TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalTexas Drops Planned Parenthood From HIV Prevention Program
Amid an ongoing battle over Planned Parenthoods participation in the state Medicaid program, Texas health officials are cutting off funding to a Planned Parenthood affiliate for an HIV prevention program.
In a notice received by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast late Monday, an official with the Department of State Health Services informed the Houston-based provider that it would not renew its contract for HIV prevention services.
The long-standing grant, which funds HIV testing and prevention services, was set to expire on Dec. 31, according to the notice which was obtained by the Texas Tribune.
There will be no further renewals of this contract, a DSHS official wrote in the notice to Planned Parenthood.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/12/22/texas-drops-planned-parenthood-hiv-prevention-prog/
Greg Abbott gets Capitol display ousted, says it mocks Christianity
Ho, ho, hold it right there, an incensed Gov. Greg Abbott sort of said Tuesday in getting the State Preservation Board to remove a Capitol display that celebrated the Bill of Rights and the winter solstice.
Well assume our governor supports both, and its clear from Abbotts letter that it was the manner in which the display celebrated those things that got our gov all grumpy during the festive holiday season.
The display, approved by the Preservation Boards staff, was the work of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, a church-state separation group that, depending on your point of view, is either very clever or very grating in promoting its point of view.
Ill let Abbott, from his Tuesday letter to the Preservation Board, which he chairs, explain the display. Until Abbott intervened, it was to stay up through Friday afternoon.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/gov-greg-abbott-orders-spiteful-capitol-winter-dis/npqB4/
Iran’s market return could sink oil prices by $5 to $15, IMF says
HOUSTON The International Monetary Fund says a resurgence in Iranian oil exports next year could push crude prices down by $5 to $15 a barrel, deepening a market downturn that already has deeply bruised the oil industry.
Iran, which has the worlds fourth-largest oil reserves, expects to pump an additional half-million barrels a day into international markets next year, after the United States and other western powers lift sanctions against its oil exports. It has already shown western oil companies more than 70 energy projects its planning.
And though the market has likely baked in some of the impact of Irans future exports, crude prices could sink further once the Islamic Republics oil production actually begins to rise, the IMF said in a report this week.
U.S. crude edged up 5 cents to $35.86 a barrel in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday. The February futures contract replaced the January contract, which settled on Monday at $34.74 a barrel. Brent, the international standard, fell 21 cents to $36.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe, closing in on a new 11-year low.
Read more: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/12/22/irans-market-return-could-sink-oil-prices-by-5-to-15-imf-says/
Latest storm-surge maps show shocking scenarios for south Louisiana
(image at link since it will not embed)
Six feet of water in the streets of ... Baton Rouge?
The latest National Weather Service map shows worst-case storm surge scenarios in Louisiana, and the predictions are downright shocking, according to a report by The Lens writer Bob Marshall.
The map shows the potential of a Category 3 hurricane drowning of the entire bottom of Louisianas boot under a surge greater than nine feet, as far north as Baton Rouge.
The map, posted at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations GeoPlatform website, shows scenarios for hurricanes from Categories 1-5.
Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/14354840-32/the-lens-latest-storm-surge-maps-show-shocking-scenarios-for-south-louisiana
Bobby Jindal's controversial portrait being returned to Kenner owner
As Gov. Bobby Jindal moves out of his offices at the Louisiana Capitol, several things are coming off the walls -- including a controversial portrait of Jindal that has hung in the governor's fourth-floor reception area for years.
The painting -- which sparked a brief social media kerfuffle earlier this year that included allegations of liberal race-baiting -- was commissioned when Jindal was first elected eight years ago. It has been front and center over the reception desk in Jindal's Capitol office suite since 2008.
Now, it's being returned to Henry Shane, the New Orleans area real estate developer and art collector who owns it. Shane had loaned the portrait to the Capitol during Jindal's terms. The painting was done by local artist Tommy Yow at Shane's request.
It's not clear what the plans are for the Jindal portrait. Shane could not be reached for comment at his office or home in Kenner.
Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/12/bobby_jindals_controversial_po.html
A cat cafe finally lands in Albuquerque’s lap
[font color=330099]Dis iz impurrtant mews!!![/font]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Cat people, your next lunch date could be with some feline friends.
After months on the prowl, Julia Grueskin said shes found a spot for her cat cafe and she expects to open Gatos y Galletas by early next near. The first-time restaurateur has signed a lease for a pair of EDo spaces, 412 and 414 Central SE, where she plans to create a space where customers can sit, mingle and even eat shell offer a vegetarian menu alongside the meowing set.
I think its definitely appealing to people who cant have cats (at home) either because of the people theyre living with or because of their apartment to be able to get to spend quality time with cats and do their work and socialize around cats, she said. Its also for people who already have (them) and want to be around other cats.
The cat cafe concept has taken off around the world perhaps most notably in Japan but Grueskins would be the first of its kind in Albuquerque.
Read more: http://www.abqjournal.com/694462/abqnewsseeker/albuquerques-first-cat-cafe-lands-location.html
Feds subpoena records for governor’s travel, pay as DA
SANTA FE, N.M. A federal grand jury has subpoenaed travel, pay and other records for Gov. Susana Martinez covering her final months in 2010 as state district attorney for Doña Ana County.
The subpoena was issued to the Doña Ana County DAs Office in September and also sought records for Amy Orlando, whom Martinez appointed to succeed her as district attorney after her election as governor, and for Aaron Kip Scarborough, who worked as an investigator in the DAs Office under Martinez and Orlando.
The Doña Ana County DAs Office provided a copy of the subpoena Monday in response to a public-records request from the Journal.
Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez said in a written statement:
The Governor has not received a target letter, and she is not the target of an investigation. She has not testified before a grand jury, and has not hired a lawyer. The subpoena frankly underscores our previous statements that any investigation is based on the same old tired allegations made by opponents with an ax to grind.
Read more: http://www.abqjournal.com/694329/news/federal-grand-jury-sought-records-related-to-susana-martinez.html
Citgo ordered to pay $460K in overtime back wages
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS -- A federal investigation concluded Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery owes about $460,900 in back pay to more than 200 employees for time spent briefing co-workers after their shifts ended.
The Department of Labor announced the decision in a news release Friday. A Citgo spokesperson reached for comment said any statement would have to come from corporate officials. As of late Monday, a statement had not been issued.
Citgo employees would spend an average of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes following 12-hour shifts talking with incoming workers about the circumstances and status of work, and when employees worked more than 40 hours the "unrecorded and unpaid workers spent briefing their replacements resulted in violations of the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act," the news release states.
The back pay is due to 239 employees. The investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the department was part of an ongoing multiyear, multistate compliance initiative within the oil and gas industry that started in 2012. The affected employees represent almost a quarter of Citgo's workforce at its Corpus Christi facility., in the
Read more: http://www.caller.com/news/energy-effects/citgo-ordered-to-pay-460k-in-overtime-back-wages-276cb124-6a01-6006-e053-0100007f83ac-363185071.html
Cross-posted in Omaha Steve's Labor Group.
Citgo ordered to pay $460K in overtime back wages
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS -- A federal investigation concluded Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery owes about $460,900 in back pay to more than 200 employees for time spent briefing co-workers after their shifts ended.
The Department of Labor announced the decision in a news release Friday. A Citgo spokesperson reached for comment said any statement would have to come from corporate officials. As of late Monday, a statement had not been issued.
Citgo employees would spend an average of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes following 12-hour shifts talking with incoming workers about the circumstances and status of work, and when employees worked more than 40 hours the "unrecorded and unpaid workers spent briefing their replacements resulted in violations of the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act," the news release states.
The back pay is due to 239 employees. The investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the department was part of an ongoing multiyear, multistate compliance initiative within the oil and gas industry that started in 2012. The affected employees represent almost a quarter of Citgo's workforce at its Corpus Christi facility., in the
Read more: http://www.caller.com/news/energy-effects/citgo-ordered-to-pay-460k-in-overtime-back-wages-276cb124-6a01-6006-e053-0100007f83ac-363185071.html
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,417