As of March 29, 2010 the consumers and staff at Profiles have lost 161.4 pounds since they started the Pound for Pound Challenge in January. . .WAY TO GO!!! Thats 161 pounds of food that will be donated to the local food bank. Only 93 more pounds to go to meet our pledge amount.
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We’re looking for someone to record a 30 second track for a television commercial. The commercial will air in July. Contact us by April 16 if you or your band would like some extra exposure.
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From Senator Randy Laverty
March 19, 2010
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas residents are getting U.S. Census forms in the mail. Next year the state Board of Apportionment will take the census figures and redraw the boundaries of our political landscape.
The Board of Apportionment consists of three constitutional officers: the governor, the attorney general and the secretary of state. Their staff will use computers and information technology to redraw the geographic boundaries of all 100 districts in the House of Representatives and all 35 state Senate districts.
The purpose is to make all Senate and House districts roughly equal in population, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Redrawing maps after each census is a practical application of the “one man, one vote” principle, as defined by the Supreme Court.
For example, if one Senate district has almost 100,000 residents and another has only 55,000 residents, the influence of voters in the smaller district is probably greater than the influence of people in the larger district. The opinions of an individual voter are not heard as clearly in a district of 100,000 people as in a district of 55,000 people.
In the 10 years between every U.S. Census, population shifts can result in large disparities between Senate districts. Ten years ago, Senate districts were mapped out so that each one had a population of about 77,000 people. However, today some districts have more than 77,000 residents because their communities have grown, while other Senate districts have lost population.
After the census in 2000 Senate districts in eastern and southern Arkansas had lost population.
When the Board of Apportionment redrew the map, Senate districts in those regions expanded geographically.
In northwest Arkansas the population had grown dramatically and Senate districts shrank in geographic size. The northwest corner of Arkansas gained an additional Senate district and eastern Arkansas lost a Senate district. It’s expected that similar trends will be reported after the current census, with northwest Arkansas continuing to show population growth. Early estimates are that each Senate district will have about 82,000 residents.
The smallest Senate districts in Arkansas are in Pulaski County, where population is greatest and people live in more densely occupied cities.
The redrawing of legislative maps can cause political fallout. Here’s an example that has occurred many times in the state’s history: a particular town was always able to elect its own senator, but the town’s growth did not keep pace with growth in neighboring counties. After the census, redistricting lumped that town with a larger town in another county. The community that lagged in population growth lost its hometown senator.
Of course the process also has political consequences for individual representatives and senators. After redistricting, a Democrat may find himself representing areas with heavy concentrations of Republicans, or vice versa. Re-election would be problematic in such a scenario.
Another result of redistricting has been that two incumbent senators, formerly representing two separate districts, have found themselves in the same district after the lines were redrawn. They had to run against each other when they sought re-election.
The elections of 2012 will be the first in which candidates run for the legislature from the newly drawn districts.
From Senator Randy Laverty
March 12, 2010
LITTLE ROCK – The federal government has gone to court to try to prevent any more children with disabilities from being admitted to the Human Development Center at Conway.
The state Human Services Department and the governor responded quickly and vigorously in defense of the quality of treatment at the Conway HDC. A spokesman for the state attorney general’s office, which is defending the center, said expert witnesses will testify that conditions at Conway are legal and constitutional.
Depending on the outcome, the legal dispute could affect admissions and treatment policies at the other HDC’s in Arkansas. They are at Warren, Booneville, Jonesboro, Arkadelphia and Alexander.
About 10 percent of the 521 people at the Conway center are children. About 95 percent of the center’s residents have severe mental retardation and about 20 percent are in fragile health.
The federal and state governments have been in litigation since January of last year, when the United States Department of Justice alleged violations of federal laws protecting the rights of people in long-term care institutions. Five years ago the U.S. Justice Department notified the state of an investigation into the care of people at the Conway center.
The Justice Department’s latest legal move was to file a motion in federal court seeking an order that would prevent any more children from being admitted to the Conway center. The Department said that dangerous conditions existed at the Conway center and that it was investigation accusations that children with developmental disabilities faced “imminent and serious threats” to their safety.
According to the Justice Department, in recent years three residents at Conway have died or suffered organ damage because staff mismanaged their medications. The Department alleged that staff relies too much on mechanical restraints such as straitjackets and chairs with clamps.
The Justice Department is also investigating conditions at the HDC’s in Alexander, Arkadelphia, Booneville, Jonesboro and Warren, a spokesman said.
The governor’s office said the motive for the U.S. Justice Department actions came down to its different philosophy on the best way of caring for people with severe disabilities. Federal officials are trying to phase out institutional care as much as possible because they believe community care is more effective. State officials say that some people have such severe disabilities that institutional care is the only option for their families.
According to the Disability Rights Center, an advocacy group, the Alexander HDC has 111 adult male residents with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. The Arkadelphia center has 134 adults whose primary diagnosis is mental retardation. The Booneville center serves 142 people with developmental disabilities and many of them have mental illnesses. At the Jonesboro HDC there is room for 120 children and adults with severe developmental retardation. The Warren Center has 72 people with disabilities.
The number of people living at the HDC’s will vary because some move back into the community and other people move into the centers.
