Healthcare reform has come under some heavy debate since Barack Obama was elected into the presidency. Many attempts to pass national healthcare bills have all come to the same conclusion thus far, failure. In an effort to change history, the president has once again brought the idea into consideration. At the House Democratic Caucus on Saturday he spoke about the importance of the healthcare bill to the entire country.
He started of by explaining that it was the decisions of this government that got America to break free of “the worst recession since the Great Depression.” The aftereffects from the recession are still seen today, like an unusually high amount of people that are still unemployed. Well those are some of the people that are unable to qualify for healthcare and are in need of a public option. He explained how the House of Representatives, time and time again, has had to make significant changes to benefit the people of the country. This decision on healthcare should not be made because of individual opinions on the issue, but what is necessary for those in need, and what is needed is to give everybody the equal opportunity to receive healthcare according to Obama.
Obama recognized that this would be the most significant decision involving healthcare since the installment of Medicaid. He declares that, “this is the toughest insurance reforms in history.” With such a major decision at stake, it was vital for the president to get the backing of most of the Democrats because it is not supported by many Republicans.
The main objective in the bill was that, “[the government] is making sure that the system of private insurance works for ordinary families.” Obama’s goal was accomplished on Sunday as the bill was passed through the House, without a single Republican voting the bill through.
For the past couple of years the town of York and the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) have been working in conjunction with each other to find a new location for the York toll plaza. The current toll plaza possesses many problems which hinder its ability to operate to its fullest and safest capacity. Both the town and the MTA have been struggling to find a new location for the plaza for numerous reasons but the one that the townspeople are concerned with the most is that they do not want to displace those living in the proposed locations.
The simplest plan would be to rebuild or renovate the current toll plaza but it was built on wetlands in 1969 when it was legal to do so; laws today prevent construction from being done on wetlands. This is also the main safety issue with the toll plaza; it is sinking at a slow rate and requires constant work to be maintained.
Other deficiencies of the current site are: it is at the bottom of a hill on a curve, it is very close to the exit at mile marker 7, and its location cannot easily be seen in the distance. All of these problems have been taken into consideration when finding locations to put the proposed plaza, and although some have been found, they interfere with the lives of citizens of the town.
Of course the Maine Turnpike Authority possesses the power of eminent domain which is looking to be avoided by the town. Eminent Domain is the government’s right to take land without the owner’s permission but the owner must be reimbursed with a reasonable amount of money. As a result every measure is being taken to find a location that is best for all parties involved.
The project took a big step on February 24, and the preliminary plans have been sent to the Army Corps of Engineers (A.C.E.) with four possible locations for the new plaza. One of the sites, as a formality, is where the current plaza resides, and two other sites would not force anyone out of their homes. A local citizen said, “It’s good to hear that there are options that won’t kick people out of their homes.” Another citizen called it “a relief.”
Now that the plans have been turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers, the MTA has no authority on the matter. “[The town] will try to convince [the Army Corps of Engineers] with its own documentation that the "do nothing" option is the best option” (The York Weekly). This has been the town of York’s opinion on the issue since it was brought up and it does not look to change anytime soon. One citizen says that “it might be beneficial for the town to loosen its stance and negotiate to find the best location. So we at least have some control over our destiny instead of arguing over something that looks unlikely to happen.” This definitely does not speak for the whole community as another citizen believes that “we should not change our position.”
Opinions may be torn but everyone is just looking out for what is best for the town as a major decision should be made over the next year.
For the past couple of years the town of York and the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) have been working in conjunction with each other to find a new location for the York toll plaza. The current toll plaza possesses many problems which hinder its ability to operate at its fullest and safest capacity. Both the town and the MTA have been struggling to find a new location for the plaza for numerous reasons but the one that the townspeople are concerned with the most is that they do not want to displace those living in the proposed locations.
The simplest thought would be to merely rebuild or renovate the current toll plaza but it was built on wetlands in 1969 when it was legal to do so; laws today prevent construction from being done on wetlands. This is also the main safety issue with the toll plaza; it is sinking at a slow rate and requires constant work to be maintained.
Other deficiencies of the current site are: it is on a curve, it is very close to the exit at mile marker 7, it is at the bottom of a hill, and its location cannot easily be seen in the distance. All of these problems have been taken into consideration when finding locations to put the proposed plaza, and although some have been found, they interfere with the lives of citizens of the town.
Of course the Maine Turnpike Authority possesses the power of eminent domain which is looking to be avoided by the town. Eminent Domain is the government’s right to take land without the owner’s permission but the owner must be reimbursed with a reasonable amount of money. As a result every measure is being taken to find a location that is best for all parties involved.
Bangor (ME) - The University of Maine may be 1834 miles away from Haiti, but that won’t stop the Black Bears from finding a way to help out. Last month, an earthquake devastated the small country of Haiti, bringing down homes and businesses as well as killing more than 200,000 people. In an effort to help relieve the country, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has planned a raffle and numerous donation areas at the school’s home hockey game this Saturday against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
The group will hope to draw in a lot of money with a kayak as a grand prize. Raffle tickets are being sold at the entrances for five dollars for the first ticket then one dollar for each following ticket. All of the money raised will go to Haiti’s relief organizations.
The game between the River Hawks (15-13-2) and the Black Bears (14-11-3) will start at 7pm Saturday. It will be the second of the two match-ups the teams play this weekend.
When Gary Lane first got accepted to the University of Maine in January of 2009 he never thought he would become a participant in the University’s Alpine Race Team. He claims that he is “just average” right now, but his performances have steadily increased since the beginning of the season.
Gary started skiing when he was nine years old with the sole expectation of having fun. He is still having fun but now he is doing it as a part of a team. He said, “When the opportunity came, I had to take advantage.” Although his skill level has dramatically improved, little else seemed to change. When he was a young boy growing up in Groveland, Massachusetts, the nearest major ski resorts were about two hours from his house; he is in pretty much the same situation in Orono as far as driving goes.
As well as being a part of the team, he is also a member of the University’s Ski Club, and the Maine Outing Club. Even with all of these different activities, Gary still managed to earn a 3.0 grade-point-average for the first semester of his freshman year.
Gary’s next race will be at 9:30am this Saturday at HermonMountain. It’s just a short drive from campus which will be “a nice change of pace” because his previous races have all been at least an hour away. He’s not too concerned with how well he will do in the race, he said that he was “nervous at first, but [he’s] now becoming more at ease with the pressure”; he also believes that the future is “wide open with possibilities.”
The video that I chose to review was from the Bangor news channel, WVII. It was a clip from the newscast that focused on an 18-year-old that was being charged with murder. There were many unscripted parts of the newscast because the reporters asked the suspect’s friends what there opinions were on his conviction. This made the assignment more difficult but there were still numerous changes that could have been made to the scripted parts of the broadcast.
One of the first things that I noticed in the video was that the reporter used unnecessary words in her story that could have been taken out to make the story more brief. An example of this is when she said “According to a court affidavit, two groups of teens had planned to meet last Wednesday evening to fight. The altercation ended up taking place on Cumberland Street that night.” The word “had” in the first sentence is not necessary nor is “ended up” in the second sentence. I think these two sentences could have been made into one shorter sentence like, “According to a court affidavit, the incident took place during a planned fight between two groups of teens on Cumberland Street, Wednesday night.” I would rather the statement be made this way because it sounds more brief and does not repeat things like the time.
Overall, there were not many errors, or changes that needed to be made to the newscast. The entire clip was done using active voice but if I had been in charge of editing, I would have made the statements more assertive. The reporter seemed to speak with a very “unsure” tone; frequently using terms like, “has been” or “had planned.” If she had taken out the extra words like “has” or “had”, she would have been more convincing, or seem more knowledgeable on the subject.
