STATE REP. PAUL THISSEN ADDRESSES GMHS STUDENTS
Meadow Area News, December 11, 2008
State Representative Paul Thissen addressed Grand Meadow High School students on Friday, December 12, 2008. Read Full Entry…
TAX CREDIT BILL FACES UPHILL CHALLENGE
Tanner Kent , The Mankato Free Press, December 11, 2008
A proposed education-related tax credit met with enthusiastic support from some local educators during a public forum Thursday in New Ulm. But wider support for the measure will be tougher to garner. Read Full Entry…
Read Eric Zaetsch perspective from his blog Developers are Crabgrass
HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS MIGHT BE CUT AS STATE TIGHTENS BUDGET BELT
Lorna Benson, Minnesota Public Radio, December 4, 2008
Representative Thissen was featured in a story about the impact of the budget deficit on health care programs.
DFL Representative Paul Thissen of Minneapolis chaired the House Health and Human Services Committee last session. He said in bad economic times, it doesn’t make sense to whittle away at people’s health insurance. But scaling back Medicaid reimbursements has equally dire consequences.
“Where those dollars ultimately flow are to hospitals and nursing homes,” Thissen said. “As those numbers get cut, it puts increasing pressure on those institutions and the ripple effect of that, of institutions closing or having to do layoffs, have significant effects, particularly in greater Minnesota.”
Read more: Health Care Programs Might Be Cut as State Tightens Budget Belt.
The Twin Cities, progressive in so many ways, continues to be light years behind other metro areas when it comes to commuter and light rail.
After decades of development in other US metropolitan areas, Minneapolis/St.Paul and the suburbs continue to lag years behind in planning and developing commuter and light-rail projects, many of which would spur jobs growth, develop local economies, spur tourism, and reduce air and noise pollution.
Why does the leadership in Minnesota feel it has to reinvent the wheel or debate this issue indefinitely? It’s not rocket science! The Hiawatha Line has been operating for four years without a followup success story; the Northstar line has hit so much resistance (Pawlenty is now “for it after he was against it” for years) and a southwest commuter or light rail route is only in the talking stages. We also desperately need a line coming in from the east as the Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Stillwater and Hudson/River Falls, WI areas continue to grow in leaps and bounds and add to the freeway congestion nightmare.
The Chicago metropolitan area, only 360 miles to our southeast, and comparable in square mileage, has 11 commuter rail lines running through the area and, of course, the elevated track system which has been in use since the 1930’s.
Eleven other major metropolitan areas in the US have light rail systems, including several much smaller in population. Phoenix has realized that it needed to address this missing link in their transit options, and has broken ground on their project throughout Phoenix and two other suburbs.
These projects would greatly add to the ability of Minnesotans to get around the metro, improving employment opportunity for all income brackets, tourism and an eco-friendly option for the future. It is my hope that we truly become a 21st century city.
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