Mediaboss Marketing

Officials encourage people to protect themselves from mosquito bites by using bug spray. Harris County Public Health confirmed bug spray is one of the best ways to keep mosquitoes away as warmer weather arrives.

Local health officials say warmer weather means cookouts, swimming, and other outdoor activities, but also means a lot more mosquitoes.

Barbie Robinson is the Harris County Health Executive Director and said the Houston-area has the perfect conditions for a higher risk of mosquito-borne illnesses in humans and animals.

"We're prone to hurricanes, tropical storms, and wet conditions, as well as hot weather," she said. "And these types of conditions lead to an increase in mosquito problems in populations."

Robinson said mosquitos are considered the most dangerous insects in the world because of the way they can spread disease. The West Nile or Zika virus are examples of viruses most prominent in hot and humid areas like Houston.

Other officials warn that this year will likely see more mosquito problems than the last. County Mosquito Control Director Max Vigilant said Houston has seen a fluctuation in mosquito populations for the past few years.

"Usually, when we see this pattern, it's always like a two-year increase," he said. "So I'm looking at 2023, where our numbers may be higher than what 2022 presented to us."

Last year, five cases of mosquito-borne viruses were reported in Harris County. Of the five, one man in his 80s died form the West Nile Virus.

Health officials provided various ways residents can reduce mosquito activity around their homes and avoid mosquito-borne illnesses.

More:
Ways to reduce mosquito activity around your home Houston ... - Houston Public Media

Click to watch

Remarks as delivered:

Mr. Secretary, you and I were federal prosecutors on border states; we've known each other for a long time. When you took office, we were securing the border.

You said that you have operational control. Well, last month your border patrol chief Mr. Ortiz testified before this committee that DHS does not have operational control of the border, and I agree with him.

In my 20 years in Congress, as a former chair of this committee, and as a federal prosecutor tasked with securing the border in Texas, I've never seen this border more out of control. And I believe it's because on day one you rescinded the Migrant Protection Protocols otherwise known [as] Remain in Mexico.

At at that time two years ago, you said it was necessary to terminate this program that was working because, quote, it [had] unjustifiable human costs" associated with it. But I ask you:

Is it justifiable thatmigrant encounters have risen to 5 million people since you took office?

Is it justifiable thatmore than 100,000 Americans have died from fentanyl flowing across the border?

Is it justifiable that98 suspected terrorists attempted to enter the homeland last year alone and who knows how many have made it in? When I was chairman, I wanted that stat every week I got briefed.

Is it justifiable thatat least 12,000 criminals attempted to enter the homeland last year, 1,000 with assault-related charges and 62 with homicide-related charges?

Is it justifiable to human costs thatat least 853 migrants died trying to make the dangerous journey across the border last year the most on record in the history of this country? ...

Is it justifiable thatin my state, first responders found stacks of bodies" that's a quote abandoned by human smugglers in a trailer who suffocated to death?

Are these human costsjustifiablebecause they align with your political agenda?

Because I dont think ANY of these things NONE of this is justifiable.

This is the biggest human trafficking crisis of my lifetime. And you, sir, are complicit with it.

Ive been down [to the border] so many times, but now it's completely out of control. And what are we going to do with five million people who have no legal status in this country? How do you deal with this problem? They're going to live in the shadows. Where are they going to go? The women [and] the girls are going to be sex-trafficked, and the young men are going to go to MS-13. That's going to be their family.

You know it, and I know you know it. Because you know better. You're a smart man. You were a U.S. attorney like me.

Thats why I'm supporting our bill that we're going to mark up to try to get control of this thing once and for all.And as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I'm going to [introduce a bill to] compel this administration to renegotiate Remain in Mexico.

You know, in the final analysis, sir, your job is a solemn one. It's probably one of the most important cabinet jobs because your job is to protect the American people from threats. Your job is to secure borders, air, land, and sea.

And in my judgment and it's hard for me to say this, I've known you for quite some time but you have failed in your job.And I think you know this.

And I agree with our border patrol agents. [One] of the most profound things that I saw in your tenure [was] when you went down to the border and the border patrol agents turned their backs on you because, quote, "you have turned your back on them."

I think that speaks volumes about your tenure in office. For God's sake, work with us to get this done. It is out of control. And it's at great human cost, and none of it is justifiable.

One rescission one stroke of the pen rescinding Migrant Protection Protocol/Remain in Mexico was the direct cause and effect. And your agents on the border tell me this.

"What caused this crisis?" I ask. It's because the president rescinded Remain in Mexico. Because [immigrants coming illegally] couldn't get in the United States before that, and now they get in and it's catch and release all over again, and now we have this crisis at the border.

###

Read more from the original source:
McCaul Remarks at Homeland Security Hearing with Mayorkas ... - House.gov

Commonwealth of VirginiaOffice of the Attorney General

Jason S. MiyaresAttorney General

202 North 9th StreetRichmond, Virginia 23219804-786-2071FAX 804-786-1991Virginia Relay Service800-828-1120

For media inquiries only, contact:Victoria LaCivita(804) 588-2021This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare to Pay $3 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

LYNCHBURG, Va. 1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare Services, headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, has agreed to pay $3,000,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by engaging in fraudulent billing activities between January 2017 and May 2021 with regards to pediatric in-home health, personal care, and related services.

From 2017 and continuing through May 2021, 1st Adult & Pediatrics billed Virginia Medicaid for reimbursements for in-home health care services for pediatric patients who were actually hospitalized at the time the in-home services were billed. In addition, 1st Adult & Pediatrics routinely billed Virginian Medicaid for home health services that were not actually provided.

Those who take advantage of Virginians during some of their most vulnerable times must be held accountable. Thanks to the excellent work done by my office and our federal partners, this organization will have to answer for its illegitimate billing methods that exploited hospitalized pediatric patients, said Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.

The Medicaid and Medicare systems are important safety nets for many in our communities, especially vulnerable patients, like the seriously ill children involved in this case. We must do our part to keep them free of waste, fraud, and abuse, Principal Deputy United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee said today. I am grateful for our partnership with the Virginia Medicare Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Health and Human Services in resolving this matter.

Providers that submit false Medicaid claims disregard their legal requirement to bill for services legitimately and, simultaneously, cheat the program on which their patients greatly rely, stated Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). In collaboration with fellow agencies, HHS-OIG is committed to preventing and detecting fraud in taxpayer-funded health care programs.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act against 1st Adult & Pediatrics. Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the settlement if the government takes over the case and reaches a monetary agreement with the defendant. In this case, the United States and Commonwealth of Virginia intervened in the whistleblowers case and obtained default prior to settlement. The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Patterson & Williams v. 1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare Services, Inc., Civil Action No. 6:19-cv-68.

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort among the United States Attorneys Office for the Western District of Virginia, the Office of the Virginia Attorney Generals Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lugar and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Division investigated the matter.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is funded 75% by a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, with 25% matching funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

###

Original post:
April 19, 2023 - 1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare to Pay $3 Million to ... - Attorney General of Virginia

Historians say that more than 500 Black newspapers were created in the 35 years between 1865 and the start of the 20th century. This was a time when press advocacy was critical as Black people rallied to support one another after the ending of slavery.

The Black press was never intended to be objective because it didnt see the white press being objective, Phyllis Garland, a professor at Columbias journalism school,saidin PBSs film on the Black press. It often took a position. It had an attitude. This was a press of advocacy. There was news, but the news had an admitted and a deliberate slant.

Oh, how history repeats.

More than two hundred years later, the Black community is again at a juncture that calls for widespread unification as the fight for racial equity continues. Over time, Black-owned and led press entities were more robust with the likes of John H. Johnson founding Johnson Publishing in 1942, Robert Johnson (no relation) launching BET nearly 40 years later and the litany of other Black press owners in the years between. More recently, Black media has increasingly become white-owned, and those that are still under Black ownership have become less objective.

Detavio Samuels is aware of this.

He was tapped to run Black-owned media company REVOLT three years ago from its elephantine founder Sean Diddy Combs under the mission of authentically telling stories centering hip-hop culture in a fresh way. And much like the Bad Boy boss himself, Samuels realized he needed to be visible in order to do that.

Before joining REVOLT, the Stanford grad led business growth strategy for Interactive One (formerly Radio One) and was at the helm of pushing key initiatives behind the scenes. Hed grown accustomed to being the kingmaker, not the king.

The days of CEOs getting to hide behind their corner office are gone, he told ESSENCE, noting that the music-oriented digital cable television network was founded to pick up where MTV left off. We want to get back to centering authentic and the best way to do that is with powerful storytelling.

Thats what he said drove the decision to host a video-first podcast on the network called The Blackprint. Samuels sits down with his industry peers, popular celebrities, and essentially, the people who make crazy ideas come to life about what it took to make it happen. The show isnt a new concept, but he says its culturally significant and very necessary.

Article continues after video.

Being able to hear these stories from these Black people breaking the very barriers that were erected specifically because theyre Black, on a Black-owned media platform is critically importantwe dont own enough of our own narratives.

REVOLT is one of the few Black-owned multimedia press companies in a largely homogenous media landscape.Diddyand fellow mogul Byron Allen have called out the meager Black representation the industry currently boasts.

Media is the most powerful industry in the world but its the industry where we have the least amount of ownership, influence, and control, Diddy wrote in an Instagram post in March.

Samuels agrees.

I was in talks to come to REVOLT at a time when Id just lost my father, so I was really at a place where I was trying to figure out how to further his legacy, Samuels said of his college professor father. As Im processing his death, Im realizing that theres such a commonality between my father and myself in that he spent his career walking into white spaces, championing Black culture, trying to get people to see us differently, and that I had been doing that my whole career. He did it in the academic space. I did it in the media space. And so listening to Sean Combss vision and having this desire to continue the legacy, it felt like an incredible opportunity to build my fathers legacy and support Sean Combs in building this incredible vision that he had.

He says that the dissemination of once gate-kept knowledge from highly successful Black change agents is one way hes doing that.

We all need a life roadmap because this journey were on isnt always linear, Samuels said. What better way source to learn from than your own people who are creatively dangerous and impassioned about creating pathways for others?

He added: My prayer is media flips back to Black-owned like it was decades ago. I pray that those with the means to make that happen takes on the takes because its a huge responsibility. Theres so much power in the Black story. And we should be the ones wielding it.

Read the rest here:
REVOLT TV's CEO Detavio Samuels Talks The Dire Importance Of ... - Essence

Local elected and community leaders are denouncing what they're calling the "Death Star" bill legislation they say would strip the city and county of its power to enforce local laws protecting its residents.

House Bill 2127 is being debated Tuesday on the House Floor and it's getting backlash from local officials across the state and in the Houston-area. The bill was filed by Republican State Representative Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and leaders are concerned that the bill limits the authority that the City of Houston and Harris County would have to enforce some laws and would give more control to the state.

The bill would prevent local governments from regulating changes in state codes such as agriculture, finance, insurance, labor, natural resources and occupations.

"This bill is a hostile and sweeping power grab by partisan state officials designed to decimate our basic ability to govern ourselves at the local level, to disenfranchise Houstonians, and to block the passage of policies that improve the lives of working people and are popular with Houstonians," said Hany Khalil, Executive Director of the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation.

Khalil said the bill is an example of years-long efforts of Texas Republican lawmakers trying to gain control of local governments. He said under Republican leadership, community concerns like flooding and environmental issues have been neglected and the bill is a bad idea.

"HB 2127 is an unacceptable infringement on our right to have a say in how the places we live and work are governed," he said. "And so I want to encourage each and every Houstonian to take a minute today to learn about this dangerous bill and to act to make your voice heard by calling your state representative and ask [them] to vote no on HB 2127."

State Rep. Dustin Burrows said his bill "provides the regulatory stability and certainty that enables business owners to expand their businesses to other cities within Texas with more consistency, creating more jobs and prosperity in the process."

He also added, "It actually gives local governments a hand by giving them a simple reason why they won't, in fact, be bringing to a vote the countless issues that activists have been harassing them to pass locally."

Burrows said the bill does not stop local governments from addressing natural or man-made disasters, unsafe waste storage, short-term rentals, towing and impounding, water restrictions, uncontrolled burns, backyard fire displays, unsafe outdoor festivals, and open containers.

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said if passed, the bill creates even more problems for the city and the county.

"These state bills that have been considered would be a total power grab," he said. "They would preempt our ability to serve people in a manner that is tailored to the local challenges that we face."

Garcia said the state's track record on decision making has not always been valid compared to the local level.

"When Governor Abbott suggested during Hurricane Harvey, that we evacuate millions of people it demonstrated that he had no understanding of the danger that a massive evacuation could cause for millions of people."

Governor Greg Abbott is in support of the bill.

See the article here:
Death Star bill in Texas House would strip power from local officials, critics say - Houston Public Media