marmar

marmar's Journal

June 24, 2013

Medication Nation

from the Mayo Clinic:

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center researchers say.. Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found. Twenty percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications, according to the findings, published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

The findings offer insight into prescribing practices. The statistics from the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minn. are comparable to those elsewhere in the United States, says study author Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., a member of the Mayo Clinic Population Health Program in the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.

"Often when people talk about health conditions they're talking about chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes," Dr. St. Sauver says. "However, the second most common prescription was for antidepressants — that suggests mental health is a huge issue and is something we should focus on. And the third most common drugs were opioids, which is a bit concerning considering their addicting nature."

........(snip)........

Prescription drug use has increased steadily in the U.S. for the past decade. The percentage of people who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44 percent in 1999-2000 to 48 percent in 2007-08. Spending on prescription drugs reached $250 billion in 2009 the year studied, and accounted for 12 percent of total personal health care expenditures. Drug-related spending is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, the researchers say. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2013-rst/7543.html

June 24, 2013

Powerful New York Prosecutors Under Scrutiny As Many Convictions of Likely Dirty Cop Are Probed

ProPublica / By Joaquin Sapien

Powerful New York Prosecutors Under Scrutiny As Many Convictions of Likely Dirty Cop Are Probed
Investigation of 50 cases involving Brooklyn police officer Louis Scarcella launched after his alleged role in wrongful conviction for murder.

June 23, 2013 | Two are now New York State judges. Several others are accomplished lawyers at some of the city’s more respected firms. Four have risen to be senior officials in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, one of the largest municipal law enforcement agencies in the country.

These people – and likely dozens of others – are linked in at least one, suddenly noteworthy way: they prosecuted cases over the last two decades with Louis Scarcella, a former Brooklyn homicide detective whose work, and possible misconduct, has become the focus of intense public scrutiny. Charles J. Hynes, the current top prosecutor in Brooklyn, has ordered a formal review of 50 cases that Scarcella investigated, an enormous undertaking that was prompted by Scarcella’s alleged role in wrongly convicting a Brooklyn man of murder more than 20 years ago.

The stakes for Scarcella are obvious and serious: a possibly ruined reputation; exposure to possible litigation; concerns about his personal safety (he and his house have already received some formal protection from the New York City Police Department).

To date, Hynes has refused to say explicitly whether his inquiry will examine the work done by the prosecutors who worked alongside Scarcella, accepting his evidence, making use of the confessions he obtained, vouching for the witnesses he helped locate and interview. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/powerful-new-york-prosecutors-under-scrutiny-many-convictions-likely-dirty-cop-are

June 23, 2013

'Capitalism no longer delivers the goods in the West. It delivers the bads. More and more.'

June 23, 2013

Chicago: Blue Line Study Could Lead to Overhaul

IL: Blue Line Study Could Lead to Overhaul

Jonv Hilkevitch
Source: Chicago Tribune
Created: June 21, 2013

The CTA launched a $1 million study Thursday of the Blue Line stretch that runs along the Eisenhower Expressway, a possible step toward the first major reconstruction of the rail line since it opened more than a half-century ago.

The eight-month study, announced two days before the rail segment's 55th anniversary, is being touted as opening the door to boosting ridership and aiding struggling neighborhoods along the Forest Park branch.

For many residents who use the Blue Line between Forest Park and the Clinton stop in the West Loop, such an overhaul couldn't come soon enough.

The West Side branch tracks are at the end of their useful life, and trains crawl through numerous slow zones -- often barely traveling faster than the cars and trucks mired in rush-hour congestion on that part of Interstate 290. ......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/10975238/blue-line-study-could-lead-to-overhaul

June 23, 2013

SW19 or Bust !!!! ..... The grandest of the slams starts tomorrow.

June 23, 2013

Honolulu mayor proposes bike lanes beneath planned elevated rail transit tracks

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2013/06/honolulu-mayor-proposes-bike-lanes.html

Mayor Kirk Caldwell says the city is considering placing a bicycle path underneath the elevated tracks of Honolulu's planned $5.16 billion rail transit system.

KITV reports Caldwell, who led state and federal officials on a five-mile bike ride through the city on Wednesday, said he calls the proposed bike path the "Green Line," and said it would connect to other bike lanes in the city.

KITV reports city Transportation Services Director Mike Formby says Caldwell's budget includes $100,000 to study the feasibility of a "Green Line."

June 23, 2013

Keith Ellison: Walmart firings 'completely unjust and illegal'

(The Nation) Of the roughly 100 Walmart workers who this month went on strike and traveled to Arkansas, OUR Walmart alleges that five have been fired, ten have received disciplinary “coachings,” and one has been suspended. Along with Lisa Lopez from Orlando, the other fired workers are from Miami; Chicago; and Lakewood, California. Organizers allege that one of workers was told directly that the termination was for striking, and that several of the “coachings” were identified as punishment for “unexcused absence” during the strike.

Asked about the firings of Walmart workers who went on strike, Congressman Keith Ellison told The Nation, “One, they are to be expected. Two, they are completely unjust and illegal.” Ellison (DFL-MN), who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, added, “Power concedes nothing without a demand, and if these CEOs at these big companies are reaping ultra-profits out of the hard labor of these workers, they’re not about to give it up easily. So you’re going to have these retaliatory measures.” Ellison urged elected officials “to intervene and to really stick up for the workers,” and said that at the CPC, “we need to be much more engaged” on the issue of workplace retaliation. “Because people shouldn’t have to suffer in silence,” said Eliison, “and if people are willing to step out there, and to risk so much, they shouldn’t be alone.”

Reached by e-mail, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) also slammed Lisa Lopez’s termination: “It’s ridiculous that WalMart would fire an employee for bringing WalMart’s own rule book to the job. Whom do they think they are fooling? Would WalMart fire me for bringing the Constitution to work?” ...................(more)

Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blog/174937/firing-5-walmart-strikers-condemned-rep-ellison-completely-unjust-and-illegal#ixzz2X2ILo6s4

June 23, 2013