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TexasTowelie's JournalNavy signs $15.2 billion deal for 2 new aircraft carriers to be built in Newport News
The Navy on Thursday signed a deal for the bulk purchase of two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, a move that will reportedly save $4 billion over the long term and boost the fortunes of Newport News Shipbuilding.
The $15.2 billion agreement allows construction to proceed on the future USS Enterprise, now undergoing advance work at the shipyard, and an as-yet-unnamed carrier known as CVN-81.
The ships are the third and the fourth of the Gerald R. Ford class. The ships are scheduled to be delivered in 2028 and 2032.
The deal advances the Navys goal of a larger and more lethal fleet, saves taxpayer money and stabilizes the shipbuilding industry, said James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition.
Read more: https://pilotonline.com/business/defense-shipyards/article_50a830fa-257b-11e9-9ef4-07c1b7b4d46e.html
Union Bank & Trust rebranding as Atlantic Union Bank
RICHMOND Union Bankshares Corp., which has rapidly grown to become the largest financial institution based in Virginia, plans to undergo a rebranding.
The Richmond-based parent company of Union Bank & Trust wants to change its corporate name to Atlantic Union Bankshares and its operating bank subsidiary as Atlantic Union Bank new monikers to better reflect its geographic expansion in recent years.
The bank announced the name rebranding Friday when it said it had completed its $500 million all-stock acquisition of Reston-based Access National Corp. The deal strengthens Unions presence in Northern Virginia.
The company plans to operate under the Atlantic Union brand starting in May, subject to shareholders and other regulatory approvals.
Read more: https://www.roanoke.com/business/news/union-bank-trust-rebranding-as-atlantic-union-bank/article_741f536a-c7a5-51c8-ae7f-cb8966f1bd6a.html
Farm Fresh agrees to pay $1 million to settle allegations its pharmacies kept bad records
Farm Fresh will pay $1 million to settle allegations levied by the federal government its pharmacies failed to keep proper records while dispensing controlled substances, according to a news release.
The abuse of prescription drugs is one of the most alarming and critical issues we face today, G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement about the settlement with FF Acquisition.
He stressed the importance of the government's record-keeping requirements, explaining they help combat "every manner of the opioid crises affecting Virginia."
Representatives for Supervalu, which owned Farm Fresh until May 2018, and United Natural Foods Inc. which bought all of Supervalu in October 2018, said the company didn't have any additional comment.
Read more: https://www.dailypress.com/business/tidewater/dp-nws-farm-fresh-records-settlement-0130-story.html
Mexican president launches ambitious forestry, orchard plan
MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched an ambitious forestry program Friday to plant fruit and timber trees, as well as cacao and coffee, on nearly 1.5 million acres (570,000 hectares) in the country's south.
The government program will pay farmers a wage of about $250 per month to care for plots averaging about 6 acres (2.5 hectares).
Lopez Obrador returned to his roots in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, where he began his public-service career in the 1970s helping obtain land for Chontal Indians.
"This is where we started the struggle, visiting towns and hamlets many years ago," Lopez Obrador said. "But now you see the fight was not in vain, with the suffering of many we decided to create real change."
Read more: https://www.fredericksburg.com/news/news-wire/mexican-president-launches-ambitious-forestry-orchard-plan/article_99043e24-86a0-56d6-9e34-6c53cf208ba7.html
Democrats are headed to Texas to probe suspected voter suppression
WASHINGTON -- Democrats trying to restore a landmark voting rights law are going on offense in Texas next week where Republican election officials are engaged in an effort to stamp out what they call a widespread problem of voter fraud.
Ohio Democrat Marcia Fudge, who chairs a Congressional panel on elections, will host representatives from the NAACP and the Texas Civil Rights Project in Brownsville Monday to begin compiling an official record of states attempts to suppress voting. Rep. Marc Veasey will attend along with other Texas Democrats.
In 2019, laws that are intended to purposely discriminate, hinder, and prohibit the right of Americans to vote are more prevalent than ever, Veasey said. The purpose of this event is to spark voter engagement, teach our children about our countrys history of voter suppression and about civil rights history in Brownsville that many arent aware of. These kinds of events will encourage the next generation to get registered so they can have a voice in the direction of this country.
Fudges committee has hearings planned in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ohio and North Dakota aimed at gathering evidence to support repairing and reauthorizing the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Read more here: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article225292530.html
Google to occupy 35-story office tower in downtown Austin
Google Inc. has signed a lease for an entire 35-story tower that has started construction just east of the Central Library in downtown Austin, according to a commercial real estate source with knowledge of the deal.
Google declined to comment on the transaction, or on what it means for the companys plans for its Austin operations. As of this past August, Google had more than 800 employees in Austin.
Austin-area brokers and Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce officials say the lease deal would seem to signal a major commitment to the Austin market by Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, which is one of the worlds largest companies.
Google is a major player in our corporate community and an engaged community leader; we are pleased to see how they continue to grow, Charisse Bodisch, the chambers senior vice president of economic development, said in emailed statement. The expansions of our existing businesses reinforces commitment to our community and continues to indicate we have a vibrant economy.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190131/source-google-to-occupy-35-story-office-tower-in-downtown-austin
Mental hospital accused of holding Texas patients against their will has filed for bankruptcy
A North Texas mental health institution with hospitals in Garland, Fort Worth and Arlington has filed for bankruptcy months after being indicted in a criminal case over illegally detaining patients.
Sundance Behavioral Healthcare System filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday. The system faces 20 charges of violating state mental health codes after being indicted in November and December.
In December, Sundance stopped accepting patients at its hospitals and voluntarily brought its patient count to zero, its attorneys said.
The corporation announced that it had surrendered its license on Dec. 21 to the state. Attorneys said the hospital could not financially sustain its services in light of the court proceedings.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/02/01/north-texas-mental-hospital-facing-criminal-charges-files-bankruptcy
Former Harris Co. Treasurer Orlando Sanchez files $1M lawsuit against man who poured water on him
HOUSTON Former Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez (R) is suing the man who dumped water on him during a news conference in December 2018.
Sanchez wants more than $1 million in damages, according to documents filed in the Harris County 151st District Court.
The protester, identified in the civil lawsuit as Steve Striever, was upset because Sanchez wanted the State of Texas to take over Houston public schools.
The incident happened during a press conference across from Houston ISDs headquarters.
Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/former-harris-co-treasurer-orlando-sanchez-files-1m-lawsuit-against-man-who-poured-water-on-him/285-540d5cca-70c8-45c0-a2b2-87de03db4b70
What damage was done that would justify a $1M lawsuit? This is the type of litigation that tort reform was supposed to eliminate.
Cooper administration takes a welcome stand on Medicaid expansion
There was another strong and promising statement from the Cooper administration yesterday on the vital importance of enacting Medicaid expansion legislation ASAP. as Lynn Bonner of Raleighs News & Observer reports:
Medicaid expansion would allow more low-income adults to qualify for health insurance, with the federal government picking up most of the cost. Democrats say that expansion would help 500,000 adults in North Carolina get health coverage. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that expansion would help 339,000 people in the state.
Good for Lilley and his boss. As was noted in this weeks edition of the Weekly Briefing:
North Carolina has gone for half of a decade now in the national backwaters stubbornly refusing to take action that the overwhelming majority of states, under political leaders from both major political parties, have taken. This inaction has, quite literally, cost thousands of human lives and tens of billions of dollars that could have been injected into the states economy.
Lets hope GOP leadership finally sees the errors of their past ways on this vital matter and soon.
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2019/01/31/cooper-administration-takes-a-welcome-stand-on-medicaid-expansion/
(no more at link)
Lawsuits Accuse Duke University of Concealing Child Sex Abuse at Its Camp for Chronically Ill Kids
Every July for nearly forty years, Duke University offered children and teenagers with chronic illnessescancer, asthma, lupus, heart diseasea chance to do a normal-kid thing that, for them, had seemed out of reach.
They could go to summer camp.
Most sleep-away camps couldnt accommodate them. Counselors didnt have the right training. Facilities didnt have the right equipment. So they were forced to miss out on formative experiences that their peers took for granted.
In 1979, three Duke employeesa physician, social worker, and play therapistset out to change that. The university rented a Girl Scouts campground overlooking Kerr Lake in Henderson, about an hours drive northeast of Durham. Kids between the ages of seven and sixteen who were being treated at Duke University Childrens Hospital could spend a week there free of charge, their stays funded by donations. Camp Kaleidoscope lasted three weeks, each week dedicated to a different age group. Duke residents, students, social workers, child life specialists, and other employees served as counselors and staff.
More than a thousand children attended Camp K, as it was known, over the next thirty-eight years, many of them repeat campers. For some, it was their first time away from home. They played sports and learned to swim, did arts and crafts and were entertained by magicians. By all accounts, Camp K was beloved.
Read more: https://indyweek.com/news/longform/exclusive-duke-university-camp-kaleidoscope-lawsuit-child-sexual-assault/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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