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Maricopa County Attorney

October 2, 2008

The candidates for County Attorney had a big debate last night. Check out this link for the transcipts of the debate: ABC 15 Story

Maricopa County Jails

The jail system in Maricopa County has received a fair amount of lawsuits from inmates over the years. Apparently they just lost their accreditation from the federal government concerning health standards. AZ Star has an interesting story, and points out that this could have serious implications on lawsuits:

“Maricopa County jails lose federal health accreditation”
Associated Press

PHOENIX — Maricopa County jails are no longer accredited by a national health commission because the facilities failed to meet federal standards for care and county officials provided incorrect information to the accrediting agency, officials said.

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care sent Maricopa County administrators a letter late last week notifying them the group was pulling its accreditation of the county’s jail system.

Read Full Article AZ Star

Court upholds S.F. on health coverage plan

San Francisco’s pioneering program to provide health coverage for uninsured adults took a big step forward Tuesday when a federal appeals court upheld the city’s authority to make employers pay part of the cost.

Rejecting challenges by restaurant owners and the Bush administration, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the city can require employers to spend a specific amount of money on health care without interfering with federal regulation of employee benefit plans.

City officials and labor unions said the ruling establishes San Francisco as a model for state and local health coverage in the absence of a nationwide universal health plan. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association said it considered the ruling harmful to businesses and would probably appeal.

Supporters of the ruling said the financial effect – reflected in signs posted by some restaurants announcing a health care “surcharge” on bills – is modest and doesn’t bother most customers.

Read Article San Francisco Chronicle

Many Foods Will Soon Be Labeled by Country of Origin

Country-of-origin labeling finally became a reality on Tuesday for meats, produce and some nuts sold in American supermarkets.

But it may be a matter of weeks or months before consumers see the new labels at some grocery chains.

Under the new rule, grocery stores will have to identify the country of origin for meats, produce and certain nuts; seafood is already labeled. Though it took effect on Tuesday, the Agriculture Department gave retailers six months to comply with the new law.

Wal-Mart planned to have many of the labels in place by Tuesday, if not soon thereafter, a spokeswoman said. A Kroger spokeswoman said the company expected to introduce the labels in the coming weeks as store employees and suppliers became familiar with the new law.

Read Article New York Times