2. Your friends hold a fundraiser for you, but you only get $35,000 and one of your hostesses doesn't show up. Republican Rep. Bob Ney, currently under investigation for ties with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was thrown a party in Columbus, Ohio. Rep. Deborah Pryce (OH-15) was a sponsor for the event, but did not attend.
3. Under investigation for possible money laundering, Republican Tom DeLay's redistricting of Texas will be looked at by the U.S. Supreme Court.
4. Republican Rep. Katherine Harris, the hanging chad woman of Florida, has had staff turnovers and a problem with fundraising. Rumors are suggesting she may drop out of her race for the U.S. Senate.
5. You are the President of the United States, but you are portrayed as living in a bubble. Newsweek has a cover story on how President Bush is isolated from the real world.
6. You finally feel confident about flying again. New York Times: The Transportation Security Administration's plan to allow scissors and screwdrivers through airport checkpoints so it can focus on bigger threats like bombs drew criticism from the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing on Monday.
In the News..........
The Columbus Dispatch:
..Nearly 900 students statewide who were told they failed the graduation tests they took last summer actually passed, the Ohio Department of Education said yesterday.
..The Education Department said Measurement Inc., which helps develop Ohio’s standardized tests and score them, graded the tests correctly. But the company, based in Durham, N.C., mistakenly assigned failing labels to hundreds of passing grades.
..The problem impacted only the summer tests in math, science, social studies and reading. The writing portion wasn’t affected. Some students’ results were misinterpreted in more than one test, so 925 test scores will move from the lowest level to the passing, or proficient, level.
...In a quick investigation, I've found that Measurement, Inc. has had other problems. In October 2003, there were problems in Michigan (that place up north): MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) tests that were to determine scholarships and awards were lost by Measurement Inc. Shouldn't states share these problems so that incompetent companies are banned from these state contracts.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC), which was involved with Tom Noe and the "Coingate" scandal, now has other problems. According to the Cincinnati Post:
In a decision that could cost the state millions of dollars, a judge said the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation did not follow state procedures when it cut payments to hospitals for treating injured workers.
The bureau announced it was cutting its rates by $50 million in August to match more closely with hospitals' actual costs.
The Ohio Hospital Association, which represents 170 hospitals and 40 health systems, said the ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles A. Schneider gives the group a chance to argue against the rate cut.
Schneider ruled Thursday that the bureau should have sought approval for a cut from the Joint Committee on Agency Rule and Review.
The hospital group sued the bureau, saying the cuts would force patients to wait longer for care and could eliminate some care altogether...
Finally----- The Columbus Dispatch has the following sections of their newspaper: SPORTS, METRO & STATE, LIFE. Joe Blundo is a columnist who, I hope, is on vacation. However, on the front page of the Life Section the following notice appeared:
JOE BLUNDO will return to Life on Sunday.
