Bloomington Herald-Times
November 13, 2009
Monroe County could lose millions of dollars over I-69 dispute
Ind. 45/46 Bypass, B-Line Trail, Vernal Pike projects could all be affected by INDOT's funding freeze
By Michael Malik
November 13, 2009, last update: 11/13 @ 8:14 am
The Indiana Department of Transportation's decision to withhold millions of dollars for key local transportation projects over a planning dispute is the first time the state agency has ever done so, a state highway official said Thursday.
Funds for projects within Monroe County could be held up because of the historic action.
INDOT's move could cause local municipalities, schools and transit organizations to lose as much as $32.4 million in state and federal funds for construction projects during 2010. Also, depending on how long the dispute lasts, those same entities could miss out on as much as $59.4 million by the end of 2013.
The potential funding losses include more than $8 million in stimulus funds in 2010 and 2011.
"This applies to projects that have yet to be awarded for construction," said Will Wingfield, an INDOT spokesman. "This is unprecedented as far as INDOT is concerned."
Those projects include, among others, the next phase of the B-Line Trail, the Ind. 45/46 Bypass widening project and the next phase of construction work on Vernal Pike.
Local transportation officials say funding delays could be disastrous for local projects, increasing their cost or quashing them altogether.
Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan said he's planning to send a letter to INDOT's commissioner and copied to Gov. Mitch Daniels seeking clarification on the dispute.
"Obviously, INDOT and the city of Bloomington have been at odds over the construction of I-69," Kruzan's letter states. "Withholding state and federal funding from all citizens -- all taxpayers -- within an entire county to make a larger point surely is not the best manner in which to resolve these differences."
The discord between INDOT and the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization's policy committee over land in the Interstate 69 corridor began in April.
Since then, the MPO's policy committee has declined twice to include land INDOT wanted to buy on Tapp Road in its transportation improvement plan. The plan is a list of all federally funded transportation projects in the MPO's area.
However, INDOT officials say the state included its intent to purchase the privately owned house in its transportation improvement plan.
In order for the state to allocate money to local transportation projects, the local and state transportation improvement plans have to be in alignment, according to an INDOT official.
INDOT said it's going to start taking public comment on its new transportation improvement plan Monday, which is also when the new plan will be posted on the department's Web site.
Wingfield said the new transportation improvement plan includes the state purchasing right of way within Monroe County for the section of I-69 that runs from Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center into Monroe County.
Wingfield also said the state will continue to withhold funds from the Bloomington/Monroe County MPO until the local and state plans align.
H1N1's spread may be slowing down in state
Last week's numbers show cases declining
By Dann Denny
November 13, 2009
It's too early to say for sure, but recent data suggests the H1N1 flu may be on the wane in Indiana.
"This past week, we've seen a number of encouraging indicators across the state," state epidemiologist Pam Pontones said Thursday. "It may be a bit early to say we've peaked or are firmly in decline because the level of activity can fluctuate for several weeks much like the stock market. But at this point, we are encouraged by indicators that are heading in the right direction."
Among those indicators is the rate of influenza-like or pneumonia-related hospitalizations per 100 inpatient beds, which increased only 2 percent last week compared with jumps of 24.7, 35.8 and 41.3 percent the previous three weeks.
And there was a 21 percent decrease from the previous three-week average in the hospitalization rate among persons 0 to 18 years of age -- a group that's been hit particularly hard by the H1N1 flu.
Last week, there was a drop -- from 74 to 55 percent -- in the number of reporting hospitals saying their number of influenza-like illness hospitalizations is "slightly elevated" or "elevated" compared with previous years; and the people reporting to hospital emergency rooms with influenza-like symptoms fell from 10.6 to 7.9 percent.
Of Hoosiers who visited doctors' offices last week, the percentage reporting flu-like symptoms was 11.3 percent, a 1.8 percent drop from last week.
Last week, influenza-like illness-related absentee rates among health care personnel decreased by 15 percent from the previous three-week average; and only three Indiana K-12 schools reported having at least one day with a 20 percent or higher absentee rate -- a big dip from the weekly average of 29 schools that eclipsed the 20 percent absentee rate the previous three weeks.
Perhaps most encouraging, the number of Hoosiers who died from H1N1 flu complications fell from nine two weeks ago to three last week. Since June 1, there have been 22 H1N1-related deaths in the state.
Of those deaths, three have been in the 0- to 4-year-old group, and none have occurred among those 65 or older.
"The current thinking is that folks in that older age group may have some crossover immunity from previous influenza infections," Pontones said.
Joan Duwve, the state's medical director for public health and preparedness, said 98 percent of the lab specimens that have tested positive for influenza this season have been the H1N1 strain. She said last week, 51 of the 51 specimens that tested positive for influenza were H1N1.
Duwve said while there have been 4,000 H1N1-related deaths in the U.S. this year, that is still far short of the 36,000 lives lost to seasonal flu each year.
H1N1 vaccines
As of last Tuesday, 315,926 H1N1 vaccinations have been given to Hoosiers this year — with 56 percent of the vaccinations going to people 6 months to 24 years, 31 percent to health care workers, and 16.4 percent to pregnant women. Each of those groups is considered at high risk for getting H1N1 and developing complications if they get it.
Duwve said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told the Indiana State Department of Health it will receive 5 million doses of H1N1 vaccine this flu season.
"We anticipate eventually getting enough H1N1 vaccine this season to give it to anyone who wants it," she said. "Whether they have to wait until January or February depends on how many doses we get and when we get them."
She said the state health department has ordered 851,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine, and is distributing them to all of Indiana's 92 counties, based on their population, as soon as it receives them.
Seasonal flu vaccine
Pontones said so far, 91 million of the 114 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine have been distributed in the U.S.
She said the state health department does not track Indiana's seasonal flu vaccine supply, much of which is sent directly to doctors, hospitals and clinics.
"But we have provided 250,000 doses to pediatric providers, and plan to send another 50,000 doses to them in the near future," she said.
Pontones said there have been very few cases of seasonal flu in Indiana thus far. Normally, the seasonal flu season peaks in January or February.
"At this point it's hard to say if, and how, the H1N1 flu and seasonal flu strains might overlap this year," she said.
Study: Alcohol abuse declining at IU
IU making progress in alcohol-related problems on campus
By Mike Leonard
November 12, 2009, last update: 11/13 @ 1:21 am
After years of alcohol abuse rates higher than the national average, a new study shows abuse declining at Indiana University.
The Indiana Prevention Resource Center reports that heavy drinking, binge drinking and alcohol-related disciplinary problems have all decreased at IU when 2009 survey numbers are compared with 2006.
The improvement is especially encouraging in the context of recent studies that show alcohol abuse problems increasing nationally.
"The fact that we're not making progress is very concerning," researcher Ralph Hingson told the Chronicle of Higher Education last summer. "The irony is that during this same time period, our knowledge of what works as far as intervention in this age group has increased. That knowledge isn't yet being put into place."
Dee Owens, director of IU's Alcohol-Drug Information Center, said the kind of education and intervention programs Hingson refers to precisely why IU's problem rates are going down.
She said the campus-community program called "Get a ride! Just don't drink and drive" has made a marked impact on students. She credited Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal for not only teaming up with the university but leading the campaign to promote alternatives to drinking and driving.
"From the university's perspective, we call that social norming," Owens said. "What we do is say what we want in a positive way. Not 'don't do this' and 'don't do that,' but 'do this' and make it a positive message."
Owens said the institution of a required online course of alcohol education also appears to be making an impact. "It's required of all freshmen and transfer students, and it's no quick thing," the alcohol education specialist said. "It takes 2-3 hours and it's interactive, so it gives you a certain set of questions based on what your answers have been to previous questions.
"They have to pass it with a score of 75 or better," Owens said. "And then, they have to pass a follow-up test 45 days later, so we can see if they have retained the information."
Several years ago, IU started a screening and intervention system for students charged with alcohol violations.
"The screening is really important in helping to determine if a student really has a clinical problem and we're not just looking at an instance of misbehavior," Owens said. "We're no longer taking a student who is an alcoholic and telling them they have to work the road crew. They need cognitive behavioral therapy, and we work with them to get that. Research shows that punishment per se doesn't work. What does work is nudging people along and providing them with small rewards."
The recent study at IU was conducted by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Among its findings:
• The percentage of students who consumed more than five drinks in a week went from 42.8 percent in 2006 to 37.5 percent in 2009, a 12.4 percent decrease.
• The percentage of students who engaged in binge drinking in the previous two weeks went from 60.3 percent in 2006 to 56.8 percent in 2009, a 5.8 percent decrease.
• The percentage of students who have experienced legal troubles or received disciplinary action in the previous two weeks went from 15.3 percent in 2006 to 12.3 percent in 2009, a 19.6 percent decrease.
• The percentage of students who have driven while intoxicated went from 38.4 percent in 2006 to 22.6 percent in 2009, a 41.1 percent decrease.
• The numbers compare IU with itself and not national figures. "What I want to know is, are we changing at IU Bloomington," Owens said, "not are we higher or lower than the national averages."
With regard to drinking and driving, IU now beats the national average, last reported at 29 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, IU decreased its binge drinking number to 56.8 percent, which remains far higher than the national average of 45 percent.
"The main thing we're trying to do is find what works and keep doing it, and look at what's not working and try to find a better approach," Owens said.
Letter: Mayor Kruzan
November 13, 2009
Another economic view
To the editor:
I suppose the economics professor Witte was just being witty when he called Mayor Kruzan "comrade." I wonder why he thinks economics as practiced for the last 100 years has been so wonderful.
Jobs have disappeared as corporations look at the bottom line and move overseas. My daughter lost the job she worked at for 20 years because her company moved to an area where they could pay workers less.
Banks that are too big to fail get a bailout with our tax dollars, and they proceed to give themselves great big bonus checks.
The majority of the working poor are not covered by health insurance, and people's homes have been foreclosed.
Tell me, "Dr." Witte, what should we call you? "Mr. Moneybags," like the popular cartoon that was prominent during our last depression in the late 1920s? Perhaps making sure that we have "local shops" selling locally produced items and food will make the living easier for local entrepreneurs. Most people haven't retired from a university job that paid a terrific salary and provided health insurance and other benefits. Maybe a walk in someone else's shoes might be good and provide some dialogue with more depth.
Lucille Bertuccio, Bloomington
