ABA Health eSource – Chair’s Column

Most of the members of the Health Law Section are aware of the education and publication services that we provide our members. However, the Section also carries out its responsibility to establish and nurture legal programs that benefit the general public. I first became personally acquainted with one of the programs that we sponsor – Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLP) – when Texas RioGrande Legal Aid established such a partnership with the Medical School at the University of Texas San Antonio. However, Charity Scott, our Council member who is also a professor at Georgia State University Law School, has long been involved with the MLP programs and is an important element in the development of these partnerships between medical schools and law schools. The story of MLP’s development is a tribute to the commitment of many people to improving the general health of the public. In 1993 Dr. Barry Zuckerman, a physician at Boston Medical Center, recognized that although physicians could often treat the symptoms of the children being seen, there were also very complex environmental problems that could undo any medical treatment.

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Austin Chronicle – Wheels in Motion for New Bus Fares

On the upside: Even after Capital Metro raises fares, a ride on one of the agency’s buses will still be cheaper than mass transportation in other cities.

The downside: If you’re so bad off that you can’t afford the fares now, that’s a moot point.

Changing its collective mind once again, Capital Metro’s board of directors voted last week to push a fare increase previously planned for August 2010 up to January. It will likely be the last major decision the board makes before state law changes its composition beginning Jan. 1.

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Texas Lawyer – Extraordinary Minorities In Texas Law Honored

On Oct. 23, Texas Lawyer held a luncheon to honor attorneys recognized in Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law , a special section that profiled 25 attorneys who have had an impact on firms, government, nonprofits, academia and the corporate world in Texas within the past five years. Texas Lawyer published the special section on Sept. 28. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson was the keynote speaker at Texas Lawyer ’s Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law luncheon, which was held at the Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas. [Photos by Danny Hurley]

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Austin Chronicle – Nonprofits not impressed by Cap Metro proposal

You can lead a horse to the bus stop, but you can’t make it get on board.

Two weeks ago, we outlined a proposal being floated by Capital Metro for the creation of a nonprofit charity to address the needs of Central Texans who have no choice but to use mass transit (“Helping the ‘Tran­sit-Dependent,’” Oct. 23). The idea is that the nonprofit would take advantage of possible funding sources not currently being used, take pressure off Cap Metro (which says it needs to raise fares for sustainability reasons), and allow other nonprofits currently helping clients with transportation issues to get back to their core missions.

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Express News – Food stamp woes grow with need

Despite efforts to improve the system, food stamp applicants continue to face long delays in assistance amid a recession-fueled surge in demand.

In Bexar County, the state processed 22,463 more applications from March to September than it did in 2008.

More than 210,000 people received $26 million in food stamps in October in the county, with the average family getting $322 a month. In the vast majority of households receiving food assistance — 82 percent — at least one person is employed.

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