Democrats are starting to pry themselves loose from the controlling grip of the California Teachers Association (CTA).
Governor praised for signing education funding eligibility bill
Los Angeles Times
By Jason Song and Jason Felch
October 14, 2009
The nation's top education official praised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday for signing a bill that will make California eligible for competitive federal education funding.
Schwarzenegger signed the bill, SB 19 by Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), on Sunday, striking a clause in a 2006 law Simitian wrote that bars state use of testing data to determine educator pay or promotion.
"This is a victory for children," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Showing posts with label California State Universities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California State Universities. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
CIGNA employee flips off mother of girl who died when transplant denied
CIGNA Employee Flips Off Mother Of Dead Girl Denied Transplant
The Huffington Post
Rachel Weiner
10- 8-09
A CIGNA employee gave the finger -- literally -- to a woman whose daughter died after the insurance giant refused to cover her liver transplant.
Hilda and Krikor Sarkisyan went to CIGNA's Philadelphia headquarters, along with supporters from the California Nurses Association, to confront the CEO Edward Hanway over the death of her 17-year-old child.
In 2007, Nataline Sarkisyan was denied a liver transplant by the company, on the grounds that the operation was "too experimental" to be covered. Nine days later it changed its mind, in response to protests outside its office. It was too late: Nataline died hours later.
"CIGNA killed my daughter," Nataline's mother Hilda told security. "I want an apology." Sarkisyan was not able to speak to Hanway; a communications specialist talked to her instead. After their conversation, employees heckled the group from a balcony; one man gave them the finger. CIGNA called the police and had the family and their friends escorted from the building...
"What unbelievable nerve," said Americans United For Change spokesman Jeremy Funk in a statement. "A case that should have prompted CIGNA to seriously reevaluate its policies instead led its employees to taunt and insult a grieving mother who lost her daughter. Absolutely sick. Does Congress need any more reasons to pass meaningful health insurance reform now?"
The Sarkisyan family's wrongful-death suit was thrown out of court because of a 1987 Supreme Court ruling that shields employer-paid health care plans from damages over their coverage decisions.
The Sarkisyans say the law needs to be changed to allow people to sue health insurers for these kinds of decisions.
[Maura Larkins comment: Do CIGNA employees stand around in the halls frequently, or were they allowed to do so on this day in particular to intimidate a grieving mother?]
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/08/cigna-employee-flips-off_n_314189.html
The Huffington Post
Rachel Weiner
10- 8-09
A CIGNA employee gave the finger -- literally -- to a woman whose daughter died after the insurance giant refused to cover her liver transplant.
Hilda and Krikor Sarkisyan went to CIGNA's Philadelphia headquarters, along with supporters from the California Nurses Association, to confront the CEO Edward Hanway over the death of her 17-year-old child.
In 2007, Nataline Sarkisyan was denied a liver transplant by the company, on the grounds that the operation was "too experimental" to be covered. Nine days later it changed its mind, in response to protests outside its office. It was too late: Nataline died hours later.
"CIGNA killed my daughter," Nataline's mother Hilda told security. "I want an apology." Sarkisyan was not able to speak to Hanway; a communications specialist talked to her instead. After their conversation, employees heckled the group from a balcony; one man gave them the finger. CIGNA called the police and had the family and their friends escorted from the building...
"What unbelievable nerve," said Americans United For Change spokesman Jeremy Funk in a statement. "A case that should have prompted CIGNA to seriously reevaluate its policies instead led its employees to taunt and insult a grieving mother who lost her daughter. Absolutely sick. Does Congress need any more reasons to pass meaningful health insurance reform now?"
The Sarkisyan family's wrongful-death suit was thrown out of court because of a 1987 Supreme Court ruling that shields employer-paid health care plans from damages over their coverage decisions.
The Sarkisyans say the law needs to be changed to allow people to sue health insurers for these kinds of decisions.
[Maura Larkins comment: Do CIGNA employees stand around in the halls frequently, or were they allowed to do so on this day in particular to intimidate a grieving mother?]
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/08/cigna-employee-flips-off_n_314189.html
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tax gas and oil companies to keep California State Universities great
The future of California depends on a strong CSU
By Enrique C. Ochoa
Daily News Los Angeles
Updated: 08/03/2009
California's recent budget deal is a major blow to the historic mission of the California State University system. At its 23 campuses, classes are being slashed, tuition increased by 30 percent, students turned away, graduations delayed, salaries cut, and positions eliminated.
As administrators scramble to address the budget deficit, political decisions are being made that will cause irreparable damage to California's great university system. The new budget is a victory for conservative forces that have long sought to limit the public sector and roll back the social and civil rights gains of the 1960s and 1970s...
Since the 1980s, California has seen the chipping away of the public university, with the CSU receiving a declining share of the state budget, rising tuition and many forms of corporatization.
With a $538 million budget cut this fiscal year and an even greater deficit predicted for next year, the CSU's mission of providing affordable high quality education to Californians is in jeopardy...
One innovative step is Assembly Bill 656, introduced by California State Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico. It would levy a 9.9 percent tax on all oil and natural gas extracted from California to be a reliable source of funding for higher education.
By investing in the CSU, we are investing in our economic future and providing opportunities for Californians that, in the long run, benefit us all.
Enrique C. Ochoa is Director of Latin American Studies and Professor of History at California State University, Los Angeles.
By Enrique C. Ochoa
Daily News Los Angeles
Updated: 08/03/2009
California's recent budget deal is a major blow to the historic mission of the California State University system. At its 23 campuses, classes are being slashed, tuition increased by 30 percent, students turned away, graduations delayed, salaries cut, and positions eliminated.
As administrators scramble to address the budget deficit, political decisions are being made that will cause irreparable damage to California's great university system. The new budget is a victory for conservative forces that have long sought to limit the public sector and roll back the social and civil rights gains of the 1960s and 1970s...
Since the 1980s, California has seen the chipping away of the public university, with the CSU receiving a declining share of the state budget, rising tuition and many forms of corporatization.
With a $538 million budget cut this fiscal year and an even greater deficit predicted for next year, the CSU's mission of providing affordable high quality education to Californians is in jeopardy...
One innovative step is Assembly Bill 656, introduced by California State Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico. It would levy a 9.9 percent tax on all oil and natural gas extracted from California to be a reliable source of funding for higher education.
By investing in the CSU, we are investing in our economic future and providing opportunities for Californians that, in the long run, benefit us all.
Enrique C. Ochoa is Director of Latin American Studies and Professor of History at California State University, Los Angeles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)