Category: Opinion

There’s always time to stop smoking

… time until she stopped trying. You’re giving up your hard-earned money to literally burn away. You’re giving up your health, your ability to feel good, to live without (extra) pain, to be able to walk for five minutes without feeling like you’re …

An invitation to engage in alcohol policy

… the many benefits alcohol provides as an important sector to the economy and the serious threats it causes to public health and safety. For these reasons, we can all agree that alcohol should be reasonably regulated. Title 4 statutes regulate the …

Female genital mutilation

… and medical standpoints, there is little difference between male and female circumcisions. In May 2016, the World Health Organization in collaboration with Unicef launched the evidence-based research and guidelines, highlighting the best available …

Will anyone be better off with Trumpcare?

The American Health Care Act, the bill Republicans released this week to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, is a public health disaster. It is also a potential political disaster for the Republican Party and appears already to be dead on arrival.

Sunday Essay: A common language

IN EARLY August 1974, a group of eight women led by Elvira Shatayev reached the summit of Lenin Peak, which reaches 7,134 meters into the skies between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. While at the top, they set up camp to wait for a blizzard to die down, but eventually tried to descend after the snowstorm had beaten down their tents.

Owners of unvaccinated dogs advised to avoid Chesnut Park

Owners of unvaccinated dogs are advised to temporarily avoid bringing pets to Chesnut Park in Palm Harbor after the discovery of canine distemper virus in a raccoon prompts vaccination reminder. As a precautionary measure, Pinellas County Animal Services is advising pet owners to refrain from bringing puppies, senior dogs, unvaccinated dogs or dogs that may have compromised immune systems to John Chesnut Sr. Park, 2200 East Lake Road in Palm Harbor, until further notice.

Questioning othersa choices adds to divide

… their wealthy donors. This divide was brought to light again this past week during a discussion about the American Health Care Act, the Republicans’ proposed replacement for the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act. During an interview on CNN, …

Spreading germs around

… out sick, it’s no good for your employer’s bottom line. The company should promote workplace cleanliness and employee health, perhaps by sending out a companywide memo with tips on how not to spread illness. If Dana keeps up her germ-factory ways, I …

BC Views: Fake news and the blood system

… wimpier spotted owl cousins. The other fake news protest was a more serious matter. An outfit calling itself the B.C. Health Coalition brought two “survivors” of blood transfusions to warn of the danger posed by a “pay-for-plasma” company that wants …

PM wise to break reform promise

Before the last federal general election in 2015, Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party promised electoral reform should they be elected. Indeed, one of the first statements Trudeau made after being sworn in as prime minister was to declare that the election of 2015 would be the last to use “first past the post.”

Judd Gregg: The three percent solution

Since three of these four men are either native or adopted New Yorkers – Mulvaney, a South Carolinian, is the exception – they probably know of a bridge in Brooklyn they can sell that allows them to do all this without significantly affecting the nation’s debt. Mnuchin told CNBC in his first extensive interview that it was the administration’s intent to use dynamic scoring.

Fostering foster care

Foster care for abused, neglected and dependent children is in a “state of crisis” in North Carolina, according to state officials and others studying the issue. Ideally, foster care finds good homes on a temporary basis for youngsters and teens who cannot live with their own families for a variety of reasons – homelessness, parent illness or alcohol and drug abuse.

Repeal and replace Obamacare? With what?

… Care Act proposal. The Affordable Care Act was a public option that applied only to the working poor unable to afford health insurance. Like Social Security, modest premiums would have been payroll deducted, and health care would have been …

Pyles to address church seminar

Photo courtesy of Wyatt’s Chapel Baptist Church Anzetta Pyles, Executive Director for the Union County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, will address Wyatt’s Chapel Baptist Church’s Harvest Rally on Saturday, March 18. She will be speaking on substance abuse prevention and treatment. Wyatt’s Chapel plans to conduct a seminar on substance abuse and mental health.

New budget chief tackles Rubik’s cube of spending

The dyspeptic Henry Adams was not nice but not wrong when he described what now is named the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, as an “architectural infant asylum.” The granite pile, which once housed the State, War and Navy departments, was, Harry Truman said, “the greatest monstrosity in America.”

Trump talks big, but making it happen is another thing

Like most presidential presentations, Donald Trump’s initial venture into the soaring chamber of the House of Representatives looked and sounded good, producing some positive reactions that could expand the embattled president’s short-term support. Trump’s hour-long address made solving massive national problems sound possible, from creating a more vibrant economy to revamping and expanding health care, if only both parties follow his lead.

Mental health parity best first step in reform

Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, has been the champion of mental health in Texas, and by filing HB 10 last month, he put action behind his words. If passed, HB 10 would help ease worries about the looming Affordable Care Act repeal and begin a smart strategy to fix the state’s antiquated mental healthcare system.

All Oregonians need access to dentists

Research shows a connection between oral health and overall health, yet the author argues that more work needs to be done to ensure that low-income and Native American communities in Oregon have access to a dentist. Oregon’s legislators will grapple with many important health and wellness issues in 2017.

All Oregonians need access to dentists

Research shows a connection between oral health and overall health, yet the author argues that more work needs to be done to ensure that low-income and Native American communities in Oregon have access to a dentist. Oregon’s legislators will grapple with many important health and wellness issues in 2017.