SC board bucks lawmakers, raises worker premiums
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's public employees and retirees will pay more for their health care next year after all, despite legislators passing a budget that covered their premium hikes.
The Budget and Control Board voted 3-2 Wednesday to split the cost of the increase between workers and their employers, which include agencies, school districts and public colleges. Both workers and employers will pay 4.6 percent more starting Jan. 1.
The rare, surprise move bucks the 2012-13 fiscal year budget. Critics called it purely political.
Medical transportation for Medicaid patients falls short
CHESAPEAKE -- Six million one hundred thousand dollars a month: that's how much the state pays private company, Logisticare, to be its transportation broker for Medicaid patients.
These are people who must rely on medical transportation to make appointments either because they have no other means or require specialized care. But what happens when the ride shows up late or not at all? Rose Whybark of Chesapeake has had to find out the answer to that question more times than she wants. Her 17-year-old son, Gary, relies on Logisticare to get to and from his appointments. He has cerebral palsy and scoliosis that recently required back surgery. He has to be transported on a stretcher. Whybark says Gary often misses appointments because the transportation provider shows up late or not at all.
Rebuilding Black Men: Unlocking hidden potential
Min. Farrakhan is joined by Black men during visit to Chicago's South Shore community. Photo: dbarge.com
(FinalCall.com) - The portrayal of Black boys and men as thugs, criminals or perpetual underachievers is nothing new. And the unfortunate but glaring reality for Black males in the U.S. includes high unemployment, escalating prison rates and below average school graduation rates. Black men and boys are also members of a society that in many ways expects nothing more of them.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Black men age 20 and over is 14.9 percent, although in many areas the numbers are much higher. The Sentencing Project, which tracks incarceration and criminal justice issues, reports 1 out of 10 Black males in their 30s is in jail or prison each day in the U.S. The so-called “War on Drugs” is a war on Black men, according to many activists.
The key to unlocking the potential to Black men is self-knowledge and the knowledge of God, Ishmael R. Muhammad, the national student assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan told The Final Call.
Min. Farrakhan’s ministry has included tireless work to develop Black men. Photo: dbarge.com
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“We find a great despair, pain and uncertainty and that is the result of the ignorance that’s so pervasive in our community. So what we take to them is knowledge of self and we’re reminding them and letting them know in most cases, who they are and their origin in the world,” he said speaking of recent weeks when the Fruit of Islam, the men of the Nation of Islam, have been out in the streets of Chicago and other cities trying to increase peace.
Street Fight: Food Trucks vs. Restaurants
Some Big Cities Jump Into the Fray, Enacting Parking Restrictions to Cope With Rising Tide of Gourmet Vendors
A street fight is brewing between gourmet food-truck vendors and restaurants—not over the grub, but how it's sold.
Under pressure to protect local food businesses from mounting competition, cities across the country -- including Chicago, Boston, New York and Sunnyvale, Calif. -- are putting the brakes on a rising tide of food-truck vendors. Sarah Needleman has details on The News Hub.
Under pressure to protect bricks-and-mortar restaurants from increased competition, several big cities are starting to apply the brakes on a rising tide of food-truck vendors with fully loaded kitchens.
Boston, Chicago, St. Louis and Seattle are among the cities enacting laws that restrict where food trucks can serve customers in proximity to their rivals and for how long. Some food-truck operators argue that they shouldn't be punished for offering an innovative service, especially since many cities already allow restaurants to open up alongside one another.
Study: Census data show high immigrant participation on US welfare rolls
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 22: Families gather food at a food pantry for those in need inside the Streets of Destiny Church June 22, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona. The two year old church serves mainly working class Latinos from Mexico. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, nearly 37 percent of immigrants in Phoenix and 36 percent statewide currently fall below the poverty level. Many are stuck in low-wage jobs and are forced to resort to churches and food pantries to make ends meet. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
A new study from the Center for Immigration Studies shows that high percentages of legal and illegal immigrants in America are drawing benefits from at least one major form of welfare.
Using U.S. Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the group analyzed the more than 50 million legal and illegal immigrants and their American-born children under 18 years of age. Large numbers, the limited immigration advocacy group found, are struggling in poverty, reliant on welfare and uninsured.
The study found that in 2010, 36 percent of immigrant-headed households receive benefits from at least one welfare program, compared to just 23 percent of households headed by U.S. natives. Among households with children, immigrant welfare households outnumbered non-immigrants by a similarly wide margin: 57 percent to 40 percent.
Welfare enrollment was highest for households headed by immigrants originating in Mexico, with 57 percent participation. Guatemalan immigrants were second, with 55 percent; those from the Dominican Republic were third, with 54 percent participation.
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