| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| 2010 January 27 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 13 Number 12 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| Camden Takeover Ends, Activists Quiet |
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CAMDEN, NJ The night democracy returned to Camden, no one cheered. No one in Camden did much of anything.
After more than seven years, the state Legislature has lifted New Jersey's near-complete control over city government, effectively ending an unpopular takeover and returning power to elected leaders. But just two city activists made it to Trenton to watch history being made. There were no rallies applauding the move or protests against the rapid, secretive passage of the law, which gives the new mayor extraordinary powers. The next day, the city's biggest civic group, Camden Churches Organized for People, issued an urgent news release, but the takeover wasn't mentioned. Instead, the group announced a rally to celebrate the demolition of two abandoned houses. Legally disenfranchised during the takeover, citizens and activist groups who once helped to shape this hard-luck city have abandoned any coordinated attack on Camden's power structure. They instead focus on small, winnable neighborhood projects, content to watch from the sidelines as Camden's government is reshuffled. "People are just beaten down," said Tom Knoche, a Rutgers-Camden urban politics professor who was once one of the city's most renowned community organizers. He now lives in a nearby suburb. "They're just not engaged. And they generally believe that their participation does not matter very much." CCOP members lobbied for the $175 million that came to Camden with the takeover law, and then they lobbied for changes to the law. But with this fight to rescind the law, they stayed home, taking a conciliatory, wait-and-see approach to the new mayor, Dana Redd, and the governor-elect, Christopher Christie. Activists say they don't expect the pie, or even half the pie. They'll take a sliver -- two knocked-down buildings, for example. "Why bang your head against the wall? You're only going to have a headache," said Marianna Emanuele, coordinator of the group Camden United. "We have energy, and we still believe in what we do, but we want to focus that energy ... even if we don't shift anything major." Emanuele said the 2007 imprisonment of Ali Sloan El, an opposition City Council member convicted of corruption, was a blow to the activist community. He had filed one of three lawsuits against the takeover. Under the bills signed by Gov Corzine on Jan 18, the takeover ended, returning power to the city's mayor. The mayor gained the ability to appoint all nine school board members and control the school budget. Camden had once been respected nationally for its activism, according to Howard Gillette, a Rutgers-Camden history professor. Schooled in the civil-rights movement, Camden activists fought top-down urban-renewal projects in the 1960s and led a successful push for housing by squatting in abandoned homes in the 1980s. A new generation has yet to pick up where they left off, he said, because of a "long-term erosion of civic energy." Knoche believes the decline in activism parallels the rise of the Camden County Democrats, who fund all the current county and city elected officials. "Because this machine has so many more resources now, it makes it a lot tougher to fight it, and people know it." City governance is generally questioned only by the same four gadflies at City Council meetings. One of those men, Kelly Francis, the head of the Camden NAACP, was one of the two activists watching the historic votes. "There should've been busloads of people." Source: Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Local Lawyer Rushes to Haiti Clinic He Cofounded |
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CITE SOLEIL, HAITI Thomas Griffin was at his law office in Old City, Philadelphia when the earthquake struck Haiti. He thought immediately of friends. He vowed to get himself to Haiti, "even if I have to walk," to rebuild and maintain the LAMP for Haiti medical and human rights clinic he cofounded in 2007 in Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince's largest slum.
When he finally arrived over the weekend, Jesula Mazilas was the first person he saw, encircled, like a hen with chicks, by her barefoot kids. Her family of 12 lives in three concrete rooms near the clinic and is entrusted with its key. A big smile lit up her face as she and Griffin hugged and exchanged greetings in Creole. "Tout bagay anfom?" he asked. ("Everyone in your family is OK?") He was visibly relieved when she answered yes. For a decade, Griffin has been coming to Haiti to document civil rights abuses and promote public health in Cite Soleil, which he says is "the place where capitalism's toilet flushes out." On this trip, his first contact in country was with Jim Morgan, LAMP's medical director. Morgan, 45, an internist from Montclair NJ, had flown in six days earlier. He looked haggard after long days at the clinic and nights as a volunteer at the Port-au-Prince hospital called St Damien's. That night, the men stayed at Mimi Dominique's house. Dominique is LAMP's Haitian-born, Brooklyn-raised, no-nonsense manager. They used flashlights because the city's power grid had not worked since the day of the quake, and Dominique's generator wasn't working either. They slept indoors. Because of dozens of aftershocks and fears of another cataclysm, Dominique's other guests slept on mattresses in the yard. On Saturday, after running some errands, Griffin pressed toward the clinic, threading his way through the narrow alleys that separated the concrete-block houses. Small children trailed him, chattering in Creole and constantly reaching for his hands. Arriving at the clinic, Griffin dropped his arms and stepped back to take in the big picture. The pale-green, peaked-roof building was intact. Only its perimeter wall was damaged. The building used to be an abandoned house that once was occupied by a local drug lord, so its construction is more substantial than the norm. It includes a level patio surrounded by a 10-foot wall and four shade trees. It is an oasis of calm amid the squalor. The nonprofit clinic derives its name, in rough acronym form, from the Creole words, Libete Ak Medesin Pou Ayiti, which mean "liberty and health for Haiti." Staffed by one doctor, two nurses, and six assistants, the program survives on donations and an operating budget of about $50,000 a year. It is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and serves about 200 people a week. The clinic treated lacerations and infections immediately after the earthquake, Morgan said. But the flow of patients with Haiti's endemic maladies is never-ending. "The need is so great, we could go 24/7," said Griffin. But given the clinic's limited supplies, it operates just three days a week to be able to provide continuing care. "We're 13 days into the disaster," he said on his way home Monday, riding past tens of thousands of newly homeless people. "The whole world knows about the disaster, and these people are living under bedsheets. It's crazy." Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Give: LAMP for Haiti |
| Students Answer Call to Dwell Among the Poor |
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ST LOUIS, MO As Urbana 09 came to an end at midnight on Dec 31, hundreds of students made commitments to live with and as the poor. These students have a long road ahead of them as they give all that they have for the sake of the Gospel.
At the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Urbana 09 missions conference December 27-31, three seminar tracks focused specifically on poverty: the Domestic Poverty Track, the International Poverty Track, and the Advocacy Track. Students in these tracks learned about the cycle of poverty and God's heart for the poor, but they also thought hard about what an adequate response to the issue looks like. The 1,300 or so students involved in the International and Domestic Poverty Tracks were challenged to consider moving into impoverished cities with the knowledge that Jesus Himself lived among the poor. Hundreds were up for the challenge. "They're so interested in seeing something of what Jesus said coming into reality, the things that He talked about with regard to our living out the Kingdom, what the Kingdom of God is like," says Scott Bessenecker, director of InterVarsity's Global Projects and Global Urban Treks, as well as a key developer to the poverty tracks. "They want to see the 'is like' happening -- the fact that Jesus talked about it being Good News to a specific community: the poor. 'How is it Good News to the poor? How am I involved in making it Good News to the poor?' Those are things that students are all about." This certainly seemed to be the case as students who felt that God was calling them to go to the poor and destitute came face to face with the possibility of death, whether it be death to their own dreams, death to their desires, or physical death itself. "Calling students to die is a hard message to proclaim," says Bessenecker. "But students are so ready to be called to something that's going to cost them everything." Bessenecker does not believe a call to live with the poor is for everyone. He emphasized the fact that it was not a decision to be made on a spiritual mountaintop or a passionate whim. But he still had high hopes that the Lord would call many students to this difficult mission field. "We're asking people to move into high-crime, high-poverty neighborhoods in the Domestic Poverty Track. We're asking people in the International Poverty Track to move into corrugated tin sheds over sewage. That's a big call; that's a big commitment. You don't take that lightly." Source: Mission Network News |
| Business-Minded Children Raise More for ComChest |
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SINGAPORE Children and youths raised more funds for the Community Chest last year. They raised S$880,000 through the Youth Day and Children's Day Appeals, a 4% increase from 2008. Although their contributions account for only 1.7% of total donations received by Community Chest, there's no stopping kids from having a big, creative heart.
Students at Greenridge Primary School (GPS) enjoyed a free art workshop by local cartoonist Peter Draw. It was to thank them for raising funds for the Community Chest last year. Tan Bee Hong, director of Community Partnerships, ComChest, said, "We noticed that some schools are coming up with very creative ways of raising funds for the less fortunate in the community. Instead of just bringing home the envelopes and asking the parents to donate and put some money in, some schools and children are coming up with ideas such as setting up stalls to raise funds." Biz Heart, the school's fundraising club, raised S$10,000 by selling hand-made products at bazaars. They are part of the new generation of under-12 social entrepreneurs. Trinity Wang, teacher-in-charge, Biz Heart, GPS, said, "We normally have the misconception that students are not able to organize themselves. They are not able to pick up business skills at a young age. In actual fact, they can pick it up very fast and they show a very strong interest." GPS has been contributing to ComChest since 1995 and students are constantly going back to the drawing board to come up with fresh ideas to raise funds. Some are even already brainstorming for the Lunar New Year. Think traditional cookies and more. Every effort counts for their beneficiary, ComChest, which plans to raise S$16.9 million by the end of March. Source: Channel NewsAsia |
| Middle Schoolers Make Life-Saving Surgeries Possible |
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VINELAND, NJ For years, Veterans Memorial School teacher Mark Melamed has been organizing his students to raise money so that children from developing countries can come to the US to undergo life-saving surgery. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of his Gabriel Project, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and helped 17 children from around the world, students and staff at the middle school offered "A Night on Broadway", an evening of song and dance from their favorite Broadway musicals.
"The best part about the project is that I wanted to show the kids that they could make a difference in people's lives," said Melamed, who teaches seventh-grade language arts. "It's not something where they just write a check; they see the results." Selections were chosen from Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors, Urinetown, Bye Bye Birdie. In addition, two special performances were scheduled featuring CJ's Power Dancers from the Margate Jewish Community Center. Their repertoire includes "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago and "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. "I work with a different class of students every year, and I've never had any child say they won't help. Not one of my students has said, I won't help. That's why I love doing it." Most recently, Melamed and his students have been working to bring a child and mother to the US from Tanzania for treatment at a cost of between $6,000 and $7,000, raised through the project's yearly auction and pasta dinner fundraisers. The child is either 9 or 12 years old. (Official documents in many developing countries with information on age can be difficult to obtain or may offer only general information, according to Melamed.) "The money pays for airfare and a hotel to stay in," said Melamed. "The treatment itself is completely donated. I work with different doctors and hospitals. There are programs that you can ask about that bring care to children coming here, especially if the child is from Africa. There are many programs with doctors and hospitals that do that. You just usually have to go through a long process." Currently, Melamed is organizing his students to donate school supplies to their fellow students affected by the Haiti earthquake. Melamed said the goal is to provide "the small things" to help the damaged schools there. Students are encouraged to donate things like pencils and rubber bands. Source: News of Cumberland County |
| Vaccine Stops Mosquitoes from Transmitting Malaria |
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MANILA, PHILIPPINES A Filipino scientist has been lauded for his work on an anti-malaria vaccine. Rhoel Dinglasan, an entomologist and biologist at the John Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore MD, developed a new vaccine that disables a mosquito's malaria-spreading capability.
The new vaccine contains the antigen AnAPN1, which creates antibodies that prevent transmission of malaria by mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites a vaccinated person, the antibodies are transferred to the mosquito, which then loses the ability to infect other humans. The vaccine is different from the traditional ones, Dinglasan said. Traditional vaccines make the body produce antibodies when malaria strikes a person. Source: All Headline News |
| Governor Signs Bills to Help Prisoners in Re-entry |
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TRENTON, NJ Outgoing New Jersey Gov Jon Corzine on Jan 18 signed three bills aimed at making it easier for former inmates to readjust to life outside prison walls. The legislation will allow ex-offenders to receive food stamps. It will mandate job training programs at all prisons.
"Earlier in my term, we put into place a comprehensive anti-crime strategy that focused on aggressive action against gangs and illegal guns, greater crime prevention activities, and new re-entry initiatives," Corzine said. "This package of bills significantly strengthens the re-entry component of our strategy." The bills (A4197, A4201, A4202), spearheaded by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, were significantly scaled back after lawmakers balked at the price. They are now projected to cost $6 million, down from at least $10 million. Supporters hope the bills lower the state's recidivism rate: 65% of inmates are back behind bars within five years of their release. New Jersey has about 25,600 state inmates, and it costs an average of $48,000 per year to keep each incarcerated. Maria Comella, spokeswoman for then Gov-elect Chris Christie, had said the incoming governor would not have signed the bills because the state can't afford to spend more money. A fourth bill (A807) signed by Corzine will allow people to pay municipal court fines in installments or pay the penalty in other ways, such as community service. Source: NJ.com |
| Tunisia Leads Arab Countries in Quality of Life Index |
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TUNIS, TUNISIA Tunisia has been ranked, for the second consecutive year, at the top of Arab countries in matters of quality of life by International Living magazine in its rating involving 194 countries. With a score of 59 points (out of 100), Tunisia saw an improvement of three points compared with last year's ranking.
Tunisia was particularly well rated in the risk and safety area (86), health (73), climate (85), and cost of living (63). Overall, it comes ahead of Jordan (55), Kuwait (55), Lebanon (54), Morocco (54), and Bahrain (54). The ranking is established on the basis of an index consisting of a set of scores grounded on qualitative indicators: cost of living, economy, environment, culture, leisure, freedom, health, infrastructures, risk and safety, and climate. For each of these criteria, each country is rated out of 100. Tunisia can now claim to have lowered the poverty rate to 3.8%. At the same time it achieved a growth rate of 3% in a generalized global crisis situation. The country's ambition for 2010 is to improve the per-capita income and stabilize the unemployment rate by targeting a growth rate of 4% of GDP at constant prices, so as to create 70,000 new permanent jobs and preserve macroeconomic balances. Similarly, the inflation rate was reduced from 5% in 2008 to 3.5% in 2009. Additionally, social indicators show a significant improvement. The per-capita income rose from 960 dinars in 1986 to 4,847 dinars in 2008. Life expectancy at birth increased from 68.9 years in 1987 to 74.6 years in 2008. The literacy rate was boosted from 90% in 1991 to 99% in 2008. Today, 95% of citizens benefit from social welfare. In 2010, 69% of management expenditure will be dedicated to social sectors and 150 million dinars will be earmarked to infrastructure, public transport, and hydrocarbons. Tunisia's development approach is marked by a boom in the new information and communication technologies, an all-around development of basic infrastructure, and accelerated economic reforms. International Living magazine serves retirees who aspire to a better living environment with an appropriate cost. This ranking is carried out annually in January to identify the most pleasant places. France took the top at 82 points. The US scored 7th at 78. The bottom five were Afghanistan (37), Chad (34), Sudan (33), Yemen (33), and Somalia (30). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Source: International Living |
| # LNN # Small # Hauls # |
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| Life-Net News Extras |
| A Showcase of Philadelphia Humanitarianism |
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PHILADELPHIA, PA NBC Philadelphia put together a Martin Luther King Day slide show of illustrious Philly do-gooders. Based on the captions, meet them here:
Will Smith and his wife Jada donated a hefty $1.3 million to charities in 2008. The couple's charitable reach extended not only to the arts but also to civic and religious groups. Their largest single contribution of $250,000 went to the Philadelphia born-again-Christian based Taekwando organization, Yesha Ministries. Lee Daniels is the Philadelphia native who has directed such films as Precious and Monsters Ball. By the age of 21, Daniels founded and ran his own health-care agency, connecting nurses with private homes and hospitals in need. Comedian Bill Cosby earned a high school diploma during his time in the Navy at 17. Cosby preaches that teenagers do not take their education seriously, and he aims to influence a change. A charity was started in memory of Cosby’s son Ennis, the Ennis William Cosby Foundation, to provide underprivileged youths with funds for their education. Being a rock star doesn't stop Jon Bon Jovi from participating in charities that range from building houses to raising awareness about various illnesses. He is currently involved with 17 charities, some of which involve the Philadelphia/ New Jersey area. Grace Kelly started as a Philadelphia actress and became an icon. After becoming Princess of Monaco, Kelly acquired the titles earned the titles President of the Red Cross and Honorary President of AMADE (World Association of Children's Friends). Later on in life Kelly made dried flower arrangements; all the money earned from the arrangements was given to charity. The Princess Grace Foundation, which helps the underprivileged, was founded in her honor after she died. Richard Gere has served as chairman of the board of the International Campaign for Tibet and has sponsored the Dalai Lama on two trips to the US. He also started a foundation bearing his name and a public charity, Healing the Divide, that works to better medical care for HIV/AIDS patients. Although "The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" started as a college game, Kevin Bacon has used this to benefit various charities. Bacon has set up a Six Degrees Web site that allows users to find charities of their choice and donate. Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast Spectacor, is the founder of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, a charity that operates within the Greater Philadelphia Region. Its mission is to use the sport of hockey to help educate young people on how to succeed in the game of life. ESYHF provides equipment, access to ice, training, and coaching at no cost to deserving inner-city youngsters. Tina Fey was awarded the "Mothers Who Make a Difference" award in 2009 for her work with Love Our Children USA, an organization that aims to stop violence against children. Fey has also been involved with Autism Speaks for autism research and Mercy Corps for ending world hunger. Source: NBC Philadelphia |
| Indigenous Australians Press for Dialogue with P.M. |
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CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA About 100 protesters gathered outside Old Parliament House in Canberra yesterday calling for greater recognition of indigenous people. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd may have issued his formal apology to the stolen generations shortly after he took office, but many in the indigenous community believe his words have not been backed by action.
Indigenous elder Isabelle Coe, who helped establish the Aboriginal tent embassy in 1972, called on the PM to come down and talk to the group on what they refer to as "Sovereign Day". "We've been here for 38 years this year," she told the protesters. "We've been fighting for our rights and we're not going to change." Coe said former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam was the only leader to meet with indigenous elders. But because he had tried to enforce change, she said, he was removed from government. "Come and talk with us, Kevin Rudd, come and sit down and talk with us." Coe was one of six indigenous people to be arrested last year for trying to stop the culling of 500 kangaroos in the ACT. "They don't care that these animals are ours because that's how they treat us. So Kevin Rudd get your backside down here, this is where the real people are." Les Coe, her brother, called on all indigenous people across the country to come together to fight for indigenous rights and welfare: "Our mob right across this country have got to start waking up and start standing up and have got to realize it doesn't matter who's in power in this country ... they will not do anything for Aboriginal people." Mr Coe said Labor was as much to blame as the coalition for many indigenous issues, including the Northern Territory intervention. "We've got to come out of the dark ages that has been imposed on us by Labor and the coalition governments over the last 40 years in this country. They want to keep us in the dark. Well I say it's time we start standing up and say, 'No more!' to this f*****g b******t." Marie Bennett, from Lake Mungo, has challenged the PM to a debate on national television on the federal intervention: "We've got to take Kevin Rudd and debate him on national television on why he has put on this federal intervention. It is wrong." Outspoken indigenous activist Darren Bloomfield said the protest was about "the theft of lands, culture, language, children, and peoples. The issue is sovereignty, it is the true, grass roots right of this land." Source: Australian Associated Press |
| Protesters Demand Reform, Fail to Disrupt |
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WASHINGTON, DC About 150 activists gathered yesterday in front of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters to deliver a "State of the Union" address that protested what they consider a lack of progress on immigration reform. Holding signs and loudspeakers at a noon rally, the group of community organizers, advocates and faith leaders chanted "Si, se puede" ("Yes, we can") before about 20 of them joined hands across 12th St SW near Maryland Ave, blocking traffic. They sat on the road and waited for police to bring out their handcuffs.
"We want to bring attention to the lack of movement on immigration reform," said Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA de Maryland, one of the organizing groups. Citing President Obama's promises to pursue immigration reform in the first year of his administration, he said, "We were very excited, because the great majority of the Latino community said, 'Finally, we have a president who looks like us, and he's going to fight for us.' ... "We want to let him know that if there's no reforms, he's not going to be reelected. The Latino community and the immigrant community are not going to believe him." The protest did not cause as much disruption as organizers had hoped. The police stood to the side, chatting, their cars parked on 12th St. Traffic had been redirected to avoid the intersection. "We hear they're going to arrest us," Torres said. By 1 pm, it became clear that they would not. Organizers decided to move two blocks north, to the more heavily traveled Independence Ave, where blocking the street might be taken more seriously. But no sooner had the human chain occupied the new location than traffic was redirected again. Department of Agriculture employees stood behind windows to watch the protesters beat on plastic paint buckets and march in a tight circle. The protesters called on the Obama administration to immediately suspend deportations of immigrants with family members who are US citizens and to pass the comprehensive immigration reform that they said Obama promised during his campaign. Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the Obama administration is "committed to confronting this problem in practical, effective ways, using the current tools at our disposal, while we work with Congress to enact comprehensive reform." Hugo Rodas, 40, a Gainesboro resident from Guatemala, said he has had trouble finding construction work because he has no papers. "I'm here to ask for work," he said. "I want a better life." About 2pm, the police picked up the seated protesters one by one and led them to the sidewalk, according to one activist, who added that no one was arrested. Source: Washington Post |
| Pay Scales Re-examined in Rawalpindi |
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RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN The Jang Economic Session has called upon the Pay and Pension Commission (PPC) to determine minimum wages before recommending any increase in the salaries of government employees. The present minimum pay of Rs6,000 per month is insufficient, and it should be fixed equivalent to the price of one tola (11g) gold. Inflation is yet another factor that has to be linked with pay and pension.
The session however stressed that the PPC's report should no more be delayed because the living conditions of the low-paid employees are pathetic due to ever increasing costs of living and regular escalation of prices of essential items including electricity, gas, and petrol. The session on "Coming Report of the Pay and Pension Commission and Expectations" was told that homework is underway to reduce the number of pay scales from 1 to 16 to 4 or 5. However there shall be no change in the number of scales from 17 to 22. Taking part in the programme Mohammad Ashraf Sohna said better performance would be impossible unless the employees in the public and private sector are satisfied with their service conditions. Insufficient wages are responsible for agitations and rampant corruption, he opined and added that contract employees have been regularized and steps are underway to regularize doctors by the Punjab government. He informed that the minimum pensions were also raised from Rs600 to Rs2,000. He invited attention to an interesting tale going around in the country that bureaucrats take decisions on technical subjects and politicians discharge duties assigned to bureaucrats while the army takes over the duties of politicians. Dr Qais Aslam could not understand how poverty and crimes could be eliminated when over 80% of the workers were being paid less than Rs6,000 a month. However, the economy must grow to increase salaries and create job opportunities. He said that politicians are held responsible for most of the corruption cases committed by bureaucracy; it is necessary that such officials be removed and taken to task. Huma Aziz pointed out that salaries are raised once but inflation continues regularly. She also called for looking into the causes that lead to inflation. Mohammad Nawaz Mirza said pensioners suffered loss during Musharraf's rule when the government started payment of pensions based on net amount instead of the traditional policy of paying on gross amount. He called for a restoration of the previous policy. Source: Pakistan News Service |
| Methadone Clinics to be Punished for Overbilling |
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TRENTON, NJ New Jersey's Medicaid inspector general said late in December that seven of the state's 34 methadone clinics improperly billed Medicaid a combined $3.5 million from 2007 to 2009. One Camden clinic, The Urban Treatment Center, privately owned, is alleged to have mischarged more than $900,000 and faces penalties of up to $11.6 million under the New Jersey False Claims Act.
"The conduct of these centers demonstrated a complete lack of responsibility over precious Medicaid dollars," said Medicaid Inspector General Mark Anderson. He says he investigated the sites after a spot-check by the state Health Department raised questions about billing. A review found that the seven facilities frequently sent multiple bills when only one charge was allowed, used billing codes that weren't permitted for the tests they did, or charged for tests they did not have equipment to perform. Given the $1,000 penalty per claim, the inspector general is trying to recover a total of $51.5 million for the overbilling. As a result of the investigation, the state has changed its computer system to prevent these clinics from double billing and to limit the number of times certain procedural codes can be used. "It is just as important, if not more important, to implement changes to the current system so we are not always chasing money after it goes out the door," said Anderson. "Our office is charged not only with recovering money but prevention." The clinics were given 60 days to respond to the charges. They can also appeal the findings to an administrative law judge. A staffer at Urban Treatment Center said Dr John Holtsclaw, who owns the private clinic, was on vacation and unavailable for comment. Urban Treatment Center is one of 34 in New Jersey and the only one left in Camden after Parkside Recovery, a nonprofit, closed in the fall. The state division of addiction services has temporarily shifted most of Parkside's 530 clients to Urban Treatment in Camden and Delaware Valley Medical in Pennsauken. Health facilities charged with improper billing are not necessarily shut down, said Suzanne Esterman, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services: "They may be able to continue operations, but under stricter requirements into the future." Sources: Associated Press, Courier-Post |
| East Windsor's Post-Holiday Food Drive |
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EAST WINDSOR TWP, NJ Township Mayor Janice S Mironov launched a township "New Year's Food Drive" for the benefit of local individuals and families. "As the holiday season and its special focus on good deeds passes, we want to remind everyone that the need for assistance to people in our area continues, and call upon our community's proven spirit of generosity."
Non-perishable food items were sought through Jan 31. All food was given to the Green House Food Pantry at St Anthony’s Church and the Food Pantry at RISE (formerly the Community Action Service Center) for distribution to local individuals and families. Both are area-based organizations providing assistance to local individuals and families. Source: Trentonian |
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