| New Credit Card Directs Rebates Toward Tuition
The state treasurer's office Wednesday announced a new component to the Bright Start College Savings Program, which allows families to save for college tuition whenever they go shopping. The new Bright Start Futuretrust MasterCard contributes a 1 percent cash rebate on the amount of every purchase to each card members Bright Start College Savings Program account, according to a release from state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias's office. This is like a frequent-flyer program geared toward families saving for college, Giannoulias said. Families can use the cash rewards they earn from the program as another source of college money without changing their spending habits." .
Pills and pain: Long waits for care, overprescribing of medicine ...
The IHS, in a written response to the Tribune's questions, denied that overprescribing of painkillers is a problem at the agency's clinics. "Current case loads do not preclude IHS doctors from upholding the standards of care, which include rational prescribing decisions based on their medical training," the statement said. Perfect storm of factors A perfect storm of factors is feeding the pill problem: grinding poverty coupled with handsome prices for contraband pills (a methadone tablet sells for up to $20 on the Blackfeet Reservation), a long history of addiction in American Indian communities and the fact there is no charge for patient visits or prescriptions at IHS clinics. Some allege that crushing workloads for IHS doctors and political pressure on physicians from tribal officials and relatives a function of life in close-knit reservation communities also are to blame.
Metrorail extension to Dulles in doubt
Airports authority representatives moved into two floors of a Tysons Corner office building in 2007, working on final designs and prepping for construction in the spring of 2008, all in anticipation of receiving the federal aid. At a business forum last fall, Virginia transportation secretary Pierce Homer was asked by someone in attendance if the state "had a plan B" if the FTA didn't come up with the $900 million. Homer laughed and simply replied, "No." Business leaders in Northern Virginia have called the Metrorail project a crucial piece of the region's future economic success. Some expressed frustration with Simpson's letter. "It is extremely disappointing that, while acknowledging the critical need for mass transit in this corridor, the federal commitment falls so far short," said Bill Lecos, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
|
