12-30-2008, 06:05 AM
This comment may belong on the political forum, but here goes anyway.
I, too, have become disillusioned with Governor Lingle, and I voted for her. We are in an increasingly desperate situation regarding physician access here on the Big Island. HMSA is selling insurance policies with no doctors in place who are accepting new patients. Even Kaiser members like myself are finding that it takes longer and longer to get non-emergency specialty appointments, although emergency and primary care remains reasonably accessible at Kaiser.
Meanwhile, the teachers' union after having agreed to random drug testing as part of their contract have reneged, but are being allowed to collect the pay raise they got as part of the contract. Talk about negotiating in bad faith! Now one might expect our so-called "reform Republican" governor to stand up to the union, but all we get is occasional whining and no action. By revoking the teachers' pay raise, the physician program for the Big Island (and a lot of useful things) could be maintained in the budget.
Before you charge up your flame throwers, let me just say that I think the teachers do deserve a decent salary and that I think drug testing is not a panacaea for workplace substance issues. It just galls me that the union negotiators could sit there smiling and recommend the contract to the members (who approved by about 60%) and then say, "Well now that we've thought it over, we think it's unconstitutional." And what has Governor Linda or her administration done? Nothing substantial.
And yes, I sent her a letter.
Rant over,
Jerry
I, too, have become disillusioned with Governor Lingle, and I voted for her. We are in an increasingly desperate situation regarding physician access here on the Big Island. HMSA is selling insurance policies with no doctors in place who are accepting new patients. Even Kaiser members like myself are finding that it takes longer and longer to get non-emergency specialty appointments, although emergency and primary care remains reasonably accessible at Kaiser.
Meanwhile, the teachers' union after having agreed to random drug testing as part of their contract have reneged, but are being allowed to collect the pay raise they got as part of the contract. Talk about negotiating in bad faith! Now one might expect our so-called "reform Republican" governor to stand up to the union, but all we get is occasional whining and no action. By revoking the teachers' pay raise, the physician program for the Big Island (and a lot of useful things) could be maintained in the budget.
Before you charge up your flame throwers, let me just say that I think the teachers do deserve a decent salary and that I think drug testing is not a panacaea for workplace substance issues. It just galls me that the union negotiators could sit there smiling and recommend the contract to the members (who approved by about 60%) and then say, "Well now that we've thought it over, we think it's unconstitutional." And what has Governor Linda or her administration done? Nothing substantial.
And yes, I sent her a letter.
Rant over,
Jerry