Sunday, July 13, 2008

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages

Fannie and Freddie of effectively buying off activist groups by making charitable contributions to them. By providing much-needed grant money to the nonprofit groups, it made it hard for them to criticize the mortgage titans, said Jonathan GS Koppell, an associate professor at the Yale School of Management

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Malden Government registered voters

GOVERNMENT

Municipal Offices
Main Number: (781) 397-7116
Telephone Numbers for Public Information

Form of Government
Mayor-Council
Year Incorporated
As a town: 1649
As a city: 1882
Registered Voters (Secretary of State 1994)

Number %
Total Registered 25,319


Democrats 12,853 50.8 %
Republicans 1,793 7.1 %
Other parties 2 0.0 %
Unenrolled Voters 10,671 42.1 %
Legislators
Senators and Representatives by City and Town

Firing bad teachers

Firing bad teachers may seem like a rather obvious solution, but it requires some gumption to take on a teachers union. And cleaning house isn't necessarily the only answer. There are three basic ways to improve a school's faculty: take greater care in selecting good teachers upfront, throw out the bad ones who are already teaching, and provide training to make current teachers better. In theory, the first two should have more or less the same effect, and it might seem preferable to focus on never hiring unpromising instructors—once entrenched, it's nearly impossible in most places to remove teachers from their union-protected jobs. But that's assuming we're good at predicting who will teach well in the first place.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Caring for America Elders‏
From: Howard McGowan (maldensenior@gmail.com)
Sent: Wed 4/16/08 7:51 PM
To: Malden asst to Mayor Debbie Burke (dburke@cityofmalden.org); Pam Edwards (topamedwards@hotmail.com)
Cc: Hcmgowan@hotmail.com

I hope you have looked over the Geriatric Center material that I left with you. This information plus a worksheet have been furnished to all the City Councilors (Now they don't need to "be in the dark" need more information etc.
When I was at the Statehouse for "Senior Action Day{ I was able to talk to M Festa the Secretary of Elder Affairs after he informed the assembled that he was funnelling money directly to the council on aging for general support of the Senior Centers and a travel program for Seniors. I invited him to the Senior Center when it opens to let him know we are getting the church ready. I cleared it with Chis DePietro on return
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE THE MAYOR as soon as the dust clears on the city hall issue. MSAC have some Senior issues to discuss regarding the Senior Center and their concerns. Hope we have your support!
We need better service from the non-profits charged with serving Malden
Here is what is happening on the national level.:
1. Sen. Boxer Introduces Health and Long-Term Care Workforce Bill
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 2708, the Caring for an Aging America Act, on March 5. The bill would address the emerging gap between the increasing number of older Americans and the serious lack of providers trained in caring for their medical, health, and social support needs. NCOA supports the proposal.
The bill would provide $130 million over five years to recruit and retain trained healthcare professionals and direct-care workers by providing them with loan forgiveness and career advancement opportunities. Specifically, the legislation would:
• Establish a Geriatric and Gerontology Loan Repayment Program for health professionals who complete specialty training in geriatrics or gerontology and agree to provide full-time clinical practice and service to older adults for a minimum of two years.
• Expand eligibility for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program to include registered nurses who complete specialty training and provide nursing services to older adults in long-term care settings.
• Offer specialty training in long-term care services through the existing Career Ladders Grants Program.
• Create a Health and Long-Term Care Workforce Advisory Panel for an Aging America to identify incentives for recruitment and retention of new populations of clinicians and providers to serve vulnerable older adults

Howard McGowan
349 Pleasant Street
Malden Ma 02148
781 324 8076