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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Monday, April 10, 2006
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Jobs Are On the Rise in Missouri
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), April 10, 2006 - State-specific numbers released by the Department of Labor Friday show Missouri shares in good economic news with more than 7,600 new jobs created in February 2006 alone.
"These numbers really speak to the resilience of this economy. Despite the economic impact of 9/11, two wars, a stock market bubble and energy price spikes this economy remains healthy," said Missouri Senator Kit Bond in a release.
Today's news shows that the economy is strong and continues to grow, Bond pointed out. According to the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy has created 5.1 million new jobs since 2003, 2.1 million in the last year alone. In addition to job growth, wages are on the rise as well, said Bond. Also, the unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, down from February and a rate lower than the average of the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's or1990's.
State-specific numbers released today also show that Missouri shares in the good economic news, emphasized Bond. From February 2005 to February 2006 Missouri created 37,500 jobs and 7,600 in February 2006 alone. Also, the statewide unemployment rate is 4.8 percent in February.
"The numbers released today are signs that the economy is responding positively to Congress' fiscally-disciplined agenda, said Bond. In order to keep the economy's momentum going, Congress needs to act now and make the tax cuts permanent."
According to numbers released by the Department of Treasury hundreds of thousands of Missouri taxpayers will enjoy a lighter burden thanks to the tax relief passed in 2001 and 2003. More than 2 million Missouri taxpayers will have lower income tax bills. Also, 650,000 married couples in Missouri will benefit from the reduction of the marriage penalty and 541,000 married couples and single parents in Missouri will benefit from the increase in the child tax credit.
Missouri Wineries Strike Gold in California
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), April 8, 2006 - Missouri wineries mined California Gold at the recent Jerry Mead New World International Wine Competition. Four Missouri wineries, Augusta, Les Bourgeois, St. James and Stone Hill, earned Best of Class, Gold Medal Awards, while Stone Hill and Les Bourgeois wines earned Best of Varietal accolades from the southern California-based event.
The Best of Varietal nods went to Les Bourgeois for their 2004 Chardonel Collector Series, and to Stone Hill for their 2005 Vignoles and 2004 Steinberg White. The Best of Class, Gold Medal Awards were presented to Augusta Winery for their 2005 Vignoles and St. James Winery for their Velvet Red and Velvet White.
"Top awards like these really generate interest in our state's wine industry," said Jim Anderson, Executive Director of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board. "Consumers know they will enjoy quality when they choose a Missouri wine."
Silver award winners from Missouri were Blumenhof, Les Bourgeois, Mount Pleasant, Montelle, St. James, Stone Hill and Sugar Creek.
Sixteen panels of judges tasted over 2200 different wines submitted by over 525 wineries during this year's competition. The contest is limited to wines produced in the "New World," the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and is held annually in Ontario, Ca.
Missouri Governor Blunt offered his congratulations to the Missouri wineries involved in the competition. "The Missouri wine industry continues to excel in the production of quality wines," said Blunt. "We are proud to call Missouri home to these award-winning labels."
Type 2 Diabetes Prescriptions Double Among Children
ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire), April 8, 2006 - A study of prescription claims for millions of U.S. children ages 5 to 19 has revealed a four-year doubling in those taking medication typically used to treat or prevent Type 2 diabetes. This rapid increase, a rise from about 0.3 to 0.6 per thousand from 2002 to 2005, represents enormous implications for national long-term health care needs and expenditures.
The Express Scripts study, "2002-2005 Trends in the Prevalence of Use of Antidiabetic Agents in Children: 5 to 19 Years," analyzed the prevalence of antidiabetic prescription use among children enrolled with Express Scripts, Inc., through commercial health plans. The study reviewed the prescription records of at least 3.7 million U.S. children each year.
"This study is the first of its kind nationally to reveal the long-suspected national increase in the prevalence of children with or at risk for diabetes," said Emily Cox, PhD, Express Scripts senior director of research and the study's lead author. "By using prescription claims data to better understand the scope and significance of this problem, we believe the health care community finally has the validation it needs to directly address the issue," added Steve Miller, MD, Express Scripts vice president of research and a study author.
While the use of medications typically prescribed for Type 2 diabetes doubled, the rise was most significant among pre-adolescents, with prevalence of Type 2 diabetes treatment growing 106% among 10- to 14-year-olds. Use of Type 2 diabetes treatments was most prevalent among 15- to 19-year-old teenagers, growing from 0.6 to 1.2 per thousand.
The study also identified a 30.5% increase in Type 1 diabetes prescription use, and a 41.0% increase in total prevalence of diabetes medication use for either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
"As recently as 2004, standard pediatric textbooks talked about pediatric diabetes in the 'per hundred thousand children' level," said Ed Weisbart, MD, Express Scripts chief medical officer and a family physician. "Now we're talking about it at the per-thousand children level. We've moved two orders of magnitude within just a few years. In fact, Type 2 diabetes has long been regarded as 'adult-onset diabetes' due to its representation among middle-aged and older adults, but this study indicates that children with or at risk of Type 2 diabetes are becoming far more common."
While this study did not investigate the causes behind the increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes medication use among 5- to 19-year-olds, childhood obesity is believed to be the primary factor. According to the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 16% of children 6 to 19 years of age were considered overweight, an increase from the estimated 11% reported in the 1988-1994 NHANES survey. Research also indicates that overweight and obese children are approximately twice as likely as normal-weight children to develop Type 2 diabetes.
According to a March 2006 report by the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, nearly half of all children in North and South America will be overweight by 2010, as opposed to about one-third today. Researchers indicate that this trend is fueled by more sedentary lifestyles among children and the increased availability and intake of junk food, among multiple factors.
"The increase in Type 2 diabetes carries enormous health care risks," Weisbart said. "Diabetes is known to shorten life expectancy by about a decade, on average. Diabetics are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke, 10 times more likely to require amputations, and are far more likely to suffer nervous system damage, blindness, kidney disease and complications with pregnancy."
According to Weisbart, parents can identify the likelihood of Type 2 diabetes in their children by regularly measuring their children's height and weight. "Because of the strong and direct correlation between childhood obesity and the likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes, parents can identify this by simply measuring their child's height and weight to determine the child's body mass index (BMI)," he said. "And according to a recent Journal of Pediatrics article, parents should also be measuring the waist size of their children to help predict Type 2 diabetes risk."
Small Businesses Invited to Testify about Regulatory Fairness of State Agencies
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), April 8, 2006 - The Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board will hold a public hearing on Monday, May 1, seeking public comment on the state rules and regulations that impact small businesses. The hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Room 500 of the Harry S. Truman Building, 301 West High Street, Jefferson City.
Small business owners who wish to comment on how state agency rules and regulations affect their operations may do so by oral or written testimony. Officials from the Department of Natural Resources and the Office of Administration Division of Purchasing have been invited to testify on their approach to regulatory fairness for Missouri's small businesses.
Those small businesses wishing to provide oral testimony about any state agency must register no later than April 26 using the form on the board's Web site at www.sbrfb.ded.mo.gov, by sending an email request to sbrfb@ded.mo.gov or by calling (866) 719-1401. Testimony will be limited to five minutes. The openings for oral testimony will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Walk-in testimony will be allowed if time permits.
Written testimony should be sent to the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board, Missouri Department of Economic Development, P.O. Box 118, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102 or by email to SBRFB@ded.mo.gov no later than April 24.
The board was established by the Missouri General Assembly in 2004 and given additional powers and responsibilities in 2005 to ensure that small business owners have a voice in the development of rules and regulations by state agencies. Small businesses are defined as those companies with 100 or fewer full-time or part-time employees.
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