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Vehicular Homicide

Frank — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:26:54 GMT

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120219/OPINION02/702199987
Everett, Washington Herald

Published: Sunday, February 19, 2012

Vehicular homicide

We must demand harsher penalties

What is wrong with this picture?

Volunteer sentenced to 12 years for sexual assault.

Robber of Mukilteo coffee stand sentenced to 12.5 years.

Robber of credit union gets 13 years.

Drunk driver kills pedestrian in wheelchair, sentenced to 5 years.

Drunk driver, second offense, kills woman, sentenced to 6.3 years.

This entire list of events has happened in our area and been reported by the media. When did the killing of a person or family member become such a low priority to the citizens of Washington state? The police, prosecutors' and judges' hands are all tied due to the sentencing laws for vehicular homicide -- the term used when a death results from DUI. Only the Legislature can make changes. Please contact your local representatives and demand that the sentence be increased so that the penalty fits the crime.

Drinking and driving is a choice. Life is full of choices and consequences for those choices. If you drink and drive then you need to be prepared to pay the consequences.

Our society too often treats killing someone while driving drunk as an accident instead of the violent and offensive crime that it is. Let's work toward the elimination of drinking and driving so maybe the next time it happens, it will not be your child or family member, as it was mine.

We thank you for your support.

Jan Stivers

Meghan Stivers' mom

Lake Stevens

UPDATE- Wheelchair-bound Man Killed When Hit by Police Cruiser

Frank — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:36:12 GMT

http://www.theledger.com/article/20120220/NEWS/120229988/-1/news300?p=1&tc=pg

By Lorri Helfand
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Monday, February 20, 2012 at 7:32 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 20, 2012 at 7:32 a.m.

ST. PETERSBURG | Neighbors often saw Harold Charles Fleming Jr. riding through the neighborhood in his wheelchair.

The independent, friendly man they knew as "Hal" took care of his own errands, frequently riding his wheelchair to Sweetbay Supermarket or Home Depot.

"He always had a great outlook," said next-door neighbor Pat Diebold, 67, remarking how he cheerfully yelled out her name as he rolled through the cul-de-sac.

About 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Fleming, 45, was killed by a St. Petersburg police cruiser as he was crossing 38th Avenue N. Fleming was heading north near 64th Street, just a few blocks from his house, when he was hit.

He was thrown from his chair and landed along the north curb, police said. He was taken to nearby St. Petersburg General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz said he is not sure where Fleming was going at that hour, but it appeared he was heading home.

The officer who hit him, Mehmedin Karic, 26, was driving east on 38th Avenue and was not responding to a call, police said.

He said he didn't see Fleming, who was wearing dark clothing, according to investigators.

Police also noted that a street light near the intersection was not working at the time, and said crews will be dispatched to fix it.

The cruiser's airbag deployed in the crash. Karic, a sworn officer since October 2010, was not injured.

Puetz said the accident is still under investigation and that a report will be compiled for the police chief.

Among other things, he said, data will be collected to determine the officer's speed. A toxicology report will also be conducted on Fleming.

Fleming's sister, Rhonda Collier, said she and her mother are in shock. Fleming's father died about two years ago.

"He was super-fantastic," she said. "He always worried about everyone else but himself."

Fleming had been badly injured in a motorcycle crash in May 1984, just before he was set to graduate from Dixie Hollins High School.

Since then, he has been a quadriplegic, she said, with some use of his arms but very limited ability in his fingers.

Fleming went on to graduate from Dixie Hollins. He was grateful for everything he still could do. And he found creative ways to work around his disability, she said.

Fleming, who loved drawing and reading comic books, figured out how to feed himself and how to write.

"He wanted no one to really take care of him," said Collier, 48.

He also looked out for his sister, mom and nephews, and he kept track of everything, including their birthdays in his organizer.

Diebold, his neighbor, said she's not surprised that Fleming was out around 4:30 a.m. "because he was always out and about" in his nonmotorized wheelchair.

A neighbor for more than three decades, Diebold recalled that Fleming's father made sure he had a manual chair so he could maintain upper body strength.

Another neighbor, Dana Wilson, said Fleming was cautious, but she worried for his safety.

"I just saw him the other day and told him to be careful," she said.

Frank's comment: This accident wasn't covered very extensively in any of the media! As compared to most wheelchair pedestrian accidents details are very limted. Where did the accident occur in relation to an intersection? Was he in the middle of the street? What was the cop doing? Turning? Proceeding straight? As far as deep pockets are concerned...Let's see...The cop was on duty and the city is responsible for the streetlight. But let's blame it on the pedestrian because he wasn't wearing a brilliant gnarly neon warning sign. Maybe that is why prisons and jails dress perps. and convicts in bright orange jumpsuits...they'll be less likely to blend in to the environment! Am I wrong to sense a Blue Cone-of-Silence regarding the details? The media sure doesn't seem to be all over this matter either.

Walk MS 2012

Frank — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:42:15 GMT

Donors Needed
Click the Icon Above

Breaking Now

Frank — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:31:27 GMT

Saint Petersburg, FL--

Pedestrian in wheelchair struck by a police cruiser. Pedestrian killed!

Officer said he didn't see him...Street light was out and victim was wearing dark clothing.

Officer was not responding to a call.

More to follow.

Dowagiac, MI

Frank — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:03:58 GMT

Teen hit by truck while in wheelchair; no tickets leads to outrage

"I want her to know what she did was wrong."

http://www.abc57.com/home/top-stories/Teen-hit-by-truck-while-in-wheelchair-no-tickets-leads-to-outrage--139410738.html

By Brian Dorman -
Story Created: Feb 15, 2012 at 10:18 PM EST
Story Updated: Feb 15, 2012 at 11:13 PM EST

DOWAGIAC, Mich. - A teenager was hit by a truck while crossing a busy intersection in his wheelchair Monday.

The accident happened just after 5 p.m. at East Division St. & West Railroad Street.

Anthony Davis, 19, was crossing West Railroad St. at the time. Davis was halfway across the street when he was hit by a truck.

"I got hit and ejected from my chair," Davis recalls.

The driver of the truck, Diane Lovelace was not injured, she was also not given a ticket for the accident.

"I believe she should have got a ticket for endangering my son's life and reckless driving, she wasn't paying attention," Anthony's mom, Karrie Tartt said.

Lovelace, failed to yield a pedestrian and is to blame for the crash according to the police report by the Dowagiac Police Department.

An officer told ABC 57 News Wednesday that citations are issued by the investigating officer, it was taken into consideration that Davis was no injured on the scene of the crash.

Davis was checked out by EMT's but was not taken to the hospital.

Tuesday Davis was taken by him mom to the hospital for severe bruising on his right side of his body, bruising that was caused when his wheelchair fell over.

According to Davis he was thrown several feet from his wheelchair. Officers report that he was in his wheelchair by the time they arrived.

"I just want her to know what she did was wrong," Davis said.

He and his mother are upset that Lovelace has made no effort to get in touch with them.

"She didn't even give us her insurance information at the time," Said Davis.

ABC 57 News got in touch with Lovelace on the telephone Wednesday night, she declined an on camera or over the phone interview but said she was very upset by the accident and wishes that it had never happened.

Lovelace said that she apologized several times at the scene of the accident and even offered up her gloves for Davis to wear while help was on the way. She said she also offered to take him to the hospital.

Lovelace said she had been in touch with her insurance company but didn't say whether they were going to pay for the damaged wheelchair.

Tartt said a new wheelchair costs $6,000, but admitted that she isn't sure how much it will cost to get Anthony's chair fixed.

"I'm just lucky to be alive," Davis said.

77 Year Old Driver Charged

Frank — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:21:23 GMT

http://www.annarbor.com/news/crime/77-year-old-woman-betty-chisholm-ann-arbor-police-motorized-wheelchair/

77-year-old driver accused of hitting man in wheelchair then leaving scene
By Lee Higgins Posted: Mon, Feb 13, 2012 : 3:04 p.m.

A 77-year-old woman is accused of hitting a man in a wheelchair with an SUV in downtown Ann Arbor in December and leaving the scene, court records show.

Betty Powell Chisholm of Ann Arbor was arraigned Thursday in 15th District Court on a misdemeanor charge of failing to stop at an accident.

She is out on a promise to appear. Her attorney, Joy Glovick, could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Gerald Foster was in his wheelchair and using a crosswalk last December when a driver struck him in downtown Ann Arbor.

An Ann Arbor police traffic crash report says Chisholm turned from South Fifth Avenue onto westbound East Liberty Street about 2:54 p.m. Dec. 7 and struck 63-year-old Gerald Foster with a Ford Explorer.

Foster of Ann Arbor, who was heading north in a crosswalk, was knocked from his motorized wheelchair to the street.

"I just kind of froze," he told AnnArbor.com in December. "I knew it was inevitable. I thought this is my last minute on Earth and I looked her right in the eye, just prior to her hitting me and she had her hand up to her ear, talking, and she just slammed into me."

He refused medical treatment, but went to the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System the next morning because his body was aching.

Foster also has said that the driver who struck him appeared to be talking on a cell phone.

In the report, police said Chisholm "fled the scene" after the collision. A witness told AnnArbor.com in December that a number of children chased the SUV down East Liberty Street and were able to get the license plate number. The SUV swerved around other cars and ran a red light after the collision, the witness said.

An officer caught up with Chisholm at her home, the report says, and she said "she was unaware of the crash and would have stopped if she had hit someone."

"She also stated she was not on her cell phone but did admit to being in the area of question."

If convicted, Chisholm faces up to 90 days in jail. She is scheduled to return to court March 13.

Evansville, IN

Frank — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:37:10 GMT

http://www.14news.com/story/16937224/man-in-wheelchair-dies-when-struck-by-car

911 calls released in fatal wheelchair crash
Posted: Feb 14, 2012 10:35 PM EST
Updated: Feb 15, 2012 4:07 PM EST
Posted by Brad Conaway

A 27 year old man is charged with possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and causing a death while operating a motor vehicle under the influence.

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - Evansville Vanderburgh Central Dispatch has released two 911 calls detailing the before and after of a fatal crash.

The first caller describes the dangerous situation of a man in a wheelchair, rolling down a dark street. The second caller describes the wreck that ended up killing the man in the wheelchair.

Evansville Police are holding an Evansville motorist on drug-related charges following a crash that killed a man who was traveling along a road at night in a motorized wheelchair.

Vanderburgh County Coroner Annie Groves tells 14 News that the victim was 67-year-old Stephen Ellison.

Police believe 27-year-old Bryce Edward Klueh struck and killed Ellison, a little after six, near the intersection of Covert and Vann.

Klueh is charged with possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and causing a death while operating a motor vehicle under the influence.

Frank's comment:

I highly recommend everyone go to the linked news report from WFIE and really read the comments that have been submitted on this.

After you've read these comments and paused long enough to let you blood pressure return to normal...consider this:

I took a look at this intesection (Covert & Vann in Evansville, IN) via Google Maps street level view. You know what I found?

NO CURB CUTS! How the hell was the victim supposed to get out of the street?

LYNNWOOD, WA

Frank — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:31:24 GMT

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/traffic/man-wheelchair-hit-pickup-near-lynnwood/nHcwq/

Man in wheelchair hit by pickup near Lynnwood

LYNNWOOD — State troopers are investigating after a man in a wheelchair was hit by a pickup Tuesday afternoon.

The incident happened along State Route 99 and 156th Street Southwest near Lynnwood.

The Washington State Patrol said the man in the wheelchair was on the sidewalk when a pickup turned into a driveway and hit him.

The 70-year-old victim suffered serious injuries.

Portland, OR

Frank — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:34:12 GMT

Driver Cited After Striking Woman in Wheelchair in East Portland - 02/14/12

This afternoon, Tuesday February 14, 2012, at 4:32 p.m., Portland Police officers responded to the report of a woman in a wheelchair struck by a vehicle at 160th and East Burnside Street.

Officers arrived and contacted the pedestrian, 47-year-old Sharon Holmes, who suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. The driver, 79-year-old Susan Wong, remained at the scene and cooperated with officers.

Holmes was in her wheelchair crossing the westbound lanes of East Burnside, in a marked crosswalk (no signal), when she was struck by Wong who was driving westbound.

Holmes was transported to an area hospital. Wong was given a traffic citation for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian.

Excerpt

Frank — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:57:45 GMT

Excerpt from a Supreme Court Brief Opposing the Affordable Care Act. (OBAMACARE)

…The breathtaking scope of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) extends to more than one sixth of the economy of the United States. PPACA was passed by the U.S. Senate on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009. At that time, the national debt was nearly $12.135 trillion, exceeding the statutory debt limit. Upon passage of the statute in March 2010, private sector job growth halted and dropped sharply in the following months.

PPACA contains nine titles and hundreds of new laws scattered throughout the U.S. Code. The approximately 2000-page bill in its entirety was their vote. As then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said shortly after the Congressional vote, “We have to pass the bill so you find out what’s in it.”

The nature of the minimum coverage provision compelling all individuals in the United States to acquire and maintain health insurance is an unprecedented assertion of Federal Government authority at the expense of the States as well as an assault on individual liberty. For the first time in history, Congress has required private citizens to buy an expensive product from a private company every month for the rest of their lives, just by virtue of being U.S. citizens. In addition, PPACA mandates a significant expansion of the States’ Medicaid schemes. Under PPACA, States must spend an enormous sum of additional dollars. They are required to broaden their Medicaid eligibility standards to accommodate as much as fifty percent more individuals, many of whom are compelled to enroll by the mandate, or else face a tax penalty…

10 Year Sentence

Frank — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:06:59 GMT

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120210/APC0101/302110166/Mark-Sperber-John-Kennedy-hit-and-run-death-wheelchair-Green-Bay

Hit-run driver Mark Sperber sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing man in wheelchair in Green Bay crash

10:42 AM, Feb. 10, 2012

Written by
Paul Srubas
Gannett Wisconsin Media

A Forestville man who fled after running his truck into a man in a wheelchair and killing him will spend 10 years in prison, a Brown County judge ordered Thursday.

Mark Sperber, 40, also will serve 10 years on extended supervision for the Jan. 25, 2011, hit-and-run fatality of John Kennedy, 20. "I'm not satisfied you've taken ownership of this," Brown County Circuit Judge Mark Hammer told Sperber at the sentencing hearing. "You looked back (after the collision) and thought, 'It's him or me' and left. That's what happened." Hammer dismissed Sperber's claim at trial that he thought he had hit a garbage can, not a man in a wheelchair.

Accident reconstruction specialists at the trial made it clear that the wheelchair would have been visible in the roadway prior to the crash, Hammer said. "I can't conceive any rational person would think it was a trash can," Hammer said. "Whether it was a garbage can or not, a sober person would not have driven off." Sperber had three strong drinks — the equivalent of six shots of alcohol — within an hour or so before driving along the 900 block of Velp Avenue, where he ran into Kennedy, who was operating his wheelchair in Sperber's lane of traffic because of unshoveled snow on the sidewalk, testimony at the trial indicated. Witnesses said they saw Sperber stop, look back and then drive off.

Sperber — who had been driving a company truck for his employer — the next day got co-workers to fix the damage on the vehicle, testimony indicated. Sperber told them he'd hit a garbage can. Sperber was under oath when he described the garbage can to jurors, Assistant District Attorney Tom Coaty said at the sentencing hearing. Sperber also went to great lengths to fix the damage on the truck and to hide the fact that he fixed it, all of which shows a lack of remorse, Coaty said.

Defense lawyer Kevin Musolf argued that Sperber really thought he had hit a garbage can, and that's why he wasn't afraid to enlist co-workers to fix the damage on the truck. Kennedy's father, Jeff Kennedy, testified Thursday that his son — known as "Mingo" to his friends — was paralyzed from the chest down because of a single-vehicle accident in September 2009.

John Kennedy was determined to walk again and was inspirational to family and friends for his positive attitude, Jeff Kennedy testified. Sperber's father, Alfred Sperber, struggled Thursday with a cane to get to the witness stand, where he testified that his son has an extraordinary sympathy for the disabled because of his father's lifelong disability, and never would have knowingly hit someone in a wheelchair and abandon him. Following the sentencing, Sperber pleaded no contest to a separate charge of bail jumping.

He was found guilty of consuming alcohol in July while under orders, as a condition of bond in the hit-and-run case, to abstain from alcohol.

"It does not speak well of you," Hammer told him, and issued a $500 fine.

Paul Srubas writes for the Green Bay Press-Gazette

Update Gresham

Frank — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:20:26 GMT

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=132876464875030300

Update Gresham: http://blog.frankms.com/2012/02/11/gresham-or.aspx

Woman in wheelchair dies after being hit on DivisionDriver faces no charges after Wednesday accident in Gresham

The Gresham Outlook, Feb 9, 2012, Updated Feb 9, 2012

A 58-year-old Gresham woman who was struck at 6:08 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, as she crossed Northeast Division Street in her wheelchair has died.

The woman was breathing but unconscious when police arrived. She was taken to Oregon Health & Science University, where she died, said Sgt. Claudio Grandjean, Gresham police spokesman.

The accident happened at Linden Avenue, which is an unmarked crosswalk on Division Street. The woman, who was crossing from south to north, was nearly struck by an eastbound vehicle, but it swerved to avoid her. A car driven in the westbound lane by a 25-year-old woman then hit the victim. The driver stayed at the scene and alcohol, drugs and speed were not factors in the accident.

Grandjean said no charges have been filed because the driver was not at fault.

The victim’s name has not been released.

How was the westbound driver not at fault? See my comments on the original post! Dead men or women don't have a voice and can't testify!

New Research

Frank — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:36:13 GMT

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/therapy-for-ms-prods-brain-to-re-cloak-neurons/

From Futurity.org

Therapy for MS prods brain to re-cloak neurons

Posted By Deborah Williams-Hedges-Caltech On February 10, 2012 @ 12:15 pm In Health & Medicine

CALTECH (US) — A new gene therapy, applied directly to the brain, may help protect neurons from damage by diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes—antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin—a material that forms a protective, insulating cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently.

But myelin, and the specialized cells called oligodendrocytes that make it, become damaged in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), leaving neurons without their myelin sheaths. As a consequence, the affected neurons can no longer communicate correctly and are prone to damage.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) [2] now believe they have found a way to help the brain replace damaged oligodendrocytes and myelin.

The therapy, which has been successful in promoting remyelination in a mouse model of MS, is outlined in a paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience [1].

“We’ve developed a gene therapy to stimulate production of new oligodendrocytes from stem and progenitor cells—both of which can become more specialized cell types—that are resident in the adult central nervous system,” says Benjamin Deverman, a postdoctoral fellow in biology at Caltech and lead author of the paper.

“In other words, we’re using the brain’s own progenitor cells as a way to boost repair.”

The therapy uses leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a naturally occurring protein that was known to promote the self-renewal of neural stem cells and to reduce immune-cell attacks to myelin in other MS mouse models.

“What hadn’t been done before our study was to use gene therapy in the brain to stimulate these cells to remyelinate,” says Paul Patterson, professor of biological sciences at Caltech and senior author of the study.

According to the researchers, LIF enables remyelination by stimulating oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to proliferate and make new oligodendrocytes. The brain has the capacity to produce oligodendrocytes, but often fails to prompt a high enough repair response after demyelination.

“Researchers had been skeptical that a single factor could lead to remyelination of damaged cells,” says Deverman. “It was thought that you could use factors to stimulate the division and expansion of the progenitor population, and then add additional factors to direct those progenitors to turn into the mature myelin-forming cells.

“But in our mouse model, when we give our LIF therapy, it both stimulates the proliferation of the progenitor cells and allows them to differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes.”

In other words, once the researchers stimulated the proliferation of the progenitor cells, it appeared that the progenitors knew just what was needed—the team did not have to instruct the cells at each stage of development. And they found that LIF elicited such a strong response that the treated brain’s levels of myelin-producing oligodendrocytes were restored to those found in healthy populations.

The researchers note, too, that by placing LIF directly in the brain, one avoids potential side effects of the treatment that may arise when the therapy is infused into the bloodstream.

“This new application of LIF is an avenue of therapy that has not been explored in human patients with MS,” says Deverman, who points out that LIF’s benefits might also be good for spinal-cord injury patients since the demyelination of spared neurons may contribute to disability in that disorder.

To move the research closer to human clinical trials, the team will work to build better viral vectors for the delivery of LIF. “The way this gene therapy works is to use a virus that can deliver the genetic material—LIF—into cells,” explains Patterson.

“This kind of delivery has been used before in humans, but the worry is that you can’t control the virus. You can’t necessarily target the right place, and you can’t control how much of the protein is being made.”

That is why he and Deverman are developing viruses that can target LIF production to specific cell types and can turn it on and off externally, providing a means to regulate LIF levels. They also plan to test the therapy in additional MS mouse models.

“For MS, the current therapies all work by modulating or suppressing the immune system, because it’s thought to be a disease in which inflammation leads to immune-associated loss of oligodendrocytes and damage to the neurons,” says Deverman.

“Those therapies can reduce the relapse rate in patients, but they haven’t shown much of an effect on the long-term progression of the disease. What are needed are therapies that promote repair. We hope this may one day be such a therapy.”

The study was funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the McGrath Foundation.

Rejected

Frank — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:55:01 GMT

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/758414

From Medscape:
From Reuters Health Information

U.S. Rejects California Health-Care Copayment Plan

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) Feb 09 - The government blocked an effort on Monday by California to reduce its health-care spending by requiring those enrolled in its Medi-Cal program for the needy to make copayments for medical services.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services informed California by letter that it was "unable to identify the legal and policy support" that would allow the state to require copayments to Medi-Cal under the Social Security Act.

The decision means California will not be able to count on $575 million in savings to its Medicaid program from the copayments in its fiscal year beginning on July 1 unless the Obama administration reverses the ruling.

California intends to seek a reversal, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state's department of finance.

Governor Jerry Brown last month unveiled a budget plan projecting a $9.2 billion deficit. He urged a combination of spending cuts and revenue from a measure for the November ballot seeking tax increases that would balance California's budget and provide a $1.1 billion reserve.

Health Insurance Mandate

Frank — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:38:56 GMT

A mandate to buy medical insurance crosses a line between regulating action and inaction, between regulating those who have entered a market and those who have not, one that the Court and Congress have never crossed before.” Thus, there is more to the individual mandate than regulating “inactivity,” which it does and is troubling on its own. The individual mandate compels commerce under penalty of federal law. Consequently, once Congress forces the private individual into the stream of commerce, there is virtually no limit to Congress’ authority to then regulate the person under extant Commerce Clause jurisprudence... Excerpt from Supreme Court brief.

Affordable 'Car' Act

Frank — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:11:07 GMT

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/758246

From Medscape Medical News

Individual-Mandate Foes Warn of Affordable 'Car' Act
Robert Lowes

February 7, 2012 — In a brief filed with the Supreme Court on February 6, elected state officials opposed to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) described a "brave new world" of compulsory and unconstitutional commerce if the law's mandate for individuals to carry health insurance is allowed to stand.

If the government can compel Americans to obtain health insurance in the name of regulating interstate commerce, the state officials argued, then it can require them to buy cars to bolster the domestic auto industry, or certain foods to support the agriculture industry. Mandatory twice-a-year dental visits could prevent expensive emergency dental care on the public tab. And to get Americans to save for their retirement, the government could require them to invest in 401(k) accounts.

These arguments one-up the reasoning of US District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Florida, who struck down the individual mandate as unconstitutional in January 2011 in a case brought by the same elected officials, who hail from 26 states. Vinson wondered whether the legal premise of the individual mandate would justify a government requirement to eat broccoli.

Those state officials, along with other opponents of healthcare reform, are now asking the nation's highest court to reach the same conclusion about the individual mandate. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the issue in November 2011 after various federal district and appellate courts issued conflicting opinions about the mandate's constitutionality. The parties in the litigation, as well as dozens of "friends of the court," have been filing written arguments in the case, a process that will wrap up later this month. The Supreme Court has set aside 3 days in late March to hear oral arguments. It will render a decision before the end of June.

Written briefs are piling up high and wide due to 4 different questions that the court is weighing in the case. In addition to deciding whether the individual mandate is constitutional, the high court will decide whether the entire law should be voided if it throws out the mandate. It also will consider the constitutionality of the law's dramatic expansion of the Medicaid program, which some state officials view as a trampling of states' rights.

Yet another issue on the court's agenda is jurisdictional in nature — should the court refrain from hearing the case at all until individuals who fail to obtain health insurance begin to pay a penalty under the ACA? That question has arisen because a law called the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) bars individuals from challenging a tax in court until after they have paid it, and the ACA penalty has been construed as a tax in some quarters. The individual mandate goes into effect in 2014.

"An Extraordinary and Unbounded Assertion of Federal Power"

In its own Supreme Court brief filed last month, the Obama administration argued that Congress exercised its rightful power to regulate interstate commerce as granted by the Constitution's Commerce clause when it wrote the individual mandate into the ACA.

The mandate, the administration stated, eliminates the marketplace problem of cost-shifting, which occurs when the uninsured receive healthcare but others usually foot all or part of the bill. Cost-shifting eventually leads to higher insurance premiums for the insured, which makes coverage even less affordable. The administration said the mandate also will swell the insurance risk pool with healthy individuals, which would cause premiums to drop and enable other insurance reforms to work, such as guaranteed issue without any exclusion of pre-existing conditions.

The state officials countered in the brief filed yesterday that the individual mandate rests on "an extraordinary and unbounded assertion of federal power" that "cannot survive constitutional scrutiny." They said the Commerce clause gives Congress the power to regulate commerce, but not to "compel individuals to enter into commerce." Otherwise, Congress would be free to require individuals to purchase not only insurance, but also cars and food.

The state officials also said that contrary to the administration's claims, the individual mandate technically does not regulate the commerce that occurs when Americans pay — or fail to pay — for healthcare. It requires individuals to obtain insurance, but it does not require them to use their insurance to pay a physician or hospital bill, according to the brief.

The brief from the state officials also disagreed with the Obama administration's argument that the individual mandate is authorized under Congress' power to tax as well its power to regulate interstate commerce.

In taking this stance, the administration said the individual mandate functions for all practical purposes as a tax law despite imposing a penalty per se on Americans who decline insurance coverage.

The state officials said the administration's argument falls apart in several ways. For one thing, their lawsuit challenges the individual mandate, not the penalty that enforces it. Furthermore, "the penalty plainly operates as a penalty, not a tax." And if it were a tax, it would fail on constitutional grounds because it would not be apportioned among the states on the basis of population as required.

Along those same lines, the state officials said in another brief filed Monday that the AIA should not bar the high court from reaching a decision in the ACA case. They again argued that they are contesting the mandate, not the penalty, and that the mandate is enforced by a penalty, not a true tax. Also, the AIA applies to "persons" — a term that includes corporations — but not state governments, according to the brief.

Gresham, OR

Frank — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:45:36 GMT

http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2012/02/woman_in_wheelchair_taken_to_h.html

Woman in wheelchair taken to hospital after being struck by car in Gresham, OR

Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 9:01 PM Updated: Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 9:03 PM

By Kate Mather, The Oregonian

A 58-year-old woman was hospitalized tonight after she was hit by a car while crossing a Gresham street in her wheelchair.

The unidentified woman was not in a marked crosswalk as she ventured north across Northeast Division Street at Linden Avenue about 6:10 p.m., said Officer Malaka Kerbs, a spokeswoman for the Gresham Police Department. She pulled in front of an eastbound vehicle that managed to avoid hitting her but was struck by another car after she crossed into the westbound lanes.

The driver of the car, an unidentified 25-year-old woman, stopped and remained at the scene, Kerbs said.

Medics transported the victim to an area hospital. Her injuries and condition were not known.

Early reports indicated the driver wasn't speeding or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Kerbs said.

-- Kate Mather

Frank’s comment:

The article states the victim was crossing Northeast Division northbound at Linden Streets. That the wheelchair victim was not in a marked crosswalk and that an eastbound vehicle managed to avoid hitting her then a westbound vehicle hit her.

I did a Google street view of the intersection… There is no marked crosswalk at that location! There are five (5) lanes on NE Division. The wheelchair victim was struck after crossing at least two lanes of traffic.

Oregon DOT crosswalk law:

A crosswalk exists at any public street intersection, whether marked with paint or unmarked. Crosswalks also exist between intersections (mid-block) only if they are marked with white painted lines. Under Oregon laws, a driver has specific duties to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, whether marked or unmarked…

At any other crosswalks - whether marked with paint or unmarked – drivers must:

Stop and remain stopped for pedestrians until they have cleared the lane in which you are traveling (or into which you are turning) and the next lane.

Stop and remain stopped for students as you are directed by a crossing guard.

Stop and remain stopped for a blind pedestrian using a white cane or a guide dog until the pedestrian is completely across the roadway.

If a pedestrian is in a safety buffer when the vehicle enters the crosswalk, the driver will be cited for a fi ne over $200.

I ASK HOW THE WESTBOUND VEHICLE COULD HAVE BEEN IN COMPLIANCE WITH OREGON LAW? And the news media is failing to fully acknowledge the law! In short, I'm not convinced the eastbound driver was compliant either. This is a classic case of motorists ruling the road at the expense of disabled pedestrians. At least acknowledge the law damn it!

Newton, NJ

Frank — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:18:17 GMT

http://www.njherald.com/story/16700812/woman-in-wheelchair-struck-by-car

Woman in wheelchair struck by car

Posted: Feb 08, 2012 12:55 AM EST

Updated: Feb 08, 2012 1:08 AM EST

A woman crossing the street in an electric wheelchair was hit by a car Tuesday morning along a busy side street in Newton, police said.

Margaret Cantos, 76, was operating an electric wheelchair along Trinity Street near the intersection of Route 206 when she was struck by a car driven by Barbara Miller, 61, at 10:06 a.m. Tuesday.

According to police, Cantos was attempting to cross Trinity Street outside the marked crosswalk when she was struck. Miller was driving a 2004 Hyundai Sante Fe west on Trinity heading toward the intersection of Route 206.

Cantos, a resident of Mill Street in Newton, sustained a head injury and was flown to Morristown Medical Center by New Jersey State Police Medevac. She was listed in stable condition late Tuesday afternoon, according to medical center personnel.

Miller, a resident of Franklin, was not injured in the incident which is under investigation.

Newton First Aid Squad and a crew from Atlantic Ambulance responded to the scene along with St. Clare's mobile intensive care unit.

Op-Ed

Frank — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:09:11 GMT

WSJ: Op-Ed: A Bipartisan Plan for Job Creation

FEBRUARY 7TH, 2012

A Bipartisan Plan for Job Creation

The Startup Act will help remove bureaucratic and tax barriers facing the small businesses that create most jobs.

By JERRY MORAN and MARK WARNER

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama called on Congress to pass an agenda that helps start-ups and small businesses succeed. We have already introduced a plan that shares his goals. It’s called the Startup Act.

Research conducted by the Kauffman Foundation and others has consistently shown that companies less than five years old accounted for nearly all net job creation in our economy over the past three decades. One of the greatest challenges facing new start-up companies is gaining access to enough capital to get off the ground in the first few years. So our plan provides incentives to help new businesses get financing so they can grow more quickly.

In 2010, Congress temporarily exempted capital gains taxes on the sale of certain small-business stock held for at least five years. The Startup Act will make this exemption permanent, giving investors an incentive to partner with entrepreneurs and provide financial stability at a critical juncture of firm growth.

To further encourage business development, our plan also reduces the corporate income tax on certain new businesses during the first three taxable years of profit. To fuel access to capital, the Startup Act will examine whether or not Sarbanes-Oxley compliance could be eased for small issuers, potentially allowing the market to weigh the costs and benefits.

Another significant obstacle facing new businesses is the expense and time required to comply with government regulations. According to the Small Business Administration, firms with fewer than 20 employees spend 36% more per employee than larger firms to comply with federal regulations. Our bill requires all government agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of all proposed new regulations with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This analysis will determine the efficacy of the rule and its potential effects on the formation and growth of new businesses.

For years, business leaders have known that current U.S. immigration policies have hurt our efforts to compete in the global contest for entrepreneurial talent. We simply do not provide enough opportunities for foreign-born talent, trained here, to remain in this country to create innovative new companies.

Researchers at Duke and at the University of California at Berkeley have found that more than a quarter of technology and engineering companies created in the U.S. between 1995 and 2005 had at least one key founder who was foreign-born. In 2005 alone, researchers found, these companies produced $52 billion in sales and employed 450,000 workers.

The Startup Act will help keep entrepreneurial talent and highly skilled workers in the U.S. by establishing a new category of visas for immigrant entrepreneurs. It also creates a pathway for foreign students who graduate from an American university with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics to receive a green card along with their diplomas so they can stay in this country, launch businesses, and create jobs.

Our plan also seeks to accelerate the commercialization of taxpayer-funded research at American universities, moving it from the laboratory to the marketplace where it can propel economic growth more quickly. American universities historically have been responsible for groundbreaking discoveries—spawning new industries and creating countless jobs.

But not every institution is equipped to mentor entrepreneurial researchers as they create new companies or partner with industry to find innovative uses for the fruits of university-based research. The Startup Act will use existing federal R&D funding to support university initiatives designed to bring cutting-edge research to the marketplace more quickly.

Finally, the Startup Act will direct the Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid in the development of new businesses. Through the publication of reports on new business formation and the entrepreneurial environment, lawmakers will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurship with the most successful policies.

These are bipartisan ideas that deserve serious consideration in Congress. In fact, many of these ideas have the support of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. We look forward to working with the president to encourage American entrepreneurs to do what they do best—dream big and pursue those dreams.

Mr. Moran, a Republican, is a senator from Kansas. Mr. Warner, a Democrat, is a senator from Virginia.

Senator Moran and I attended the same High School, a student body of 250. The Senator was a freshman when I was a senior. Years later my mother was the County Tax Appraiser while Jerry was the County District Attorney.

Rockford, IL

Frank — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:58:09 GMT

http://www.rrstar.com/news/publicsafety/x782336444/Condition-worsens-for-Rockford-man-struck-by-car

Condition worsens for Rockford man struck by car.

RRSTAR.COM STAFF REPORTS
Posted Feb 03, 2012 @ 03:29 PM
Last update Feb 03, 2012 @ 09:11 PM

Rockford man in wheelchair gets hit, gets ticketed

ROCKFORD — A man in a wheelchair struck while crossing the street by a Pontiac Grand Prix earlier this week is fighting for his life in intensive care at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition today.

Willie Forest, 51, was crossing the street in the area of 11th Street and Alton Avenue around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when he was hit, sending him flying into the Pontiac’s windshield.

His sister, Alice Halcom of Rockford, said today that Forest isn’t responsive and doctors aren’t sure whether he can hear his family when they visit. Police said Forest was wearing dark clothing, making it hard for motorists to see him.

He was cited for crossing the street outside of a crosswalk. Spring Thompson, 34, of Rockford, was cited for driving without insurance.

“He was not crossing the street at a crosswalk as a pedestrian should. Wrong is wrong,” Halcom said. “But I feel that charges should be brought on this woman, depending on if my brother lives or not.”