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Best North Riverside household services | Maid Services, Home Repairs Home Snow Removal Service
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Cleaning Services In Tampa FL/ House cleaning services Tampa
http://www.grantsservices.com grantscleaningservices@gmail.com Welcome to Grant #39;s Services Tampa #39;s leading house cleaning service. We go above and beyond your average house cleaning, ...
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Best Chicago Home Snow Removal Maid Services Home Repairs
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TIME History Opinion History Shows How 2 Million Workers Lost Rights Fast food workers, healthcare workers and their supporters march to demand an increase of the minimum wage, in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, 2014 Robyn BeckAFP/Getty Images Home attendants and aides have historically been singled out for denial of basic labor rights
Over the last year, the nation has seen a tumultuous wave of low-wage workers contesting terms of employment that perpetually leave them impoverished and economically insecure. Its a fight in which home-care workersone of the fastest growing labor forceshave long participated, as home attendants and aides have historically been singled out for denial of basic labor rights. Their work is becoming ever more important in our economy, with over 40 million elderly Americans today and baby boomers aging into their 70s and 80s; the demand for such workers is projected to nearly double over the next seven years. And yet, this week a federal judge is likely to put up just the latest obstacle to their receiving the minimum wage and overtime compensation granted to other workers through the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The story of how home-care workers ended up without rights begins in the Great Depression. Home care first originated as a distinct occupation during the New Deal, and evolved after World War II as part of welfare and health policy aimed at developing alternatives to institutionalization of the elderly and people with disabilities. Prior to the mid-1970s, public agencies provided or coordinated homemaker and home-attendant services. Fiscal constraints subsequently led state and local governments to contract home care first to non-profit and later to for-profit agencies. In 1974, Congress extended FLSA wage and hour standards to long-excluded private household workers. A year later, however, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) interpreted the new amendment to exempt home-care workers, even employees of for-profit entities, by misclassifying them as elder companions, akin to babysitters. It provided no explicit reasoning for introducing this new terminology, beyond the need for uniform definitions of domestic service and employer. This exclusion became known as the companionship rule.
The rule was a boon for employers. Amid nursing-home scandals and an emergent disability-rights movement, demand for home-based care burgeoned, but the women actually performing the labor were invisible. A distinct home-health industry began to grow following the 1975 exemption, as the rule freed staffing and home-health agencies from paying minimum wages and overtime. Opening Medicaid and other programs to for-profit providers after 1980 led to a tenfold increase in for-profit agencies during the next half decade. By 2000, for-profit groups employed over 60 per cent of all workers. Today, the home franchise industry is worth $90 billion.
Care workers, however, were never just casual friendly neighbors; even before this expansion, home-care workers were middle-aged, disproportionately African American, female wage earnersneither nurse nor maid, but a combination of both. Despite changes in their title since the 1930s, these workers always performed a combination of bodily care work (bathing, dressing, feeding) and housekeeping necessary to maintain someone at home. They increasingly have become a trained workforce.
With the expansion of the industry, service sector unions and domestic worker associations lobbied to change the companionship rule. Recently, they seemed to have won: After extensive public comment, the DOL issued a new rule in September of 2013, which would have finally included home-care workers under FLSA coverage. The Obama Administration also updated the definition of domestic service to match the job as performed by nearly 2 million workers who belong to one of the fastest growing, but lowest paid, occupations, with median hourly wages under $10. It recognized aid with activities of daily living as care, and care as a form of domestic labor. Whereas companionship services had previously included even those who spent more than 20 hours engaged in care, the new rule narrowed the meaning of companionship to mere fellowship and protection in order to close the loophole that for-profit agencies were deploying to profit by underpaying live-in home attendants. It was to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2015, though enforcement was delayed until June.
Then, in late December, at the urging of for-profit home care franchise operators, led by the Home Care Association of America, Judge Richard J. Leon (a George W. Bush appointee) of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down a key element of the revision. The decision vacated the responsibility of third-party employers (such as home-care businesses) to pay minimum wage and overtime for so-called companionship services. In his opinion, the judge charged the DOL with arrogance, unprecedented authority and a wholesale abrogation of Congresss authority in this area.
A historical perspective suggests otherwise. In the 1970s, Congress never intended to enhance corporate profits by narrowing wage and hour protections; to the contrary, it expanded them. Granted, the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare refused to include within the terms domestic service such activities as babysitting and acting as a companionbut it distinguished teenage sitters and friendly visitors from domestic workers by adding casual to those exempted from labor standards. It explicitly did not refer to regular breadwinners, those responsible for their families. Moreover, the Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed the supposition that where Congressional intent is ambiguous, executive agenciesincluding the DOLhave leeway. In the 2007 case Long Island Care at Home, Ltd. v. Coke, a unanimous Supreme Court commended the expertise of the agency to determine the meaning of undefined phrases like domestic service employment and companionship services.
During oral argument in Coke, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg suggested that the proper way to amend the exemption was either a new rule through the DOL, which is what ended up happening, or legislation. Judge Leon reads back Congressional intent from the fact that legislative fixes have stalled in committee in the years following Coke. But there are many reasons why bills go nowhere in our gridlocked government.
The temporary restraining order from Judge Leon effectively blocked implementation of the new DOL rule in totality, setting off a ripple effect against this primarily female workforce. California, for example, instantly suspended implementation for some 80,000 workers. Then on Jan. 9, he heard oral arguments on whether to strike down the redefinition of the companionship classification. Given his prior decisions, the bet is that his next ruling on Jan. 14 will do so. Continuous litigation is in the offering, as the DOL is likely to appeal his decisions all the way to the Supreme Court.
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History Shows How 2 Million Workers Lost Rights
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THE world premiere of a Malton and Norton Musical Theatres new pantomime, Robin Hood, written by local West End star and former company member, Scott Garnham takes to the stage this weekend.
Directed by John Hall, with musical direction by Mike Thompson, and choreography by Rebecca Neacsu, the production runs at the Milton Rooms, Malton, from January 16 to January 24, with shows at 7.15pm, except Sunday, and matinee performances on both Saturdays at 2.15pm.
Lead roles feature Paula Cook as Robin Hood, Adam Hymas as The Sheriff, Ben Greenhough as Will Scarlet, Margaret Lukey as Terroressa the Wicked, Matthew Hodsman as Willow, Ria Williams as Maid Marion and local panto stalwart Mark Boler in the dame role as Nurse Nelly.
A full company supporting cast of more than 60 includes Neil Paylor, Finn Dalton, Claire Fowler and Graeme Hargreaves, as well as chorus members and junior and senior dancers from Kirkham Henry Performing Arts.
The panto tells the story of children Jack and Jills kidnap, at the hands of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, and subsequent rescue by Robin Hood and his band of Merrymen.
Along the way theres the usual slapstick of panto, good and evil, all accompanied by an extravaganza of music and dance.
Tickets are available from No 1 Health & Beauty, and Fab, and the Milton Rooms booking office in Malton, phone Domestic Heating Services on 01653 694275 or go to http://www.positickets.co.uk
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RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --Bulk TV & Internet (Bulk TV), a leading provider of television solutions to hotels nationwide announces their television partnership with the Hilton Americas-Houston, the largest convention hotel in Houston, Texas. Bulk TV is providing a full residential lineup and interactive channel guide throughout the property's 1200 guestrooms.
"The DIRECTV Residential Experience (DRE) is an outstanding amenity we are now able to provide to our guests," said Jacques D'Rovencourt, hotel manager for the Hilton Americas-Houston."DRE offers the familiar comfort of the same entertainment experience guests receive in their own home, which is in alignment with our goal of making our guests feel like they are at home when staying with us. Additionally, the extensive HD channel selection allows us to differentiate ourselves from other brands."
Located in the heart of downtown, the 24-story Hilton Americas-Houston is known for providing leading edge technological amenities in order to give guests an unparalleled experience. As a complement to the hotel's offerings, DRE offers a robust HD lineup with over 100 channels, a faster interactive programming guide and an anti-microbial, simplified remote. DRE is one of the recent advancements the property has made to enhance the overall guest experience. The hotel is also adding a Starbucks in the east lobby that will be close to 5,000 square feet as well as an onsite UPS Store.
D'Rovencourt adds, "It is imperative for us to select credible partners that offer extensive experience. Partnering with a respected name in the industry such as Bulk TV & Internet was critical to ensure quality and customer satisfaction."
Bulk TV has installed the DIRECTV Residential Experience (DRE) in hundreds of hotels and is the leader in DRE installations nationwide. Based on the company's demonstrated abilities and following an extensive review process, Bulk TV was recently selected by Hilton Worldwide as a Strategic Partner to provide HD services to all Hilton brands at pre-negotiated terms and exclusive rates.
"Hilton Worldwide is known for transforming the guest experience with forward thinking, customized offerings," said James Jessel, vice president of sales, Bulk TV & Internet. "The DIRECTV Residential Experience gives guests the television services they expect at a hotel that is as impressive as Hilton Americas-Houston."
Bulk TV provides DIRECTV programming services to over 4,000 properties in every state and across every hotel brand. Each customized TV solution receives thorough quality assurance throughout every step of the process, which includes engineering, project management, professional installation and 24/7 technical support.
In addition to DRE, Bulk TV also provides centralized headend solutions that enable hotels to provide a customized channel lineup without equipment in the guest rooms. For more information on both solutions, please visit http://www.BulkTV.com or call 877-285-5881.
About Bulk TV & InternetBulk TV & Internet is a leading provider of DIRECTV services designed to meet the unique needs of the hospitality industry. Bulk TV & Internet provides service to upwards of 300,000 rooms nationwide including free-to-guest television programming and digital satellite TV systems. In addition to award-winning television services, Bulk TV also offers high-speed Internet access services and Mitel phone systems. For more information, please visit http://www.BulkTV.com.
About Hilton Americas-Houston Directly connected to the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Hilton Americas-Houston contains the city's largest number of guestrooms, ballrooms, hotel meeting space, and the most technologically advanced services available under one roof. Conveniently situated between Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park, this AAA Four Diamond rated hotel boasts 1,200 luxuriously appointed guestrooms, 91,500 square feet of flexible meeting space, two restaurants, lobby bar, coffee emporium, and full service spa and health club. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.americashouston.hilton.com.
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Bulk TV Transforms In-Room Entertainment at the Hilton Americas-Houston
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The current wastewater disposal system within the United States is flawed, costly and outdated. The core notions of a wastewater treatment plant the fact that we, for lack of a more specific word, dispose of our waste in perfectly treated, drinkable water, is absurd. Additionally, the fact that we use water, an extremely limited resource, to transport our waste is flawed. There is an extreme necessity to challenge the current system of wastewater treatment processes and additionally propose alternatives to said flawed system.
One huge problem introduced via modern wastewater treatment plants is the unnecessary loss of fertilizer feedstock which is what manufacturers to use to convert solid human waste to specific plant fertilizer. The fact that the waste is mixed with water, sent to the wastewater treatment plant and then stripped of the very waste that was put into it is crazy. From here, the treated water is again sent back to the toilets. This is unnecessary and wastes large amounts of energy used to clean the water.
Also, the ability to use the waste as potential fertilizer feedstock is lost. Newer, no-flow toilets dont use any water and therefore allow for the isolation of waste. This isolation of waste allows the implementation of certain fertilizer manufacture. So, the introduction of a waterless system allows for a cheap isolation of waste and paves a path for cheap fertilizer manufacture.
Yet another downfall of the wastewater treatment process is that it treats all water for the best possible case, which in our case is drinking. This means that water sent out of any wastewater treatment plant whether it be for drinking, lawn sprinklers, or even waste disposal is cleaned to a standard necessary for human consumption. This raises a gigantic red flag. We are wasting extreme amounts of energy by cleaning our toilet water to drinking water standards.
The problem here is that the wastewater treatment system doesnt differentiate the final location of the treated water. The current system in place cleans all the water to one acceptable standard because the piping system from the treatment plant to recreational use is imperfect. The piping system transfers all the treated, drinkable water to specific locations.
A recommended solution to this problem would be to introduce a treatment plant that treats certain percentages of water for certain uses. Obviously, drinking water and water for waste-disposal have different standards, and its extremely wasteful to treat water not for its intended use.
Treating certain percentages of water for specific uses is admittedly complicated and expensive. However, the initial cost of implementation would eventually save more money and more energy. An implementation of an idea this grand would also take time. What should be done is small-scale tweaks to the current piping and wastewater treatment frameworks.
A good place to start would be to introduce a subset to traditional wastewater treatment plants a treatment option that cleanses water to both drinking and waste-disposal standards. This will save the wastewater treatment plant energy (and ultimately money) as they arent over-treating a certain percentage of their water. From here, the differently treated water would be separately transported to the necessary locations and then distributed to the necessary locations. The water treated for waste disposal would be sent to each house and then subsequently distributed to the toilets. The drinking water, once at the house, would be sent to the sinks, faucets, etc. This implementation is a feasible engineering task, and would introduce a system with substantially reduced energy consumption.
The post-industrial revolution population boom necessitated a smarter and more efficient way of transporting and disposing waste. The solution to this problem was the wastewater treatment plant. One may find it strange, however, that we are still making tweaks to a system that was created almost 200 years ago. Maybe we are looking at the concept of waste negatively, when it should be viewed as a potential feedstock. Maybe we are crazy for using such a very limited resource water to help dispose of our waste. Maybe the entire framework of a wastewater treatment plant is wrong and outdated. Although this may not be true, it is still obvious that there are apparent problems with our current system.
BRENT LUND can be reached at brlund@ucdavis.edu
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Sustainability in the Built Environment: The Downfalls of Our Current Wastewater Treatment System
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A different approach to chronic pain -
January 15, 2015 by
Mr HomeBuilder
DEPICTING CHRONIC PAIN: Chronic pain is the subject of the upcoming movie, Cake, starring Jennifer Aniston.
Chronic pain affects more people than cancer, diabetes, heart attack and stroke combined. It's estimated there are more than 100 million sufferers in the United States, costing the nation as much as $NZ816 billion a year in medical treatment and lost productivity.
Nearly one in five New Zealand adults experience chronic pain, according to the New Zealand Health Survey's 2013/14 findings. The survey found rates of chronic pain increase with age, affecting around a third of adults aged 75 and over.
The condition is even the focus of an upcoming movie, Cake, starring Jennifer Anniston as a woman struggling with chronic pain.
Chronic pain can be devastating, and a challenge to treat. As a mental health counsellor, I have seen it damage productive lives and tear families apart.
Pain sufferers often are misdiagnosed, misunderstood and miserable. Their friends and family can become worn out from listening to complaints. Their identities may be significantly altered because they cannot engage in activities they once enjoyed. Doctors get frustrated by the inability to provide a cure.
I have worked with people who had full, rich lives as corporate leaders, mothers, athletes and professors before their chronic pain. However, by the time I saw them they were isolated, over-medicated and depressed, and they believed their life was devoid of meaning.
Read more: No snake-oil quick fix can cure my pain
A DIFFERENT APPROACH CAN HELP
The good news is that chronic pain is treatable with the right blend of approaches. The traditional healing model take medications, rest, get better doesn't work with this illness. But there are ways to reduce pain and rebuild yourself.
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A different approach to chronic pain
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BRADENTON --
A dog named Bear who was rescued from a burning home last weekend by firefighters with the Bradenton Fire Department has been reunited with his owners.
The German shepherd was found unconscious with labored breathing at a fire at 6:55 p.m. Saturday in a home in the 600 block of 32nd Street
Bear is now back with his loved ones, who have been waiting for days for his return from an animal clinic.
On Saturday night, Bradenton firefighters arrived at the 32nd Street home. They discovered flames and smoke coming from the home. Bear was still inside.
Firefighters were able to rescue Bear and give him oxygen on the front lawn. Bear has been at an animal clinic for treatment since the fire.
Owner Robert Fischbach said the dog shakes and is a little out of it but overall, he is doing better.
By the looks of things he seems to be getting better, so we want to remain hopeful. And its awesome just to have him back, he said.
The Fischbachs will be able to move back into their home eventually. However, the fire caused about $15,000 in damage.
So far, Bears vet bills are around $1,200.
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Dog rescued from fire reunited with owners
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You could, but not while you're pregnant and feeling crazy.
Dear Polly,
Since the age of 13 my mother and I haven't gotten along. As a small child I got plenty of love and support from her. I distinctly remember how jarring it was as a teenager when all of a sudden we were fighting constantly.
At first my mom took me to see therapist after therapist, who, one after the other, would tell her that she herself would really benefit from therapy (and then we'd move on to the next one). We had the same fights as any family, but ours seemed to escalate to new dimensions never imagined by my friends and their families. The first time I left home was over not mowing the lawn one week. Then I ran away again after she stole my diary and we had to call the police to settle our domestic dispute. I left at midnight on my 18th birthday to go to college, and promptly self-destructed. Several years later after making a plan to get myself together, my mom welcomed me back into her home while I finished school and worked. I got married to my best friend right after I graduated and moved to NYC, where I've had an amazing career for the past five years.
It seems like my mom and I have been on the road to recovery since then, but lately I've been doubting how much of this is real. The fantasy of having an endearing, stable, and respectful relationship with her might be manipulating my emotions. While I'm immensely proud of the life I've strung together for myself, my mom always has reservations about my accomplishments. We talk on the phone once every two months, but it's mostly about her interests or her gossip, and I usually shove in ten minutes of what I've been doing so I can fish for compliments. We email and I have to write very concrete sentences that won't be misinterpreted and lead to an argument. Her emails are the opposite of this; I am disrespected and made to feel childish and nave.
Lately my therapist and I have been working on the idea that my mom is not capable of being emotionally supportive, and that I'll likely never have the relationship with her that I want. I crave a mom I can talk with about lady stuff and share stories and get advice. I'm only now accepting that isn't in the cards with my mom, and that's not her fault or mine.
And then I got pregnant. My mother-in-law was so thrilled. My mom was less than thrilled. She wanted to know why I wasn't paying off my student loans instead, how I expect to live in a fourth-story walk-up both pregnant and as a new mom, and what if the Crohn's disease medication that my husband is taking hurts the baby?Well, (a) I am paying them off, (b) that's just how we do it in NYC and everyone on my floor has a very small child, and (c) we know it won't because we talked with his doctor and are you really asking if we'd have an abortion?
It is filling me with overwhelming rage thinking about her flinging this bullshit at me and my family. I'm not sure if it's the hormones or what, but I feel the need to protect myself and my child from her. I've been thinking about just ending this relationship altogether. I feel like she has nothing constructive to offer me and my family, and will only bring an onslaught of negative bullshit. My husband agrees with me, and is terrified of her. She works in child protective services, and he's afraid she'll use her position to lodge a complaint against us as parents if we piss her off or she perceives that we're not taking good care of the baby. I don't disagree with him, but I'm not good at anticipating her next move.
All the logical equations in my brain point to think about the best interests of your family" there's my therapist "and get out of this now," but the other part is thinking single mother, gave up everything to raise you, be a good daughter and stop being pregnant and crazy." What do I do? Is that voice just the part that wants the supportive fantasy mom? Is my logical brain thinking in the best interests of my family, or just overreacting?
Can I kick my mom out of my life?
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Ask Polly: Can I Kick My Mom Out of My Life?
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