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On the approach to the Kototoi Bridge, surrounded by bristles, Seitaro Ouchi and his son Kiyotake take it in turns to staff the tiny Marble brush shop (they have another, even smaller, store close to Sensoji). Have a look at this, says Seitaro, who is 86. I call this the Dustrich! It's a feather duster that rests on a wooden base shaped like an ostrich. Other items include a large cleaning brush with bristles in the pattern of a seahorse. I designed that too, he says.
He isn't shy. Ask if you can take his photo, he feigns bashfulness – then grins, straightens up and poses. He likes to speak English. His family is international, with a daughter who studied journalism at Columbia in New York. Framed awards are on one wall, including one from the Tokyo governor. What's the best-seller? This one, he says, picking up a cashmere de-piling brush. This is what won the award. It has very short, wild-boar bristles in a semi-circle. These brushes used only to be available to dry cleaners, says Kiyotake. But ordinary people started wanting them.
They're not so cheap. But you buy one and try it. It works really well. Like the horsehair toothbrushes. Marble's are more compact than those of the other Asakusa brush store, Kanaya. But they feel good too. The Kanaya one impressed your dentist. You never told him you gave up on your electric toothbrush – then one day he said, It's interesting your teeth on this visit have no tartar buildup. So you figure it's the natural bristles. They come in three stiffnesses, including an especially hard pig's-hair one. The metallic embossed logos are in different colours, to avoid family confusion.
Seitaro makes his brushes at his factory nearby. It's lucky the business has survived. Amid the Tokyo firebombing, Seitaro saw people who had melted. On the night of the heaviest attack, his mother took the children to an evacuation site north up the river. She put us into a manhole, he says. She survived too. After the war they all kept working. There is always need for a brush.
Marble main store is at 7-1-5 Asakusa, Taito-ku tel. 03-3875-344. Nintenmon store is at 2-34-11 Asakusa
The Argument Settler

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Beth Sholom/AJ Players Production of The Music Man!
Come see your friends and neighbors! Show times are Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 PM; Saturday, Feb. 9 at 8:00 PM; and Sunday, Feb. 10 at 3:00 PM. Gratz College, Elkins Park. Tickets are available online at www.bethsholomplayers.org for more info, call the "Music Man" Hotline at 215.887.1342.


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Here's what people have asked and answered about working for and interviewing at Konsus.
Yes, and apparently you have to get 100%. It's a joke. Seriously.
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Konsus a better place to work?
What is the pay scale for remote customer service positions?


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Joško Kreković: "Young Players Need Time in The Pool, and Coaches Have To Provide It."
[BARCELONA WP2018] Women, Day 2 — Reports, Photos, and Scores
European Water Polo Championships: Let The Show Beginn!
The 33rd edition of the LEN European Water Polo Championships is to kick off on Saturday in Barcelona and it promises two weeks of thrilling action, featuring 16 men and 12 women teams. At the opening press event, held on the top of the Montjuic, LEN President Paolo Barelli declared that this was going to be greatest water polo show of the whole year.
Though the water polo European Championships return to Barcelona after 48 years (in 1970 it was held together with the other aquatic disciplines, the city was busy during this almost half-century with staging major aquatic events. The 1992 Olympic Games stand out just as the 2003 and 2013 editions of the FINA World Championships. The Champions League Final Six tourneys in 2014 and 2015 were also remarkable occasions and the famous Bernat Picornell Pool on the Montjuic now welcome the world's best water polo players once again.
The opening press event was held in the neighbouring Palauet Albeniz where breathtaking views of the city offered an amazing backdrop while Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, LEN President Paolo Barelli and OC Chair and Royal Spanish Swimming Federation President Fernando Carpena delivered their respective speeches.
President Barelli underlined that the water polo family always came to Barcelona as if its members returned home. "Each time Barcelona offers her very best that's why all of us love to be here" he said. "The level of organisation, the marvellous environment created for the event and the strength of European water polo are all firm guarantees to witness another highly successful tournament." The LEN president thanked for the city, the organisers and the partners for the commitment to stage an unforgettable spectacle which would serve as further proof of Europe's leading role in this discipline.
In the second part of the event the eventual protagonists, coaches and players shared some thoughts on their expectations. Title-holder Hungary's boss Attila Biro said that even if only six players remained from the gold-medal winning side from Belgrade 2016, they were determined to reach the semi-finals again. "This is a young team with a lot of talented players which has all the potential needed to be successful. However, in today's water polo you cannot take anything for granted as the top six teams are really on the same level. Anyway, we want to reach the best four and from that point anything is possible."
Host Spain was champion in 2014 and silver-medallist at the 2017 Worlds but moreover they won the gold in the Picornell pool at the 2013 World Championships. "It's a great memory and we would love to repeat it but as Attila (Biro) said this field is extremely balanced, among the top six sides anyone could claim the title" head coach Miguel Oca said. "Our team worked really hard during the last weeks and the players are ready to do their best."
Thanks to the draw, the opening day already features a big game between these two sides. Ahead of the Spain v Hungary contest, the players think it can be anybody's match. "Though our team is new and we are in the middle of a building process, I think we can show our strength on the opening day" Hungary's Anna Illes said (she played for the 2016 champion side).
Spain's Anni Espar – who was a member of the world title winning team five years ago – also highlighted how balanced the field was. "We are ready to go for the title just like we do every time. We will face a very strong Hungarian team on Saturday evening and there will be a series of tough matches as the best six teams are on the same high level. We will do our best and will see if it's enough to make the top."
For the second time, the water polo Europeans will feature 16 men and 12 women teams. Serbian men and Hungarian women start the tourney as title-holders, however, since their 2016 triumphs other sides also achieved big successes. Croatian men became world champion in 2017 and added the LEN Europa Cup gold to their treasury this April but later Montenegro (runner-up in Belgrade 2016) won the World League Super Final to sign up for the title-contenders' list in Barcelona.
Among the women, Spain finished as the best European in last summer at the Worlds (beaten by the US in the final) while Greece clinched the women Europa Cup this spring and the Netherlands went almost all the way in the World League before succumbing to the mighty Americans in the final.
LEN offers free live streaming from each and every match on its website (www.len.eu), though geoblocking might occur in some countries when the right-holder broadcaster televise a given encounter. A live-scoring system offering detailed stats and play-by-play descriptions is also available.
Men's Groups
Women's Groups
Which Teams Will Play on Final Eight in Hannover? – Champions League Day 14
All Spots Booked for the Final Eight: Three Newcomers! – Champions League Day 13
Who Will Win The Prestige Trophy In Sabadell? – Women's Euro League


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Tearful Tony Jaa vows to return to Ong-Bak 2 as director
Ong-Bak 2 is no longer a martial-arts epic. It's a soap opera.
First there were the tears welling up in the eyes of Sahamongkol boss Somsak "Sia Jiang" Techaratanaprasert, saying he loves wayward star and director Tony Jaa like a son.
Then, yesterday, Tony emerged to talk to television cameras for the first time since he walked off the set of Ong-Bak 2. And he was all red-eyed and crying.
It's painful to see him like this. This is not how the world's next big martial-arts star is supposed to act. But then you put that kind of pressure on a guy -- saying he's the next Bruce Lee -- no wonder he cracked.
With a suit-and-tie lawyer at his side, Tony appeared on a Modernine's "Nine Entertain" show for broadcast today. In his interview, he says he's fine and ready to return to work as director of Ong-Bak 2. Today's Daily Xpress, splashed a tearful, red-eyed Tony on its tabloid cover, with the sensational headline "I don't dabble in black magic". Here's more from their story:
He denies he's superstitious.
"It's untrue," he says. Rumours are widespread the actor is involved in black magic. "I know what I am doing. I am a director. I have to research what's in the film," he says.
Jaa's absence sparked rumours he's obsessed with black magic and had been "exhibiting strange behaviour on the set". He is reported to dress as a shaman and meditates while cast and crew are ready to shoot. He has suddenly cancelled shooting for days.
There's the argument over money, with Tony saying Sahamongkol has given 117 million baht for the picture, and he was run out and gone broke trying to make the film. But Sahamongkol execs, along with Tony's former director Prachya Pinkaew and erstwhile mentor Panna Rittikrai, have said they have spent 250 million baht on Ong-Bak 2. So there must be a misunderstanding, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Prachya has been tasked with taking over the movie and completing it in time for its planned December 4 (or 5th?) release.
The Daily Xpress story continues:
[Jaa] was "shocked" to learn there's no more money and went away to work out his "frustration" in a "quiet place".
He vows to return and finish the film. "But, I have to meet Sia Jiang first," he says. "I still respect Sia Jiang, Panna and Prachya."
Sia Jiang says he loves Jaa and "forgives" him. But, Jaa says "different filmmaking philosophies" might cause further delay.
And some further raw quotes from the interview:
He said success has not changed him. "I've never forgotten that I came from nothing."
"I consider film as an art created by the soul, not business, so anything I do has to be perfect. But I apologise for the problem. I will go to see Sia Jiang to find the way out and finish the film."
International reaction to Tony's troubles has been one of shock and sorrow.
Mark Pollard of KungFuCinema.org puts things into perspective, comparing Tony with another stressed star who walked away -- comedian David Chappelle. Pollard says Tony has taken on too much responsibility too soon, given his meteoric rise to fame, as opposed to stars like Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, who toiled away for decades before they reached international superstardom. Pollard goes as far as suggesting that Tony give Hollywood a try, where though his action would be dumbed down, he might learn something.
I don't know. I think Hollywood would eat Tony alive. What a horrible, demeaning, humiliating business.
Update: TonyJaa.org has a translation of the "Nine Entertain" transcript (via Kaiju Shakedown).
English-language press on Tony Jaa's troubles
Jaa forgiven but Prachya Pinkaew asked to take over Ong-Bak 2
Troubles for Ong-Bak 2 and Tony Jaa
Report: Tony Jaa in the poor house
(Photo by Warisara Wuthikul/Daily Xpress)
Labels: Panna Rittikrai, Prachya Pinkaew, Sahamongkol, Tony Jaa
Wise Kwai July 29, 2008 at 3:32 PM
The interview was recorded for the "Nine Entertain" program on Modernine, for broadcast on July 29, so I am correcting that detail.
A translated transcript is at TonyJaa.org, via Kaiju Shakedown.
depressing...
i heard that he is also trapped in a really long, really unbalanced management deal... which means he's even less in control of his own life.
Hey Etchy! Yes, he's under a 10-year contract with Sahamongkol, and Sia Jiang says he can't bear to see Tony working for another studio.
I guess that is probably the real reason none of those rumored Hollywood roles have ever panned out for him.
I sorry to see that he's had so much trouble lately. It's a shame when such news comes along to overshadow the fine work he's done in films.
Hopefully he'll be able to get back on track now and move forward again. I look forward to seeing him in "Ong Bak 2" and know he'll give it his all.
Stefan S July 29, 2008 at 8:20 PM
I really hope Tony picks himself up from this unfortunate ordeal, and give his fans something to remember with Ong Bak 2! The showreel's fantastic!
Variety has a follow-up report.
Wise Kwai July 30, 2008 at 12:26 AM
And Bangkok of the Mind is still on the case, with comments from Pantip.com.
Handle Me With Care in Chungmoro competition
Queens of Langkasuka announced for Venice
On DVD in Singapore: Spiritual World
The Bangkok International Film Festival will go on
Tearful Tony Jaa vows to return to Ong-Bak 2 as di...
Director talks about Where the Miracle Happens
Trailers, posters for Boonchu 9
Jaa forgiven but Prachya Pinkaew asked to take ove...
Soi Cowboy reviewed in India
Trailer for Hanuman the White Monkey Warrior
Action-packed Shanghai in Bangkok
4bia wins Bronze Award at Fantasia
French Muay Thai boxing picture Chok Dee gets U.K....
Chocolate announced for Midnight Madness at Toronto
Wonderful Town wins Silver Apricot
Censored in Singapore: Art of the Devil 3
Nobody likes Friendship
Thai Meteorites in Brisbane
Thai website for The Coffin is live
Phuket Film Festival on hiatus until June 2009
Wonderful Town reviewed in The New York Times
Eastern vs Western ghosts and Rotterdam's 'Haunted...
Festivals, festivals and more festivals
New documentary from Thunska, This Area Is Under Q...
Art of the Devil 3, Muay Thai Chaiya announced for...
Apichatpong talks about his 'Vampire'
Stills from Hanuman: The White Monkey Warrior
Mum Jokmok produces a mad-dog movie
Miss Thailand Universe brings home National Costum...
NYAFF '08: King Naresuan 2 third in Audience Award...
Poj Arnon casting for gay soccer comedy
Ananda Everingham attached to Aditya's High Society
Wonderful Town back in New York and around the world
BFI's Syndromes DVD 'pleasingly rich'
Thai scenes in Region 1 DVD of Fearless: Director'...
Palisades Media scoops up Tartan Films
British honors for Lee Chatametikool
Aranya Namwong graces Sri Sala cinema
Romance and coffee in southern Thailand
The National Film Archive and Preah Vihear
Sangtong Seesai sighting at National Film Archive
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's shorts in San Francisco
Wesley Snipes to chase the dragon in Bangkok
Short Film Marathon runs July 5 to August 10
Aranya Namwong at the National Film Archive
Ong-Bak 2 set for December 4 release
Navin Rawanchaikul's flair for the cinematic
Action from Phranakorn Films: Hanuman: The White M...
The Coffin gets a Thai poster and August 21 releas...
More on the demise of Tartan Films
NYAFF '08: King Naresuan 2 leads Audience Award vo...
Now set for October release, Variety reviews Queen...
On DVD with English subtitles: Soul's Code, Dream ...
Review: Rak/Sam/Sao (The Last Moment)
NYAFF '08: King Naresuan contest winners, whiteboa...


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Mission & What We Do
Core Convictions
Introductory Essay
Education Fellows
Soka Ed Bibliography
Founding Lecture
Founder's Messages
Timeline & History
Thoughts On Our Convictions
Messages of Appreciation
Ikeda Forum
Dialogue Nights
Scholar-Student Seminars
Colloquia and Panel Discussions
Thinkers & Themes
Appreciating the Uncertain
Being Authentic: What Does That Even Mean?
The Art and Practice of Dialogue
Breaking Gender Stereotypes
Failing Forward
Celebrating the Power of Friendship
The Invisible Arrow
Confronting Apathy
A Report from the August 2019 Dialogue Nights
By Mitch Bogen
The fourth Dialogue Nights event of 2019 was devoted to exploring the meaning of friendship and its power to help us meet and overcome life's challenges—small and large and in between. Called "Friendship: An Antidote to Despair?", the August 16th event attracted nearly fifty Boston-area university students and young professionals who were eager to talk sincerely and openly about the role of friendship in their lives.
In her welcoming remarks, Center Program Manager Lillian I talked about how Dialogue Nights was born two years ago from the realization that young people don't have enough "spaces to talk to each other, openly and free of judgment." This kind of dialogical interaction is especially important at this point in time, when despair seems epidemic. Lillian said that, in all honesty, it isn't unusual for her to feel despair many times in a week. Aware of and inspired by Daisaku Ikeda's many statements on the power of friendship to transform our world, Lillian and the Ikeda Center program staff decided to devote an entire Dialogue Nights to the topic, raising and exploring such questions as: What is it about friendship that brings hope and courage to our lives? Is genuine friendship really powerful enough to transform our feelings of despair about the world? In what ways can friendships among young people become a catalyst for social change?
After Lillian's remarks, everyone engaged in some icebreaker activities. Attendees then broke into small groups to discuss this quote from Daisaku Ikeda, with attention to what they see as the qualities of a good friend:
The magnetic field of friendship can enable the functioning of an inner compass when we have lost our sense of direction and help us right society when it seems to be veering off course. More than anything, there is a joy that resides in conversation with a friend. Friendship makes the exchange of words itself a pleasure and a source of encouragement. It supports us and brings forth the courage to confront the most difficult situations.
Reporting to the whole group on their discussions, participants mentioned a few interrelated qualities of friendship. First, is listening. In friendship, listening doesn't mean giving advice, though friends do on occasion do that. Rather, in friendship, listening implies patience and the ability to be fully present for the other. Closely related is being comfortable enough to be fully authentic with one another. Finally, friends need to understand each other well enough to be properly responsive—for example, to know when to be fully honest or when to give the other privacy and space.
Next, two close friends who are part of the Dialogue Nights community, Chloe McElligott and Anna Kowanko, shared some personal reflections on what their relationship means to them. Some background: Part of their friendship has been nurtured through their participation as activists in Mass Peace Action NextGen working on a range of issues, including nuclear disarmament, which is the cause that first brought them into contact with the Ikeda Center, back in 2018.
Building on Mr. Ikeda's reference to friendship as a magnetic field, Chloe said her friendship with Anna has served like a compass for her, keeping her on track and pointed in the right direction. But the key aspect of friendship she wanted to explore was the friend as "soul mate." Though this phrase is usually used in romantic contexts, Chloe said in her life it has been friends who manifest this reality. Thus, Chloe very much appreciates the Gaelic notion of anam cara, or "soul friends," especially as discussed by the poet John O'Donohue. Soul friends, she said, are people who lead you back to yourself. Anna added that as her soul friend, Chloe has been someone she could share her dreams with, without fear of dismissiveness or discouragement. And their friendship has helped them stay positive as they work on the big, tough issues like climate change.
Anna's reflections set up the next small group discussion activity, which focused on this question of despair and how friendship can alleviate and maybe even eliminate it. Their discussion worked from more quotes from Mr. Ikeda, whose faith in the power friendship rests on a crucial distinction: "The world is not simply a collection of states, nor is it composed solely of religions and civilizations. Our living, breathing world is woven of the endeavors of countless human beings who may share particular backgrounds but no two of whom are the same." He goes on to say that "to view and judge others only through the prism of religion or ethnicity distorts the rich reality we possess as individuals." Ultimately, Mr. Ikeda argues that "a rising tide of friendship within the younger generation cannot fail to transform society. It is my confident expectation that friendship among youth will powerfully turn back the sullied currents of divisiveness and give birth to a vibrant culture of peace based on profound respect for diversity."
During their reflections on their small group discussions, group representatives confirmed that destructive climate change is a major source of despair for young people. Given the large scale of the problem, attendees were not entirely sure how friendship alone could change the course of the crisis. But they certainly saw friendship as a good place to start and as the basis for creating the kinds of communities we need to set things on a wiser path. The same principle applies to other large-scale problems that cause despair for many, including racism, forms of inequality, and the many instances of armed conflict around the globe. The thing about despair, added another speaker, is that it is different for each of us. Friends, she added, enable us to express that despair and get it off our chests, no matter what the circumstance is. Wrapping up this discussion, Lillian I said that the power of friendship-based dialogue is that it can keep us from isolating, which is what we are tempted to do when we think we are "the only one" to feel certain forms of despair.
The norm for Dialogue Nights has been for an Ikeda Center staff person to offer closing reflections. For this gathering, however, the event closed with an "open mic" session, led by the Center's Office and Program Assistant Preandra Noel, in which volunteers could come up on the stage to offer some concluding thoughts on the attributes of true friendship. Here's what they shared when they "took the mic":
Friends give you that dopamine hit when you're hanging out and talking.
Friends can challenge you in the best way to do better.
A true friend will tell you when you're wrong, but at the same time won't judge you.
Friends give you energy.
Friends bring you peace, again, because of that lack of judgment.
Friends mean freedom.
Friends show you the value of empowering others, and, in turn, one's entire environment.
Anna Kowanko (left) and Chloe McElligott shared thoughts on what their friendship means to them.
Home | About | Annual Ikeda Forum | Thinkers & Themes | Books & Publications | Photos & Videos | News & Blog | Contact | Terms of Use & Privacy Policy
Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue
396 Harvard Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 491.1090 Fax: (617) 491.1169


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Promotional Week Lowers Prices at Plitvice Lakes
By Vedran Pavlic 9 October 2018
For a limited time period, a single ticket costs 50 kuna and 20 kuna for children.
After several years, the Plitvice Lakes National Park has again decided to organise the so-called Family Week or, as it is called this year, Promotional Week. It wants to open the national park mostly to Croatian visitors who, during the peak season from July to September, usually avoid going to Plitvice because of large crowds, but also very high admission prices – in July and August a one person ticket costs up to 250 kuna, reports Večernji List on October 9, 2018.
During Promotional Week, which runs from October 5 to 14, ticket prices are up to 75 percent lower. The entrance fee for an adult is now 50 kuna, while during the rest of October is 150 kuna. Students pay 30 kuna, while tickets for children between ages 7 and 18 are 20 kuna, instead of the usual price in this part of the year of 80 kuna. Children under the age of seven do not pay anything.
The price of a ticket, in addition to insurance, includes a ride in a panoramic vehicle and an electric vessel. During Promotional Week, prices are much lower in restaurants at Plitvice as well, so a lunch is now available for between 70 and 120 kuna per menu. Visitors who buy tickets for the Plitvice Lakes National Park are also entitled to a 15% discount on tickets to Aquatika centre in Karlovac.
This kind of joint programmes between national parks and other popular tourist destinations was a hit this last summer. Plitvice developed a project which, for a price of 300 kuna for adults and 200 kuna for children, enabled guests to visit a total of nine locations and sights within the Destination Lika initiative. These were: Paklenica National Park, Northern Velebit National Park, Velebit Nature Park, Zavratnica cove, Cerovac caves, Grabovac caves, Barać caves, Croatian Centre for Indigenous Fish Species and Nikola Tesla Memorial Centre.
The interest of visitors who stayed in Lika for more than one day, ate local food, slept in private accommodation and visited a number of locations, proved the success of the project.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Snježana Bičak).
Tagged under: plitvice lakes croatia national parks
Plitvice Lakes Promo Week - Reduced Price Tickets Going Quickly
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Don't waste his time asking for recipes.
If there's one thing Amazon's Alexa, the voice-activated service in it's Echo smart home speakers and other devices, is supposed to do, it's to be helpful. But in the online retailer's new Super Bowl ad, the brand imagines a world where Alexa becomes a little less useful.
The concept is that the digital assistant has lost her voice, so the Amazon team rallies a whole slew of celebrities to fill in for her until she's shipshape again (we'll assume she has some kind of virus). That list of notable names includes some of today's heaviest hitters in entertainment and, yes, the foul-mouthed, short-tempered TV chef himself: Gordon Ramsay.
A poor, unsuspecting user asks his Echo Show to display a recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich (hey, we've all been there). Instead of Alexa's soothing voice, the hungry fellow is verbally slapped in the face by Ramsay who questions why you'd even need a recipe for a dish that explains exactly how to make itself in its own name. Fair point Ramsay, but you don't have to swear at the guy!
Another user asks the distance to Mars and gets a reply from rapper Cardi B who's flabbergasted that anyone would even want to go to Mars because "there's not even oxygen there!" Then a party host asks Alexa to set the mood for his soiree and gets more than he bargained for when actress and comedian Rebel Wilson replies with a steamy, party-line style description while soaking in a bubble bath.
Cardi B makes another appearance when a man asks Alexa to play country music, but the device instead plays "Bodak Yellow," which apparently the musician is performing live just for him (hey, appreciate the on-demand performance!). And finally, a woman looking to reach Brandon is told in the creepiest way possible that he's unavailable thanks to the spine-tingling voice of Sir Anthony Hopkins who is, naturally, feeding his peacocks from a lawn chair. The ad also features a cameo from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos who sets the whole replacement protocol into motion.
You can check out our coverage of all of the pre-released Super Bowl ads we could gather here. And whether you're hosting a viewing party for the game itself, or just the commercials, we've got trophy-worthy snacks and party dishes to make you the MVP of your gameday get together.
How Gordon Ramsay Uses Cling Wrap to... Avoid Speeding Tickets?


Arms : Sable, a human skeleton Or seated upon a mossy stone proper and in dexter chief a castle triple towered argent on a chief also argent a cross gules thereon a harp or and in the first quarter a sword erect gules.
The arms were officially granted on April 28, 1953, but was already confirmed by the College of Arms on June 1, 1623.
The 1623 arms also used a harp in the centre of the cross, which was omitted in 1953.
The devices an Derry's arms are a skeleton, a three-towered castle and a red cross and sword. The sword and cross are devices of the City of London and show the link between the two cities. The castle is thought to relate to a 13th or 14th century keep belonging to the local native chieftains. There a many theories about the skeleton. The most popular one is that it is that of a Norman knight who was starved to death in the castle dungeons in 1332.
The arms at the Bank Of Ireland, Trinity, Dublin.


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Have You Signed the Petition for Car Free Sundays in Scarborough?
Each day those people who love to walk or cycle around our beautiful Scarborough Marine Drive and Foreshore Road (which are, after all, part of the Cleveland Way), have to deal with the constant rumble of vehicles passing; what should be a healthy and uplifting experience is spoiled by noise…
"It's devastating to hear that a number of police officers have died from Covid-19. Whilst it's right that vulnerable people are top of the vaccination priority list, first responders surely fall into that category & should be prioritised. #ProtectOurProtectors #alison4pfcc"
Fire Chiefs' plea to stop lighting garden fires
Our local councillors in Scarborough and Whitby report a rise in complaints about garden fires. This is a national issue. Fire Chiefs and the Local Government Association are urging the public and businesses not to burn waste in open fires during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Garden fires, they say, are a…
Message from Gill Cookson, chair of Scarborough and Whitby CLP, to all members and friends: The CLP has more than 900 members, who now find themselves in very different circumstances. To those who work in health and care services – or who are on the public frontline in shops, public…
Scarborough Borough Council: what's happening in this time of crisis
This news from Cllr Tony Randerson, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, and Labour councillor for Eastfield ward: At present and for the foreseeable future councillors have been asked to stay away from the Town Hall. There will be no face-to-face meetings, unless absolutely necessary. Cabinet members are communicating by telephone conferencing. We…
Covid-19 crisis: What can we do for our local communities?
The Labour Party is encouraging members and friends to actively support our local communities. (And whatever you choose to do – please keep yourself and others as safe as possible.) The most practical (and safest) contribution we can make is to help out in our own neighbourhood. • There are local…
Labour campaigning and meetings suspended
During this emergency, the Labour Party has suspended all meetings and campaigning activity. Members and supporters are encouraged to help support vulnerable people, and do what they can in their own communities. Please remember that the priority – for yourselves and others – is to keep as safe as possible.…
Hugo's appeal to young voters
Hugo speaks directly to young voters on election day. Watch here.
Hugo's election day message to voters
Watch Hugo's message to voters.
How Labour will help rural communities
Hugo's new leaflet explains how Labour's Green New Deal will reinvigorate Scarborough and Whitby's rural areas. These policies are sensible, affordable and achievable. Investing in infrastructure will give a huge boost to rural business and communities. There's a big push right now to deliver these leaflets to villages and small…


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Livingston County man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl
Andrew Simon, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of CSC on Friday. The incidents started when he was 15-years-old and the victim was 8-years-old.
Livingston County man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl Andrew Simon, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of CSC on Friday. The incidents started when he was 15-years-old and the victim was 8-years-old. Check out this story on livingstondaily.com: https://www.livingstondaily.com/story/news/local/2019/02/08/petersburg-man-pleads-guilty-multiple-counts-sexual-assault/2803625002/
Kayla Daugherty, Livingston Daily Published 4:12 p.m. ET Feb. 8, 2019
Andrew Simon, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct Friday February 8, 2019. (Photo: Livingston County Sheriff's Department)
A Petersburg man pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault Friday morning in Livingston County Circuit Court Judge L. Suzanne Geddis' courtroom.
Andrew Simon, 22, was charged in December 2017 with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under 13 and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under 13.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, with prosecutors dismissing the two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
As part of the plea agreement, Simon will be sentenced as an adult, despite the fact he committed the offenses as a minor.
Officials said the incidents occurred between 2011 and 2013, when Simon would have been 15 and 16 years old. The victim was eight years old when the incidents began.
The Livingston Daily does not typically identify victims of sexual assault.
Simon faces up to 15 years in prison. He would have faced up to 25 years in prison if he had been convicted on the original charges.
Simon will have to register as a sex offender for life. His bond was revoked, and he will be lodged at the Livingston County prior to his sentencing on March 21.
Contact Kayla Daugherty at 517-552-2848 or kdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KayDaugherty92.
Read or Share this story: https://www.livingstondaily.com/story/news/local/2019/02/08/petersburg-man-pleads-guilty-multiple-counts-sexual-assault/2803625002/
Couple dreams of 'Whey Better' food truck


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Looking for a cheap Android Nougat tablet? This Alcatel A30 can be a pretty decent choice for you
Tags: A: Alcatel News> Cheap Tablets> News>
Hey, remember the Alcatel's tablet that we showed you like a couple of weeks ago? You know, the one called Alcatel Plus 12? Well, apparently that's not the only tablet that Alcatel wants to introduce this year. Two days ago, this company just made another slate official. This one is Alcatel A30 Tablet. The coolest thing is, it will hit the low-end market soon in the price range around $120.
Earlier, Alcatel actually just launched a new Android smartphone - Alcatel A30 phone. Interestingly, this phone shares the same exact specs with Alcatel A30 Tablet. And this phone will also go on sale in low-end market, priced at only $99. So basically, Alcatel A30 tablet is the giant version of the phone.
Anyway, as a cheap tablet, of course you cannot expect anything spectacular especially from its specs. But despite being a low-cost device, Alcatel A30 actually can be a pretty decent purchase considering its cheap price point. In fact, we believe this Alcatel's tablet is totally worth checking out.
It's got an 8-inch display with the screen resolution of 800x1200 pixels. There's also Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 running the entire show here, paired with 2GB of RAM to provide smooth lag-free performance. Meanwhile, Adreno 304 GPU will handle all the graphical tasks thrown on this machine.
Alcatel A30 Tablet will be running on Android Nougat OS out of the box, which is awesome because you'll get to enjoy some new great features like dual split-screen mode, fast installation process, instant apps and a lot more. This Android version is also much faster and smoother, plus more efficient with power consumption.
If you're into photography, you're in luck here as this tablet will come with 5MP cameras on the back and front. Meanwhile, the internal storage equipped on this tablet is 16GB. But if that's not enough, you can bump it up through its microSD card slot.
Alcatel A30 Tablet will also feature an IR Blaster, which means you can use it as a remote control for your TV and many other electronic hardware in your living room. Another thing that makes this tablet worth considering is its 4G LTE, providing you a fast internet connectivity for downloading and streaming YouTube videos.
How does it perform for playing games?
Playing heavy 3D games on this tablet is probably not such an ideal thing to do because it's only powered by Adreno 304 GPU, which is a low end GPU and not really adequate to handle games like Modern Combat 5 or GTA San Andreas, especially in full graphics.
However, if you're not a heavy gamer and you only want a cheap Android-Nougat tablet for basic needs like watching movies, browsing the web, reading books, downloading files or playing some casual games, we totally recommend this tablet to you.
It's got an 8-inch display with HD resolution, a pretty adequate performance (thanks to Snapdragon 210, Adreno 304 and 2GB of RAM), 5MP cameras front and back, awesome features on Android Nougat OS, IR blaster and we believe it's also capable to deliver pretty solid battery life.
Well, for a cheap tablet in the price range around $120, Alcatel A30 is definitely a pretty good choice here.
But you might ask why, right?
Okay, first of all, we love Android devices from Alcatel, whether it's a smartphone or tablet. They may be affordable to buy, but Alcatel never compromises the quality of its products. The are pretty amazing.
We've actually had some experiences with Alcatel smartphones, Alcatel Flash Plus and Flash 2, and to tell you the truth, we love them both.
Well, if you're interested of buying this tablet, Alcatel A30 will hit the shelves next month, on May 26. Unfortunately, it's very likely that this one will be available exclusively only on T-Mobile. So if you're living in the country where T-Mobile is nowhere around, don't get your hopes up. You probably won't be able to find this tablet in your country.


Tui Na is an ancient healing art of Traditional Chinese Medicine which has been practiced in China for over 4000 years.
Tui na or tuina, is a form of Chinese manipulative therapy often used in conjunction with acupuncture, moxibustion, fire cupping, Chinese herbalism, t'ai chi, and qigong. Tui na is a hands-on body treatment that uses Chinese taoist and martial arts principles in an effort to bring the eight principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into balance.


This article covers how unit testing should be used in PARPG development.
1 What Is A Unit Test?
3 Oh Nos, I Don't Wanna Write Unit Tests. They Take Too Long!
In general terms a unit test is a piece of code that "tests" the actual behavior of a unit of code against what you expect that code to do. There is no strict definition of a "unit" of code, rather it is a term used to describe any cohesive grouping of code that works together to achieve some common goal. In Python, this generally means that you will be writing unit tests for functions and methods, and (rarely) entire classes.
Oh Nos, I Don't Wanna Write Unit Tests. They Take Too Long!
Unit testing should never be a chore - if it is, then you're doing it wrong (and hopefully we can guide you to write them the "right" way!). The main goal of unit testing is not just to test individual pieces of code and make sure they work right, but to make YOU think about your code and how it works. You may have spent countless hours planning and designing your code and think that it works exactly the way you want it to, but in reality that is rarely the case.
There are literally hundreds of ways to write unit tests, and that's probably why so many programmers don't really understand how to write effective unit tests. While we generally try to maintain a flexible workflow, we do have a set of guidelines on how to write unit tests to help simply things. Programmers should definitely adhere these guidelines whenever possible for consistency, but obviously they are not comprehensive.
PARPG uses the "PyUnit" or unittest module that is included in Python's standard library for its unit tests. A complete description of the unittest module is beyond the scope of this document, so checkout the Python 2.7 unittest documentation.
The basic premise of the unittest module is that you subclass the unittest.TestCase class that takes care of isolating the unit tests, setting up and tearing down test fixtures, providing methods of getting human-readable debugging information from the test results.
Initialization common to all test methods of a TestCase should be moved to the setUp() method of the TestCase subclass. Common finalization and cleanup should be moved to tearDown(). They will run before/after each test method.
A module test suite is a collection of unit tests of the functions and classes contained by a particular Python module. Each module test suite should reside in its own file named "test_<module_name>.py", and contain only unit tests of that module.
For each class defined in the module being tested write a unittest.TestCase subclass named "Test<class_name>". This class TestCase will be used to define setUp, tearDown and helper methods common to all tests of the class' methods.
For each method of the class being tested, write a subclass of the "Test<class_name>" TestCase defined above named "Test<method_name>". Each method TestCase can define its own setUp and tearDown methods or it can use the default methods defined by the class TestCase, allowing a great deal of flexibility in creating fixtures for the method tests.
Each method TestCase should then contain at least one method test named "test<DescriptiveTitle>", where "<DescriptiveTitle>" should roughly but concisely describe how the method is being tested and what the expected outcome should be (e.g. "testReturnsCorrectNumber"). Each method test must also define a one-line docstring that concisely describes the purpose of the test. This docstring is displayed in the unit test results, and should contain the name of the method being tested when appropriate.
Ideally there would be a method test for each possible path the code could take within the method. Each conditional statement you introduce into the method results in branching or an increase in the number of possible paths. Its not an exact science (though you can get pretty close by using code complexity metrics), but you should closely analyze your method and try to visualize what the different paths might be and the conditions that might lead to those paths being taken.
For example, if a user inputs a str instead of an int argument how do you expect your method to handle it? Should an exception be raised? Or should the error be silently handled by attempting to cast the str to an int? What happens if the cast also fails? These are all conditions that can and will happen, and each needs an appropriate method test. Any external state variables that are accessed or modified by the method can also lead to different code paths depending upon the value of that state variable.
Don't be afraid to use inheritance when designing method TestCases. If several of your method TestCases use the same setUp, tearDown or helper methods then put them in the class TestCase or subclass the class TestCase and override the setUp/tearDown methods to simplify things.


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Q: gcloud project id in node.js error is different from gcloud set project id? I'm trying to get Google Cloud Vision to work with node.js by following their documentation here. Although I keep getting:

PERMISSION_DENIED: Cloud Vision API has not been used in project 5678.. before or it is disabled. Enable it by visiting https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/vision.googleapis.com/overview?project=5678.. then retry

To note though the project number is very different from what I see in gcloud's output when I gather information from the following commands:
gcloud info |tr -d '[]' | awk '/project:/ {print $2}'

'my-set-project' <=== set project id in use

gcloud projects list

which outputs:

PROJECT_ID='my-set-project' // <=== Same id as "gcloud info" command
  NAME='my-project-name'
  PROJECT_NUMBER=1234.. // <===== Different number from Node.js Error

I have already enabled the api, downloaded a service key and setup the export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=[path/to/my/service/key]. But right now I believe that the service key linkup is not the issue yet as I have not yet really have had gcloud pointing to 'my-set-project'.
I have also found a default.config at
cat /Users/My_Username/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json

which has:

{
    "client_id": "5678..-fgrh // <=== same number id as node.js error

So how can I get gcloud-cli to switch to project "1234" which has the API enabled there? I thought doing the command:
gcloud config set project 'my-set-project'

would get running node apps using gcp to use the project of '1234' instead of the default '5678'. Any help will be appreciated as I'm still getting used to the gcloud-cli. Thanks

A: Try:
gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=/path/to/your/service_account.json

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Energy Civil War: a bad habit?
Conversations around energy often spiral into incivility. This is no accident. We're trapped in an energy civil war. Can etiquette and routine offer a way out?
Most economists are accustomed to treating companies as idyllic places where everyone is devoted to a common goal: making as much money as possible. Nelson and Winter pointed out that, in the real world, that's not how things work at all. Companies aren't big happy families where everyone plays together nicely. Rather, most workplaces are made up of fiefdoms where executives compete for power and credit, often in hidden skirmishes that make their own performances appear superior and their rivals' seem worse. Divisions compete for resources and sabotage each other to steal glory. Bosses pit their subordinates against one another so that no one can mount a coup.
Companies aren't families. They're battlefields in a civil war.
We have two worlds we're operating in.
One is NIMBY Land - our back yards, the world we want to live in, the world where we are devoted to the common goal of having the most beautiful, affluent, sustainable land to live in.
The other is JOB Land - the world where we make our living and get our status, the world where ROI COI operates (Return on Investment and Conflict of Interest).
…Among the most important benefits of routines is that they create truces between potentially warring groups or individuals within an organization.
Organizational habits offer a basic promise: If you follow the established patterns and abide by the truce, then rivalries won't destroy the company, the profits will roll in, and, eventually, everyone will get rich.
The problem with sabotage is that even if it's good for you, it's usually bad for the firm. So at most companies, an unspoken compact emerges: It's okay to be ambitious, but if you play too rough, your peers will unite against you. On the other hand, if you focus on boosting your own department, rather than undermining your rival, you'll probably get taken care of over time.
…However, sometimes even a truce proves insufficient. Sometimes…an unstable peace can be as destructive as any civil war.
This is where where we find ourselves with the energy scene. All the players are sniping at each other. Aren't we all in this together? Don't we want the whole planet to win? Check out the rest of the Duhigg book. The "habit" and "routine" approach is compelling.
What habits do we need to change in our energy conversation? How can we change them to bring about a better outcome for everyone? Your thoughts below.


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Celebrity Interviews Education news & features
BEN FOGLE ON HIS SCHOOL DAYS IN HAMPSTEAD & DORSET
Posted on 23rd March 2015 Tagged Education North West London
TV presenter, writer and adventurer Ben Fogle reveals how Bryanston School inspired a passion that he never knew he had
Words: Frank Grice
It's perhaps surprising to learn that for someone as outward bound, someone so unwaveringly excited by life, Ben Fogle was almost the most reluctant of school pupils. 'I was a slow starter,' he laughs.
'But as time went on, and perhaps unwittingly, I took inspiration not from the syllabus or the surroundings, but the people. And looking back I'm glad of that.'
As an explorer, adventurer, broadcaster and prolific ambassador of good causes, Fogle's schooling was largely serene in the leafy surrounds of The Hall Preparatory School in Hampstead, then Bryanston boarding school in Blandford, Dorset.
'I certainly wasn't as applied as I went on to become in adult life,' he jokes. 'I was shy, often hiding behind my parents and others, and perhaps a bit lazy as well. I think, like most children, I was looking for the spark of an idea or a conversation. Once I grabbed hold of that I was capable of anything, but you often see scholars just waiting for something to inspire them, and I was definitely like that.'
Ben's sense of adventure was inspired by his time at Bryanston School
Although Fogle admits his attendance at The Hall School wasn't a time to be cherished, he admits to being wholly homesick upon arriving in Dorset. 'It was a different world,' he looks backs.
'I loved London, and Dorset seemed a strange place in comparison. It was airy and beautiful, but very quiet and I missed the constant hum of life that I had become used to in the capital. But I think that became an interesting contrast – there weren't the obvious distractions of the capital when it came to the surroundings, so after a first year in which I kept myself to myself, I began to really open up and invest in the people.'
I loved London, and Dorset seemed a strange place in comparison. It was airy and beautiful, but very quiet and I missed the constant hum of life that I had become used to in the capital
The 41-year-old realises now that one of Bryanston School's key modus operandi was to encourage each pupil to explore his individuality. 'Of course there were rules, and the process of learning was well planned and shaped, but if you had an idea or suggestion you were encouraged to run with it, no matter how outlandish it might seem.
The Headmaster, Mr Weare, used to fire up the school. He wasn't a disciplinarian, he was an imaginary, and the teachers and heads of department who worked under him ended up taking forward those same values.'
Yet it was Fogle's housemaster, Mr Long, who really inspired in him a passion to reach beyond the conformity of textbooks and study. 'Sport was an integral part of what we did – after all we had so much space in which to run wild and express ourselves.
Mr Long opened up a world where academic prowess was shown to be only one part of what we studied – it was about what we believed in, how ambitious we were to do something special with our lives. He was someone you could confide in, and ultimately he offered the perspective that the world was about more than classrooms, and I loved that.'
Bryanston School's stunning setting in Dorset
From Greek Theatre to sport, Bryanston offers a whole heap of inspiration out of the classroom
The Sanger Centre for Science and Mathematics at Bryanston School
Mr Long and his family resided on the school estate and his home became a pop-in clinic for kids looking for support, encouragement or simply inspiration. 'We felt he was one of us and that was magnificent,' Fogle smiles.
'Whenever you get a teacher who you respect completely, yet feel you are on some kind of level with, you'll offer them everything you can. And I think that's really the secret of good teaching – being "in charge" but ultimately alongside. And as time went on I grew to love Dorset, precisely for the same tranquillity that spooked me a bit at first. It's a beautiful county that, dare I say it, still feels like "home" even today.'
Whenever you get a teacher who you respect completely, yet feel you are on some kind of level with, you'll offer them everything you can
Fogle left Bryanston to travel around South America before taking up a Latin American degree at Portsmouth University. It was there that his seafaring legs hardened and he joined the University Naval Unit, becoming the Midshipman aboard HMS Blazer.
'I think everything I went on to do I think was inspired by Bryanston's philosophy that the world is a big place and anything is possible if you put your mind to it,' he reflects.
'You don't need money – you need ambition and energy, and perhaps an inspirational teacher or two along the way!'
Ad Feature Education
How a Crisis Can Highlight an Independent School's Strengths
London CultureCelebrity Interviews
Prasanna Puwanarajah: The Edgware Road Actor's Journey from NHS to TV
Iain Glen on Life in Dulwich & the Last Series of Game of Thrones


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The 1992 DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 26, 1992, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan would manage to come back from a lap deficit and best out Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin by 19 thousandths of a second to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Sterling Marlin and Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would finish second and third, respectively.

With the help of relief driver Bobby Hillin Jr., Davey Allison would manage to retake the driver's championship lead after losing it in the previous race, leading second-place driver Bill Elliott by one point.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a  tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a  tri-oval.

Entry list

 (R) denotes rookie driver.

*Due to injuries sustained in a crash at the 1992 Miller Genuine Draft 500, Allison would be replaced by relief driver Bobby Hillin Jr. for qualifying. During the race, Allison would manage to start the race, before being replaced by Hillin Jr. As a result of starting the race, Allison is credited with the finish.

Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 24, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, July 25, at 10:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time, and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two provisionals were given. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.

Sterling Marlin, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 50.245 and an average speed of  in the first round.

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway
July 1992 sports events in the United States
1992 in sports in Alabama

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Else Solicitors LLP are committed to ensuring that our products, services and website are fully inclusive and accessible to all. As a company we are passionate about giving our staff the confidence and knowledge to provide quality support to all of our customers. We regularly undertake training to ensure we meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
In line with this Else Solicitors have consulted several best practice guides and undertaken staff training and integrated recommendations where appropriate to ensure that it is:
Whilst we always aim to communicate clearly and as simply as possible, some of the articles may require a reasonable level of technical understanding due to the technical nature of what Else Solicitors LLP carry out.
1. Distinguishable: the default font size is larger than usual, and can also be increased further or decreased using the browser Text Size option which commonly appears on the browser Menu options. In addition, the site predominately uses black text on a white background, which is judged to be most suitable for viewing and reading.
2. Navigable: the website has been developed around a simple navigation structure consisting of a Main Navigation Menu displayed horizontally across the top of the screen, and a Secondary Navigation Menu within each section which is displayed vertically down the lefthand side. Links to sections have also been created within content and images too; thereby providing additional access points to supplement the Navigation menus. In such cases the links are clearly indicated and are as large as possible.
Links: Many links have title attributes, which describe the link in greater detail. Links are written to make sense out of context.
3. Predictable: the use of a standard Navigation structure means the flow of the website is consistent and predictable. This extends to the standardisation of the template for all pages, which consists of an image top left, secondary menu bottom left, and core content in the middle and right-hand areas.
4. Understandable: The content of the website has been created where possible using standard common English. Legal terms, phrases and concepts have been kept to a minimum. In some instances legal terms have been used where necessary and unavoidable.
5. Imagery: Images have been used throughout the website, but all are static and do not flash. All images are judged to be large enough to allow interpretation and are in keeping with the default font size. Alternate text has been used to explain the reference of the image relative to its use in the website.
Else Solicitors LLP are committed to continuously improving our website and the experience of our customers. We plan several upgrades to our website over the coming months.
If you experience any difficulty in accessing this website, please don't hesitate to contact us


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Nemours - Find Remote Work From Home or Flexible Jobs
About Nemours
Researched & Written by Angela Wooden on the FlexJobs Team
Nemours is one of the nation's preeminent pediatric health systems. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, with facilities throughout the United States, Nemours is distinguished by its commitment to elevate the standards of children's healthcare through specialty medical care that focuses on preventing debilitating childhood conditions and advanced hospitalization. Through practical research, advocacy, and preventive care, combined with healthcare information, the organization works to deliver safe, caring, and compassionate care across clinics, hospitals, and specialties. As an employer, Nemours has offered temporary, occasional, part-time, and flexible schedule jobs in the past, as well as full-time opportunities featuring hybrid to 100% remote work options. Eligible Nemours associates receive comprehensive benefits, and the health system maintains a collaborative work environment with professionals who are dedicated to providing the best care and comfort to children struggling with illnesses.
Nemours partners with community members and academic professionals to help care for 250,000 children every year. The health system utilizes an electronic medical record system to make patient data easily accessible to specialists, families, and referring physicians in order to produce the best results for every child.
Visit Nemours' website
Nemours on FlexJobs
For Research: Past Remote and Flexible Jobs at Nemours
We include these past jobs as a way for you to explore what kinds of remote and flexible jobs Nemours has hired for in the past and might be likely to hire for again in the future.
Editor - Healthcare Content
Wilmington, DE Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified
Research, write and edit content across various products (such as, online content, patient instructions, print, social media, and marketing), involving a range of clinical areas (such as cardiology, orthopedics, and pulmonology).
Patient Services Representative II
Follow guidelines for remote workers including Policies, equipment, and work schedule. PSR is required to be on-site 1 day per week. Staff will also be expected to come on site if equipment fails at home. Maintain ergonomically correct desk/chair...
Professional Fee Abstractor - Coder
Jacksonville, FL Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified
Assesses each professional session (i.e. claim) for all documented conditions and application of criteria (i.e. monitoring, evaluation, assessment, treatment) to accurately apply ICD 10 CM codes to capture diagnoses, evaluation & management CPT codes ...
Talent Acquisition Partner
You will be responsible for developing and implementing Talent Acquisition strategies in partnership with Business Leaders, Hiring Managers, and Human Resources Partners. Bachelor's degree preferred. 1-3 years of full-cycle recruitment experience.
Coding Specialist II
Code correctly all applicable diagnoses, procedure codes, and modifiers related to the admission, observation or procedure utilizing appropriate CPT, ICD-9-CM, and HCPCS codes. High School Diploma required. CPC or CCS-P required. 3-5 years experience.
Coding and Billing Specialist
Orlando, FL Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified
Remote job for candidate who will assess documentation for each service responded in the hospital place of service and accurately code principal diagnoses, secondary conditions, procedures, and social codes. HS diploma and three to five years' exp. req.
Human Resources Solutions Center Representative
The HR Solutions Center Representative will provide outstanding customer service and demonstrate passion, understanding and problem-solving skills over the phone and through other channels. This is a Work from Home/Remote position.
Education Events Coordinator - Administration
DE Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified
Plan and execute educational events in collaboration with the program director/planning committee. Develop timeline and ensure deadlines for deliverables are met. Develop and implement effective marketing plan and materials in conjunction with...
Telephone Triage Nurse
Accurately assesses each patient's condition by actively listening to callers and asking probative questions. Identifies emergent situations and effectively transfers life-threatening calls to appropriate agencies per protocol.
Financial Innovation Specialist
Independently lead work groups to investigate hypotheses or problem statements, perform gap analysis, identify countermeasures, and guide operational partners through implementation and sustainment of new processes or patient flow.
Senior Coding and Billing Specialist
Responsible for assessing documentation content for service rendered in the hospital setting and/or professional setting in order to accurately code principal diagnoses, secondary conditions, procedures, social determinant codes.
Human Resources Benefits Analyst
Under the leadership of the Benefits Manager, the Benefits Analyst is responsible for enterprise-wide administration of benefit plans, including health and welfare plans, retirement plans (both DB and DC), paid time off plans, the tuition reimbursement...
Senior Director of Coding and Billing
Orlando, FL, Jacksonville, FL, Wilmington, DE Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified
Manage the coding and billing operations for all locations and partner hospitals in the system. Option to work remotely some of the time. Must have a master's degree, at least 1 AHIMA certification, and experience managing coding/billing functions.
Professional Fee Abstractor
F/T remote professional fee abstractor assesses each professional session for all documented conditions and application of relevant criteria. HS diploma, 3 years of experience, relevant certification, and CRC & CEMC within 1-year of hire required.
Talent Acquisition Sourcing Specialist
Perform talent sourcing from initial reach out to a candidate to identifying the best role for them. Must have a bachelor's degree and 2 years of HR/recruiting/or sourcing experience. Full-time, remote position is temporary.
Seeking a talent acquisition partner for a temporary full-time remote opportunity. Responsible for handling sourcing, screening, interviewing, offers, hiring, and onboarding. 1-3 years of recruiting experience and a Bachelor's are desired.
Remote position will assess documentation content for service, code principal diagnoses, procedures/codes, analyze high-risk encounters for accurate change capture/charge gaps, and day-to-day reviews. HS diploma required and three years of experience.
Manager, Revenue Integrity
F/T remote manager is responsible for overseeing and administering all professional coding for the company clinical practice departments in the State of Florida. A Bachelor's degree, 5+ years of experience, and an AHIMA certification are required.
Public Relations Program Manager
Lead strategic communications and initiatives for a hospital system. Option to work remotely some of the time; travel is required for on-site media interviews and PR events. Must have a bachelor's degree and 12-15 years' experience.
Senior Server Administrator - Clinical
Full-time role with remote option. Candidate will be responsible for managing enterprise Windows-based systems and servers associated with Clinical Applications. Associate's degree and 3+ years' experience required.
Wilmington, DE, Philadelphia, PA Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified
Marketing specialist needed for a full-time opportunity. This position is partially remote with travel involved. Will manage resources and increase growth. Bachelor's degree and five years' marketing experience required. Master's degree preferred.
Senior Counsel - Contracts
Full-time role with remote option. He/she will prepare, review, and negotiate contracts for health systems. He/she will build relationships, counsel business partners, and conduct training. J.D. degree and 4+ years' relevant experience required.
Wellness Program Coordinator
Flexible Schedule Job Part-Time
Coordinate fitness and wellness programs for a healthcare system on a part-time basis. Flexible hours offered. Must have an associates degree or higher and a year of experience. Certifications are preferred. Some travel.
Seeking a program coordinator for a part-time, flexible position requiring travel ability, an associate's degree, one+ year similarly focused experience. Will develop programs, coordinate activities, troubleshoot issues, liaise with vendors.
Research Contractor
Freelance Job Full-Time
Freelance, temporary opportunity with full-time hours. Will be responsible for performing experiments using various molecular biological, biochemical, & cell biological techniques. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree.


New Jersey law enforcement targets distracted drivers in April | Silvi, Fedele & Honschke Attorneys at Law, L.L.C.
On behalf of Silvi, Fedele & Honschke Attorneys at Law, L.L.C. posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, April 10, 2014.
When individuals take their eyes off of the road ahead to focus their attention on something else, we call it distracted driving. A variety of actions can be considered a distraction, including changing the radio, leaning down to pick something up off the floor, eating food, putting on makeup or even turning around to scold the kids that are acting up in the back seat.
Although any of those behaviors could be considered a distraction, the primary focus of distracted driving campaigns is on those little mobile devices that seem to be in everyone's pockets these days. To combat this problem, New Jersey lawmakers took the necessary steps to make handheld use of a mobile device illegal in the state, and this includes both texting and talking.
This legislation does more than ban the behavior. Those that are caught participating are charged with a fine. As it stands, a driver caught violating the law can be charged with a fine of at least $100. That minimum wasn't considered to be enough, and new increases are set to take effect on July 1. The minimum fine will jump to a $200 to $400 range for a first offense. Subsequent offenses could lead to an $800 fine.
Leading up to this change is a statewide campaign to reduce distracted driving going on this month and ending on April 21. The Distracted Driving 2014 Statewide Crackdown program includes increased enforcement from at least 60 participating police departments from New Jersey and other states.
Of course, increased enforcement requires extra resources, including funds for the officers that will staff the checkpoints. This is why the Division of Highway Traffic Safety has provided a little extra funding to help cover the costs.
Fines for violators and funding for increased patrols are certainly not the only costs associated with distracted driving. The victims of this behavior are the ones that incur some of the greatest costs. An Ocean City personal injury attorney can help victims and their families obtain compensation to help pay for the medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering caused at the hands of a negligent driver.


You've made the decision to use a disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) solution – budget has been approved, and it's time to start the evaluation process. What are the criteria you should use to compare seemingly similar DR solutions, and what questions should you ask of the potential solutions providers?
This one is obvious; make sure the technologies the solution utilizes are fully compatible with the server workloads and storage you are protecting, and ask questions of your DRaaS solutions provider. Is it fast or frequent enough to keep up with your predefined recovery time and recovery point objectives? How does the solutions provider keep up with changing replication and failover technologies? How will the provider assist with moving to more capable technologies as they are implemented? We recommend you maximize flexibility by choosing based on service levels and operational excellence, not solely on underlying technologies.
How much bandwidth does the solution offer to meet your requirements? Is the bandwidth for the disaster recovery site included in the DRaaS billing or billed separately? Does the solutions provider require that your primary environment also be with them, or do you have options? What is the service-level agreement on the connectivity? We recommend you match service levels on connectivity with service levels on DRaaS to avoid finger pointing and other multivendor problems.
Automation is one of the primary reasons IT organizations are getting out of DIY DR. How much intervention by your team is required to switch from primary to secondary sites? How much intervention to fail back? What happens to the DR environment when you add or change workloads in the production data center? And who makes the network changes? We recommend that you purchase as much automation as you can afford, and that you clearly understand and test all related processes that are part of a recovery effort.
Is the DR solution co-managed by you and the provider? Where are the lines of demarcation? Does the provider offer a way to vacation-proof or sick-proof the service if your staff is unavailable during an event? We recommend that you not only have clear lines of responsibility and overlap mapped, but that you choose an operationally focused provider with the staff and experience to deliver when you declare a disaster.
How stable is the DRaaS company you're considering? What is their financial position? Are they owned by private equity, publicly held or privately held? How much debt do they carry? How do they invest in research to make sure that your DRaaS keeps up with changing times? Even though these criteria are nonfunctional requirements of a DRaaS offering, they can have a huge impact on the long-term success of your disaster recovery and business continuity plans. We recommend choosing a company focused more on service delivery than on private equity profit and shareholder performance.
Does the DRaaS provider offer 100% uptime with service credits in their contract? What is the expected recovery point and recovery time should there be a failure? Is connectivity and compute/storage being offered by one vendor or multiple vendors? Is the connectivity protected as the same service level as the compute and storage offering? We recommend you choose providers with clear service levels both on cloud services and connectivity that provide service credits when problems arise.
How many locations is the DRaaS provider offering for your secondary site? Do you have a say in which location is chosen? We recommend explicitly choosing your disaster recovery locations and purchasing as much distance separating your primary and secondary sites as your industry demands or you can afford. Half a day's driving distance is a practical approach to separating production and disaster recovery environments.
What do the industry analysts like Gartner, 451 Research and Forrester say about the DRaaS solution and provider that you are considering? We recommend you choose a provider that has been reviewed and ranked to minimize risk.
If you are considering disaster recovery as a service, check out Expedient's Push Button DR and then contact me to discuss the solutions that make the most sense for your organization.


The chances of English dementia patients getting the medication they need hinge on how well off they are, researchers say.
The team, based at University College London (UCL), say its analysis shows patients in the least deprived areas are 27% likelier to get the prescription they need than those in the poorest ones.
But they say the same is not true in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, where prescribing is not linked to deprivation.
The researchers looked at over 77,000 patients' medical records and the access they have to memantine and cholinesterase inhibitors, the only drugs recommended for Alzheimer's disease by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
NICE recommends that memantine is prescribed to patients with severe Alzheimer's as well as in some moderate cases. Cholinesterase inhibitors, meanwhile, are recommended for mild and moderate cases.
While medication can help people with Alzheimer's, taking a foreign holiday - covered by an affordable dementia travel insurance policy - might also be beneficial.
Although the NICE guidance covers doctors in England and is generally followed by those in Wales, Scotland is a different story.
The NHS permits doctors there to follow advice from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. That guidance allows the drugs to be prescribed to patients whose dementia is at any stage.
Dr Claudia Cooper, the study's author, says where access to drugs is constrained, more well off patients and their families tend to be in a better position to get to grips with the healthcare system and sidestep the restrictions.
Researchers say the study's findings suggest there is a need in England to come up with strategies that will see more deprived dementia patients getting the treatment they need.
They say while the English National Dementia Strategy was drawn up four years ago, there was no evidence to suggest it had succeeded in cutting prescription inequalities.
And they add that the difference in guidelines for doctors in Scotland, together with a higher overall rate of anti-dementia drug prescription there and in Northern Ireland, could explain the variations in prescription equality.
The study is published in Age and Ageing.


EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - It turns out Mike Zimmer won't be a lame duck head coach in the 2019 season after all.
Minnesota Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said Wednesday at the NFL Combine that they've exercised an option on Zimmer's contract to keep him in Minnesota through the 2020 season. His contract was previously set to expire after the 2019 season.
Zimmer was potentially on the hot seat after the Vikings finished 2018 8-7-1 to miss the NFC Playoffs for the third time in his five years as head coach. Zimmer, 62, is 47-35-1 as the Vikings' head coach and has led Minnesota to division titles in 2015 and 2017.
"I feel that we've had a very productive offseason to date," Spielman said. "I think Coach Zimmer has done an outstanding job putting together a staff, especially on the offensive side where we had some changes, very excited about the direction of this staff."
At his season-ending news conference last month, Zimmer said he had no issue with coaching in the final year of his contract.
"Sure, I got no problem with that. Free agent after that, right?" Zimmer quipped.
One reason Spielman is excited for the 2019 season is the changes that Zimmer and company have made to the offensive staff. Kevin Stefanski is a first-time offensive coordinator, and there's not a better mentor to have than Gary Kubiak, who joined the Vikings as an assistant head coach and offensive advisor.
Kubiak has been in seven Super Bowls as a player and/or coach, and most recently was the head coach of the 2105 Broncos that won the Super Bowl. He was the offensive play-caller for that team. He's joined by his son, Klint Kubiak, as the team's quarterbacks coach and Rick Dennison, who will be the run game coordinator.
The Vikings will be looking to improve last year's rushing offense, which ranked No. 30 in the NFL. They'll also be looking for a healthier marriage between the run and pass game, and to get improved play from their $84 million quarterback. Kirk Cousins has had previous success in offenses involving Kubiak.
There's still a lot that will shake out roster-wise between the NFL Draft and free agency. But Spielman, who is in the final year of his own contract, said he feels pretty good about the Vikings' chances to bounce back in 2019.
"We're pretty confident we have the pieces in place to be a pretty good football team," Spielman said.
Zimmer will address the media at the NFL combine on Thursday.
PJ Fleck made one thing clear at the conclusion of last Saturday's Spring Game: The quarterback competition will continue into the fall this year, just as it did last year.
The advantage there is that both Zack Annexstad and Tanner Morgan got valuable playing experience last season. Both will likely need to play for the Gophers at some point in the fall, regardless of who gets the starting nod.
Annexstad and Morgan each had their share of highlights in the Spring Game. They both also had throws that make Fleck scratch his head. The reality is they're still young, even if they have a full season of experience.


The theory of planned behavior: Precursors of marijuana use in early adolescence?
Title: The theory of planned behavior: Precursors of marijuana use in early adolescence?
Author(s): Malmberg, M. ; Overbeek, G.J. ; Vermulst, A.A. ; Monshouwer, K.; Vollebergh, W.A.M. ; Engels, R.C.M.E.
Background: Precursors of marijuana use in early adolescence are largely unknown because studies generally focus on marijuana use among older adolescents or adults. Methods: In this study, we examined precursors of marijuana use in a sample of 1023 Dutch early adolescents (aged 11-14 at Time 1) who were never-marijuana user at baseline, by applying a 3-wave longitudinal design. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used as a theoretical framework and posits that marijuana-specific cognitions (i.e., positive and negative expectancies, evaluative attitude, social approval, and self-efficacy) are antecedents of marijuana use and that this relationship is mediated by the intention to start using marijuana. Results: In accordance with these premises, our results indicated that evaluative attitude, social approval, and self-efficacy at Time 1 are related to marijuana use at Time 3 (20 months follow-up) via the intention to start using marijuana at Time 2 (8 months follow-up). More specifically, the structural equation models showed that more positive marijuana attitudes, more approval from the social environment, and lower self-efficacy were related to marijuana use initiation through a stronger intention to start using marijuana. Conclusion: This outcome is important for prevention efforts in that our results underline the importance of weakening adolescents' positive attitudes toward marijuana, decrease social approval of marijuana use, and stimulating the development of early adolescents' refusal skills with respect to marijuana use.


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Sen. Bernie Sanders introducing his new Medicare for All bill earlier this month in Washington. (Photo via Creative Commons/Flickr)
Health Care/ Politics
Medicare for All big hit with pols — but not Mass. hospitals
State association comes out against single payer plan
By Michael Jonas	Eric Dickson, John McDonough, Kate Walsh, Medicare for All, Partners HealthCare, Paul Hattis, Steve Walsh	0 Comments Apr 17, 2019
MEDICARE FOR ALL, which has gained traction among Democrats in Congress and some of the party's presidential contenders, is often described as a way to guarantee health coverage to all Americans through a single government program that takes private insurance companies, dismissed by proponents as wasteful "middlemen," out of the picture. Insurance companies would surely be big losers under a single-payer system. Far less well-appreciated is the enormous impact such a shift would have on health care providers.
When it comes to Massachusetts hospitals, Medicare for All would be very tough medicine for some.
At the top of that list: Many of the state's most prestigious medical centers, including Harvard-affiliated Mass. General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, which probably have the most to lose under a federal single-payer system.
In an article earlier this month in the American Medical Association journal JAMA, Stanford researchers Kevin Schulman and Arnold Milstein estimated that a Medicare for All plan would lead to a 15.9 percent decline in payments to US hospitals, or an annual reduction of $151 billion in hospital revenue.
"Health care's a fifth of the US economy, and the most extreme forms of this would impact the entirety of that," Schulman said of the various Medicare for All proposals in an interview this week.
Against that backdrop, the state's hospitals, which have largely stayed quiet on the Medicare for All issue, are wading into the fray, declaring their opposition to a proposal that has become a hot topic in domestic policy discussions.
"As the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association and its member hospitals and health care systems continue to work with policymakers to improve affordability and enhance high-quality patient care, we strongly support the tenets of universal health care coverage and maintaining a robust system of patient access," Steve Walsh, the hospital association's president and CEO, said in a statement. "However, we are opposed to 'Medicare for All,' as it could endanger the collective success we have achieved in Massachusetts and inhibit access and harm health care quality across the country."
The position puts the hospital association at odds with the state's two US senators and six of the state's nine House members, who have signed on as cosponsors of Medicare for All bills, and it underscores the fierce resistance single-payer proposals will face nationally from big interests in the country's health care sector.
Walsh, in his statement, said more needs to be done to improve on the gains made through the Affordable Care Act, but cautioned that a single-payer system under Medicare could lead to an "underfunded program," creating a two-tiered system in which better-off Americans would be able to supplement their coverage with private coverage, while lower- and middle-income patients "struggle with limited coverage."
But hospital bottom lines would also struggle mightily.
Hospital opposition to Medicare for All, say Schulman and Milstein, is rooted in the disparity between prices paid by private insurers providing employment-based coverage and public payers — the Medicare program that covers older Americans and Medicaid, which provides coverage to low-income residents and the disabled. While the public coverage programs pay fixed rates, hospitals negotiate rates with private insurance companies, which end up paying much higher rates for the same services.
According to Schulman and Milstein, Medicare and Medicaid pay US hospitals, on average, about 87 percent and 88 percent, respectively, of the average cost of care. Private payers, meanwhile, pay about 145 percent of actual hospital costs, rates that act as a cross-subsidy to make up for the losses from the public payer systems.
A sudden shift to Medicare rates for all patients would send convulsions throughout the health care sector, but the impact would be greatest on facilities like Partners HealthCare's Mass. General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, which currently enjoy very high reimbursements from private insurers.
"Boston, no question about it, would be hard it," said Stuart Altman, chairman of the state Health Policy Commission, which was created by 2012 legislation aimed at restraining the growth of health care costs.
In characterizing the US hospitals that would be most affected by a Medicare for All system, Schulman and Milstein could be writing about the growth strategy that Partners has followed since it was formed in 1994. "Hospitals that had previously pursued an aggressive market consolidation strategy to increase leverage in price negotiations with private insurers (with consequent relaxed pressure to provide care at the Medicare-efficient level of cost) may be the most challenged," they write.
"If you think private insurers are the greatest enemies of single-payer, right behind them are our providers — not necessarily all of them, but our larger systems like Partners, which depend on getting well paid by the private insurers to make up for payments under Medicare and Medicaid," said Paul Hattis, associate professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Partners , the state's largest provider system, declined to make an official available to talk about the Medicare for All issue, instead issuing a statement pledging support for the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid and saying the hospital network is "working closely with both the American Hospital Association and the Massachusetts Hospital Association to evaluate various proposals at the federal level and the impact that they could have on patients at Partners and across Massachusetts."
Massachusetts health care providers and insurers have strongly backed efforts over the years to expand coverage, but Medicare for All vows to do that while driving down costs, a challenge that has befuddled policy makers here, as elsewhere. "Massachusetts has always been for coverage," said Nancy Kane, a professor of management at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. "We have been battling out cost control for as long as I've been involved, which is 40 years."
While the state hospital association has staked out ground against Medicare for All, not all hospital leaders in the state are rejecting the concept out of hand.
Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, said such a system would be one way of ensuring universal coverage and evening the playing field between hospitals that are drawing generous private insurance payments and those relying on lower public rates.
"Now with Partners and Beth Israel-Lahey," Dickson said, referring to the newly merged Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health, "you're going to have two health care systems that care for about 40 percent of the patients across the state but collect about 60 percent of the revenue." He said he fears that providers like UMass, whose share of patients on Medicaid is about double that of the big Boston systems, "are just going to get crushed" if no changes are made.
Unlike some of the Boston hospitals that would take a huge hit under a Medicare for All plan, Dickson said it would probably be a wash financially for UMass. In contrast to the average national figures Schulman and Milstein cite, Massachusetts providers tend to be paid less for Medicaid patients than Medicare patients. If Medicaid rates at UMass were raised to Medicare levels and private insurance rates were lowered to that level, "we'd be in close to the same financial positon we're in today," he said.
Dickson acknowledged that a sudden shift to Medicare for All would be very disruptive to other hospitals, and he said perhaps a more gradual "glide path" that makes that transition over time makes more sense.
"It's all in the details," he said. But Dickson called the Medicare for All discussion "a great conversation to be having. I'm not ready to say I'd vote for it, but I'm not against it."
John McDonough, a professor at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, said opposition to Medicare for All from the Mass. Hospital Association was no shock.
"I'm not surprised," he said. "The biggest funders of MHA are the bigger health/hospital systems that are the biggest beneficiaries of higher commercial rates. This is reflective of the predictable stance of the broader US hospital world."
Indeed, national hospital organizations launched an effort last year, together with pharmaceutical companies and insurance firms, to fight Medicare for All proposals. Partnership for America's Health Care Future has been sponsoring online ads and working to push down popularity of the Medicare for All concept.
One target the group recently put in its sights: Rep. Lori Trahan, the newly-elected Massachusetts congresswoman, who has been hit with online ads attacking her for cosponsoring Medicare for All legislation. The ads suggest she has flipped on vows during her campaign last year to focus on improving the Affordable Care Act.
Trahan pushed back against the ad campaign, and suggested she won't back away from her Medicare for All support.
"I would like to thank the Partnership For America's Health Care Future for highlighting my commitment to protecting the Affordable Care Act from efforts by the current Administration to sabotage it, jeopardizing millions of Americans with preexisting conditions," Trahan said in a statement released by her office. "I believe that the overwhelming popularity and success of the Medicare program demonstrates that it should serve as a north star for our reform efforts. My support for this does not negate the fact that right now there's work to be done to stabilize our health care system that has been under constant attack for the last two years. Some digital ads on Facebook are not going to distract me from that important work."
The Mass. Hospital Association is not part of the Partnership for America's Health Care Future consortium.
US Rep. Joseph Kennedy, another Massachusetts cosponsor of the recently filed Medicare for All bill in the House, has chalked up his support to growing frustration with the slow pace of change in health care. Speaking earlier this month on Politico's health care podcast "Pulse Check," Kennedy reflected on the fact that his great-uncle, Ted Kennedy, first filed a single-payer bill in the US Senate in 1971. "We've had 50 years of trying to tweak and address this market and we still haven't gotten there," he said. "You have to give a wholehearted reexamination to these structures and payment systems."
Asked whether a single-payer plan would hurt entities like Partners, Kennedy seemed to downplay what many say is an inherent tension between Medicare for All and well-paid hospitals. Kennedy said Medicare reimbursement rates are ultimately left to the secretary of health and human services to negotiate. "So part of that's going to depend on where the government reimbursement rate is actually set," he said of single-payer's effect on systems like Partners. He went on to say he's spoken with a number of hospital leaders in the state who say they would support a single-payer system.
Paul Levy, the former president of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said there's little reason to think a Medicare for All plan won't push down hard on prices. "The political hydraulic for national health plans in general is downward pressure on payments to hospitals," he said.
McDonough, who helped craft the state's expanded coverage law in 2006 and Affordable Care Act that was modeled on it, said the current health care discussion has often conflated issues involving coverage and payment. "People assume universal coverage and single payer are synonymous and it's not true," he said.
He said that confusion is underscored by a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll that asked about health care proposals using different phrasing. Medicare for All had the support of 62 percent of Americans compared with only 48 percent support for a single payer system, which is the same thing.
"For a lot of people, their support for Medicare for All represents deep disgust with deep flaws and inadequacies of the US health care system," he said, "and a far less sophisticated, thoughtful consideration of all the impacts that a structure like single payer would have on the system, both good or bad, depending on your point of view."
"Single payer is one pathway to universal coverage, but there are others," said McDonough, pointing to countries like Germany and Switzerland that achieved universal coverage through a mix of public and private insurance.
Even some of the congressional cosponsors of Medicare for All legislation have offered differing views on what it should look like and whether there would still be a place for private insurance, something that the overall concept seems to preclude.
"I think the conversation's really important to have," said Kate Walsh, president and CEO of Boston Medical Center health system. "But I really call it a slogan, not a law," she said of Medicare for All. "We need to have a more practical conversation about how to provide access to high-quality health care for all Americans at a price we can afford as a nation."
Tagged in: Eric Dickson/ John McDonough/ Kate Walsh/ Medicare for All/ Partners HealthCare/ Paul Hattis/ Steve Walsh
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