Fluoride Potentially Harmful To Thyroid, Body and Brain

Many of us think of fluoride as something occasionally put into water to protect our teeth. But there are potential risks from drinking fluoridated water, according an article in The Diabetic News.

In an article titled "Fluoride Risks to Diabetics, Kidney Patients and Thyroid Function", Dr. Mark Hyman stated, “[W]ater fluoridation can potentially harm thyroid function, the body and the brain.” He goes on to say that he supports "federal investigative hearings looking into why our cities and towns are allowed to continue to add fluoride to public water sources…”

The article goes on to state that “key national figures such as Erin Brockovich, Lois Gibbs, and Alveda King have called for Fluoridegate scandal hearings...”

Erin Brockovich is known for her fight against PG&E, as shown in the Julia Roberts movie titled Erin Brockovich. Lois Gibbs was instrumental in warning people living in Love Canal about the pollutants in the ground that was poisoning them. Alveda King is an activist, former Georgia state representative, and niece of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.

The article states that fluoridated water can be potentially harmful to certain groups, such as diabetics and patients with kidney disease.”

Daniel G. Stockin, MPH, who has worked to end fluoridation, said, “The National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences says that kidney patients, diabetics, seniors, and other groups are ‘susceptible subpopulations’ especially vulnerable to harm from ingested fluorides.”

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

New Overtime Rules To Affect Florida Workplace

New overtimes rules unveiled by the U.S. Department of Labor will impact an estimated 331,000 Florida workers, according to an article in the Tampa Bay Times. That number is out of 4.2 million workers nationwide affected by the new ruling.

The rule "doubles the eligible salary threshold for overtime from $23,660 per year to $47,476." The article ("New Labor Department overtime rule expected to jolt Florida workplace") states that businesses will have until December to comply with the Department of Labor's ruling. Employees who have made $23,660 or less a year have qualified for time-and-a-half when working more than 40 hours a week. The ruling now makes it that employees making the higher amount or less will qualify.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Philip Scheffler, 'Guiding Force Behind 60 Minutes,' Dies at 85

Philip Scheffler, who began as a copy boy for "Douglas Edwards with the News" and later became CBS New's first television street reporter, died Thursday. He was 85.

Scheffler later became the executive editor of 60 Minutes, guiding it "for more than two decades," according to Jeff Fager, 60 Minutes' executive producer, TVNewser reports.

The New York Times article ("Longtime CBS News Executive Scheffler Dies") stated that Scheffler died at a Manhattan hospital. CBS News did not have a cause of death.

To read more, click here for the New York Times article, or here for TV Newser's article.

FP&L Nuclear Plant Leak Threatening So. FL Drinking Water

A leak in Florida Power & Light's reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear plant has allowed polluted water to enter Biscayne Bay, according to a recent article in The New York Time.

The article ("Nuclear Plant Leak Threatens Drinking Water Wells in Florida"), published March 22, states, "A recent study commissioned by the county concluded that Turkey Point’s old cooling canal system was leaking polluted water into Biscayne Bay," thereby polluting surface water, along with the bay's "fragile ecosystem." It is also allowing "a large saltwater plume" to move towards wells supplying "drinking water to millions of residents in Miami and the Florida Keys."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Tampa Bay Gas Prices May Drop Below $2 A Gallon

With falling gas prices, it is possible that the Tampa Bay area will see gas prices fall below the $2 a gallon mark, according to the Tampa Bay Times. In Thursday's Times, business columnist Robert Trigaux writes that this is a distinct possibility ("Are Tampa Bay gas prices heading back below $2 a gallon?").

In the past year, gas prices in the bay area have dropped "an average of 91 cents a gallon," with the average price close to $2.28 a gallon, a penny less than the previous day. Last month's average was $2.51 a gallon, Trigaux writes.

The price of crude oil down "by almost 60 percent" from its 2014 peak, according to the Wall Street Journal, with prices possibly remaining low for "months and maybe years to come."

To read more of the Tampa Bay Times' article, go to http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/are-gas-prices-heading-back-to-2-a-gallon-in-the-tampa-bay-area/2242212.

HCA To Gov. Scott: Increase Medicaid Payments

Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) has called on Florida Gov. Rick Scott to overhaul the way the state pays for low-income patients, stating that the Low Income Pool in "not a long-term solution and often yields inequitable results," according to The News Service of Florida. According to the article in the Orlando Business Journal, ("HCA asks for higher Medicaid payments to replace LIP"), HCA "recommended increasing base Medicaid payment rates for hospitals," as well as possibly increasing a hospital-provider tax, which would replace the Low Income Pool program.

LIP is scheduled to expire June 30 unless an agreement in reached between state and federal officials.

Money from LIP is part of an agreement between the state and federal governments under a Section 1115 Waiver. It was originally approved to help hospitals deal with the number of uninsured adults who could not pay their medical bills, according to PolitiFactFlorida ("Rick Scott says feds are 'walking away' from funding Florida's Low Income Pool Program"). LIP, which started in 2005, was renewed until 2013. However, when the time came to negotiate an extension beyond 2014, "Florida upped the funding request to a whopping $4.5 billion to expand the program..." after reusing $51 billion in federal money to expand Medicaid over 10 years.

In the HCA letter, the hospital company stated that "it receives a disproportionately small amount of money through the Low Income Pool..."

Incidentally, before becoming governor, Rick Scott was CEO of Columbia/HCA. According to another PolitiFactFlorida article, the Florida Democratic Party's claim that Scott "oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in the nation's history" was "Mostly True" ("Rick Scott 'oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in the nation’s history,' Florida Democratic Party says").

To read the articles referenced, click here for the Orlando Business Journal/News Service of Florida article, here for the first PolitiFactFlorida article, and here for the second PolitiFactFlorida article.

Dog Treat Recall; Salmonella Risk

A popular dog treat and dog toy maker has issued a recall over a possible Salmonella risk. Nylabone issued the recall for its puppy chews, according to the Palm Beach Post ("Popular dog treat maker issues recall over Salmonella risk").

A news release states that one of of the 1.69 oz. package of Puppy Start Kit dog chews is affected. The affected packages are marked with Lot #21935, UPC 0-18214-81291-3 (marked on the back of the package), with an expiration date of 3/22/18.

Consumers "should discontinue use of the product and may return the unused portion to the place of purchase for a full refund," according to the press release. Consumers "kends covered by third-party poison control center)."

To read the Palm Beach Post article, go to http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/lifestyles/health/popular-dog-treat-maker-issues-recall-over-salmone/nk4D4/. To read the entire press release, go to http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm444560.htm.