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Swing Low, Sweet Beto
The Oracle of El Paso thinks immigration laws are akin to...slavery?
by Marc Giller Read Profile arrow_right_alt
After observing the passing political scene for several years, I've come to the conclusion that the people running the country, along with those seeking office to do so, aren't what you would call very smart. Point of fact, a good number of them are dumber than the box of chocolates sitting on Forrest Gump's lap—a Deep State of Doofuses, if you will, rather than the hyper-competent techocracy that the movies and TV would have you believe.
Take, for instance, one Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke, the Irish guy with a Hispanic name, late of the 16th Congressional District in El Paso. Back in 2016, he inexplicably came within a few points of taking a Senate seat away from Ted Cruz, after riding a wave of media adoration so shameless it would have made Robert Pattinson cringe. Since failing upward is the norm in Democrat politics, O'Rourke is back—and this time, he means to take the Big Enchilada away from none other than Donald Trump. But like one of twenty singers in a boy band, he has to find a way to distinguish himself from the rest of the Democrat hopefuls. Is he the sensitive socialist? The woke Native American with the high cheek bones? The dude who came from the streets with his buddy T-Bone?
Nope, he's the guy who likes to stand on tables and spout off stuff like this:
Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D.) on Saturday likened immigration laws in the United States to slavery.
Surely they must be kidding!
O'Rourke participated in a forum on "wages and working people," which was hosted by SEIU and the Center for American Progress Action Fund in Las Vegas, Nev. During his remarks, he said illegal immigrants live in "modern day bondage."
They're not kidding. And don't call them Shirley.
"[With immigration, there are] millions living in the shadows, working some of the toughest jobs, lucky to make a minimum wage, still not even making that," O'Rourke said. "[Immigrants are] kept in modern day bondage, their immigration status used as leverage to keep them down from fully participating in this country's success and in our economy, an economy that works too well for too few and not well enough for most Americans."
To paraphrase the immortal words of Hans Gruber, "You're amazing, Beto. You figured this all out already." Of course unscrupulous employers use immigration status as leverage to keep people down! It's why they hire illegal labor in the first place! These modern day slave masters—as O'Rourke himself calls them—know full well that they can abuse their employees, because it ain't like these poor people can run to the authorities to complain about low pay and substandard working conditions.
Same goes with the horrible situation at the border. Care to guess why so many children are dragged thousands of miles and subjected to incredible danger just so they can reach America, with untold numbers dying along the way? Because current immigration law incentivizes it. Smugglers know that their chances of getting in are better when minors accompany them—and so they bring a bunch of kids along.
Basic common sense would tell you that the most effective way to discourage this behavior would be to make it less tempting to engage in it. On the employer side, that means toughening the penalties against hiring illegal labor and vigorously enforcing the law. On the border, that means heightened security and reforming laws so that children don't get used as an easy ticket into the country.
What, on the other hand, does O'Rourke propose?
When it comes to illegal immigration, O'Rourke has not provided many specifics on how he would tackle the issue. Back in January, he told the Washington Post he didn't know what to do in terms of visa overstays and that he would be listening to the people, saying, "I trust the wisdom of people." In terms of the border wall in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, he told MSNBC's Chris Hayes back in February he would "absolutely" take the border wall down.
But. . .but. . .wouldn't that just exponentially increase the number of people sneaking across and falling into the very bondage that O'Rourke is lamenting here? I'm kind of getting the impression that he really didn't think this one through—unless he's also proposing that we just let anyone work out in the open, regardless of their immigration status.
Which, by the way, I can't imagine a labor union like SEIU supporting.
So basically O'Rourke is proposing to make the problem even worse, all with the added bonus of giving the members of his audience the shaft. Again, not exactly what I would call the smartest of moves—but, given the intellectual level of our national politics these days, pretty much par for the course.
More from Marc Giller
Incognito Socialism
The Self-Destructive Philosophy of Nihilism
Pelosi vs. AOC: Let the Games Begin
NBC's Climate Propaganda
Democrats Are Going to Actually Have to Compete Against Trump Now
House Democrats killed an impeachment attempt. Bob Mueller reported there was no coordination with the Russians. Mueller went on to decline to prosecute the President. That left one more silver bullet …


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Posts Tagged 'Fernald Developmental Center'
A 'thank you' from Patrick Costa
December 5, 2013 David Kassel	4 comments
A funeral mass was held November 26 for Patrick Costa, a longtime resident of the Fernald Developmental Center, who died on November 19 at the age of 49. Below is a letter written in Patrick's voice by his guardian, Ann Witham, who read it at the mass for Patrick. Ann is a former Fernald employee who agreed to be Patrick's guardian after his mother died. She also managed the Fernald chapel for the Rev. Bill Leonard, who has been the pastor at St. Jude Parish in Waltham in addition to his Fernald Chaplin duties.
My Dear Family and Friends,
During my time on earth, I could not talk; I never learned how to read or write or spell; or how to type or use a computer. But my life has changed. I'm with God now and as long as He's ok with it, I can do almost anything, including writing this thank you letter.
The first thing I want to say is a big thank you to all the folks at Fernald for caring for me for almost forty years. They gave me the best they could and I am truly grateful for their efforts. It was not easy for me to leave that home, but in the end, it turned out to be a very good thing for me. When the time came for me to move here to the Wrentham Developmental Center, you went to a lot of trouble to make sure that Heffron "B" was really ready for my friends and me. You even took extra time to fix the few little things that somehow got overlooked the first time around.
Patrick Costa
My friends and I were warmly welcomed into our new home. It seemed as though everyone involved in our care – from direct care staff to clinicians and everyone in between, took the time to get to know each of us as individuals and to learn first-hand what each of us liked and disliked. You saw abilities and possibilities, not just disabilities; potential, not just limitations.
You found out that I liked to walk and made sure that I got to join a walking program and participate in Special Olympics where I won a medal. How proud and happy that made me feel! I really liked that special green suit I wore for the occasion and showing off the medal to my friends. I enjoyed going to the pool and you made sure that I had enough swimming trunks for these outings. I am so grateful for your supporting me in all my athletic endeavors, and for finding alternative activities when exercise was no longer possible for me.
Thank you for taking the time to make sure I ate my meals slowly so I would not choke. Sometimes it was a real challenge just to be sure I chewed before I swallowed, or, to make sure I did not snitch something from another's plate. I must admit though, I did manage to succeed a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it.
You learned to read the visual ways and sounds I used to tell you what I wanted or what was wrong. Somehow, you knew that when there was a lot of commotion in the apartment, I would need to "get away from it all;" and spend some quiet time in my room. You even made sure that I had a special chair to use for relaxation.
Going to Adult Ed was a favorite activity for me. I was thrilled when I could sign a card with assistance. When I could no longer get to the program, you made it happen right in my apartment. That's what the world would call "really great customer service."
Van trips were also very special to me. I especially liked going to the restaurants that went the extra mile and texturized our food so we could eat our meals there. Thank you for taking the time to plan and organize those special "nights on the town."
To all who stayed with me while I was in the hospital and at The May Center and back at my apartment, I owe so much. Your presence gave me more comfort than I can tell. It was wonderful to wake up and see a familiar face there with me and to hear your voices reassuring me that all was well. You knew the severity of my condition, but never let it discourage you from being upbeat with me. Special thanks go to Keith, my long-time friend and companion. During the last days of my life, Keith watched out for me, protecting me from "strangers" he did not know, keeping things where he thought they should be and making sure staff was always paying attention to me. A special thank you to new friends from Steward Hospice. Their care, compassion and concern for me as a person went far beyond what I expected. Even Keith could not prevent their welcomed presence in my life during my final days.
Mark, I know distance and family matters made it very difficult for you and Beth to travel to visit. I know you were in constant contact throughout the years, and that the distance did not separate me from your thoughts and affection. I tried so hard to wait for you, but Jesus came to bring me to my forever home and I had to go with him. Please take care of yourself. Your wife and your children need you.
I owe a very special debt of gratitude to Jim Devin for bringing Ann, and sometimes Marilyn, to visit with me. Jim and Ann, I knew you were both there shortly before I died, and I felt your love and took it with me when Jesus came to bring me home. And, last but not least, thank you to Father Bill for coming here on his day off to lead you all in prayer. Father Bill, I'm going to ask God to bless your ministry and to let you have calm seas, fair skies and a string of "keepers" for all the coming fishing seasons.
My friends, I hope you do not grieve too long for me. My spirit lives on and is oh so happy now with Jesus and my mother and all my friends and relatives who went before me. I will never forget you and will always pray for you. I pray God will wipe the tears from your eyes and hearts and that his peace will console, bless and always be with each of you.
With much love and gratitude,
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Fernald Developmental Center, intellectual disabilities
State's decision to lease Glavin land for $1 raises questions
September 30, 2012 David Kassel	1 comment
For years we've heard from the administration that it's necessary to close the Glavin Regional Center and three other developmental centers in Massachusetts because the centers have become too expensive to operate.
But if these closures are about saving money, why has the administration agreed to essentially give away 69 acres of state land at Glavin to the Town of Shrewsbury? In agreeing in August to lease the land to the town for $1 a year for the next 25 years, the state will forego potentially millions of dollars it would have gotten from the sale of that land.
Our main question really is this: Why has the administration reached this deal with the town outside of what would normally be a formal and deliberative process to determine the best options for reuse of the land? The 69 acres, which include soccer fields and farmland surrounding the Glavin Center, comprise at least 62 percent of the total Glavin campus.
For the past eight years, the state has been involved in a painstaking and often contentious reuse process with the City of Waltham over the 200 acres at the site of the Fernald Developmental Center, which has also been targeted for closure. That process has brought parties from all sides to the table, and has involved public hearings and a report by a planning consultant.
No such reuse process has yet occurred at Glavin, and yet a decision has already effectively been made about the disposition of a majority of the acreage at that site. It's a decision, moreover, that is a great financial deal for the Town of Shrewsbury, but not for the state, which is supposedly so strapped for cash that it has had to evict what were hundreds of longtime residents of the developmental centers from their homes.
Here by the way, is what Governor Patrick had to say this past May about the reuse process at Fernald:
Everybody's on it (the Fernald reuse process). All the interests, all the factions, and that's how it should be. I know the city has expressed interest in buying it (a portion of the Fernald land). I don't think the state's in a position to give it away. But I think selling to the city, some or all of it, is certainly an option.
So, the state is not in a position to give away any of the Fernald land, yet it is in a position to give away the Glavin land? And why, in the case of Fernald, are all the interests at the table whereas, in the case of Glavin, the only interests at the table were the state and the town?
Both Glavin and Fernald have been targeted by the administration for closure, over the objections of most of the family members and guardians of the residents of those facilities. The administration has repeatedly claimed to the Legislature that it would save up to $40 million a year in closing the Fernald, Glavin, Monson, and Templeton developmental centers. Yet the administration and other opponents of the centers have repeatedly opposed an independent study of the cost of closing those facilities.
The $1 lease arrangement at Glavin stems from a home rule petition that was presented by Shrewsbury to the state Legislature in May. The lease involves both a 15-acre tract that has housed town soccer fields for many years and a 54-acre tract of farmland. The Legislature approved the lease and the governor signed the bill in August.
We're not opposed to preserving the land at Glavin as farmland or as soccer fields. But we question why this lease arrangement for 69 acres of land was done outside of a formal disposition process for the land and why it was done in such a seeming hurry.
We've filed Public Records requests with the state for records concerning plans for the reuse of the Glavin property. We'd like to know what's going on.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Fernald Developmental Center, Glavin Regional Center, intellectual disabilities
DPPC faults care plan in group home resident's death
May 4, 2012 David Kassel	2 comments
A state investigative agency has concluded that a Tyngsborough group home resident died last year as a result of having ingested an inedible object, and that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that his death was due to a lack of adequate supervision by caregivers.
The 50-year-old man, who had formerly lived at the Fernald Developmental Center, had reportedly ingested a plastic bag
The March 29, 2012 report by the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, which was obtained by COFAR, concluded, however, that there was insufficient evidence to identify when or how the man had obtained the material he ingested, or whether he was in his group home, day program, or being transported between the two when he ingested it. The report also appeared to place the blame for the lack of supervision on the fact that the man's plan of care, also known as an Individual Support Plan or ISP, had no requirement that he be kept in sight by staff at all times.
The 50-year-old man had lived in the group home for about a year after having been transferred there from the Fernald Center. According to sources, the man had a history of ingesting foreign objects, a condition known as pica.
The July 6 death of the resident is one of two cases of sudden death involving former developmental center residents, both men in their 50s, which COFAR first reported about last August. COFAR also reported about the case of another man who died suddenly of a blood clot in his lung in a Tewksbury group home on July 24, four days after having been transferred there from the Templeton Developmental Center. An investigation of that death is apparently still ongoing.
Both Fernald and Templeton are among four developmental centers that have been targeted by the Patrick administration for closure.
The March 29 DPPC report leaves many questions unanswered about the Tyngsborough group home resident's death, including whether the man's ISP was changed in a significant way after he left the Fernald Center, and whether his level of supervision in the group home was less than the level he had received while at Fernald. There is an indication in the report that the man's ISP was changed in September 2010, apparently after he moved to the group home, to remove "target (presumably inedible) items" from mention in the plan. Much of this discussion, however, is redacted in the report.
The report in general is heavily redacted. Not only is the man's name redacted, but even a discussion about what his ISP actually stated is at least partially blacked out. In addition, what is apparently the word "pica" is redacted throughout the report.
The report states, for instance, that as a result of this case, the Department of Developmental Services issued new guidelines for what are apparently "Pica Management Plans" for DDS clients. However, the word before "Management Plans" is blacked out. According to the report, the new DDS guidelines recommend development of a specific behavior plan for each person who has what is apparently pica, required training of staff, a description of the supervision required, and other measures.
The DPPC report also stated that as a result of this case, there is reason to believe providers of transportation for group home residents might not be aware of the diagnoses of what are apparently conditions such as pica among all their passengers. The report recommended that DDS consult with "Human Services Transportation" to ensure that "all potentially dangerous behaviors or medical conditions of a passenger is (sic) shared with the contracted and/or subcontracted provider of transportation."
And the report includes a recommendation that appears to require that ISPs of all DDS clients with pica include additional protections. The report recommended that:
…the appropriate DDS designee review the above noted additional finding of risk pertaining to (blank) and ISP language and determine what, if any, action should be taken to identify within a person's ISP those specific items known to be ingested by the person, as a means to minimize or eliminate the risk they pose.
The man died of aspiration pneumonia and a bowel obstruction, according to the City of Lowell Clerk's Office, where the death certificate is on file. After swallowing the plastic bag, the man was reportedly taken to Lowell General Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
The DPPC report indicated that the man had a medically related episode either in his day program or his group home more than two weeks prior to his surgery and more than a month prior to his death. A description of the nature of that incident was redacted in the report.
The report noted only that the man was first admitted to a hospital on June 7, five days after first exhibiting signs that he was not was not feeling well on June 2. He was discharged from the hospital on June 11, four days after his admission. He reportedly did not feel well for several days after his discharge, however, and on June 19, he was taken again to the hospital emergency room and had surgery later that evening. He died a little over two weeks later.
Sources said the staff at the Fernald Center had been aware of the man's pica condition and had watched him closely to prevent him from ingesting objects while he was living there. Whether that level of supervision was greater than the level the man received at the Tyngsborough group home could not be determined from the DPPC report.
In both of the sudden death incidents about which COFAR reported, the men had been transferred to state-operated group homes operated by Northeast Residential Services, a division of the Department of Developmental Services. DDS has refused to discuss or provide any information about these deaths, citing confidentiality and privacy regulations.
In a third case about which COFAR recently reported, a 51-year-old resident of a Northeast Residential Services home died on February 7, 2012 after having been sent back to his residence twice by Lowell General Hospital. That man had formerly lived at the Fernald Center as well.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: abuse and neglect, DPPC, Fernald Developmental Center, intellectual disabilities, Templeton Developmental Center
It's budget time — time to blame the Fernald families
February 17, 2012 David Kassel	5 comments
The Massachusetts human service vendors are at it again — blaming the families of Fernald Developmental Center residents for the state's budget problems.
In an online email to members this week, Gary Blumenthal, president of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, once again resorts to misleading statements about Fernald's operating cost in order to stick it to family members and guardians of the 14 remaining residents there.
Here's what Blumenthal says about the Fernald families in his message, which discusses a $10.2 million supplemental bill filed by the Patrick administration to keep Fernald operating:
While the state is still intent on closing Fernald and three other state institutions, the final closure date is uncertain as the last 14 families attempt to hold out, hoping against reality that they can force the state to reverse it's closure decision.
Despite the families being offered "equal to or better services" per federal Court Orders, the last Fernald families are using every available delay option available, urged on by anti-closure ideologues who still think they can force the state to leave Fernald open for the lifespan of the remaining 14 individuals.
First of all, through their own volition, these families are exercising their legal right to prevent what they see as the unjust eviction of their loved ones from their long-time home.
Moreover, in at least three of the 14 cases, administrative judges in the Patrick administration itself have ruled that the guardians demonstrated that care would not be better in the new locations proposed by the Department of Developmental Services for those residents.
That's why these cases have dragged on. The administrative judicial decisions have been taken to state Superior court by both the administration and the 11 guardians who didn't win their administrative appeals. That is their legal right. But Blumenthal and the ADDP have choosen to castigate the families and unidentified "anti-closure ideologues" for somehow bringing the state to its knees fiscally.
We suppose Blumenthal is referring to COFAR as an anti-closure ideologue. It's true that we oppose the administration's planned closures of Fernald and three other state developmental centers, which we believe provide critically needed care to some of the state's most severely and profoundly intellectually disabled residents. But who are the real ideologues here?
We recognize the importance and need for community-based care for the majority of people with intellectual disabilities in Massachusetts. What we have long argued is that the developmental centers are a necessary part of the continuum of care. It is the ADDP and their state-funded vendor members who are the pro-closure ideologues. They argue that the state should abdicate its responsibility of caring for its most vulnerable citizens and hand the entire business over to them.
In furtherance of this aim, Blumenthal has to bend himself into a pretzel logic-wise, and, as we said, make misleading statements about Fernald's operating cost. He implies in his message that if Fernald were closed immediately, the $10 million in supplemental funding would somehow be re-invested in the community system of care.
Yet, in the same message, Blumenthal admits what we've been saying for years — that the state has "reneged" (his word) on its longtime promise to re-invest funding from the developmental centers into the community system. Thus, Blumenthal knows full well that were Fernald to be closed tomorrow, that $10 million would not be invested in the community. The money, or a good portion of it, would follow the residents themselves to their new locations, wherever they might be. The community system as a whole would not benefit in any way.
Further, as they do every year at budget time, Blumenthal and the ADDP single out Fernald and discuss how the per-resident cost there has "skyrocketed." It's true that cost has skyrocketed. But what Blumenthal doesn't say is that's what happens when you drastically reduce the population of a care facility. The fixed costs get spread out over a smaller and smaller base of residents.
Despite the photo of an abandoned building at Fernald rising out of the weeds that runs atop his message, Blumenthal erroneously makes it sound as though the remaining residents are living the high life because the cost per resident there has risen. As one of the 14 guardians wrote in an email in response to Blumenthal's message:
Based on what he (Blumenthal) has to say about the "evil 14", you'd think we were having a blast, loads of fun and just a grand old time!
Also, just once I'd like to see a picture of one of Fernald "homes" like Malone Park or a cottage, or our beautiful chapel, not a building that hasn't been occupied for 35 years!
You'd think I be use to this by now, but I guess not.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: association of developmental disabilities, Fernald Developmental Center, intellectual disabilities
The Globe tells half the story about Fernald
November 27, 2011 David Kassel	3 comments
A front-page article that ran Thanksgiving Day in The Boston Globe depicts with great sensitivity the lives of four men who were moved out of what was then the Fernald School 40 years ago and have lived ever since in the community.
The problem is that the piece, by Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham, implies that the Fernald Developmental Center of today remains the same over-crowded, poorly run institution that it certainly was for these men when they lived there from the 1950s through the 1970s. At the very least, the story neglects to mention the dramatic improvements that were made in the conditions at Fernald and elsewhere after the federal court assumed oversight in the 1970s of care delivered in Massachusetts to persons with intellectual disabilities.
And the story mistakenly implies that only community-based care is appropriate for the residents of Fernald and other state developmental centers today.
From the all-caps headline ("CELEBRATING THE GIFT OF BEING FREE") onward, the article paints Fernald unrelentingly as a dark and isolated prison. While that was true up through the 1970s, the untold story is that Fernald and the five other remaining developmental centers in Massachusetts today are state-of-the-art facilities that are highly integrated with their surrounding communities and serve a population that needs their high level of services.
Abraham, however, doesn't seem to want to discuss that part of the story. At first, it wasn't entirely clear to me why she portrayed Fernald in such a uniformly negative light throughout the story. Not only is there no mention in the story of the improvements at Fernald since the 1970s, but there's not even any mention of the fact that Fernald and three other developmental centers in Massachusetts have been targeted for closure by the Patrick administration. Or that guardians of 14 remaining Fernald residents oppose the closure and have kept the facility open for almost a year and a half beyond its scheduled closing date after having filed administrative appeals of the transfers of their wards from the center.
Why not mention all of those things that have been going on at Fernald currently and in recent years and place the story of the facility in a modern day context? It would have been a more interesting story, I think, had Abraham noted the contrast between the four men who are thankful today that they were able to leave Fernald, and the 14 guardians who today believe Fernald is the best place available for their loved ones.
It was only as I was nearing the end of Abraham's piece that I came across a paragaph that made clear to me what appears to be her agenda. She stated:
The world has caught up with (the four men who left Fernald and a former worker who arranged for their move in 1971 to a group home outside of Fernald.) The goal now is to keep people with disabilities in the community, to help them realize their potential and enrich their surroundings.
Yes, it was now clear that this article was yet another in a long line of journalistic paeans to "community-based" care for people with intellectual disabilities. State-operated institutional care — bad. Community-based care — good. That's the over-simplified storyline onto which too many journalists seem to feel the need to grasp, while ignoring the subtleties of recent history and even federal law.
Community-based care is the goal for many, but not for everybody. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Olmstead v. L.C., recognized that for some people with the most severe and profound levels of intellectual disability, institutions such as Fernald may well provide the most appropriate care.
Moreover, the community system today does not live up to the utopian ideal that Abraham's piece sets for it. I'm sure that three of the former Fernald residents in Abraham's story do live now in a "sweet bungalow" in Hyde Park, and that they do have a "good life," in which they go to day programs where there is tai chi, singalongs and crafts. I have no doubt that Abraham was struck in spending time with these men by "how much of their potential was squandered" at Fernald 40 or more years ago and by "the joy of the lives they've salvaged" in the community.
But while there are many success stories in the community system, that largely privatized system is beset today with widely acknowledged problems of high turnover and poor training of direct-care staff, and abuse and neglect. At the same time, state contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars held by vendors to run community-based group homes are poorly overseen by the state, resulting in the potential for widespread waste, fraud, and abuse in their business practices. The media in this state have not been covering those issues, but the media in New York State have been. (See this and this.)
We think it is a tragedy that the Patrick administration apparently views care for the intellectually disabled in this same simplistic light of institution-bad and community-good, and is shutting the four developmental centers in budget-cutting moves. We are waiting for the day when the media take a more nuanced view of this issue, and at least recognize that there is another side to the story.
We strongly urge Abraham and other journalists to visit the Fernald, Glavin, Monson, and Templeton Centers, all of which are steadily being emptied of their staff and residents, before it's too late. They will see for themselves the wonderful level of care that takes place in those centers, and will note that there are no young, high-functioning residents like Albert, Curtis, Richard, and Joe, left in them today.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: community-based care, Fernald Developmental Center, Fernald School, intellectual disabilities
Guardians looking for answers in DDS client deaths
August 12, 2011 David Kassel	2 comments
The guardians of two intellectually disabled men in their 50s are grappling with the mystery of why each man died suddenly in the past two months in state-operated group homes in the Department of Developmental Services' northeast region.
Neither guardian yet wants either their name or the name of their ward to be publicly revealed, but both guardians are trying to find out what happened to their wards.
One of the guardians, who I'll call Anna, said her uncle, who was 54, was healthy when he was transferred on July 20 from his long-time home at the Templeton Developmental Center to the group home in Tewksbury. He died four days later.
In that case, the Chief Medical Examiner listed the cause of death of Anna's uncle as a blood clot of unknown origin in his lung. But Anna, who is a former nurse's aide, is not convinced that the listed cause of death is correct. She said the Medical Examiner's report is inconclusive and the Medical Examiner is still waiting for toxicology results.
Anna said her uncle had had a blood clot in his leg about a year before the move (deep venous thrombosis), but the problem was cleared up. Other than that, the only problems he had was a hernia and he was going blind in one eye. He had worked every day in the dairy barn at Templeton.
After the thrombosis diagnosis, Anna's uncle had been on a blood thinner called Coumadin, but he was then taken off that medication at Templeton without Anna's knowledge or consent, even though she is his guardian. It's not clear, though, that that contributed to his death. There may have been an error involving some other medication that he was taking.
Anna said the staff from the group home had spent about a week at Templeton with her uncle prior to the move, but she is not sure whether any familiar staff from Templeton accompanied him during the transfer to the new residence. She said, though, that her uncle had been active after the move and had told her he was happy and excited to be there. The residence is brand new and is beautiful, she said. Suddenly, four days later, she got a call that he had died. She has no idea how that could have happened.
State Senator Stephen Brewer of Barre has asked DDS to investigate the death of Anna's uncle, and has asked that further transfers to the Tewksbury group home be halted until the investigation is complete.
In the second case, a former Fernald Developmental Center resident swallowed a plastic garbage bag in a group home in Tyngsborough on June 21 and was taken to Lowell General Hospital, where he underwent surgery. He died approximately two weeks later on July 6. The cause of death is listed as aspiration pneumonia. The 50-year-old man had been living in the group home for about a year.
The man's sister, who we'll call Nancy, had been his guardian. She said she is concerned that the staff at the Tyngsborough group home wasn't properly supervising her brother, who had a tendency to ingest foreign objects, a condition known as pica. "Someone wasn't paying attention," she said.
Nancy said she would like to push for a bill in the Legislature that would prohibit staff in group homes from holding second jobs. She heard this was the case in Kevin's group home, and that there were staff there who weren't getting enough sleep.
Both of these guardians are dealing with the still fresh grief of the loss of their loved ones. We offer them and their families our deepest sympathy and our condolences. We hope they get the answers they are looking for and will continue to try to help them do so.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Fernald Developmental Center, intellectual disabilities, Templeton Developmental Center
Second sudden death reported after a transfer to a DDS group home
We've received a report of a second intellectually disabled man who died in the past two months after being transferred to a community-based group home from a state developmental center.
In this second case, the 50-year-old man died suddenly of aspiration pneumonia and a bowel obstruction on July 6, according to the City of Lowell Clerk's Office, where the death certificate is on file.
According to sources, the man, who had a history of ingesting foreign objects, died after swallowing a plastic shopping bag in the state-run group home. He had reportedly lived in the group home for about a year after having lived for most of his life at the Fernald Developmental Center.
We are withholding his name until we can obtain permission to use it from his guardian.
A staff person with the Disabled Persons Protection Commission said the man's death is under investigation, but would not comment on the cause of death.
Sources said the staff at the Fernald Center had been aware of the man's tendency to ingest foreign objects, a condition known as pica, and had watched him closely to prevent him from doing so. We have received reports that the level of supervision in the group home regarding the man's pica condition was not as high as it had been at Fernald.
We reported earlier this week about another man who died suddenly of a blood clot in his lung in a group home on July 24, four days after having been transferred there from the Templeton Developmental Center. Both Fernald and Templeton are among four developmental centers that have been targeted by the Patrick administration for closure.
In both cases, the men had been transferred to state-operated group homes operated by Northeast Residential Services, a division of the Department of Developmental Services. DDS has refused to discuss or provide any information about these deaths, citing confidentiality and privacy regulations.
We have raised concerns about at least one other incident involving potential lack of supervision in a Northeast Residential Services group home. In that case, a resident of a Norteast Regional Services home in Chelmsford left the residence unsupervised in May and attempted to rape a pregnant woman who lived next door.
State Senator Stephen Brewer of Barre, whose district includes the Templeton Developmental Center, said in an email to COFAR that he had been made aware of the death of the former Templeton resident and has asked DDS Commissioner Elin Howe to investigate it. Brewer said he has also asked Howe to halt further transfers to the group home until the investigation is complete.
We think DDS needs to come out from behind its confidentiality veil and take a fresh look at the level of oversight and supervision in its community-based system of care.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Fernald Developmental Center, Templeton Developmental Center

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
La rivière Penijõgi est une petite rivière d'Estonie.

Présentation
Longue de 11 kilomètres elle qtraverse le parc naturel de Matsalu dans la commune de Lihula, avec les hameaux d'Hälvati, de Kloostri et de Penijõe dans la région de l'Ouest.

Elle prend sa source dans le fossé de Penijõe et se jette dans la rivière Kasari.

Voir aussi

Liens externes

Liens internes
Liste des cours d'eau de l'Estonie
manoir de Pennijöggi

Cours d'eau en Estonie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Il tetragonostilope (Tetragonostylops apthomasi) è un mammifero estinto appartenente agli astrapoteri. Visse nel Paleocene superiore (circa 58 - 55 milioni di anni fa) e i suoi resti fossili sono stati ritrovati in Sudamerica.

Descrizione
Questo animale è noto solo per resti incompleti, che includono una mandibola ben conservata e un cranio frammentario, e non è quindi possibile ipotizzarne l'aspetto generale. Si suppone che, come tutti gli astrapoteri, anche Tetragonostylops fosse dotato di un corpo robusto e allungato, e di un cranio lungo e basso. Il cranio di questo animale doveva essere lungo circa 20 centimetri, e si suppone che l'intero corpo fosse lungo circa un metro. La mandibola di Tetragonostylops era forte e dotata di una sinfisi allungata e cilindrica; il condilo mandibolare era piuttosto elevato e il processo coronoide era alto ma non quanto quello dell'affine Trigonostylops. Un'altra differenza rispetto a quest'ultimo genere era data dalla forma dei molari, più squadrati (da qui il nome Tetragonostylops, "tetragono-" significa "quattro angoli") e dalla presenza di un canale infraorbitale (assente in Trigonostylops). I molari erano in ogni caso brachidonti (a corona bassa) come quelli di Trigonostylops, e i canini erano forti e grandi. Era inoltre presente un ampio diastema tra canini e premolari.

Classificazione
I primi fossili di questo animale vennero scoperti nella zona di Itaboraì in Brasile, e vennero ascritti a una nuova specie del genere Trigonostylops (T. apthomasi) da Carlos de Paula Couto. Successivamente, lo stesso studioso riconobbe fondamentali differenze rispetto alle forme eoceniche di Trigonostylops e quindi istituì un nuovo genere, Tetragonostylops, per la forma paleocenica brasiliana. In ogni caso, nonostante l'antichità sembra che Tetragonostylops fosse più evoluto rispetto al suo parente più conosciuto, e che fosse forse ancestrale ad altri generi di astrapoteri come Albertogaudrya e Scaglia. Tetragonostylops e Trigonostylops sono considerati membri dei Trigonostylopidae, una famiglia probabilmente parafiletica di astrapoteri, comprendente forme via via più derivate.

Bibliografia
C. de Paula Couto. 1952. Fossil mammals from the beginning of the Cenozoic in Brazil. Condylarthra, Litopterna, Xenungulata, and Astrapotheria. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 99(6):355-394
C. de Paula Couto. 1963. Um Trigonostylopidae do Paleoceno do Brasil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 35(3):339-351
Soria, M. F. (1982). "Tetragonostylops apthomasi (Price y Paula Couto, 1950): su asignación a Astrapotheriidae (Mammalia; Astrapotheria)". Ameghiniana. 19 (3–4): 234–238.
Vallejo-Pareja, M. C.; Carrillo, J. D.; Moreno-Bernal, J. W.; Pardo-Jaramillo, M.; Rodriguez-Gonzalez, D. F.; Muñoz-Duran, J. (2015). "Hilarcotherium castanedaii, gen. et sp. nov., a new Miocene astrapothere (Mammalia, Astrapotheriidae) from the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (2): e903960. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.903960.

Astrapoteri


This column is made from high density, rigid polyurethane, a material that is extremely durable and very easy to work with. Installation of this column is quick and easy. This column comes primed white, ready to accept paint. You can paint this column with any quality paints or apply a faux finish. Please note that this column is not structural. You should use these columns for decorative purposes only. Our columns are a great way of introducing architectural elements to your house.


Don't miss your chance to experience the 9th Annual Charlotte Spring Fair before it wraps up its 2019 season this weekend. Enjoy more than 30 amusement park rides, delicious fair food, Swifty Swine's Racing Pigs, Rockin' A Ranch Petting Zoo, the Jason D'Vaude One-Man Circus, the Aguiar Family Thrill Show and more. Friday 4 – 11 p.m., Saturday 1 – 11 p.m. and Sunday 1 – 10 p.m. Located at 6558 Bruton Smith Blvd., just across the street from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 5 – 11 and free for children younger than 4.
At the 7th Annual hackathonCLT, programmers, designers and developers will collaborate to solve a problem and compete to win more than $30,000 in cash prizes across three categories: hacking, coding and "freestyle" problem-solving. This team-based hackathon is open to both participants and spectators from the community, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday and ending at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Discovery Place. Free.
Lace up your running shoes and make your way to Charlotte's oldest road race, the 2019 Elizabeth 8K Road Race, now featuring a new USATF-certified course that offers a gorgeous tour of the scenic Elizabeth neighborhood. You can participate in the titular 8K race or opt for the 1.5-mile fun run/walk, and any youth runners can join the free Liz Kids' Fun Run. 8 a.m. Hawthorne Recreation Center at Independence Park. Registration starts at $30.
Give back to the community at VolunCHEERS: South End Clean Up. Starting at the Bland Street light rail station, participants will use supplies provided by Keep Charlotte Beautiful to clean up South End from 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. The first 50 volunteers 21 and over will receive a free custom t-shirt and a complimentary beer ticket to be used at the after-party, aka the "Volunteer Appreciation Event" at The Union from 12 – 2 p.m. (which will also include free chips and guacamole from Bakersfield and more than $1,000 in raffle prizes). 9:30 a.m. 222 E. Bland St. Free.
The fan-friendly Knights Fest is back by popular demand, returning once again as the official kick-off to the Charlotte Knights' 2019 season. This festival will be headlined by two activities: a Softball Home Run Derby featuring the Dudley Demolition Bombers and a Media Softball game, wherein notable members of Charlotte radio and television will go head to head. There will also be inflatable games, face painting, glitter tattoos, appearances from Homer the Dragon and $2 concession items (including hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, sodas, domestic draft beers and more). 12 – 3 p.m. BB&T Ballpark. $5.
Enjoy an evening of photography, visual art and live performances at the If I Could Tell You What It Meant: Artist Showcase. View prints on display from local artist Kat Spangler's photography project "If I Could Tell You What It Meant," watch dancers from the project perform their own original pieces, and peruse works of celebrated artists including Audrey Baran, Emily Cargill, Sarah Council and more. 5:30 p.m. Ebb & Flow Movement Studio. $10.
Each fall, local start-ups and non-profits have the chance to apply to the SEED20 program. Once the application period ends, 20 lucky organizations will be selected to receive two months of individual and group coaching from SEED20. The 20 selected will learn the most effective ways to pitch their organizations, practice their pitches in front of a group of coaches to receive direct feedback, and will work with an individual coach distilling the feedback and refining their pitches into a crisp three-minute presentation. These efforts culminate on Monday, March 25 at SEED20 OnStage, a high-energy event where 10 members of this year's SEED20 class will compete to win cash awards by making three-minute pitches to a panel of judges and a community audience. Attendee ticket costs include access to watch these high-energy pitch presentations, as well as drinks, dinner and mingling before and after the event. 5:30 p.m. Knight Theater. $65.
Skip dinner and head straight for dessert at the 4th Annual Sugar Shock, a six-course tasting with some of Charlotte's best pastry chefs. Each of the six courses in this delectable dinner will feature its own cocktail pairing, brought to you by Kel Minton of Soul Gastrolounge and Tamu Curtis of Liberate Your Palate. 6:30 p.m. Project 658, 3646 Central Ave. $75.
Celebrate International Women's Month with an evening of women-to-women networking at CLT Women Making Sh*t Happen at AC Hotel Charlotte's Nuvolé Rooftop TwentyTwo, hosted by Kristin Taylor, Diamond Nurse and Sarah Colée. Join the discussions about topics like navigating the workplace as a female, entrepreneurial strategies and more while enjoying craft cocktail specials and tasty bites with a rooftop view. 6 p.m. Nuvolé Rooftop TwentyTwo. Free.
Sample five wine and cheese pairings selected by Assorted Table Wine Shoppe owner Josh Villapando and Orrman's Cheese Shop owner Rachel Klebaur at this bi-weekly Cheese & Wine Class. In addition to tasting and enjoying each pairing, Villapando and Klebaur will educate attendees about each wine and cheese throughout the experience. Bonus: participants receive a 10 percent discount on any cheese purchases the night of the event. 6 p.m. 7th Street Public Market. $25.
Drink and dine for a good cause at WP Feeds the Need: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Join host Sara Baity Patterson, a candidate nominated for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society "Woman of the Year" award, who will be raffling off items to raise money for the LLS. Additionally, 10 percent of the evening's sales will be donated to the LLS for research advancing immunotherapy, genomics and personalized medicine in the fight to cure cancer. Reservations can be made by calling 704-295-0101. 5 p.m. WP Kitchen + Bar. Free admission.


text:
Ed Trust Building a Movement
Board and Emeritus Members
P-12 Policy, Research, & Practice
Higher Education Policy, Research, & Practice
COVID-19: Impact on Education Equity – Resources & Responding
The Equity Line
Higher Ed Equity Lens
Systems for Success: Thinking Beyond Access to Advanced Placement
Jul 18, 2017 by Ashley Griffin and Davis Dixon
When deciding to increase opportunities and participation in Advanced Placement, schools and districts often respond by eliminating prerequisites and opening access to these courses — so if any student wants to enroll, they can.
This is an important first step, but far from enough to promote AP success, especially for students of color.
Indeed, while it is promising to watch overall AP enrollment soar, gaps in success rates remain way too large. In 2013, 57 percent of all AP exams had scores of 3 and above, which is considered passing. But for Black and Latino students, only 30 percent and 42 percent of test-takers, respectively, had a score of 3 or above.
If students, especially students of color, are to experience the kind of success that we know is hugely valuable for college readiness and for college success, then open access must be coupled with systematic supports for students and teachers.
After visiting seven schools with high AP enrollment rates for students of color, we found that these systematic supports are what differentiated those that also demonstrated high AP success rates from those that didn't.
In a new brief, we explore the practices and strategies at two schools serving significant populations of students of color that are not only enrolling students in AP at high rates, but also supporting students to be successful as well.
Want to be the first to know what we learned? Sign up today and get access to our latest report a day before it's released to the general public.
Photo courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.
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"It's not an ideal situation. But we're making the best of it."
January 15, 2021 by Karin Chenoweth
Pandemic schooling has been difficult at Malverne High School in Nassau County New York, but social studies teacher Brian…
It's Time to Reconsider Removing Metal Detectors from Schools Now
January 14, 2021 by Kayla Patrick
This week, several members of Congress complained about the hardening of the Capitol after last week's violent insurrection. They…
"We've probably gone through more change since March than I did through my entire career."
January 8, 2021 by Karin Chenoweth
Steubenville City Public Schools had as its goal operating as normally as possible this school year, so educators spent…
School Funding Guidebook
December 9, 2020 by Ed Trust and Education Resource Strategies
This interactive workbook provides a structure to help your team better understand what is causing challenges related to School…
Teacher Quality and Diversity Guidebook
This interactive workbook provides a structure to help your team better understand what is causing challenges related to Teaching…
"We keep using that word hard."
December 4, 2020 by Karin Chenoweth
In this episode of The Education Trust's podcast, ExtraOrdinary Districts, Corey Miklus, superintendent of Seaford Public Schools in Delaware…
"We have a third of our kids in every day. But one hundred percent of our students are learning every single day"
November 27, 2020 by Karin Chenoweth
"We have a third of our kids in every day. But one hundred percent of our students are learning…
ExtraOrdinary Districts in ExtraOrdinary Times – Season Four
November 20, 2020 by Ed Trust
In this extraordinary moment, with tens of millions of children out of school, educators around the country are looking…
"As soon as we're back to normal, we'll have to accelerate our kids."
In this inaugural episode of Season Four of The Education Trust's podcast, ExtraOrdinary Districts, Sergio Garcia, principal of Artesia…
NAEP Results Make it Clear: States Must Have Transparent College and Career Readiness Data
November 19, 2020 by Sarah Mehrotra and Jonathan Davis
In October, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) 2019 12th grade reading and math scores were released and with them came an…
This is What Democracy Looks Like: Reflections from an Ed Trust Fellow
November 18, 2020 by Kiah Albritton
During the spring of 2016, I attended my first protest at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I was a…
Right Direction. Miles to Go.
Over the past few years, Washington has experienced significant job growth — so much so that Washington had the…
What procedures are in place to remove barriers to education opportunity due to anti-LGBTQ+ bias, especially when i… https://t.co/vu3HRLy99w
Systemic racism is everywhere in our country, even in the classroom. See how you can take action against the racial… https://t.co/KVHlXDV94D
Since the '11-'12 school year @ChiPubSchool has decreased suspensions by 67% & expulsions by 82%. Learn how they've… https://t.co/dWUYdokYX4
Statement from The Education Trust on Announcement of Miguel Cardona as U.S. Secretary of Education December 22, 2020
Statement From The Education Trust on COVID-19 Relief and Year-End Funding Package December 21, 2020
Joint Memo on Advancing Educational Equity Through the Biden-Harris Administration December 2, 2020
Joint Letter from Civil Rights, Social Justice, Disability Rights, and Education Advocates Annual Assessments Are Imperative to Have Accurate Information November 20, 2020
Many Students Across the Country Attend Schools Without a Single Teacher of Color November 19, 2020
P-12 Policy & Practice
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Advocacy & Legislative Affairs


text:
About the Sausalito Sister Cities
Viña del Mar, Chile
Articles and Updates
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Student Applicants
About the Cities
Home/Viña del Mar, Chile/About the Cities
About the Citiesaelliot2016-10-23T11:57:55+00:00
About the City of Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar (meaning "Vineyard of the Sea"), is on Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as "La Ciudad Jardín" ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region. It is Chile's fourth largest city with a population of over 300,000.
Viña del Mar is known for its placid resorts, malls, extensive coastal high buildings, hotels and various entertainment venues. Like Sausalito, the city attracts a wide variety of national as well as international visitors throughout the year.
Viña del Mar and Sausalito share other similarities in that they are both near major ports (Sausalito near Oakland and San Francisco and Viña del Mar near Valparaiso) and both are gateways to beautiful wine regions. Sausalito visitors can easily reach the world renowned Napa and Sonoma Valleys and Viña del Mar is next to the beautiful Casablanca region, which is fast becoming known for its beautiful vistas, bountiful vineyards and delicious wines.
About the City of Sausalito
Sausalito is one of the top 20 destinations for tourists in America today. It is the first city on the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County and has a population of 7099. Built facing the Bay, its terrain consists of steep, wooded hillsides and shoreline tidal flats.
Its history has included fishing and being a shipbuilding center during World War II and a center for the music industry. It has three houseboat communities, a rich community life, and a strong business and food sector with well-known restaurants. It is a haven for boat building, yachting, and the artistic community. It has a well-renown prestigious Annual Art Festival in September and caters to tourists who visit by car, bus, ferry and cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge..
Sausalito-Viña del Mar Sister Cities
Sister Cities Sausalito-Vina del Mar
Connect with AGEP
La Asociación Gremial de Empresarias y Profesionales (AGEP-V), the women's entrepreneurial group from Viña/Valpo
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The spirit of time is a strange thing, it has a law upon itself, it can transforms it's own timeless creations, this was always the strength of cult Hard Rockers AXXIS. The band hailing from Lünen, Germany are set to release their new album entitled "Retrolution" on 24. February through their own label Phonotraxx.
Once again the two masterminds behind AXXIS, Bernhard Weiss and Harry Oellers have been creative, in conjuring the album title, it's a wordplay of the words "retro" and "Revolution".
"This is exactly what we are experiencing right now", explained Bernhard. "Vinyl albums are selling more, people even the young are still crazy about Iron Maiden, AC/DC and the sort. In the recording studio the trend is toward vintage equipment simulations, sounds are geared toward the old school sound and the old tube technology is making a comeback. New bands have a 60's/70's vibe, and the Christmas cookies my mum bakes have reached cult status in Lünen, and people still like us too!"
Retro is a word that is once again very popular and revolutionary for the music lovers and their tastes. Pictured on the album cover, is an oldtimer who is swallowing a person, the expression being just how massive the Retro-Revolution has taken over the music world. On their new release AXXIS reach back into the past to their classic pure Hard rock hymns era.
Over the years AXXIS have moved with the times, but never lost touch with their roots or betrayed themselves, musically. Unlike any other German Rock bands AXXIS have found the divide between traditional and the current trend. The band have accomplished all of this without losing any of their trademarks, yet still open to new ideas. Although AXXIS' roots are from the 80's, that certainly has not harmed them, on the contrary, their last studio album "Kingdom Of The Night II" reached their highest ever placing in their career, it climbed to number 24 in the charts.
With the album "Retrolution" the band are set to return the past, as the band was formed in this era, and are once again experiencing their own Retro-Evolution with such hits as "Stay Don ´t Leave Me" or "Living In A World" cast in stone in the German music scene. Their album "Kingdom Of The Night" to this day is regarded as one of the nation's most important Rock albums. To date AXXIS have amassed multiple million album sales.
Recently vocalist Bernhard Weiss was rewarded with the culture award for his musical accomplishments and his outstanding work with the local youths in his hometown of Lünen. Setting an example, that not only classical music can be rewarded for their achievements.


Bosnian writer born in Bihać (Bosnia-Herzegovina) in 1974. His published works include the plays Raise high your torch (1996) and Really? (2000), the collection of prose When people disappear (2003) and the novels On barbecue and sundry disorders (2008) and The basement man [Čovjek iz podruma] (2013). He has also published his poetry, essays and translations (from the French, and occasionally English and Spanish) in various literary journals, both paper-based and on-line. He has translated Kenizé Mourad's novel Le jardin de Badalpour, Jean Baudrillard's L'esprit du terrorisme, and Emil Cioran's Cahier de Talamanca. Place of residence: Sarajevo, near crows and lime trees.
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