman's resolution (below). The Committee it's being heard in (Heath, Housing & Family Security, Room 15 Capitol) starts at 10:00 a.m., but Ortman's bill won't be up until likely after 1:00 p.m., according to her assistant at the capitol.

She will present S.F. No. 3276,

A resolution memorializing the Minnesota congressional delegation to vote against the federal health care reform bill.
WHEREAS, H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will soon be acted on in the United States Congress; and
WHEREAS, the bill as currently constituted is flawed in a number of troubling ways; and
WHEREAS, its flaws include (1) an unconstitutional individual mandate, (2) an unconstitutional capitation tax, and (3) definitions of health coverage by the members of a panel who are not accountable to voters and who are free to promote their own agendas; and
WHEREAS, by putting an inflexible ceiling on what insurers may spend on medical costs and how much they can charge on premiums, without any limit on their costs, the bill opens the door to the complete elimination of people's ability to choose private health plans; and
WHEREAS, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Program, an amendment to the federal Public Health Service Act intended to help individuals with functional impairments to pay for services and supports, is incorporated into H.R. 3590; and
WHEREAS, while the CLASS Act appears to bring in $58 billion in tax revenues by 2019, in fact the mechanics of the program's funding assure its eventual collapse; and
WHEREAS, the American Academy of Actuaries has concluded that the program's premiums are far too low to cover the expected claims because those who are likely to enroll are likely to need services; and
WHEREAS, both the AAA and the Congressional Budget Office project that the program's projections are very uncertain past the 2019 cutoff and that program costs would eventually add to, and not reduce, the deficit;

NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges Minnesota's congressional delegation to vote against H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges Minnesota's Attorney General to maintain legal action to protect the interests and constitutional rights of Minnesota's citizens with regard to health care insurance.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress, and the Attorney General of Minnesota.

Scott Simon visit When: 7:30

FAdams — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:28:40 -0500

Scott Simon visit

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 21
Where: Bet Shalom Congregation, 13613 Orchard Rd., Minnetonka.
Tickets: General admission tickets are $40
Information and tickets: www.betshalom.org.

Theater ownership Chanhassen

FAdams — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:20:37 -0500

Theater ownership

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was founded in 1968 by Herbert and Carolyn Bloomberg. In 1989, the theater business was purchased by Thomas K. Scallen, who served as president and producer. On March 15, 2010, the theater was purchased by a group led by Michael Brindisi, Tamara Kangas Erickson and Steve Peters.

Unconstitutional? A blogger

FAdams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:18:29 -0500

Unconstitutional?

A blogger at the Capitol reports Sen. Julianne Ortman is calling for a Senate floor debate on the issue of federal healthcare reform and also wants the attorney general to take action to oppose the federal legislation.

http://www.hometownsource.com/blogs/index.php/2010/03/17/senate-republic...

The ceiling is on hold for a

FAdams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0500

The ceiling is on hold for a couple hours.

What amazes me is how quickly this guy works. I spent hours sanding that ceiling and then painting it. He spent about 45 minutes sanding off everything what I painted and then maybe another 30 minutes sanding the part of the ceiling that has dried. And it looks much, much better than when I did it.

This all just goes to show the benefits of the division of labor. I write. That's my specialty. That's my labor, so to speak. The handyman/construction guy fixes what other people are unable to fix. That's his labor. He does physical labor. I do mental labor.

We all know who contributes more to society.

Here's a joke about a plumber and an attorney. An attorney called a plumber to fix his leaking sink.

He asked the plumber how much the plumber charged per hour. The plumber told him how much.

The attorney said, "That's outlandish. I don't even make that much as an attorney."

The plumber said, "Neither did I."

The big Hannah Montana

FAdams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:37:59 -0500

The big Hannah Montana season finale, "Miley says goodbye?" was less an end and more a 'to be continued.' This was the third season for the Disney Channel hit.

The fourth and final season of began filming in January and will be completed by early June, according to an entertainment news magazine-I forget which one. Apparently, season four will consist of 11 half-hour episodes and a special one-hour final installment.

According to the Disney Channel, the second episode of the season 3 finale registered the network's best numbers in that time period ever, standing as cable’s No. 1 telecast in total viewers (6.9 million) and TV’s No. 1 telecast in Kids 6-11 (2.4 million/9.9 rating) and Tweens 9-14 (2.4 million/9.7 rating). Sunday’s part 2 out-delivered part 1 by 10% in Total Viewers (6.9 million vs. 6.3 million), by 4% in Kids 6-11 (2.4 million vs. 2.3 million) and by 9% in Tweens 9-14 (2.4 million vs. 2.2 million).

"Rep. Paul Kohls

FAdams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:52:39 -0500

"Rep. Paul Kohls (R-Victoria) and Rep. Dave Olin (DFL-Thief River Falls) said no evidence was presented showing a definitive connection between gun show sales and crimes with a firearm."

http://www.reviewmessenger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

On Saturday I installed new

FAdams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:50:28 -0500

On Saturday I installed new fill valves in our toilets. For one of them I needed to get a new line to run from the water source to the toilet, but all that required was going to the hardware store, getting the part, bringing it home and screwing it on. This was one of the easiest projects every. We have no more constantly running toilets.

Last weekend I painted the

FAdams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:44:12 -0500

Last weekend I painted the ceiling in my bathroom. Boy, do I wish I would have hired somebody else to do the prep work.

The bathroom used to have popcorn-type stuff on the ceiling. I hated it, and now it's not there anymore. The problem was once the stuff was scraped off, the ceiling needed to be leveled and sanded, so it would look decent. Apparently, contractors tend to put up that stuff on the ceiling to cover shoddy workmanship. I thought I could sand away some of the ceiling flaws. It's dusty, dirty work, but a good shoulder workout.

Unfortunately, after I primed and painted my sanded-down ceiling, I was unhappy with how it looked. Apparently, it wasn't as sanded down as it should have been because when I painted it, there ceiling flaws were showing everywhere. Now somebody who knows what he's doing is here. He scraped off everything that I did and is now getting ready to put mud on the entire ceiling, to level it, before I re-prime and re-paint.

Filings for these positions

rock333 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:14:00 -0500

Filings for these positions will be accepted at City Hall from Aug. 26 through Sept. 8 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Candidates may withdraw their candidacy until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11.

With use of his line-item

FAdams — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:36:00 -0500

With use of his line-item veto pen Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday trimmed the state's capital funding bill from $999 million to $680 million and then signed it into law.

In his letter to House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Pawlenty took swipes at the DFL-controlled legislature and boosted his credentials for as a fiscal conservative.

"Government needs to live within its means," he stated in language familiar to Republicans. "The DFL-controlled legislature seems incapable of prioritizing projects or simply saying no."

Pawlenty accused the legislature of reducing his recommended funding for military families by 50 percent and for veterans' facilities by nearly 40 percent. He blamed them for not sufficiently funding "critically needed public safety initiatives," like expansion of the Minnesota Sex Offedner Program and security upgrades to a Level 5 prison.

Only two items vetoed from the bill seem like they may have had a direct local impact in Carver County, and they are $2 million that would have been used for Early Childhood Learning and Child Protection facilities and $43.5 million that the Met Council would have used for its Transit Capital Improvement Program.

Community Celebration for

rcraw — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:24:26 -0600

Community Celebration for Boys' Hockey Team - March 13

From Minnetonka School District:
Please join us following tonight's championship hockey game, win or lose, at Minnetonka High School to celebrate a great season for the Boys' Hockey Team.
A "Welcome Home" celebration will start approximately 45 minutes following the championship game awards ceremony.
The rally will take place in the West Gym at Minnetonka High School. Please enter through the west "Tonka Center" entrance.
The community is welcome to this event.

I hope the Skippers sleep

rcraw — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:57:19 -0600

I hope the Skippers sleep well today.

I have been involved with

FAdams — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:04:37 -0600

I have been involved with Backpack for three years now and two years as a leader. The program has undergone some changes this year because it is now run by high school students with the help of Bob Davis.

Backpack has been so rewarding to me because I have integrated volunteering into my life. I have worked with Naomi for two of the three years that I have been involved and I have really gotten to know her strengths and weaknesses academically. It has also given me the opportunity to connect with her and be a supporting figure in her life these past two years. Many of the kids we tutor don't have a strong role model so what the high school students offer is very important. I am always cheered up when I get to Ramsey every Thursday and I'm very grateful for all the program has offered me. I hope that it continues to grow and benefit more elementary school children as well as high schoolers!! It allows high school students to get out into the community and offer their time, resources, and talent, and also gives them leadership opportunities.

Ali Goers
Minnetonka High School
Backpack Tutor