| Minnesotans could save billions in health care costs, task force says
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said there's much he likes in the wide-ranging recommendations he received Tuesday from a task force he appointed to find ways to improve health care in Minnesota. But he stopped short of endorsing some of the panel's recommendations, such as requiring Minnesotans to buy health insurance or raising the cigarette "health-impact fee" to discourage smoking. "I think we've done enough to smokers for now" by banning smoking in most bars and restaurants and adding the 75-cent fee, he said. And requiring everyone to have insurance might "criminalize poor people" who can't afford it, he added. Still, Pawlenty said the task force report "can be the framework for a significant health care reform initiative in Minnesota." The broad range of recommendations would link doctors, hospitals, employers, patients, insurers, schools, communities and policy makers in initiatives aimed at paring $12.3 billion from health care costs otherwise projected to soar from about $30 billion now to $57.4 billion by 2015.
The Ghana High Commission in Ottawa Saga: The Real Truth
He “defected" from the house on Thursday November 15, 2007, a few hours after he got his pay cheque. There is allegation from the “Rumour Mill" story that the High Commissioner has taken some eight thousand dollars from the cook. The fact of the matter from investigations is that he had been given accommodation at the High Commissioner's Residence. He cooked and ate there. He used the toileteries there. For all his living expenses, he was charged CDN500 a month. Is that too much to ask? Now that he is out of the house, he is going to be paid a maximum of CDN679.00 a month welfare allowance by the government of Canada. Compare that to the CDN2050 he was paid every month working for the High Commissioner. I believe that when the reality kicks in he will realize that those that advised him to take the action he did had deceived him.
Police seek link in three Modesto restaurant heists
Stanislaus County Sheriff's investigators are looking for a gunman who held up Perko's Cafe and Grill in the 3500 block of Oakdale Road about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. This is an image of the robbery in progress, taken from the restaurant's surveillance camera. .
Traveling With Pets for the Dogs, According to TripAdvisor Survey
Forty-eight percent of all travelers surveyed feel hotels should be more accommodating for pets. Pet-sitting was at the top of the list, at 27 percent, of services animal owners would like to see hotels offer. Separate housing/on-site kennel was the second choice at 16 percent, followed by pet bedding at nine percent. Dog Bless America The U.S. is the country pets most enjoy visiting, according to 61 percent of pet owners surveyed. Canada came in second, and the U.K. was third in the tally. Best Western in Show According to the survey, Best Western is the most pet-friendly hotel chain followed by Holiday Inn and Red Roof Inn. The top pet-friendly Best Western is the Best Western Lake Norman in Cornelius, North Carolina, based on pet-friendliness ratings on TripAdvisor.
ORU alumni support sought
Uncertainty remained Saturday about what effect Richard Roberts' resignation as president will have on Oral Roberts University, but some observers said it was a step toward improvement.
"I think people are going to be waiting and watching: OK, can it survive without a Roberts at the helm?" said Donald R. Vance, professor of biblical languages and literature.
Vance said he thinks alumni need to support ORU as it undergoes this transition, after being led for 42 years by a Roberts. ORU professors are committed to the school's evangelical Christian mission, but that might not be obvious without a TV minister as president, he said. Christian colleges across the country are led by non-ministers -- "it will just be different for us."
ORU leaders have not addressed what role, if any, Roberts will have at the university.
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