It'll all work out

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Yeah, they won't

 

Assembly passes Sen. Gu bill to update green building codes

Another win for Charlestown legislators

On the last night of the legislative session, the General Assembly passed a bill by Sen. Victoria Gu to put Rhode Island on track to become the first state to adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for new and renovated buildings. The codes will include, for the first time, electric readiness.

“This legislation ensures Rhode Island’s buildings are built with the future in mind. Using the latest energy efficiency standards will save consumers and businesses money on their utility bills while helping us meet our emissions targets,” said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown).

The IECC is updated every three years by the International Code Council through a collaborative process with contractors, local governments and industry professionals. But while the IECC was updated in 2021, regulators in Rhode Island are still following the 2018 standards. The 2024 standards are expected to be released this fall.

Spraying Poisons to Kill Backyard Ticks and Mosquitos Has Exploded

But Does It Work?

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News columnist 

Business is booming for mosquito and tick spraying. Companies that specialize in this lucrative practice have been joined by lawn-care enterprises in the dumping, often in a willy-nilly fashion, of ever more chemical pollution.

Mosquito Mary, Mosquito Mike, and Mosquito Joe (I’ve yet to see a Mosquito Frank) are making bank killing insects we depend on to pollinate the food we eat and the flowers we pick. The poisons they spray don’t target just mosquitos and ticks; they can kill indiscriminately, especially when applied improperly.

Market research shows the global mosquito control market was valued at $793 million in 2021 and is projected to reach $1.4 billion by 2027, according to a Georgia-based pest control franchise.

Over 20 million Americans struggle to regain smell and taste after COVID

Much depends on the severity of your COVID

MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients experienced a loss of taste and smell during and after being infected with SARS-CoV-2. 

A retrospective study by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, investigated the loss of olfactory and gustatory senses and estimated that about a quarter of Americans who had COVID-19 reported only partial or no recovery of taste or smell. The results are published in The Laryngoscope.

Pharma Fights to Preserve the Gravy Train

Companies claim constitutional right to cheat

By Philip Mattera, director of the Corporate Research Project in the Dirt Diggers Digest 

Big Pharma has been fleecing its U.S. customers for so long, the industry came to regard it as a right. That arrangement started to come to an end last year, at least as far as one large customer, the federal government, is concerned. 

The Inflation Reduction Act included a provision empowering Medicare to begin negotiating some drug prices in 2026.

One pharmaceutical giant has decided to fight to preserve the gravy train. Merck just filed a lawsuit challenging the law, claiming that the obligation to negotiate is an infringement of its constitutional rights. 

The company argues that its Fifth Amendment protection against government seizure of private property would be violated. It also says that having to sign an agreement reached after negotiation would trample its First Amendment free speech rights.

The Fifth Amendment takings argument is a favorite position of conservatives in opposing all manner of government regulation, but the obligation to negotiate prices is not regulation. 

Lying

 

Uh-oh!

 

Rep. Spears initiatives included in budget

More than one way to get things done 

Rep. Tina Spears is applauding significant funding in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget for programs she championed.

“In my first year as an elected Representative, I brought my experience and energy to deliver results for my constituents,” said Representative Spears (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown, New Shoreham). “I’m proud many of the issues I advocated for are funded by the final budget and will make the lives of Rhode Islanders better. I thank Speaker Shekarchi and my colleagues in the General Assembly for their support and my constituents for their confidence in me.”

Representative Spears introduced several bills to benefit individuals with developmental disabilities. One bill (2023-H 5996) Representative Spears introduced would remove income limits for people with developmental disabilities to qualify for Medicaid. Currently, most individuals with developmental disabilities qualify for Medicaid. But if they earn more than 250% of the federal poverty level or have more than $10,000 in savings, they lose their insurance. That, critics say, disincentivizes work and condemns individuals with disabilities to a life of poverty.

While the bill did not pass, Representative Spears advocated for its inclusion in the budget and was successful.

“This is a huge win for our neighbors with developmental disabilities. No longer do they need to worry about losing health insurance because they have $10,000 saved for retirement,” Representative Spears said.

A second bill Representative Spears introduced (2023-H 5633) would increase the personal needs allowance for individuals with disabilities living in group homes from $20 to $45 per month. That increase was also included in the budget.

Representative Spears, along with fellow South County legislator Sen. Victoria Gu (D-Dist. 38, Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown), introduced legislation (2023-S 0516, 2023-H 6119) to increase Medicaid reimbursements for ambulance services. The budget more than doubles that funding.

Another issue which Representative Spears advocated for was a sliding scale for state benefits. Many individuals who qualify for benefits such as child care assistance, Medicaid or nutritional assistance can be dropped from those benefits if they get a raise or work too much overtime. That so called “benefits cliff” often forces workers to limit their income or hours worked, keeping them in poverty and contributing to short staffing.

Representative Spears introduced a bill (2023-H 5998) to instruct the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to develop a sliding scale so that individuals who make up to 250% of the federal poverty level would have their benefits reduced slowly rather than face a cliff. The bill did not pass, but the budget includes instructions for EOHHS to study the issue and report back to the General Assembly with its findings.

On the subject of environmental protection, Representative Spears served on the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. She introduced a bill (20023-H 6056) to create a Chief Resilience Officer to help municipalities and state departments prepare for climate change. That position was created by executive order and fully funded in the state budget. She also helped create a commission to study how to reduce plastic waste and litter while increasing the state’s recycling rate. The commission will also research how best to implement a so-called “bottle bill.”

“I am really proud of all we were able to get done this year,” said Representative Spears. “From making housing more affordable for people of all income levels to protecting our environment to improving health care delivery, we made significant strides this year on the issues that matter to Rhode Islanders. I look forward to continuing this work.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: When I worked in DC, I had one job where the main task was getting a piece of legislation passed. It was an amendment to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act that would protect wells from damage from underground coal mining. It had NO chance of passing as a free-standing bill, but it was enacted into law as a rider attached to the annual appropriations bill. Sometimes you do whatever you have to do to get the right thing done.      - Will Collette

How chronic stress drives the brain to crave comfort food

Pass the grits

Garvan Institute of Medical Research

When you're stressed, a high-calorie snack may seem like a comforting go-to. But this combination has an unhealthy downside. 

According to Sydney scientists, stress combined with calorie-dense 'comfort' food creates changes in the brain that drive more eating, boost cravings for sweet, highly palatable food and lead to excess weight gain.

A team from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research found that stress overrode the brain's natural response to satiety, leading to non-stop reward signals that promote eating more highly palatable food. This occurred in a part of the brain called the lateral habenula, which when activated usually dampens these reward signals.

"Our findings reveal stress can override a natural brain response that diminishes the pleasure gained from eating -- meaning the brain is continuously rewarded to eat," says Professor Herzog, senior author of the study and Visiting Scientist at the Garvan Institute.

"We showed that chronic stress, combined with a high-calorie diet, can drive more and more food intake as well as a preference for sweet, highly palatable food, thereby promoting weight gain and obesity. This research highlights how crucial a healthy diet is during times of stress."

Supreme Court affirms tribal rights

Supreme Court affirms Congress’s power over Indian affairs, upholds law protecting Native American children

Kirsten Matoy Carlson, Wayne State University

Wiping away tears, Nita Battise, vice chairperson of the tribal
council of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, reacts to
the Supreme Court ruling upholding a law that gives
Native American families priority in adoptions and foster
care placements of tribal children. 
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 law enacted to protect Native American children in the U.S. and strengthen their families, in a June 15, 2023, ruling. 

Tribal leaders praised the decision as upholding the basic constitutional principles governing the relationships among Native nations and the federal government.

Congress originally passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in response to requests from tribal leaders, and other advocates for Native Americans, to stop state governments from removing an alarming number of Native children from their families. 

Before the law took effect, state social welfare agencies were removing between 25% and 35% of all Native American children, and 90% of those removed were sent to be raised by non-Native families.

The Indian Child Welfare Act recognizes the government-to-government relationship Native American nations have with the United States. It covers certain child placements and sets uniform standards for state and tribal courts to follow when they decide American Indian child welfare cases. 

These standards include provisions that ensure that tribal governments are aware of and can have a say in the placement of Native American children. They aim to reduce the trauma of family and tribal separation by instructing courts to make active efforts to keep families together.

In 2017, the state of Texas and non-Natives seeking to adopt or foster Native American children challenged provisions of the law. They argued that the law exceeds Congress’ constitutional powers, impermissibly tells state officials what to do, and illegally discriminates against non-American Indians.

Writing for a 7-2 majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote, “the bottom line is that we reject all of the petitioners’ challenges to the statute.”

As a result of the ruling, Native nations’ most valuable resource – their children – will continue to gain the benefits of growing up knowing their own Indigenous cultures and communities.

Why not try live and let live

Junk Jargon

For more cartoons by Jen Sorenson, CLICK HERE.

There are some who think you can change his mind

 

URI kinesiology researchers seek participants for exercise research

Study aims to capture public’s feelings about physical activity

By Patrick Luce 

Researchers in the University of Rhode Island Department of Kinesiology are seeking participants for a research study that examines psychophysiological responses to visual stimuli portraying different types of physical activities. The study will contribute to the scientific understanding of how people feel about exercising.

The research, which has been approved by the URI Institutional Review Board, is being conducted by Assistant Professor Mark Hartman and his graduate students. They are looking to recruit healthy adults ages 18 to 45 who are fluent in English. The study involves one visit for about 45 minutes to the kinesiology lab located in Independence Square on the Kingston Campus.