Macon County Commissioners 2011 Meeting Schedule

The Board of Commissioners will hold one regular meeting a month effective January 1, 2011. They will meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m.

Following is the schedule of the 2011 board meetings and the due date for agenda items. Remember any agenda item that is not received by the due date will require an oral request made to the Board at the beginning of the meeting requesting addition to the agenda included with an explanation as to why the item was not on time. Items may be submitted electronically to wanderson@maconnc.org. Be advised that the Board may review and revise this schedule at any time.

Your cooperation is appreciated and if you have questions please let me know.

2011 Meeting Date: 6 p.m.	Agenda Items Due Date:
Tuesday, January 11th	Monday, January 3rd
Tuesday, February 8th	Monday, January 31st
Tuesday, March 8th	Monday, February 28th
Tuesday, April 12th	Monday, April 4th
Tuesday, May 10th	Monday, May 2nd
Tuesday, June 14th	Monday, June 6th
Tuesday, July 12th	Friday, July 1st
Tuesday, August 9th	Monday, August 1st
Tuesday, September 13th	Friday, September 2nd
Tuesday, October 11th	Monday, October 3rd
Tuesday, November 8th	Monday, October 31st
Tuesday, December 13th	Monday, December 5th

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Slowboarding

Videographic eye candy of skate boarders in slow motion.

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2010 Index Macon County Commissioners Meetings

For those who are interested, I've compiled an end of the year index to the meetings of the Macon County Commissioners that I've attended. The learning curve was steep, and I hope you'll forgive the instances in which I delivered sketchy video coverage or completely dropped the ball in providing meeting notes. During the budget process, I fell way behind in producing videos due to my inability to keep up. Meetings were happening faster than I could encode and upload the videos. I contemplated giving up during this period because things were happening quicker than I could handle and I had too many balls in the air at the same time.


I wish that there had a been an instruction manual on how to do this kind of thing...I hope that you'll bear with me as I try to improve the quality of my coverage of these local government meetings in 2011.


Here are the meetings I attended, in chronological order:


January 11, 2010


February 8, 2010


February 22, 2010


March 22, 2010


April 22, 2010 Joint Meeting with Franklin and Highlands


April 26, 2010 (Featuring a horrid experiment in low resolution video)


May 11, 2010


May 24, 2010


May 27, 2010 Macon County School Budget Presentation


May 27, 2010 Macon County Solid Waste Budget Presentation


June 14, 2010


June 28, 2010


July 12, 2010


August 9, 2010


August 23, 2010


Sept 13, 2010 Video Excerpt (I have the full video, but have yet to process it)


Sept 27, 2010


November 8, 2010


November 22, 2010


December 2, 2010 Special Meeting with the County Planning Board


December 6, 2010 Organizational Meeting

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Music Monday: The Concert Podcast #108 Schubert’s Journey

The Concert #108


Works for solo piano performed by pianist Seymour Lipkin, and for orchestra performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Douglas Boyd.


•Schubert: Sonata in C minor, D. 958
•Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 (Tragic)


Today’s podast takes us on a journey through Franz Schubert’s life. The smaller forces of a chamber ensemble seem a fitting vehicle for this early orchestral work, the second piece on the podcast, which shows more connection to Haydn and Mozart than Schubert’s contemporary, Beethoven. Schubert was still a teenager at the time and, though the composer’s talent is quite evident, the piece hews closely to the traditional classical structure. Written about two months before his death, Schubert’s final piano sonatas offer a tantalizing glimpse of where the composer’s music was headed, had he lived through his 30’s. By turns stark, witty, serene, and driving, the 19th sonata still uses the traditional four-movement form while covering a wide-ranging emotional and harmonic terrain.


Source: The Gardner Museum Concert Series [Download MP3] [Archives]
Related Information:


The Performers


Seymour Lipkin, the pianist in this podcast [website] [Arkiv Music]
Douglas Boyd, the conductor: [Wikipedia] [Agent]  


The Composer


Franz Schubert on Wikipedia (from whence I swiped the above image)
Google Books, The Life of Franz Schubert, [Vol 1]
Music Brainz, Franz Schubert Discography
Franz Schubert Institute [website in German][Google Translate]

Commentary

I've been meaning to do this for some time, and will be making an effort to share with you the greatest music of the Western World every Monday on this blog as a regular series called Music Monday. 


When the Gardner Museum is posting podcasts, I will be publicizing those here, when they are not, I will be digging into their archives as well as sharing other sources of great classical music with you. 

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Adventures in RC Flight Videos: "Winterwonderland"

If I were to get into building and flying RC Planes...this would be the kind of video I would try to make! Another thing that would be fun to do this way would be storm chasing. 


The RC Plane is a Ritewing Zephyr.


The builders are the same people who flew the Alps and New York City. Yes, New York City.


For more information on FPV (First Person Video), visit FPVpilot.

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Information on the Total Lunar Eclipse of 12-21-2010 Updated with Live Stream

**1.21am** Here is a live stream of the eclipse from the Marshall Space center in Alabama: SpaceVidCast: (the NASA stream isn't showing anything...)

Orion is on the upper right and Canis Major is on the lower left. Photo Credit: Bobby Coggins

The night skies are clear for the first time in over a week. I missed out on this years Geminid meteor shower, which I hear was spectacular. Figures. Anyway, I'm hoping that the forecast for mostly cloudy skies for next week's Total Lunar Eclipse proves to be wrong, because I've been waiting on it for over two years, since the Feb 2008 Total Lunar Eclipse. [see 2008 live-blog photos] [see 2008 post eclipse photos]


A very good source of information on next Tuesday morning's Lunar Eclipse is Fred Espenek's Mr Eclipse page. He is the author of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Eclipse Page. Science at NASA also has a brief article.


Other good sources of info:


Astronomy Magazine
Sky and Telescope Magazine


I've swiped an image from his website that provides a very good overview of the event for the lay person:















I will be outside watching the eclipse very early next Tuesday morning...and will be tweeting and uploading pics to TwitPic during the event from my @ThunderPig twitter account.


**3.12am** I should add that the next opportunity (after this one) for observing a Total Lunar Eclipse in our area will be in April 2014 [pdf]...then we'll be blessed with four total lunar eclipses over the next eighteen months.

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The beginning is a very delicate time...

Things are about to change around here in 2011 for the better, stay tuned...

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Driving in the Snow

I don't normally drive in the snow unless it is a dire emergency...but if I did, I would be sure to video the event and share it with you. There were at least three people in western North Carolina who drove in the snow, recorded it and uploaded the video to You Tube. Here they are...

Rapid Ralph Slows Down for Winter Weather Driving

A proud owner of a 2010 Subaru puts the car through it's paces on Town Mountain in Asheville, NC

Driving in Boone, NC while listening to the Wagon Wheel

...and a little reminder of why I don't get out on snow-covered roads...no matter how good you drive, there are always idiots out there who can't...

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Macon County Commissioners 12-13-2010 Meeting Agenda

The Macon County Commissioners are meeting tonight at 6pm and I will not be there due to unsafe road conditions. If they come to their senses and cancel, I will update you.

MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

DECEMBER 13, 2010 – 6 P.M.

AGENDA

1. Call to order and welcome by Chairman McClellan

2. Announcements

(A) There will be no meeting on December 27^th due to Christmas holidays

3. Invocation

4. Pledge of Allegiance

5. Public Hearing - None

6. Public Comment Period

7. Adjustments to and approval of the agenda

8. Reports/Presentations:

9. Old Business:

A. Planning Board Ordinance (County Attorney)

10. New Business:

A. Adoption of meeting schedule……………………………Attachment #10A

B. Commissioner Davis’ resignation and replacement…….Attachment #10B

C. Adoption of Code of Ethics………………………………Attachment #10C

11. Consent Agenda…………………………………………………Attachment #11

All items below are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. No separate discussion will be held except on request of a member of the Board of Commissioners.

1. Minutes………………………………………………...Attachment #11A
2. Budget revisions……………………………………….Attachment #11B
3. December 27^th meeting

12. Appointments – Health Board……………………………….Attachment #12

13. Presentation to Commissioner Davis

14. Closed session – If necessary

15. Adjournment/Recess

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Federal Judge Rules ObamaCare Unconstitutional Read the Ruling

**4.36am 12-13-2010** Virginia Attorney General says ruling removes funding mechanism from ObamaCare...





As expected, a federal judge found that requiring private citizens to purchase a private sector product (the individual mandate) is unconstitutional.


Here is the ruling of the judge:

Opinion

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Lunchtime Squirrel

The snow was too cold for this little squirrel, so it sat on top of the ear of corn while it was eating.

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Overnight Snow Hits WNC Mountains Makes Roads Treacherous for Travel

An overnight period of heavy sleet and occasional bands of snow have raised havoc on the roads of western North Carolina. I've monitored numerous reports of accidents and the North Carolina Department of Transportation attempts to clear the roads of ice and snow. 


Helpful Twitter hashtags to follow (using your favorite twitter client) this weather event as people report what they are seeing and hearing are: #WNCwx #AVLsnOMG #WNCscan #AVLnews and #NCwx.

Here is a bief audio recording of the sleet falling at my house just before 3am this morning...






The view from the WPFJ webcams of downtown Franklin, NC.





This is the webcam at Western Carolina University. Notice that there are students playing in the snow at 4am. LOL





Downtown Sylva, NC webcam hosted by The Sylva Herald.


Before you hit the roads, please check the local National Weather Service Office and the NCDOT Travel Management System for an update on conditions. If you have a radio scanner, you probably already have the proper local frequencies programmed into it and have been listening to the Volunteer Fire Departments, EMS and Law Enforcement responding to wrecks and transporting people to area hospitals.


Here are reports from the National Weather Service:




For the southwestern mountains...


Winter Weather Advisory
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010


...SNOW DEVELOPS ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS TODAY...


NCZ062-121915-
/O.EXT.KGSP.WW.Y.0029.101212T1105Z-101214T1100Z/
MACON-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...FRANKLIN
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010


...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY...


THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST
TUESDAY.


* LOCATIONS...MACON COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA.


* HAZARDS...A MIXTURE OF RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...AND POSSIBLY
FREEZING RAIN THIS MORNING. A COMBINATION OF SNOW...GUSTY
WINDS...AND LOW WIND CHILL VALUES IS EXPECTED FROM THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.


* TIMING...WINTRY MIX THIS MORNING WILL BECOME ALL SNOW BY THIS
AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.


* ACCUMULATIONS...WIDELY VARIABLE ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND SLEET
FROM A DUSTING TO 2 INCHES THIS MORNING. ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS
THIS MORNING WILL BE VERY LIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
FROM 1 TO AS MUCH AS 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY THE TIME SNOW
ENDS MONDAY NIGHT.


* IMPACTS...HIGHWAYS ARE LIKELY TO BECOME SLIPPERY AND HAZARDOUS.
GUSTY WINDS MAY DOWN SOME TREES AND POWER LINES. DANGEROUS WIND
CHILL VALUES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND EARLY
MORNING HOURS.


* TEMPERATURES...LOW TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 20 TONIGHT
AND FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS TO THE MID TEENS MONDAY NIGHT.


PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...


A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW AND
GUSTY WINDS WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED
FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION
WHILE DRIVING.


&&


$$

For the counties bordering Tennessee...


Winter Storm Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010


...SNOW DEVELOPS ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS TODAY...


NCZ033-048>052-058-121915-
/O.CAN.KGSP.WW.Y.0028.000000T0000Z-101212T1200Z/
/O.EXT.KGSP.WS.W.0015.101212T1105Z-101214T1100Z/
/O.EXT.KGSP.WW.Y.0029.101212T1105Z-101214T1100Z/
AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-GRAHAM-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NEWLAND...SPRUCE PINE...WAYNESVILLE
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010


...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY
ABOVE 3500 FEET...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY
BELOW 3500 FEET...


THE WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 3500 FEET IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL
6 AM EST TUESDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BELOW 3500 FEET IS
NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY.


* LOCATIONS FOR WARNING...HIGH ELEVATION LOCATIONS ABOVE 3500 FEET
IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN COUNTIES ALONG THE TENNESSEE
BORDER.


* LOCATIONS FOR ADVISORY...LOCATIONS BELOW 3500 FEET IN THE IN THE
NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN COUNTIES ALONG THE TENNESSEE BORDER.


* HAZARDS...A MIXTURE OF RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...AND POSSIBLY
FREEZING RAIN THIS MORNING. A COMBINATION OF SNOW...GUSTY
WINDS...AND LOW WIND CHILL VALUES IS EXPECTED FROM THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.


* TIMING...WINTRY MIX THIS MORNING WILL BECOME ALL SNOW BY THIS
AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.


* ACCUMULATIONS...WIDELY VARIABLE ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND SLEET
FROM A DUSTING TO 3 INCHES THIS MORNING. ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS
THIS MORNING WILL BE VERY LIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
FROM 3 TO AS MUCH AS 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY THE TIME SNOW
ENDS MONDAY NIGHT.


* IMPACTS...HIGHWAYS ARE LIKELY TO BECOME SLIPPERY AND HAZARDOUS.
GUSTY WINDS MAY DOWN SOME TREES AND POWER LINES. DANGEROUS WIND
CHILL VALUES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND EARLY
MORNING HOURS.


* TEMPERATURES...LOW TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 20 TONIGHT
AND FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS TO THE MID TEENS MONDAY NIGHT.


PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...


A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.


A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND HIGH WINDS MEANS SEVERE
WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND HIGH WINDS ARE FORECAST WHICH WILL MAKE
TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST
TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.


&&


$$

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US Senator Bernire Sanders Filibusters Tax Cuts Watch Live Updated with Video

**7.39pm** It wasn't a real filibuster. He spoke for about eight hours. I've added a video of the start and end of the marathon speech to this post.








LIVE PLAYER REMOVED


US Senator Bernie Sanders is currently engaged in a filibuster in an attempt to stop the passage of tax Cuts for Americans. He began the filibuster at 10.25 and, as of 4.14pm EST, it is still ongoing.

Here are the videos:





The beginning of the marathon speech




The end of the marathon speech


The entire speech is currently on the C-Span website.

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Red Dawn

A beautiful Red Dawn in Macon County!!!

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The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall Attacked by Mob of Anarchist and Socialist Students

Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson today mounted an extraordinary defence of armed protection officers after the worst Royal security blunder in a generation.
Sir Paul hailed the 'enormous restraint' of the team guarding Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, implying the rioters were lucky not to have been shot.
Britain's top policeman condemned the 'hugely regrettable and shocking incident' but insisted the proper procedure had been followed.
The Prince and the Duchess were not hurt but the potential risk to their safety raised serious questions about their security and the police operation.
However, Sir Paul said: 'I do think that the officers who were protecting their Royal Highnesses showed very real restraint - some of those officers were armed.
'Their priority was to get that car to the point of safety, which was the venue, and that was achieved, but it was a hugely shocking incident and there will be a full criminal investigation into it.'




Source: UK Daily Mail


More information on the riots: 


UK Mirror
Lubbock Online
London Evening Standard

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The John Batchelor Show for December 09, 2010

The John Batchelor Show is my favorite radio show. John Batchelor does what I like to call the reverse call-in show...he calls people who are all over the world, from many walks of life, with many areas of expertise to discuss what is happening in the world today. I can't really classify the show, You just have to experience it. 

Here is the audio from last nights four hour show...


Hour One; 9pm


Hour Two; 10pm


Hour Three; 11pm


Hour Four; midnight




For more information, please check out these links:


The John Batchelor Show website
Facebook Page (for fans)
Twitter Account
WABC Podcast page

Commentary

I have listened to the show since September 8, 2001, when I found the show while digging around the AM dial after work and heard these two guys (Paul Alexander and John Batchelor) discussing the bombing of the USS Cole and pointing the finger at Osama bin Laden. I was hooked, and made plans to listen the next saturday night on 770-AM WABC from my location in Terre Haute, Indiana. 

September 11th intervened. A couple of nights later, I found these same two guys on WABC (I had a habit at that time of sweeping the AM and shortwave bands late at night for interesting stuff) discussing the events of 9/11 and stopped digging around the radio bands late at night. I had found something interesting. I moved to western Virginia in the spring of 2002, and found the  WABC signal harder to receive, but managed to construct a serviceable antenna tuned to 770 kHz on the AM Band that served me well until I became dissatisfied with my work and returned to western North Carolina in the fall of 2003. Here, I could not pick up WABC so easily, and I quickly purchased an XM Satellite Radio just so that I could continue listening to the show, which, by this time, had dwindled to just one guy, John Batchelor. [Note: The show is no longer on XM Radio because ABC Radio withdrew its channel from the XM lineup and I have since cancelled my subscription to the service]

I suffered through the cancellation in September 2006 and, out of protest, did not listen to anything from WABC (save Matt Drudge...which I listened to on 1510 WLAC) for two solid years. To my great joy, John filled in a couple of times for Matt Drudge on his radio show in the summer of 2007 and then, his show returned to the air (and was livestreamed by WABC) later that year five nights a week, eventually expanding to 7 nights a week...which has continued to this day.  

I download the podcast as soon as it becomes available and listen to it, and lately, they've been real good about having it posted online within a few hours of the broadcast.

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Fireplace

Today is my birthday and I plan on doing little more than curling up in front of the fireplace and reading...even though I've a pile of work waiting to be done.

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Reclaim legislative authority at the local level

Tim Peck has a Letter to the Editor published in the Mountain Xpress regarding the ongoing efforts of the City of Asheville to kick three of eight people out of their home in the Montford Community. I have reproduced it here: 

In your article about a Montford homeowner under attack by the city for having “too many people” [“Sustainable For Whom,” Nov. 17, Xpress), Assistant Planning Director Shannon Tuch says, “This is all based on life-safety requirements. When you have eight related people living in a house, there's a head of household ... who would act ... in the family's best interest to get everybody out. When you have eight unrelated people, it's pretty much every man for himself."

Ms. Tuch's assertion that a head-of-household is more likely to act in his self interest than eight unrelated occupants is simply unfounded. I'm sure Ms. Tuch excels at her government job, but she's a dull sociologist. Recently, a small fire broke out at Bernard Carman's home — for the first time since taking ownership 22 years ago — inside someone's locked and vacated room. The smell of smoke was detected in minutes by several housemates. Acting quickly and with coordinated effort, a resident climbed a ladder, entered the window and doused a burning blanket moments from flaming. The house was saved and without fire damage.

Four unrelated people acting together effectively mitigated a serious life-safety incident. I suspect Ms. Tuch is not so interested in the life-safety issues of eight unrelated people living in a spacious and secure home. What she does, though, is provide a pretext for enforcing North Carolina housing code, which precisely defines who can live where in Asheville. A simple inspection of the historic home would satisfy any observer that this residence is adequate, safe and well-maintained.

We need to reclaim legislative authority at the local level. We can determine for ourselves a whole range of civil issues without blanket interference from a distant legislature. The only thing standing in the way of justice in this and many other cases is the lack of home rule.

— Tim Peck
Asheville

Read more about this:


The Mountain Xpress (the LTE)
Tim Peck (the LTE plus background information on the situation)


Bernard Carman letter in the Mountain Xpress dated October 8, 2010

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NC General Assembly 12-08-2010 Legislative Calendar

Only one committee is scheduled to meet today and I am unsure that I will be available to record the meeting.

10:00 AM

Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse, Joint Legislative Oversight Committee

643 LOB

Here are the supporting documents for this meeting that I have been able to locate. I still don't know why the morons don't make these things easier to find, and post links to the docs in the meeting notices. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they didn't want the general public to be able to follow along with what they are trying to accomplish...

Progress Report from the Dept of Health and Human Services


Community Systems Progress Report for the 1st Quarter of Fiscal Year 2011. 69 pages.

Agenda December 8, 2010

---

Fiscal Year 2011 1st Quarter Progress Report

Community Systems Progress Rpt q1

---

The Appendices for the Progress Report. It includes Data Tables, LME Populations, Medicaid Enrollees, Urban and Rural Designations and formulas used for calculating Performance. 39 pages.

Community Systems Progress rpt q1 appendices

---

Matrix for the Progress Report. It includes 21 critical measures in a chart and is 2 pages.

Community Systems Progress rpt q1 Matrix

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