MDA will put $10 to good use

Editor:

I made my showbiz debut way back when I was 5 years old, singing one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"

I'm humming that tune in my head as I write this. But times have changed, as anybody who's bought a gallon of gas lately knows. So nowadays I'm singing, "Brother, Can You Spare a Ten?"

Why should you give me $10? Because that money will go a lot farther with me than it will in your car, believe me.

My MDA Labor Day Telethon will turn your $10 into lifesaving research, medical clinics, wheelchairs, support groups, summer camp for kids - in short, your $10 will bring help and hope to thousands of people affected by muscular dystrophy and related diseases. Just try getting that kind of satisfaction at the gas pump.

The good news about muscle disease - the news I'm going to be spreading across the land this Labor Day weekend - is this: We can do something about it. Now. You and me.

Research progress is picking up speed at an ever-increasing pace. Scientists are making headway on therapies and cures for diseases that have devastated families for centuries. One of the most notable examples is the 2006 approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the enzyme replacement therapy Myozyme for children with Pompe disease. You want proof that Muscular Dystrophy Association-supported research is a good investment? How about this: Children are alive today who would not be here without this treatment.

The hot news this year is Duchenne muscular dystrophy research. DMD, which is caused by a lack of the protein dystrophin, often snuffs out lives in young adulthood. But two promising therapies currently being developed by MDA-supported scientists basically trick flawed genes into producing usable dystrophin. More dystrophin, more muscle strength - and hopefully more years in which young men with DMD can enjoy their lives.

These are the sorts of rewards Telethon dollars reap - and it's only the beginning. Spine-tingling progress is being made in many of the 40-plus diseases covered by MDA.

Every Labor Day weekend for more than four decades, I've asked the American public to help me raise one dollar more than we raised the year before for MDA and the good work it does. We've brought out singers, comedians, family members, dancing bears - all to capture your attention and say, "Hey! Your pledge will make a big difference in the lives of my kids!"

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making that difference. The research progress, the emotional, medical and financial support for people coping with these diseases - none of that would be possible without the ongoing generosity of people like you.

So buddy, can you spare a ten? I promise you I'll put it to good use. And instead of driving someplace and using up all that gas this Labor Day weekend, stay home, pull up a chair and join me on the Telethon. Together, we just might make another miracle.

The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon begins at 8 p.m. today on KGBT-TV, Channel 4.

Jerry Lewis

National chairman

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Tucson, Ariz.

Via the Internet

Charter review spurs questions

Editor:

Proposed changes to the City Charter under consideration by the city administration raises a considerable amount of questions as to the reasoning given in the article in The Herald. Reading through the 14 propositions being considered and cross-referencing them to the City Charter, it looks like the controls currently in place are to be removed so the tax-paying public will have limited to no control on the City Commission.

This will give them the freedom to set their own pay scale, give themselves benefits, i.e.., insurance, medical coverage including family members, telephone and gasoline accounts which are not audited. Why the request to change volunteers appointed to city boards that currently are non-compensated positions to compensated positions? If the positions are filled with citizens trying to assist in city government without additional cost to the city, why change it?

To increase the size of the PUB board from six to seven and to allow the mayor to vote will not solve internal disputes the current board now experiences. Changing the requirements of owning property within the city and not having any outstanding debt owed to PUB is also unacceptable.

Our City Commission has skirted around the infrastructure problem for years, the public is still carrying the load for the contractors because of the reluctance of the commission to do its job and pass legislation placing the burden on the people benefiting from not paying the impact fees.

The rush for the City Commission to annex every parcel of adjacent land to try and build a supplemental tax base backfired because they did not do their homework. It has placed the city in a situation that could lead to the dissolution of PUB because they couldn't raise sufficient funds to cover the state requirements to provide services mandated by law.

PUB cannot provide to all the homes that have been annexed because they are not within the licensing area filed for at the time PUB was established as a municipal utilities provider.

This past hurricane was an example of how severe power loss will become due to fragmentation of the distribution of power from other providers that were not within the city limits that existed when PUB was formed.

My concern is that all these attempts by the commission to reorganize are placing a burden on a municipal utility that is only a partial service provider. It adds unnecessary expense on those who cannot be served by that utility. The operating costs are passed on to all who are in the area that the city has annexed.

Brownsville has a unique situation; the largest employers in the city are 1) BISD; 2) UTB-TSC; and 3) Cameron County. The city is No. 7.

According to the city we have about 15 major employers in our city including the ones listed. It is apparent that a majority of the taxes paid by the citizens pays for the operation of these four employers.

I have tried to find the ratio of people employed by non-city, county and school districts to self-employed and other employment sources. I have a feeling that the ratio would be about 48 percent city, county to the private sector of 52 percent, including those who receive city aid. This means that every private sector employee supports someone from the governing sector.

These are suppositions that should be considered by the public when they are confronted with the decision of what our City Commission is asking to vote for.

Finally, the Open Meetings Act should be adhered to and meetings posted with enough time for the public to be able to prepare themselves to respond accordingly.

William De La O

Brownsville

Corsi's book not credible

Editor:

Jerome Corsi uses bogus, deceptive research: "Obama Nation" contains the same old rehashed lies people have used to attack Barack Obama for years along with factual errors on subjects ranging from the year of the Obamas' wedding to African citizenship laws.

The media treat Corsi as if he were a serious scholar despite easily disproved deceptions: the media have uncritically accepted claims from Corsi and his publisher that his newest hit book represents real research. He needs to be confronted with his manipulations of reality and questionable sources.

This book is no more credible than any of Corsi's other crackpot manifestos: these debunked attacks on Obama come from the same man who wrote books alleging that George Bush is trying to dissolve our borders with Mexico and Canada, that oil is inexhaustible, and that the government caused the Twin Towers to fall on 9/11.

Corsi is so bigoted that even other right-wing hatchet men can't stand him: the other slime artists pushing Swift Boat smears in 2004 kicked Corsi off their publicity tour because of his history of public religious intolerance and bigotry.

Robert Paredes

Brownsville

Via the Internet

Immunizations prevent sickness and save money, but are harder to access

Editor:

As school begins, many Texas children are just now learning that their immunization records are not complete. The annual late summer immunization scramble has begun. Unfortunately, this appears to be a particularly challenging year to vaccinate thousands of children. While that might be good news for kids nervous about getting their shots, it reflects a troubling trend in efforts to protect the health of the Texas public.

Immunizations save money. Vaccine-preventable diseases are expensive and difficult to treat. The fewer people with these awful afflictions, the less money taxpayers and insurance companies - and we as consumers - have to pay for their care. Many of these preventable diseases also kill people - particularly the very young and the medically frail.

Reducing disease cuts health care costs. One might think that the logic of investing a tiny amount of money upfront and reaping the financial reward of long-term health later speaks for itself. Wrong. Insurance company reimbursements for vaccines and their administration do not cover the cost of vaccines and their administration, so many doctors lose money when they immunize children.

A troubling public health trend is emerging as more and more private doctors - the ones who take the insurance that most middle-class families have through their jobs - simply cannot afford to offer immunizations.

Pediatricians tend to be very nice people. So, when they are spitting mad, you know something big is going down. Because pediatricians do care about our children, they and parents are resorting to desperate tactics to cut costs and ensure that children get the immunizations they need.

During recent stops on an immunization listening tour, I have heard stories of patients referred to clinics in Mexico for basic immunizations. While Mexicans are rightly proud of their health care infrastructure, it is telling that American doctors are forced to outsource their patients' health care across the border.

A more common strategy is the referral of immunization patients to community health clinics - often run by nonprofits with public support or by cities and counties themselves. As a result, already-stretched health clinics are forced to redirect resources to meet growing demand for immunization services.

Local United Ways, the faith community, and other supporters of community-based health care have reported growing stress on the health safety net with the downturn in the economy. The last thing clinics need is yet another expense.

The outsourcing of immunizations is a direct contradiction of recent efforts by the Texas Legislature to facilitate the creation of "medical homes." The research is clear. Patients do better when they receive preventive and consistent care, ideally with the same doctor. It is hard for doctors to appear fully invested if they are referring a patient to a distant clinic. Concerns about immunization access will only increase as new vaccines come onto the market for adolescents and adults.

Because almost all the health insurance offered in Texas is also offered in other states, federal law precludes Texas from waving a magic legislative wand and requiring insurance companies to cover basic immunizations. Plus, pharmaceuticals of all kinds are costly and only getting more and more expensive for all consumers - including doctors and the public sector.

However, there is way for all Texans to come out ahead. Our Legislature could help doctors cut their costs for providing immunizations by harnessing the power of the market and creating a universal purchasing agreement with pharmaceutical companies. Think Costco or Sam's Club for shots. Doctors get critical vaccines at a lower price, kids get their immunizations, the general public stays healthy.

The state could also agree to compensate immunization providers at a higher rate, stimulating insurance companies to do the same.

The least we can do for our kids and the health of the community is to make the administration of vaccines a break-even proposition for doctors. We know that - like other smart, upfront investments such as high quality pre-kindergarten and dropout prevention - immunizations build healthy futures and save money in the short- and long-terms. As a state, Texas has no choice but to heed this knowledge and protect our wallets and our health in the process.

"Vaccinating our children should be an integral part of our state's health care strategy," says Traci Wickett, President and CEO, United Way of Southern Cameron County, "It's a simple and cost-effective way to dramatically improve our community's overall health."

Jason Sabo

Senior vice president

United Ways of Texas

Austin

Via the Internet

Understanding our local workforce

Wikipedia calls Labor Day the symbolic end of the summer for most Americans.

Despite Texas' hot climate, outdoor activities start slowing down or shutting down, like community pools, amusement parks and campgrounds. Hundreds of hard-working high school and college students are back in academia. Many of us, depending on our professions, get the day off.

While most of us value time off from work, what we value more is the ability to be a contributing member of society.

Employment is at the crux of a community's economic vitality, especially higher-wage jobs. But higher-end professions are harder to find in South Texas than most other regions of the state, and this contributes to an outmigration of educated young adults who take their needed skills with them.

According to a recent Texas Comptroller report, South Texas' job growth will outpace the state's through 2012, partly from the region's rapidly growing population that has exceeded the state average since 2002.

State Demographer Karl Eschbach reports that Cameron County's population estimate for January 2007 is 395,161, a 17.9 percent increase from 2000 to 2007. For the same period, Hidalgo County's population is estimated at 723,433, a 27 percent increase, and Willacy's population of 20,987 shows a 4.5 percent increase.

Kenedy and Kleberg counties experienced a decrease of 4.1 percent with populations of 397 and 30,256, respectively. It is well documented that smaller counties with fewer employment and education opportunities suffer even more from the exodus of young workers. The International Relations and Trade Committee I chair is addressing these problems and seeking legislative solutions.

Projections for 2002 to 2012 indicate a 38.5 percent employment growth for the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan statistical area, and a 23 percent employment growth for the Brownsville-Harlingen MSA, slightly below the state's average of 25 percent.

While this outlook sounds promising, we must remember that the area's lack of education and occupation skills training means lower-paying positions for many. The Texas Workforce Commission lists the median hourly wage as $13.21 for South Texas, compared to the statewide average of $18.25. Annual earnings per local worker average $31,506, compared to the statewide average of $49,004. Improving higher education attainment, expanding job skills training and reducing dropout rates are the tools that will enable us to reach statewide averages.

While we continue to see new job growth in some areas, we're still plagued by higher unemployment. In July 2008, unemployment was 6 percent nationally and 5 percent statewide. Ours are still an unacceptable 7 percent for Cameron, 9.3 percent for Willacy and 7.7 percent for Hidalgo.

As a region, we must encourage local and outside job creation. This holiday, I want to recognize the thousands of South Texans with the entrepreneurial spirit that has resulted in job creation and a boost to our economy. From the Mom and Pop shop owners to big business executives, every entrepreneur contributes to either direct or indirect job growth, so I encourage this spirit in our area.

Estimates by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., a state contractor with TWC, show that 18,347 new jobs were created between January 2007 and January 2008 in Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy counties. This represents a 4.3 percent increase in new jobs.

EMSI projects that between 2008 and 2015, 78,100 new jobs will be created in South Texas. With a young workforce, we will need these offerings and more. Currently, 87,050 South Texans are between the ages of 25 and 29 years (44 percent of the population), and by 2015 that age group is projected to rise to 95,004.

Our school children of today will be the workforce of tomorrow, so this Labor Day, I thank those in public and higher education for preparing so many young minds to enter the labor force.

I also thank our military men and women who safeguard the American dream of better job opportunities than those of the previous generation.

To every South Texan who works hard to better our community, my family and I wish them a happy and safe Labor Day!

Eddie Lucio Jr. represents Texas Senate District 27, which includes Cameron County.