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The Republican Party committees are circulating figures showing that poverty among women has risen during Obama's time in office, while women's average wages have dropped.
They say they are targeting older women, who are more likely to vote Republican than younger women, in part by highlighting cuts to Medicare Advantage plans that the Obama administration proposed and then reversed under pressure. They say they will continue to press the case that the health law has increased costs for ...
"It feels to us like the White House and Democrats are making decisions on legislation and messaging priorities based on the fact that they have to talk about anything but Obamacare to appeal to their depressed base," said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.
Obama cites the Affordable Care Act as an example of improved gender equality. "Tens of millions of womenare now guaranteed free preventive care like mammograms and contraceptive care, and the days when you could be charged more just for being a woman are over for good," he said in his weekly address this weekend.
Obama has promoted women's economic issues at White House events and in recent trips to Florida and Michigan, tightly contested states.
He embraced six original Rosie the Riveters — women who took on traditionally male jobs during World War II — on a recent White House visit, and holds them up as an example of equal pay for equal work. He held the first White House event on combating campus sexual assault.
The White House plans a June summit on economic issues facing working families, with a series of regional meetings leading up to it. Administration officials and Cabinet members plan to host business school deans at the White House to talk about workplace policies that could even the playing field for women.
Aides say the president will focus more in the coming weeks on workplace flexibility and the need for child care, including universal prekindergarten.
Neil Newhouse, pollster for Mitt Romney's Republican presidential campaign in 2012, helps conduct nonpartisan focus groups of moms who shop at Walmart. He said the Democrats' performance this year depends entirely on their ability to turn out critical groups of voters, including women, who sided with Obama in 2012.
"All the work we've done with Walmart moms is that these women feel abandoned by Washington, abandoned by their political leaders. This eight-year plus recession has drained them emotionally and financially, and they don't look to Washington any more for help," Newhouse said. "The voters who are most motivated right no...
Isabella County Emergency Operations Center announced that initial estimates of the cost of flood damage were at least $87 million across Isabella County.
The estimates takes into account damage to public property, private property, and local agriculture like crops and farmland. As the initial estimate was delivered on a time crunch, before many in-depth damage assessments could be made, the total cost could end up being higher, said Isabella County Administrator Margare...
"It's a dynamic number, because people are still reporting damage," said McAvoy. "We update (the number) all the time as we get more information, but that's the number that we're working off of."
Now that the initial damage assessments have been completed, governor Rick Snyder has requested that a second wave of FEMA-trained teams to come to Isabella County for further assessments.
McAvoy said even after the second round of FEMA assessment, the estimates still won't be finished for the cost of replacing roads that were damaged or destroyed by the flooding.
Staples' conference call was full of information regarding its turnaround efforts. Here are some highlights.
Office supply company Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) managed to beat analyst estimates when it last reported earnings, but the results were somewhat of a mixed bag. Strength in some areas was overshadowed by continuing weakness in retail, and the numbers alone paint an incomplete picture of the company's turnaround effort. Here...
We grew sales in North American Commercial 3%, that was our fastest growth rate in three years. This was supported by the investments we're making to evolve our selling model, to accelerate growth beyond office supplies and to enhance the customer experience on our websites.
One of Staples' three segments is North American Commercial, which is comprised of Staples' business-to-business operation. During the second quarter, this segment accounted for 38% of sales and nearly all of Staples' adjusted operating profit. Commercial is the most important part of Staples' business, and Staples has...
Staples has expanded the scope of products it sells to its commercial clients over the past few years in an effort to diversify away from office supplies, and the results have been encouraging. The facilities category, which is comprised of products like janitorial and breakroom supplies, is now a $1 billion annual bus...
Staples' strategy is to become a one-stop shop for businesses by expanding into categories beyond office supplies, and so far, it seems to be working.
We also saw accelerating growth in Staples.com, with sales up 8% during Q2 that was driven by marketplace sales that were in line with our expectations and increase in business customer acquisition and improved customer service or customer conversion driven by improvements we've made to our desktop and mobile websites....
Staples has been increasingly focusing on its e-commerce business, revamping its websites and adding hundreds of thousands of new products. Staples also acquired technology start-up Runa last year, which allows the company to dynamically adjust its online prices and generate personalized offers to ensure it's competiti...
Along with these efforts, Staples launched nationally in July the ability for customers to buy online and pick up in store, and Sargent hinted that the capability for Staples to ship online orders directly out of stores may be a future initiative. In short, Staples is getting increasingly serious about accelerating onl...
We downsized and relocated 8 stores to our 12,000 square feet format during the second quarter. We now have 40 of these stores, which continue to retain over 95% of sales.
Along with planning to close around 225 stores by the end of next year, Staples has been experimenting with converting some stores into a smaller format. A total of 40 stores have now been downsized to 12,000 square feet, far smaller than the typical 18,000 to 24,000 square-foot stores, and Staples' has been able to re...
We're in the early stages of dramatically changing our supply chain operating model, and we're developing a lower-cost operating model in our North American retail stores to offset the negative impact of lower sales per store. We're on track to eliminate at least $250 million of annualized cost in 2014, and we're pursu...
Staples has been working to slash costs as demand for core office products has weakened, and so far, the company has managed to eliminate $150 million in annualized costs, with a goal of $250 million by the end of this year and at least $500 million by the end of 2015. Some of these cost cuts have been reinvested into ...
Over time, Staples expects all of these cuts to flow through to the bottom line, but investments in key initiatives over the next couple of years will eat up some of the cost savings.
Ink and toner, core office supplies and paper declined year over year, and we continue to drive growth in copy and print services and facilities breakroom supplies. During the second quarter, we completed the remerchandising of our U.S. stores with an expanded assortment categories beyond office products, our wider off...
Along with adding new products to the commercial and online businesses, Staples has been remerchandising its stores. Certain categories are growing rapidly, and services like copy and print grew in the mid-single digits during the second quarter. Staples has also added kiosks to its stores that allow customers to brows...
The challenge for Staples will be getting the word out that it's no longer just a seller of office supplies, and that will take time. Staples launched the "Make More Happen" advertising campaign earlier this year, but investors will need to wait a few more quarters to see if the retail stores begin to recover.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is offering residents some advice to avoid black bear encounters now that spring is here and the bears begin to come out of hibernation.
Bear populations will be looking around for food now that they have woken up, according to DEC Regional Wildlife Manager Mike Wasilco. Black bears will tend to wander into populated areas if there is food available for them, usually heightening around April and May.
The number one thing residents can do is make sure there is nothing around their property the bears may find appetizing.
Wasilco said the bears don’t usually come after pets unless it feels it's being threatened.
“The bear will defend itself from a dog that’s going after it, but generally they’re going to kind of ignore cats and dogs and pets,” he said.
If a bear does come in one’s yard, a lot of noise will usually be enough to scare it off. But sometimes, assistance from police or the DEC is needed if the bear doesn’t want to budge.
The DEC will host a meeting at Frederick Carder Elementary School at 6 p.m. Wednesday on how to avoid nuisance bear encounters.
For more information on black bear encounters, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/94710.html.
Should the next Green Bay mayor get a $44,000 raise? Committee will take up question this week.
A rundown of notable news out of Green Bay City Hall this coming week.
GREEN BAY - This week could set in motion major changes to city governance.
First, officials will consider giving the next Green Bay mayor a $44,000 raise.
And second, a panel will discuss whether rules requiring City Council members to behave civilly should be changed or abandoned.
Whoever wins the Green Bay mayoral election next year could also get a big bump in pay.
City officials on Tuesday are scheduled to consider Alderwoman Barbara Dorff's proposal to increase the mayor's salary by at least $44,000 over the next four years.
Under the proposal, the mayor's current salary of $82,535 would increae $11,000 annually between 2019 and 2022, topping out at $126,535.
The mayor could also receive whatever annual pay increase the city provides to general municipal employees.
Dorff said the raise would provide more equitable compensation for the mayor compared to some city department heads and other mayors around the state.
A city analysis found that among other mayors in Wisconsin, Green Bay's mayor receives the eighth-largest salary in the state, even though Green Bay is the third-largest city.
The mayor's salary was last increased in 2010.
"We want someone to run for office not just, of course, for the salary, but that certainly might affect someone who couldn't afford to run for office if they're taking a pay cut," Dorff said. "Mainly it's just trying to be fair."
Mayor Jim Schmitt has said he doesn't plan to run again, although he still could. He is expected to make a final decision by October.
The city's Personnel Committee will discuss the mayor's salary on Tuesday, immediately following the 4:30 p.m. Finance Committee meeting at City Hall, 100 N. Jefferson St.
Alderman Chris Wery has asked the city to review the council's code of conduct and ethics policy because of "constitutional concerns."
The request, which includes the possibility of changing or removing the rules, comes after former Alderman Guy Zima and his lawyer claimed the code of conduct violates elected officials' First Amendment rights.
The code of conduct requires council members to treat each other, city employees and members of the public with respect, while those found to have violated the policy can be sanctioned.
Dorff filed a code of conduct complaint against Zima earlier this year, alleging that he mistreated city workers, officials and members of the public.
The city's Ethics Board recommended not pursing the complaint after Brian Johnson beat Zima in the April election, but the City Council has since asked the panel to take up the complaint.
Zima said he wanted a determination on whether he violated the code of conduct to resolve the allegations.
The City Council enacted the code of conduct in 2015. Zima, who was one of two aldermen to vote against the measure, had ripped up copies of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence and said he'd ask the attorney general to opine on the policy.
"This whole thing is a joke," Zima said at the time. "It’s an affront to freedom of speech."
The city's Protection and Welfare Committee will discuss Wery's request Monday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
At present, a mere 2% of over 1.47 lakh patients suffering from multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in India are currently getting Bedaquiline – a newer drug which is safer and more effective.
Despite benefits of the drug, its high price remains a significant barrier for the government to make it available to all the patients enrolled with it.
NEW DELHI: New Delhi: In a move that may boost chances of patients access to ‘priority’ anti-TB drug Bedaquiline, two tuberculosis survivors have filed a patent challenge at the Mumbai Patent Office against Johnson & Johnson’s application to extend the patent on the drug for another four years.
At present, a mere 2% of over 1.47 lakh patients suffering from multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in India are currently getting Bedaquiline – a newer drug which is safer and more effective. Despite benefits of the drug, its high price remains a significant barrier for the government to make it available to al...
In order to prevent the company from extending its monopoly on the patented drug and ensure it is made affordable and accessible, TB survivors, Nandita Venkatesan from Mumbai and Phumeza Tisile from South Africa, have filed a patent challenge at the Mumbai Patent Office against J&J’s application.
This is significant also because currently 10,000 courses of Bedaquiline have been committed to India for free by J&J through US AID. Of this, 6,750 have already been donated and the programme is set to end in 2019. In the absence of low-priced generic options, the government may have to shell out a hefty sum to sustai...
J&J maintains the patent application in question will not prevent generic drug makers from developing the raw material for the drug in their own formulations after 2023, when the existing patent expires.
"The application was first considered by the Indian Patent Office in 2012 and remains under review. A formulation patent would not prevent generic manufacturers from developing the active pharmaceutical ingredient in their own formulations after July 2023," a J&J spokesperson said.
Public health advocacy groups like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors without Borders) have extended support to Venkatesan and Phumeza, who have both survived drug-resistant TB, but lost their hearing because of the toxicity of the treatment in the absence of Bedaquiline.
Studies show Bedaquiline is safer and more effective than the injectibles which caused side-effects to Venkatesan, Phumeza and many other such patients.
“I lost my hearing when I was 24 because of the brutal side-effect of an injected DR-TB drug. With this patent challenge, we want that the drug should be available to more number of patients. We know that the uptake of the drug has been slow and at a time when the coverage should be expanded, an extended patent protect...
The J&J patent application being challenged is for the salt form of Bedaquiline, which does not merit patenting under India’s patent law, the MSF said in a note. This strategy of ‘patent ever-greening’ by filing additional, often unmerited patents, is commonly used by corporations to extend monopolies on their drugs be...
WHO guidelines for TB treatment recommends Bedaquiline for all MDR-TB patients. However, as per Indian treatment protocol, only patients with fluoroquinolone resistance, which is around 30,000 patients, are eligible to receive Bedaquiline under national TB programme. Even then, only around 3,000 patients are currently ...
“Preventing this patent barrier is expected to encourage TB drug manufacturers from India to enter the market with generics and supply Bedaquiline at lower prices to national TB programmes and TB care providers globally,” says Leena Menghaney, South Asia head for MSF.
Young fans who can't just "Let it Go" will have new Anna and Elsa adventures to follow.
Let's call it Frozen 360: Movies, stage shows, a hit soundtrack, live-action appearances on ABC and now books.
Random House announced that it is publishing a Frozen chapter-book series aimed at young readers that will continue the story from the 2013 hit Disney movie, which has grossed more than $1 billion at the box office.
Anna & Elsa #1: All Hail the Queen and its sequel, Anna & Elsa #2: Memory and Magic, will go on sale Jan. 6, 2015. The first two stories will add more detail to the Frozen world and follow Anna and Elsa as they get to know each other as sisters.
Two more books will follow later in the year. Random House plans to publish three or four books a year going forward.
The books will be written by Erica David, who has penned licensed books spun off from How to Train Your Dragon, Legend of Korra and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Random House children's division president Barbara Marcus compared the new Frozen series to the company's popular Never Girls series, which is set in Disney's Neverland.
"We have seen our Disney Never Girls series fill a real niche in the chapter book market, and with the momentum for Frozen only continuing to grow, we knew this was the perfect focus for this new series."
Burton Albion's first ever season as a Championship club helped them make a pre-tax profit of almost £1.35m.
The Brewers' record profits were for the financial year from April 2016 to the end of March 2017 and include most of the 2016-17 season.
Burton avoided relegation, while the rewards of playing in England's second tier saw them make £1,344,038.
"We're in a good position, with a solid base to make strategic investments," said chairman Ben Robinson.
"Having survived relegation, the club needed to be in a strong financial position for our second season in the Championship.
"For a club of our size competing against former European champions, and in a division where the vast majority of clubs have been in the Premier League and some still receive parachute payments, it's not a level playing field.
"Therefore, it was important to maximise resources."
A judge ruled Thursday that Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order removing Scott Israel as Broward County sheriff was consistent with the Florida Constitution.
FORT LAUDERDALE — A Florida sheriff who was suspended after the Parkland school shooting is appealing a judge's decision to dismiss his lawsuit challenging his suspension.
No Chain. A well presented two bedroom house which has been sympathetically updated by the current owner. Including a fabulous first floor bathroom and a remodelled kitchen. The kitchen was once a lean to and now developed with building consent approved into a quaint kitchen. There's a good size lounge/diner, utility r...
Hallway Feature stain glass window, ceramic tiled floor and door way to the utility room.
Utility Room6' x 5'5" (1.83m x 1.65m). Space and plumbing for washing machine, space for a fridge freezer, ceramic tiled floor and window to the rear.
Lounge13'5" x 11'9" (4.1m x 3.58m). Having a feature herring bone wood floor, log burner, a double radiator, understairs storage cupboard and sash window to the front elevation.
Kitchen8'1" x 7' (2.46m x 2.13m). Having a built in oven, two ring hob, Belfast sink, window and door to the rear elevation. Slate floor.

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