Collecting disabled workers' judgment difficult

DES MOINES, Iowa — Federal and state officials are having trouble collecting the multimillion-dollar judgment a Texas company was ordered to pay for mistreating 32 mentally disabled workers at an Iowa labor camp.

The Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/1nwRGmj ) Henry's Turkey Service of Goldthwaite, Texas, has yet to pay nearly $6 million in judgment money and fines against the company and its leader Kenneth Henry.

A jury agreed last year that Henry's discriminated against its employees, who were hired out to work at an Iowa turkey processing plant. The initial verdict was the largest in the history of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which brought the case.

Henry's Turkey Service sent hundreds of mentally disabled men from Texas to labor camps in seven states.

In Iowa, the 32 mentally disabled men lived in a dilapidated former schoolhouse in Atalissa for years. They were paid roughly $65 a month no matter how many hours they worked and endured verbal and physical abuse.

The Iowa operation was shut down in 2009 after family members reported the conditions to state officials.

So far, federal officials have collected assets worth between $30,000 and $40,000, and they're collecting about $3,500 in monthly lease payments on land owned by Henry.

Iowa regulators say they don't plan to pursue the $1.1 million in penalties the company owes the state because it appears unlikely Henry's will pay.

"Because of the bankruptcy filing, it's likely none of the penalties will be collected," said Kerry Koonce, spokeswoman for the state labor commissioner.

Attorney Robert Canino, who represented the workers, said he and federal Justice Department officials continue looking for ways to collect what is owed to the men.

Records suggest that Henry and his business partner owned a Texas ranch worth $2.5 million in 2009, and the company owned property worth between $3 million and $4 million.

"So it is a matter of what can be done to attempt to secure those kinds of assets toward liquidation that would go to the men for the damages they have been awarded," Canino said.

Sherri Brown, sister of former worker Keith Brown, who now lives in Fayetteville, Ark., said she doesn't expect to ever receive any money from the case.

"I have never had any illusions about us seeing one dime from all of this," she said. "Keith does expect that, though. He occasionally asks about that, and I have to explain to him that we fought this case for other people, so that this sort of thing would never happen again to anyone else."

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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com

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Survey: Uninsured rate drops; health law cited

WASHINGTON — With just three weeks left to sign up under President Barack Obama's health care law, a major survey tracking the rollout finds that the uninsured rate keeps going down.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, released Monday, found that 15.9 percent of U.S. adults are uninsured thus far in 2014, down from 17.1 percent for the last three months — or calendar quarter— of 2013.

That translates roughly to 3 million to 4 million people getting coverage.

Gallup said the share of Americans who lack coverage is on track to drop to the lowest quarterly level it measured since 2008, before Obama took office.

The survey found that almost every major demographic group made progress getting health insurance, although Hispanics lagged.

With the highest uninsured rate of any racial or ethnic group, Latinos were expected to be major beneficiaries of the new health care law. They are a relatively young population and many are on the lower rungs of the middle class, holding down jobs that don't come with health insurance.

But the outreach effort to Hispanics got off to a stumbling start. The Spanish-language enrollment website, CuidadodeSalud.gov, was delayed due to technical problems. Its name sounds like a clunky translation from English: "Care of Health." A spot check of the Spanish site on Sunday showed parts of it still use a mix of Spanish and English to convey information, which can make insurance details even more confusing.

All indications point to lackluster Latino numbers, prompting the administration to make a special pitch as the end of open enrollment season approaches on March 31. The president was on Spanish-language television networks last week to raise awareness.

Gallup found the biggest drop in the uninsured rate was among households making less than $36,000 a year — a decline of 2.8 percentage points.

Among blacks, the uninsured rate was down by 2.6 percentage points. It declined by 1 percentage point among whites. But Latinos saw a drop of just eight-tenths of a percentage point.

The Gallup poll is considered authoritative because it combines the scope and depth found in government surveys with the timeliness of media sampling. Pollsters interview 500 people a day, 350 days a year. The latest health care results were based on more than 28,000 interviews, or about 28 times as many as in a standard national poll.

The survey can be an early indicator of broad shifts in society. Gallup saw a modest decline in the uninsured rate in January, and now two full months of data indicate a trend is taking shape.

Gallup said the drop coincides with the start of coverage under the health care law on Jan. 1. The major elements of the Affordable Care Act are now in effect. Virtually all Americans are now required to get covered or risk fines. Insurers can no longer turn away people with health problems. New state-based markets are offering taxpayer-subsidized private insurance to middle-class households.

Medicaid rolls are also growing, with about half the states agreeing to the program expansion in the law. Low-income people who qualify for Medicaid are able to sign up year-round, so the uninsured rate may keep going down even after the end of open enrollment for private coverage.

The administration is citing numbers that are far higher: about 4 million people signing up for private coverage, and 9 million for Medicaid.

But those statistics also include people who already had health insurance and switched to coverage offered under the law. The government numbers also include children, while Gallup focuses on adults.

The survey was based on telephone interviews from Jan. 2-Feb. 28 with a random sample of 28,396 adults aged 18 and older in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total national sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 1 percentage point, larger for subgroups.

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Don't bite on bitcoin

The fact that bitcoin is becoming more popular — with an ATM at South Station and even spinoff startups — is not a sign that it is a legitimate or stable currency.

Nine months ago, I told you you'd be hearing a lot more about bitcoin. But I declined to take a position on the newfangled form of Internet currency, which is beloved by libertarians because it's not backed or controlled by any government. Now I'm taking a position: Get into bitcoin only if you like playing with fire and have money to burn. Know that getting into bitcoin is like gambling — or speculating, or prospecting. And know that bitcoin will crash. Maybe not this year. Or even next year. But it will crash, eventually. And then it will never come back.

That's not to say that whoever invented bitcoin isn't a genius. This mysterious, unstable pseudo-currency has lots of interesting benefits, such as no-cost microtransactions and the ability to transact across international lines. As an exercise in computer science, bitcoin is a beauty. But that doesn't make it a legitimate currency.

This is how it will pan out: As bitcoin becomes more known to people, the value will rise dramatically as investors see it as a hedge against economic uncertainty and a chance to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new market. And the value will rise because there is a finite number of bitcoins. That value can't be manipulated or controlled by any entity (i.e. the Fed), so there's no way to print more bitcoins to get people to spend more bitcoins, as our government does with the dollar. But while proponents of bitcoin see the inability to adjust the spigot as a benefit, it's also a fatal flaw. The lack of any oversight means that there's no way to prevent people from hoarding their bitcoins. Bitcoins will continue to rise in value as people hoard them, until one day somebody wants to cash in. And on that day, everyone will want to cash out at once. And that is when the system will collapse.

Some banks are starting to get interested in bitcoin. But they're not interested in it because it's legitimate. They're interested in making a quick buck off people like you and me. Same with the ATM companies, the so-called bitcoin entrepreneurs who land totally uncritical interviews at a certain broadsheet. So say it with me now: the popularity of something doesn't equate to its legitimacy or its merit. Bitcoin isn't a currency; it's a commodity.

And it's doomed to fail.

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Medical marijuana business prospects topic of Boston forum

As Massachusetts gears up for its entry into the medical marijuana business, entrepreneurs will meet Saturday for a forum on the new industry.

Hosted by the National Cannabis Industry Association, the all-day Northeast CannaBusiness Symposium will focus on education, with updates on federal and regional marijuana policy.

"Obviously the medical marijuana industry is getting started in Massachusetts, and there's a lot of activity in the Northeast overall, so Boston is a good location for talking about the region," said deputy director Taylor Left, whose group is based in Denver and Washington, D.C.

Other panel discussions at the event, which will be held at the Courtyard Boston Downtown, will focus on testing and extraction, a process used to remove oil from marijuana; building a medical marijuana business on strong principles; and securing financing.

The 3-year-old nonprofit association bills itself as the largest U.S. marijuana trade group and the only one representing related businesses at the national level. It has some 450 member businesses, including 14 based in Massachusetts, many of which provide ancillary services to the industry, Left said.

Denver's Dixie Elixirs & Edibles is an event sponsor. It produces 120 marijuana-infused products, including drinks, chocolates, mints and topical items such as salve, lotion and bath soak.

"We're coming there to do business," CEO Tripp Keber said. "It's an incredibly target-rich environment. I firmly believe that Dixie will be there in a meaningful way (and) ... will have Dixie's branded line of infused products in your market as the state allows."

Since interstate transport of its products is illegal, Dixie plans to sign a Massachusetts licensee to cultivate marijuana and manufacture and distribute its products here.

Portsmouth, N.H.-based Ideal 420 Technologies, another event sponsor that produces cultivated soil to grow marijuana, also hopes to tap the Bay State market.

"It's a beautiful model," CEO Richard Yost said. "The grower having the ability to really ramp up on the production side in Massachusetts is quite different from any other states."

Yost welcomes the chance to work with large-scale 
marijuana growers in his company's backyard.

"Now I can really put a lot of my science and technology to use," he said. "I can now have my plant scientists in Boston to work with growers in a tangible way."

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Markets kept in check by Asian developments

LONDON — The mood in financial markets steadied Monday despite earlier big losses in Asia following disappointing Chinese and Japanese economic data.

Despite the calmer tone in the European trading sessions, traders, particularly in oil markets, are mostly focused on developments on the other side of the world.

While media headlines were dominated by the search for the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, investors were hit by a double dose of downbeat economic news.

Figures showing that China's exports fell by an unexpectedly large 18 percent in February reinforced fears over the outlook for the world's number 2 economy.

Meanwhile, Japan, the world's third largest economy, reported a record current account deficit for January, and lowered its economic growth estimate for the October-December quarter to 0.7 percent from 1 percent.

"Global financial markets are starting the week off on a cautious footing," said Carl Campus, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was flat at 6,710 while Germany's DAX fell 0.5 percent at 9,307. The CAC-40 in France bucked the prevailing trend to trade 0.3 percent higher at 4,381.

Wall Street was poised for a subdued opening too with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.1 percent.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 1 percent at 15,120.14 and China's Shanghai Composite plunged 2.9 percent to 1,999.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.8 percent to 22,264.93.

A notable mover during the Asian session was Malaysia Airlines, which fell sharply following the disappearance of one its jets en route to Beijing. Though its shares ended 4 percent lower on the Kuala Lumpur stock market, they had been 10 percent lower earlier.

Oil prices were under pressure following the Chinese and Japanese data, as traders worried about the outlook for global growth. A barrel of benchmark New York crude was down 1.2 percent at $101.34.

Elsewhere, the euro remained near its highest levels against the dollar since October 2011. Trading flat on the day at $1.3880, the euro may soon make another attempt to breach the $1.40 mark.

The currency has been buoyant since last Thursday's decision by the European Central Bank not to cut interest rates further amid what it sees as an improving economic backdrop. Its advance went into reverse, albeit a modest one, following Friday's solid U.S. nonfarm payrolls figures which cemented market expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to reduce its stimulus.

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Casinos’ projections trump panel’s

The annual gaming revenue projected by the competing Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts casino proposals exceed a new state Gaming Commission study, which factors in competition from the slots parlor the commission green-lighted to open at the harness racetrack in Plainville.

The commission's study, released late last month by the firm HLT, projects the Boston-area casino will generate $749 million in gross gaming revenue with a slots parlor open in Plainville, with $606.9 million coming from Massachusetts and $142 million from neighboring states. The state will take 25 percent of that revenue in taxes.

Mohegan Sun projects $857 million in gross gaming revenues in its first year for a casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere, while Wynn projects $804 million for its Everett site.

Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said the board will study the discrepancies.

"We'll be looking at their projections, looking at their assumptions and giving them a good scrub," Crosby said.

Clyde Barrow, a University of Massachusetts Dartmouth professor and gaming expert, said his independent studies have projected well north of $800 million, particularly for a Suffolk Downs casino, because it's in such a dense population area.

"They're high," Barrow said, "but I came out in the same space as they did."

Wynn says it's been conservative in its estimates, and supporters of the Everett casino say the Las Vegas company has the economic strength to deliver on promises.

"The hastily devised Mohegan Sun casino proposed in Revere at the last minute will not attract visitors from outside our region or even take away any business from Mohegan Sun's main operation in Connecticut," Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said in a statement. "Wynn Resorts has a proven track record of attracting international customers to their facilities — that's the type of operator Massachusetts needs."

Gary Luderitz, Mohegan Sun's vice president of operations and development, stuck by the projections, saying the company is better positioned to tap customers in the region due to its existing database and that the commission's estimate that the average adult will leave $375 at the Boston-area casino per visit '"sounds a little low to me."

"We're starting from a very strong position in the Northeast," Luderitz said. "Our data analysis consultants used figures that had held up in other work that they've done. We feel pretty good about it."

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Tee time part of Obama's Florida family vacation

KEY LARGO, Fla. — President Barack Obama got out on a Florida golf course Saturday with two former professional athletes and the cousin of one of his top advisers.

Obama's foursome included Ahmad Rashad, Cyrus Walker and Alonzo Mourning, the White House said.

Rashad is a sportscaster and former NFL wide receiver. Mourning is a former center for the NBA's Miami Heat who has helped raised money for Obama's campaigns. Later this month, Obama is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for the House Democrats' campaign arm at Mourning's Miami home.

Mourning is also helping the administration promote Obama's new health care law. He played golf with Obama in Florida last November.

Walker is a cousin of Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, arrived Friday afternoon at the Ocean Reef Club for a weekend getaway. The private, by-invitation-only membership club has two championship 18-hole golf courses.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama was looking forward to some warm-weather downtime with his family.

Before escaping the cold weather in Washington, Obama recorded his weekly radio and Internet address. In the message, Obama said he's hearing from business owners across the country who are voluntarily paying their workers more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Congressional Republicans are resisting Obama's pleas to raise the wage to $10.10 an hour, saying it will lead employers to eliminate jobs.

In the Republican address, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman says Obama's proposed 2015 budget taxes too much and spends too much. Portman says Senate Republicans have a plan to spark economic recovery by getting government out of the way.

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Online:

Obama address: http://whitehouse.gov

Republican address: www.youtube.com/user/gopweeklyaddress

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Austin tech firm had 20 employees on missing plane

AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin, Texas, technology company says 20 of its employees were aboard the Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing over the South China Sea.

Jacey Zuniga, a spokeswoman for Freescale Semiconductor, says 12 Malaysian and 8 Chinese employees are "confirmed passengers." She says no American citizen Freescale employees were on the flight.

"At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families," Gregg Lowe, president and CEO of Freescale says in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event." The company, the statement reads, has assembled a team of counselors for those impacted by the tragedy.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 airplane, was last seen on radar at 1:30 a.m. (1730 GMT Friday) above the waters where the South China sea.

Freescale Semiconductor is a technology company focused on what it calls "embedded processing solutions." It works with clients in a variety of markets, including automotive and consumer electronics, to address technology issues using microprocessors and sensors.

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Buick is showing classic symptoms of vapor lock

Here is a problem that I have fought for almost two years. My 2001 Buick Regal will not start after a shutdown and heat soak. The car has 128,000 miles, never shuts down while driving, starts and runs perfectly in the morning. When it won't restart, you can crank it until the battery runs down, but the car won't start. After shutting the engine off it will start immediately — if you don't wait too long! Engine operating temperature is normal, it never overheats and has a new thermostat and ECT sensor. There are no intake manifold leaks, either vacuum or coolant. Fuel pressure is normal, but a new regulator was installed along with a new MAF sensor. In a no-start condition the spark will jump a gap of at least one inch at the coil.

In the summer I carry a jug of water in the trunk (in winter I use snow) and in a no-start condition I pour about a quart of water on the intake plenum. The car will start right away and will run perfectly until the next no-start condition.

I can't recall a better description of vapor lock. The proper term is fuel percolation, which describes residual engine heat boiling the ready fuel supply in the fuel rails near the plenum/intake manifold. When this occurs, fuel pressure fades due to the aerated fuel disrupting fuel delivery from the injectors. Even though fuel pressure may be "normal" when tested with the engine running, I suspect fuel pressure drops quickly after shutdown due to percolation.

Using water to cool the intake stops the percolation. The first few injector pulses bleed air from the rail and, as fuel pressure returns, the engine starts.

But how to eliminate the problem? Start with three simple steps. Idle the engine for 30 seconds before shutdown to allow coolant to carry residual combustion heat from the cylinder heads into the radiator. Pop the hood open to the safety catch position to allow hot air to escape from under the hood. And try different brands of fuel, looking for a fuel with a vapor pressure less prone to this issue.

In addition, make sure airflow through the A/C condenser and radiator is clear and unobstructed. If the cooling system hasn't been serviced recently a power flush may lower coolant and underhood temperatures measurably.

And to cover all the bases turn the ignition to the "on" position and listen for the fuel pump to run for two seconds and then stop, confirming that the fuel pump relay and fuel pump are operating properly. I'd also test for injector pulse widths from the PCM to confirm that the fuel injectors are being commanded to open/close on a hot restart.

I have a well-maintained 2003 Acura 3.2L TL-S model with 114,000 miles. My Goodyear dealer has continued to propose replacement of the timing belt and water pump. He said the belt should have been replaced at the seven-year mark or 100,000 miles. I can't seem to find any definitive recommendations from Acura or on the Internet about this repair. I want to maintain the car and continue to drive it for a number of years and would value your opinion on this repair.

Acura's service recommendation for this vehicle and engine, as outlined in my Alldata automotive database, calls for timing belt replacement at 105,000 miles/84 months under normal operating conditions. Under severe service conditions — operation at ambient temperatures under minus-20 degrees or above 110 — replacement is recommended every 60,000 miles.

With this engine, a timing belt failure could allow contact between pistons and valves, resulting in catastrophic engine failure, so a new timing belt makes perfect sense. Include pre-emptive replacement of the water pump.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Device aids weight loss

Doctors at three Massachusetts hospitals are recruiting people battling Type 2 diabetes and obesity for a clinical trial of a medical device that has been approved in other countries to reduce blood sugar and body weight without the need for the kind of weight-loss surgery that more than 200,000 Americans undergo each year.

Made by Lexington-based GI Dynamics, the EndoBarrier is a thin, flexible, tube-shaped liner placed via the mouth during a brief endoscopic procedure and inserted in the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine, just beyond the stomach, said Dr. Lee M. Kaplan, the trial's lead investigator and director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Nutrition Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"The food you eat goes down the middle of the tube," Kaplan said, "but the tube blocks interactions between the food and hormone secretions," which can affect insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism, satiety and food intake.

In commercial use outside the U.S., the device has been shown to achieve as much as a 30 percent reduction in glucose levels within the first week and a 10 percent to 20 percent body-weight loss within the 12-month period for which it has been approved for use in countries including England, France, Germany and Australia, said Stuart Randle, GI Dynamics' president and CEO.

"No one yet knows why, when you bypass the first section of the intestine, these hormones change so dramatically and so immediately," Randle said.

The U.S. trial, which currently is enrolling people at 22 sites, including MGH, Boston Medical Center and UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, will end in two years and, if it shows that the EndoBarrier is safe and effective, the Food and Drug Administration could approve the device in about a year.

If it does, the EndoBarrier could offer new hope to the 26 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes in this country, including approximately 360,000 adults in Massachusetts, where the disease each week causes an average of 22 deaths, 38 lower-leg amputations, 13 new cases of end-stage renal disease and five new 
cases of blindness, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

"Obesity and diabetes are twin epidemics that remain out of control, and while we have good medical therapies for diabetes and some good therapies for obesity, they don't always work," Kaplan said. "For those patients who need additional therapy, this device may provide a valuable new option. But testing it is critical."

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