| Observe King's holiday
Last week, when most other states' lawmakers observed a holiday in honor of one of the most important civil rights leaders in our nation's history, members of the Utah Legislature convened the annual session. They did nothing wrong under the law by doing so. In fact, the state Constitution tells them when to get together each year. The only problem is that the day mandated by the Constitution happens to correspond with a national holiday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It also falls on a day when we tell our children to stay home from school as part of the observance. Our banks are closed. There is no mail delivery. And city and county offices across the state are closed as well. .
Obesity-surgery bill is pulled for lack of support
The 23-year-old Midvale woman, who now weighs 150 pounds, implored legislators Wednesday to pass a bill requiring insurance companies to cover the surgery for morbidly obese Utahns. Before her operation, she endured sleep apnea, acid reflux, a diseased gall bladder and joint pain.
"Without this tool, I would not be alive today," she said.
But people rallying for the legislation will have to wait until next year.
Sensing the bill would fail to garner enough support, Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, asked a House committee to send his bill back for study this summer. The panel agreed.
Salt Lake City surgeon Steven Simper said the gastric bypass procedures cost less than treating heart attacks, strokes and other health problems related to obesity.
Can acupuncture help? I gave it a try
Not exactly the words you want to hear from the examination bed, but this was my life Wednesday on the Badie Tour. I stopped by Dragon Acupuncture & Herb in Duluth at the invitation of Jessica Lee, a licensed acupuncturist. We met a year or so ago at Donnie's Country Cookin,' a pretty good restaurant off Steve Reynolds Boulevard. Her brother and sister-in-law run it. Lee had told me she was a licensed acupuncturist, and that one day, she'd open her own place. Well, she has. So I paid a visit. She gave me a cursory look-over as soon as I stepped inside Suite 106 - the way I walked, my posture, my skin tone and eyes. For the physical exam, she checked my pulse, my eyes, and squeezed my extremities. By applying pressure to acupuncture points in my left leg, she correctly diagnosed that my right shoulder is a recurring source of pain.
Hurricane To-Do List Still Long, Crist Says: As He OKs Insurance ...
Jan. 26--Gov. Charlie Crist signed a sweeping insurance-reform bill into law Thursday -- but even he agreed there's a lot of work left to be done. "It is just the beginning -- let's understand that," Crist said. "We need to remain vigilant about this issue." The 167-page bill, the product of a seven-day special session, promises property-insurance reductions averaging 22 percent statewide, in return for Florida taxpayers shouldering a greater share of the risk that a catastrophic hurricane will sweep through the state. But lawmakers and the populist-sounding Crist, eager to provide short-term relief to unhappy homeowners, overlooked -- for now -- longer-term proposals to reduce hurricane damage. Absent from the package was any attempt to restrict new coastal development or detailed plans to reward residents who take steps to protect their homes from hurricane damage.
|
