When I sought medical advice over the weekend looking for relief from a nagging cough that followed me back from our recent visit to winter in Philadelphia, the doctor asked if I needed “a letter for work.” I laughed and declined, figuring I don’t have anyone to give such a letter to. I probably should have accepted the offer and posted it here with a post saying simply, “out sick.”
That would have been the easiest way forward. Instead, I’ll continue treading water with quick posts that should still be useful.
How about some recent examples of good investigative reporting being done elsewhere?
“High court overrules agency OK of multi-million-dollar wind energy deal,” Pine Tree Watchdog.
A 2012 deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to expand wind energy projects across the Northeast was dealt a blow Tuesday by the Maine supreme court, which ruled that a state agency’s approval of the complex deal was invalid.
The transaction included prominent wind developer First Wind, Maine utility companies Bangor Hydro and Maine Public Service and Nova Scotia-based electric utilities owner Emera, Inc.
“New Analysis Shows Problematic Boom In Higher Ed Administrators,” New England Center for Investigative Reporting.
The number of non-academic administrative and professional employees at U.S. colleges and universities has more than doubled in the last 25 years, vastly outpacing the growth in the number of students or faculty, according to an analysis of federal figures.
The disproportionate increase in the number of university staffers who neither teach nor conduct research has continued unabated in more recent years, and slowed only slightly since the start of the economic downturn, during which time colleges and universities have contended that a dearth of resources forced them to sharply raise tuition.
“Universities Cutting Back On Full-Time Staff, Report Says,” Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
Administrative ranks and part-time faculty at public universities in Florida, as in most states, swelled between 2004 and 2012 as full-time faculty dipped, an analysis of recently released numbers shows.
Among the state’s 12 four-year public universities, nine have seen cuts to full-time positions. Four of those schools increased part-time faculty, while five of them increased full-time management staff.
“Student Depression Often Hidden From Friends, Professors,” Iowa Watch.
College students with depression often run into more difficulties than the typical student. Those who struggle the most don’t connect with the help they need. Sometimes, their disease is invisible because many don’t feel comfortable informing their professors or friends about their condition and their symptoms often get misread as poor classroom or social performance.
“Depression In College: Video Interviews With Students On Battling Depression,” Iowa Watch.
“No accounting for what charities ship overseas,” Center for Investigative Reporting.
comment: Is Oliver North back in business?
In 2010, one of Central America’s poorest countries received huge shipments of humanitarian aid from an unlikely source.
That year, Guatemala, where 20 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, got $40 million worth of free medicine and medical supplies.
It didn’t come from the Red Cross or UNICEF or any other major international relief agency.
Instead, the donations came from 15 little-known U.S. charities, most of which have nothing to do with foreign aid.
Working through a middleman, the charities reported sending medical supplies that were worth more than three times what the U.S. government sent to Guatemala for health care needs that year.
Among the charities were diabetes and disabled veterans groups in Florida, a conservative political action group in Washington, D.C., and a Tennessee charity that touts its direct financial assistance to cancer patients.
“Ex-VA doctor says she was forced out after limiting opiate prescriptions,” Center for Investigative Reporting.
On the eve of a congressional hearing about the Department of Veterans Affairs’ skyrocketing use of narcotic painkillers, a former VA doctor has stepped forward with new allegations about the agency’s prescription practices.
In an exclusive interview with The Center for Investigative Reporting and ABC News, Dr. Basimah Khulusi said she was forced out last year after patients complained that she would not prescribe high doses of opiates.
“I had to do something about it. And I tried,” said Khulusi, a rehabilitation specialist who worked at the VA hospital in Kansas City, Mo., for five and a half years. “And then, you know, I was let go.”
In September, CIR revealed that VA prescriptions for four opiates – hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone and morphine – surged by 270 percent between 2001 and 2012.
Enjoy the good reading and excellent examples.
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I do hope you’re gettin’ better.
Hope you’re feeling better soon!
If you or Meda can get to Chinatown, you might try Lo Han Quo for the cough. Although you can buy the dried gourd and boil it for a couple of hours for the traditional preparation, I recommend the instant cubes available in many Chinese stores.
Look with the teas, not the medicines. Green box of 12 doses runs about $1.70 at Bo Wah, 1037 Maunakea St.
Just dissolve in hot water. Unlike many Chinese meds, it tastes pretty good – under the name Monks Fruit it’s the latest “zero-calorie” sweetener fad.
(ps – CAPTCHA failed a couple of times – I’m going to try again)
I am not a doctor and I don’t play one on the internet. But often a cough is related to your sinuses. If you don’t already and if you can stand snorting water, try the sinus irrigation with warm salt water regimen. It really works for me. It can be purchased at Longs or Costco and use filtered water.
I agree with Mr. Bruce about the benefits of sinus irrigation: the nasal douche. I dissolve .5 t of salt in 2 cups of water to make my solution. I use a neti pot, a nice little pot with a small spout, to pour the warm salt water into my nostrils.
I do think it’s worth trying. Of course it takes a little while to learn how to do it without making a mess or choking.
First, agree it could be your sinuses. Have had the same thing off and on since November. I think the vog here creates the problem for me.
Next, the article about charities. My husband is on every sucker list in the country, and when I Google them and look at them for a charity report, 90% are dreadful. They spend more on administration and fund raising than on their programs. Do not give to anything without checking on them. I got a list of the 50 worst, but would like a longer list as so many are worthless. Give to local charities you know are doing what they say!