FREE SPEECH ZONE | Group praises Pawlenty for cutting funds for disabled, protecting the wealthy!

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Minnesotans for Personal Responsibility applauds Governor Pawlenty for keeping his no new taxes pledge and cutting discretionary funds for adults with disabilities by 25%! Adults with disabilities who live in group homes will have their discretionary money cut to $89/month in Pawlenty’s budget, down from $121 – $129/month. All individuals should be more personally responsible!! The Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. Continue Reading

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

Disabled are “unfairly” targeted by state budget cuts, advocates say

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Nikki Villavicencio was born with a rare joint disorder known as arthrogryposis. It has rendered her hands largely dysfunctional and caused her to rely on an electric wheelchair to get around. Despite these hurdles, Villavicencio (pictured) earned a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Wisconsin and is currently serving an internship at the Phalen Clinic on St. Paul’s East Side. To remain as active as possible, Villavicencio relies on six hours of daily assistance from personal care attendants. Continue Reading

Governor No: Line item vetos and unallotment / Cop pleads guilty / Beware the borer / more

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Governor No No new taxes. No special session. No compromise. That’s essentially the message that Governor Pawlenty delivered with $400 million in line item vetoes and a threat that he will balance the budget by unallotment if the legislature does not agree to his terms. Rachel Stassen Berger’s PiPress blog describes who gets hit by the biggest line item veto:In signing the Health and Human Services bill the Legislature sent him, he slashed $381 million in funding for General Assistance Medical Care, a health insurance program for adult Minnesotans who don’t have health insurance but may not be eligible or may not yet be approved for other subsidized health care programs. Health insurance through GAMC is only available to folks who make $650 a month, about $7,800 a year, or less. Many covered under GAMC are homeless. Continue Reading

Waiting for the veto / “Independent” contractors / Playing to lose / more

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Passed, passed, passed and waiting The legislature passed a number of bills yesterday, and the stack on T-Paw’s desk continues to grow. Will he sign or will he veto? Only the governor knows for sure. Among the bills awaiting decision:
• Flat funding for P-12 schools and cuts for higher ed. Minnesota Miracle and expanded Q-Comp both lose out. Continue Reading

‘Just in case’ scenario now in place

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Viewed as a “just in case” scenario by some and others as a “let’s give up bill,” the so-called lights-on bill to keep government operating if there is no budget agreement passed the House 88-46.
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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

Mounds View conundrum: Parents value teachers while state cuts mean layoffs

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Mounds View Public Schools recently conducted a survey of parents in its district and the results are unsurprising: Parents value quality teachers. What might be surprising to parents is this information: Next year, Mounds View will employ fewer teachers, raise activity fees, freeze administrative salaries and allow vacant positions to go unfilled. Because of declining enrollment and a continuing drop in state investment, the district will cut 6.4 teachers and five non-teaching staff members. The district will cut $820,000 in supplies and other services and will raise activity fees by $10. Mounds View spokesman Colin Sokolowski said enrollment has been dropping steadily for years and forced the closure of two schools in 2005. 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

OPINION | Pawlenty fishy on White Bear Lake

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Just before 6 a.m. Saturday morning pirates invaded my house. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was staging a flashy fishing opener just hours after vetoing a nuts and bolts state budget. I offered my White Bear Lake dock and pontoon for the protest. Before I finished making coffee, Ross and Greg had hung banners on the gunwales. Roger stowed his kites while fifth-grader Eric waved around a plastic hook hand and practiced saying “arrrgghh.” Bjoin’s pirate get-up inspired me to don a top hat. Continue Reading