Veto forecast / Charter school in trouble / New car rules / more

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Even without the legislature in session, the forecast for Minnesota is high winds and lots of heat today.T-Paw QOTD “The legislators are gone away and they are not coming back.”Health care, bullying, transportation More end-of-session news: Pawlenty plan is recipe for massive job losses from Workday Minnesota, and Pawlenty talks unallotment, veto plans from Session Daily. Getting down to specifics:Health care The governor’s cuts come amid a “hellish week for hospitals,” says MnIndy, reporting on staffing cuts across the state in large and small, public and private hospitals. The Strib reports that many people are cutting back on health care, waiting until they are very sick before seeing doctors, leaving prescriptions unfilled, and skipping routine screenings, such as Pap smears. Transportation In the single bright spot, MN 2020 reports that Minnesota moved forward on transportation in this session. Elections bill Although the legislature watered down the elections bill, leaving out provisions sought by both DFL and GOP legislators, the governor will still veto it, reports MinnPost. Continue Reading

Closing the door to college / Five days, a billion dollars / No blood on the gun / more

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I’m on the road, so this blog post is short and late — I hope tomorrow will be earlier and longer. Closing the door to college Minnesota has had a proud tradition of higher education and of making higher education available to its residents. That may be ending, reports MinnPost:Tuition is rising faster in Minnesota than in most other states. It has doubled since 1999 at the U of M. .. Meanwhile, state spending for higher education has stuck flat for years in some areas and dropped by double digits in others. Continue Reading

Fishing season and veto season open / Franken v. Coleman / Someting rotten / Aung San Suu Kyi ill / War news / more

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GOOD NEWS And that’s worth going to the top of the report – Roxana Saberi is due to be freed and flown home today, after an Iranian court suspended the eight-year sentence previously imposed on the North Dakota journalist. Fishing season and veto season From cocoa bean mulch canine health warnings to the billion dollar tax plan, T-Paw wielded the veto pen before heading off to the fishing opener Saturday morning. As the PiPress succinctly notes:
Pawlenty and the Legislature have eight days to balance the budget by the May 18 constitutional deadline. If they fail to get done on time, he could call them back into special session. And if they don’t finish by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the nonessential parts of state government will shut down. Continue Reading