Commercial Roofing Contractors in Nevada, TX

During the annual workshop of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, in California, Brian Foss, director of planning, said the county is looking into changes to cannabis regulation, from zoning to droning, the authorities are looking into efficient policies, reported local media.

But there's more. “We still think there are some additional things that need to be looked at or potential changes (...)There’s also, in talking with the cannabis industry, a desire to have a direct-to-consumer type model of an allowance, kind of like a farmers market or a temporary event where a number of vendors could come to a site and sell products during the day or maybe over a weekend,” Foss said.

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File 100 is a bill sponsored by Rep. Zach Stephenson to legalize adult-use cannabis in the State of Minnesota. Before becoming Law, the bill needs to go through 14 committees. On Thursday the bill went through the Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee.

“Minnesotans are ready. The time has come to legalize adult-use cannabis in the State of Minnesota. Our current laws are doing more harm than good and Minnesotans deserve the dignity and respect to make their own decisions about cannabis," Stephenson said before the Committee. "This bill shifts cannabis from the illicit marketplace into a legally regulated marketplace where we can address some of the downstream impacts of cannabis consumption in a more honest way, an attempt to give people freedom.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently released a proposed budget for the 2023 session that includes legalizing recreational cannabis, as reported first by CBS Minnesota.

The USDA AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service) announced its first edition of the weekly National Hemp Report. The report, which is free and publicly available, provides “unbiased, timely, and accurate data to help industry stakeholders make business decisions,” said the USDA on social media.

The USDA AMS administers programs that create domestic and international marketing opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber and specialty crops. The report contains retail advertised prices of hemp products nationally and by region, along with volumes and cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) values of hemp imports into the United States.

“The National Hemp Report will equip stakeholders with weekly price and volume information to help guide smart business decisions,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt in a press release. The National Hemp Report will be issued every Wednesday.

“Retail advertised prices for hemp are currently available as part of the National Retail Report-Specialty Crops. This new report will be the first-time movement volumes or CIF values of hemp commodities will be published by USDA Market News. It is also the first Market News report dedicated solely to this new commodity group,” per the press release.

Although Texas has a Compassionate Use Program (CUP) for cannabis, local media and activists argue it remains one of the most restrictive in the United States.

"We need a comparable program to what other states have adopted," said Jax James, executive director for Texas NORML. "If our state is going to continue moving ahead with baby steps, we're going to continue holding back patient access."

Other advocates agreed. "We're looking for safe and legal access inside the state of Texas," added Lisa Sewell, director of operations for Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy. "We're not looking for the black market."

The Division of Workforce and Economic Development at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) is offering certificate programs related to the cannabis industry. CSN has partnered with Green Flower, a national leader in cannabis education, to offer three cannabis certificate programs.

CSN will offer certificate programs for advanced dispensary associates, advanced manufacturing agents and advanced cultivation technicians.

“Our partnership will propel us where we can prepare local talent for (...) economic mobility,” said Stavan Corbett, CSN director of Business Development in a press release published by FOX5Vegas.

© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care providers and consumers to stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears as it conducts an investigation into at least 55 infections in 12 states (CA, CO, CT, FL, NJ, NM, NY, NV, TX, UT, WA, WI) that have led to instances of permanent vision loss, hospitalization and one death.

Most people with infections reported using at least one of more than 10 brands of artificial tears, and the majority of these patients reported using EzriCare's product, the agency says. These eye drops are preservative-free, meaning they don't have ingredients to prevent bacterial growth.

The CDC says it received reports of infections of the cornea, intraocular fluids, respiratory tract and urinary tract, as well as sepsis.

Testing of open EzriCare bottles identified Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria that are resistant to a broad array of antibiotics: cefepime, ceftazidime, piperacillin-tazobactam, aztreonam, carbapenems, ceftazidime-avibactam, ceftolozane-tazobactam, fluoroquinolones, polymyxins, amikacin, gentamicin and tobramycin. However, bacterial isolates that were tested against cefiderocol were susceptible to it.

The bacteria in the open bottles could have come from contamination either during use or during the manufacturing process, the CDC says. Testing of unopened bottles is ongoing.

New Jersey-based EzriCare says in a statement that after learning about the investigation January 20, it "immediately took action to stop any further distribution or sale of EzriCare Artificial Tears. To the greatest extent possible, we have been contacting customers to advise them against continued use of the product."

The eye drops are made in India, and "we understand that the same product is also marketed under other brand names," the company says. The manufacturer, Global Pharma Healthcare PVT Limited, is working with the US Food and Drug Administration on a recall, EzriCare says.

The CDC urges health care providers to immediately stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears. They should advise their patients who use this product to watch for signs of infection and ask about product use in patients who have eye infections.

The CDC also advises consumers to stop using these EzriCare eye drops and to ask for alternative products if their health care provider recommended EzriCare.

Pseudomonas bacteria are common in the environment, such as in soil and water. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is usually spread in health care settings, the CDC says, and is increasingly difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance. It caused more than 32,000 infections in hospitalized patients and about 2,700 deaths in the US in 2017.

The CNN Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

August 08, 2022 - SCAN Health Plan (SCAN) announced it will be extending Medicare Advantage plans into Texas and new counties in Nevada in 2023.

“As SCAN continues to grow and build its national reputation as a leader in senior healthcare, our unique approach to provider relationships enables us to deliver quality care and service for older adults that stands out among the rest,” Karen Schulte, senior vice president of network management at SCAN, said in the press release.

The payer stated that it intends to enter the Medicare Advantage markets in Harris County, Texas and Bexar County, Texas, marking its entrance into the state of Texas.

SCAN already has plans in Nevada, but the payer wants to extend its reach in the Silver State. SCAN announced its intent to enter the Nye County Medicare Advantage market.

SCAN’s expansion has to receive approval from CMS before it can go any further. However, if the agency does affirm the payer’s plans, then SCAN’s membership could swell to around 7 million. The payer would have health insurance products in 20 markets in five states.

Leaders from within the payer organization said that the payer was asked to enter these markets. Schulte explained that health systems and medical groups invited the payer into their counties. The providers that extended the invitation shared the payer's patient-centered care approach.

“SCAN values building strong, long-standing relationships with its provider partners that translate into improved care for our members,” Schulte added. “As SCAN and its reputation continue to grow, it garners the attention of potential partners across the country who align with our mission to keep seniors healthy and independent.”

The press release shared that these expansions fit within the payer’s larger vision.

“SCAN is on a trajectory of rapid growth,” said Sachin Jain, MD, president and chief executive officer of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan. “With the record-breaking AEP season we experienced last year, we are keenly aware of what older adults are looking for in their Medicare Advantage plan—and we are poised to deliver.”

The announcement follows news that the payer’s parent organization, SCAN Group, acquired The Residentialist Group (TRG), an organization that specializes in home healthcare. In this acquisition, the payer aimed to expand make more efficient its existing home healthcare services. TRG and SCAN Group’s home healthcare program, HealthCHEC, will merge to become Homebase Medical.

Some payers have also announced expansions in the past year. Humana extended its Medicare Advantage products into Tennessee in 2022 with a dual special needs Medicare Advantage plan. The payer also expanded its home healthcare program, onehome, in order to offer greater access to care for Medicare Advantage members. Humana expanded onehome into the cities of Richmond and Roanoke in Virginia and southern Virginia.

Other payers have expanded their Medicare Advantage benefits. Cigna responded to the heat wave by expanding the payer’s Medicare Advantage transportation benefit. The move allows seniors to leverage the non-emergency transportation benefit for free in order to travel to areas with air conditioning.

Studies show that Medicare Advantage plans are accounting for a higher share of enrollment in 2022, compared to fee-for-service Medicare and alternative Medicare coverage.

The city of Kyle, Texas, would not be getting a pedestrian tunnel from Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company. According to city officials, the proposed pedestrian tunnel project was shut down even before a feasibility study could be performed.

“That project has proven to not be viable, and the city of Kyle is no longer pursuing it as an option,” city officials said.

Most of The Boring Company’s existing projects are currently centered in Las Vegas, Nevada. So far, the startup has built a 0.8-mile Loop system under the Las Vegas Convention Center that’s open to passengers. The company is also actively building out the first phases of the 29-mile Vegas Loop, which connects several of the city’s key destinations. The Kyle project was expected to be the first tunnel project from The Boring Company in the Austin area, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

The cancellation of the Kyle pedestrian tunnel is unfortunate, seeing as the project seemed to be moving forward. Back in May, the Kyle City Council approved a $50,000 professional services agreement for the project. The pedestrian tunnel would have connected Kyle Crossing, a retail development, with Plum Creek, an area with about 5,000 single-family homes and apartments.

According to city authorities, Central Southwest Texas Development, the company behind Kyle Crossing, paid for the $50,000 professional services contract with the Boring Company. The agreement also stated that if the project moved forward, $76,000 would be available to pay to Union Pacific Railroad, whose train tracks pass through the location where the tunnel was planned. The pedestrian tunnel itself would have been covered through an agreement with the developer as part of $3 million in funding that the City of Kyle has set aside.

Unfortunately, The Boring Company’s planned pedestrian tunnel never progressed to the point where it needed to produce a feasibility study. City officials noted that the plan was paused in August, following the rejection of the concept by Union Pacific Railroad. Kyle officials have also confirmed that, as of writing, the city is no longer working with Elon Musk’s tunneling startup.

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Spiking gas prices have weighed on motorists in every state this year, making daily life more expensive in myriad ways. But the burden has not been evenly distributed.

Californians were paying well over $5 a gallon months before the national average reached it on June 11. In Chicago, the average is pushing $6 but remains nearly a dollar cheaper elsewhere in Illinois. Fuel costs in rural parts of the Southeast and Midwest lag far behind those of their coastal counterparts.

So why do gasoline costs differ so much from one area to the next? Economists attribute it to an array of forces related to supply chains, the local cost of doing business, taxes and environmental policy, among other factors.

Crude oil is a global commodity, whose prices are set by supply and demand. But it also has to be transported to a refinery, processed and then shipped to individual fuel stations, which have operating costs of their own. Each link in that chain is reflected in what consumers pay at the pump, and that cost varies significantly depending on the location.

The bulk of U.S. refining capacity is along the Gulf Coast, particularly Texas and Louisiana, said Pavel Molchanov, director and equity research analyst at Raymond James, an investment bank and financial services company. A gas station located far away from a refinery can expect a hefty markup, he says.

“Delivering gas in Texas is obviously cheaper because the refineries are right there,” Molchanov said. “In places where there are no refineries, the fuel needs to be delivered maybe thousands of miles, and that costs more.”

The East Coast, for example, benefits from a vast network of pipelines that carries gasoline and jet fuel; the largest is Colonial Pipeline, which stretches from Houston to New York. But that setup cannot be replicated on the West Coast because the Rocky Mountains prevent similar access to Gulf Coast refineries.

Taxes also play a key role: All motorists pay a federal gasoline tax of 18 cents a gallon, but states tack on their own levies, which generally are used to fund infrastructure projects, and they can vary significantly.

West Coast drivers pay some of the highest state fuel taxes in the country, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. That comes to nearly 57 cents a gallon in California, 49 cents in Washington and 38 cents in Oregon.

But the highest state tax rate belongs to Pennsylvania, at 58 cents per gallon. The lowest can be found in Alaska, at about 9 cents.

As fuel prices have climbed, some states, including Florida, New York and Georgia, have paused their gasoline taxes for parts of 2022.

Clean energy regulations can increase costs at the state and local level. Regulations governing the mix of chemicals referred to as “gasoline” mean gas stations have to pay more in some states to serve cleaner-burning fuel.

California’s Air Resource Board, for example, maintains a raft of requirements applying to the specific formulation that gas producers and importers can sell in the state, applying strict rules to chemicals like benzene, formaldehyde and sulfur. As a result, the state imports a lot of Middle Eastern gas, according to GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan.

Regulations on so-called cleaner-burning gasoline, or CBG, also can come into play within individual states. Arizona’s retail compliance standards for gasoline place tighter restrictions on Phoenix and the surrounding area, for example, while Tucson and other parts of the state have less stringent requirements.

Gasoline in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, runs nearly $5.70 a gallon, on average. But it remains under $5 in neighboring Yuma and Pima Counties.

Data on national and state gas prices comes from AAA. Petroleum refinery and pipeline locations, along with processing capacity, are from the U.S. Energy Information Association. Processing capacity is as of Jan. 1, 2021 and reported in barrels per stream day, or the maximum amount a refinery could produce if it ran at full capacity all day. State tax rate data was provided by the Federation of Tax Administrators.