St. Cloud Personal Injury Lawyer - Pawlenty

There Are Far Too Many Bullies In School

Mike Bryant — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:48:00 GMT

I've written before about the school assault bill that got passed on the last day of the legislative session, but was later vetoed. It was the anti-bullying bill. It's intent was to add sexual orientation and physical appearance to the sorts of bullying not allowed in schools.

With the veto the Governor did say that he would direct Department of Education Alice Seagren to review the existing anti-bullying policy and to contact school districts to ensure they are meeting the requirements of the current law, which was implemented in 2005.

The Minneapolis Tribune recently had a real life story that is heartbreaking. Their 12 year old son:

an honor student who faced merciless teasing on the school bus, came home on the afternoon of Feb. 8, 2006, went into the family's barn and hanged himself.

Numbers from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs suggest that something needs to change. In Minnesota, there were 73 cases of hate crimes committed in 2008, a 48 percent increase. There was a 185 percent increase in the number of incidents involving violence, and a 20 percent increase in the number of incidents involving more than one assailant.

The Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey, was published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that:

More than 60% of youngsters had either direct or indirect exposure to violence within the past year
Nearly half the children surveyed were assaulted at least once in the past year, and more than one in 10 were injured as a result.
Nearly one-quarter of the children were the victim of a robbery, vandalism, or theft.
About 10% were victims of maltreatment (including physical and emotional abuse, neglect or a family abduction), and one in 16 were victimized sexually.

There is a debate as to if these increased numbers are due to better reporting, but the numbers are so big, it is imperative that this issue be revisited this next session.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Bully Attacks On The Increase While New Law Is Vetoed

Mike Bryant — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:30:00 GMT

The last day of the legislative session, I was over at the capitol watching a couple of bills. A bill that came up, which I didn't know much about, was the anti-bullying bill. It's intent was to add sexual orientation and physical appearance to the sorts of bullying not allowed in schools. Listening to the debate, it seemed to center more upon whether it was needed beyond existing law more than anything else.

Unfortunately, Governor Pawlenty vetoed it. He did say in his veto letter that he would direct Department of Education Alice Seagren to review the existing anti-bullying policy and to contact school districts to ensure they are meeting the requirements of the current law, which was implemented in 2005.

Hopefully, the debate and the review will make people more aware. Recent numbers from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs suggest that something needs to change. In Minnesota, there were 73 cases of hate crimes committed in 2008, a 48-percent increase. There was a 185-percent increase in the number of incidents involving violence, and a 20-percent increase in the number of incidents involving more than one assailant. This could in part be due to better reporting, but it needs to be revisited with the next session.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Loss Of The Political Contribution Refund Is Unequal Reverse Taxation

Mike Bryant — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:21:56 GMT

Part of Governor Pawlenty's unallotmant plan, was the removal of the political contribution refund program. Each individual received a $50.00 refund and a married joint filing couple $100.00 refund each year. You would get a certification of your contribution, fill out the paperwork and about 6 weeks later get your check back.

It was a big enough complication that everyone didn't do it, but for cash poor candidates and for the Independent party it was their life blood. It was an easy way to get people who normally wouldn't give to help with the effort. My guess is that it will disproportionately knock the poor and low income people out of contributing.

It's been interesting to see all of the candidates trying to capitalize on the remaining time to still get contributions. Even Pawlenty's own party was sending out the "hurry before June Th" letters. I don't blame them for raising money how they can, but it does seem a little contrary to their overall stated beliefs.

It was a program that helped ordinary people give to the candidates they supported. Too bad it is being cut. But, the big contributors won't care, that may be why it got chosen.

Time is running out, so get your contributions in, if you want to get the refund.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Budget Crises What It Could Mean For Our Roads

Mike Bryant — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:42:00 GMT

The recent budget announcement from the Governor Tim Pawlenty was met with a number of skeptical responses, but one of the responses was especially concerning for all drivers:

"We'll be plowing streets every other blizzard'' is how Wadena mayor Wayne Wolden put it.

It wasn't clear if he was kidding.

Wolden did point out that when his city was hit by a snowstorm on a recent weekend, no streets were plowed until Monday.

"We are not paying overtime,'' he explained.

There's been all sorts of discussion that cuts to local governments (purposed at 25% in the governors budget) will lead to reduced municipal and county jobs. Less police, fireman, road workers, and plow drivers. All of these would be vital losses for Minnesotan drivers.

It's clear that the money has got to come from somewhere, but when the Governor comes to the table with his hands already tied by old campaign promises, there really is no real negotiation. Minnesota has always been great at clearing the roads, in part because of a lot of practice, but also because it's important. It's one thing to read about southern states shutting down with a inch of snow, we simply can't have that happen here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant