Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt remains in the leadership ranks in the U.S. House of Representatives. Blunt has been re-elected Majority Whip for the upcoming session of Congress that begins in January. Blunt was first sent to Congress in 1996 and was elected Majority Whip by his Republican colleagues two years ago. Blunt remains the third-ranking member of the House leadership behind Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.
Missouri Hospitals Issue Quality Of Care Report
November 16, 2004 By
Missouri hospitals have released the second in a series of public reports on the quality of care to patients. This semi-annual report shows how often hospitals throughout the state provided currently recommend care for the three most common health problems affecting the largest patient populations treated in hospitals: heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia. Missouri Hospital Association President Marc Smith says the hospitals pass with flying colors. 83 hospitals provided data for this report. Another nine have pledged to take part in future statewide reports. Fourteen others have submitted the same data as part of a national quality reporting initiative.
Health Officials Hope CDC Smoking Stats Encourage Missourians To Butt Out
November 16, 2004 By
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate Missouri is among the leading states in the nation in terms of tobacco use. And, officials at the State Health Department want to use those statistics to encourage Missourians to either quit the habit or never start in the first place. Janet Wilson, Chief of the Department’s Health Promotion Unit, says increased tobacco taxes might help cut down on the number of people lighting up. CDC figures list three states with the highest rates of adult smoking: Kentucky at 30.8 percent, West Virginia at 27.4 percent, followed by Missouri at 27.3 percent.
Ethics Commission Rejects Complaints Against Blunt
November 16, 2004 By
The State Ethics Commission says Governor-elect Matt Blunt did not use state money for political purposes when he ran get-out-the-vote advertisements in newspapers – with his picture in the ads. About $48,000 worth of ads were run in almost 300 newspapers throughout the state just days before the primary election in August. Four of Blunt’s opponents in the Republican Primary and a supporter of Democrat Claire McCaskill filed the complaints with the Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission has ruled taxpayer funds were not used to support a candidate in that ad.
School District Considers Year-Round Classes
November 16, 2004 By
A school district in St. Louis County is considering going where no Missouri school district is going. Riverview Gardens officials are floating the idea of holding classes year-around. The State Education Department’s Carl Seitz says no district is doing that now – although one St. Charles County district has some buildings that are year-around operations. Seitz says school boards can decided to go with a year-round school operation but sometimes they have to face a hostile public when they do.
