January 28, 2012

You are here: Home / 2009 / Archives for December 2009

Lickliter says return of Tucker is still uncertain

December 30, 2009 By

Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter is not sure when sophomore guard Anthony Tucker will return to Iowa City. Tucker pleaded guilty to a charge of public intoxication earlier this week, his second alcohol related charge in a little more than a year.

Lickliter says he has talked with Tucker and his family and says they are still working through and evaluating things to be sure they make the right moves. Tucker has been suspended from the team and Lickliter says he is not sure when he may rejoin the squad.

Lickliter says he will make sure he covers everything according to the university policy and then he will decide as a coach if he will add onto that.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

State says it’s having success in Medicaid recovery cases

December 30, 2009 By

Officials with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals say they’re cracking down on the loss of some state dollars that sometimes occurs when a patient goes into a nursing home. A patient about to go on Medicaid may sell a home or other property to a family member for less than fair market value, or even transfer it free of charge.

The Department’s Steve Mandernach says investigators are finding those cases, and the state is billing the family for the full value of the home to help cover the Medicaid bill — which he says has lead to “a dramatic increase in recovered money.” “Because we’ve put a bigger emphasis on those assets that have been essentially given away for less than fair market value,” Mandernach says.

Mandernach believes there’s more potential cases out there to investigate. Mandernach says, “It’s a pretty efficient recovery process, It’s just having enough people to go out and investigate every potential transfer, which is something we don’t have at this point. ” He says they hit the ones that appear to be the largest.

Five investigators recovered close to two million dollars last year. Based on one of the recommendation from a consultant’s efficiency report, Governor Culver will ask state lawmakers to fund seven more investigators.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government

State offering extra help to those who want to quit smoking

December 30, 2009 By
cigarette

cigarette

Iowans who are vowing to quit smoking when 2010 arrives will be able to get a little extra help from the state’s smoking cessation program. Bonnie Mapes, director of the Iowa Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control, says it starts with a call to the toll-free phone number.

“Quitline Iowa offers, all year long, a free two-week supply of either nicotine patches, nicotine gum or lozenges,” Mapes says.

“For the month of January, when a lot of people make their New Year’s resolutions and try really hard to quit, we’re going to be offering a free four-week supply, just for the month.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Ottumwa hotel evacuated over carbon monoxide

December 30, 2009 By

A Fairfield Inn hotel was evacuated this morning in Ottumwa. Authorities say it happened after a child became sick in the pool area and other guests reported feeling ill.

The Ottumwa Fire Department was called to the scene to test the air with a gas monitor. Fire Captain Kerry McDonald says the reading found dangerous levels of carbon monoxide poisoning in the pool area. Hotel guests were evacuated to the lobby while all three floors of the building were ventilated.

Ambulance crews responded to the hotel but no one was transported to the hospital. McDonald said everyone was “pretty lucky” and the situation could’ve turned out a lot worse. The high carbon monoxide levels were caused by a problem with the unit used to heat the hotel’s pool and spa.

Mike Buchanan, KBIZ, Ottumwa

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Appeals court throws out sex abuse conviction for lack of speedy trial

December 30, 2009 By

The Iowa Court of Appeals has thrown out the sexual abuse convictions of a man saying his right to a speedy trial was violated. Earl Denson Mosley Junior was charged with two counts of second and one count of third-degree sexual abuse in Black Hawk County in 2004 for incidents with a young girl.

Mosley waived his right to a speedy trial and was later found guilty. The Iowa Court of Appeals then reversed the convictions because the district court had allowed inadmissible evidence of his prior record, and a new trial was set for May of 2008. Prosecutors in the second trial requested a delay as a witness was unavailable and the trial was subsequently delayed three more times.

Mosley’s attorney objected to the delays, but prosecutors said Mosley had already waived his right to a speedy trial. Mosley, who is 48, was convicted of all three charges in the second trial. Mosley appealed the second conviction, saying the trial had begun after the 90 days required for a speedy trial.

The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled the original waiver of a speedy trial applied to Mosley’s first trial, which proceeded to conclusion. The court said once the case was remanded for a new trial, a new time frame began, and Mosley’s speedy trial rights were violated. The court says the fact the delay was only eight days does not render the violation harmless and, the charges against Mosley must be dismissed. The state has the option to ask the Supreme Court to review the case.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Grassley says president should call a terrorist a terrorist

December 30, 2009 By

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says “no American should be satisfied” with the current state of security in our country’s airports. Grassley, a Republican, says the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day has revealed yet more looming challenges to our nation’s anti-terrorism policies and efforts to police the skies.

“There is a problem that exists, a loophole that’s not fully closed, between our various agencies of the federal government that are supposed to keep a lookout for terrorists,” Grassley says. “It seems to me that those loopholes have to be closed.” He says it’s clear there’s a lack of communication between the CIA and other key government agencies that are supposed to be keeping us safe from terrorism. On a semantic level, Grassley says he’s upset by the language President Obama is using — and not using — to describe the suspect.

“You still have the president talking about ‘extremists’ instead of using the word ‘terrorist,’” Grassley says. “I don’t know what there is about a president that has trouble with the word jihadist extremist or terrorist when it comes to someone who was willing to kill almost 300 Americans.”

Grassley says Obama needs to “call a spade a spade.” Advanced, expensive machines might have identified the type of explosives used in the latest attack attempt. Critics say the so-called full-body scanners, which provide a 3-D image that’s essentially a person stripped of all clothing, are an invasion of privacy, but Grassley disagrees.

“I guess the way I look at it is, if you’re flying and they can go through your luggage, your privacy is already being violated,” Grassley says. “I want to fly, so I’m going to have to put up with it.” Grassley says the Christmas Day bombing attempt will be the subject of a congressional hearing in January and adds, it will likely bring still more security shortcomings to light.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Environmental group grades Iowa congressional delegation

December 30, 2009 By

An environmental group has released a report outlining how Iowa’s Congressional delegation voted over the last year-and-a-half on bills designed to cut global warming and air and water pollution. Environment Iowa reviewed 15 votes in the House and seven votes in the Senate.

Spokesperson Eric Nost says Congressman Leonard Boswell and Senator Tom Harkin, both Democrats, “consistently decided to put the environment ahead of big polluters.” The report also gives high marks to Democratic Congressmen Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, but notes they both missed at least one vote because of the 2008 floods.

Nost says he hopes Iowans will review the environmental voting records of elected officials before heading to the polls next November. In June, the U.S. House passed a bill designed to promote clean energy and limit global warming pollution. Nost says he hopes the Senate will pass the same measure in 2010.

See the group’s report here: www.environmentiowa.org

“We also want to see, from both the House and Senate, stronger action on water quality issues,” Nost said. “We want to see the House start considering a bill that would restore the Clean Water Act to its rightful position.”

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »