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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 16, 2021 9:35:56 GMT -5
I wonder how much that cost the city. Gee they may be having trouble paying there fair share of the new parking garage they agreed on but monies was around for foolish fireworks. Celebrating 70% of New Yorks State being vaccinated so now all is wide open except for schools and public transportation and healthcare centers.
Reaching 70% vaccination rate is naive. Here in Oneida County we are around 55% and west of us in those zipcodes much less vaccinated people and many who refuse arourding to recent news stories.
So be careful out there that virus is just waiting to find a non vaccinated person and go to work. I like what one official said on TV that the vaccine is meant to not make you so sick that you need hospitalization or even end up dead so you can still catch COVID even though vaccinated but with milder conditions which is the opposite of what Cuomo said yesterdays news cast where he said if you have the vaccine you need not worry being around non vaccinated. Confusion....
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Post by clarencebunsen on Jun 16, 2021 10:36:50 GMT -5
The initial test results back in December showed efficacies of about 70% which is a little better than flu shots most years. So if it reduces the number is sick people you might contact in your daily life that is a benefit. If it also reduces how sick you get if infected that is also a benefit. So far I have not seen any indication on whether we will need annual boosters.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Jun 16, 2021 11:07:32 GMT -5
From what I just read the Delta variant of COVID is on its way to becoming the dominant in the US. The Pfizer vaccine offers "very good" protection against Delta. AstraZeneca had “substantial but reduced” efficacy against Delta.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 16, 2021 11:48:56 GMT -5
They allowed the fireworks last night but cancelled the fourth of July fireworks and festivities? Makes no sense to me.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 16, 2021 16:46:25 GMT -5
The Big Mayor of the City addressed that just now on WKTV newscast and said: We are looking into it as we speak. I hope they do not have fireworks not from the health aspect of COVID but because they make to much noise and allow for the many idiots in the city to carry on with blasting off fireworks for the next two to three weeks afterward. Hopefully it will rain with huge thunderstorms with much rain that lasts for a few days.
From what I heard the fireworks to celebrate Cuomo's lifting of bans had no attendance. It was view only from where you are. I heard them but had no interest to watch. So I didn't.
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Post by BHU on Jun 16, 2021 18:08:43 GMT -5
I heard but couldn't see them. I don't mind them, I'm more concerned with someone lighting off bottle rockets & having one land on my roof.
As far as that parking garage is concerned, why should city taxpayers have to pay twice with county AND city taxes? There no doubt will be a city tax increase to pay back the millions that Utica will have to bond for.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 16, 2021 19:19:51 GMT -5
Yes it always comes down to taxation since that is how our governments work at present. Maybe a better approach would be an approach United Way uses to generate funds; politely asking everyone to set aside an automatic withdrawal from their paycheck.
We need the parking garage for the hospital and every effort must be made to secure funding for without that the hospital downtown will cause one huge mess with places for parking competing with spaces for the general publics use. If you look at the parking lots around St Luke's and especially the parking situation at Saint E's then throw in Faxton I think all downtown would have to be demolished to make room for the parking without a garage which still will be to small and which will most likely be down sized due to increased in product needed for construction of said garage.
Another approach could be a 20% surcharge on all Oneida County residents who use the hospital in Utica. If they decide to go to a hospital or use medical services outside the County then the surcharge would be applied to their property tax and or estate and for those who do not own property a 20% surcharge on their income from State taxes.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 16, 2021 20:56:47 GMT -5
I heard but couldn't see them. I don't mind them, I'm more concerned with someone lighting off bottle rockets & having one land on my roof.
As far as that parking garage is concerned, why should city taxpayers have to pay twice with county AND city taxes? There no doubt will be a city tax increase to pay back the millions that Utica will have to bond for. I know the feeling when it comes to bottle rockets. My neighbor that just sold his house and moved used to have big parties on New Years and 4th of July. With fireworks legal here they used to shoot more than Disney World does, haha. Our trailer had a rubber roof and I picked up the sticks all over the yard the next day. Thankfully none of them landed on the roof and melted any holes in the fabric. |
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Post by BHU on Jun 17, 2021 13:14:59 GMT -5
There will be less beds in this area with the new hospital once St. E's & Luke's closes. Let's hope there's not another pandemic like the one we're going thru, because if there is there won't be enough beds to go around. That hospital doesn't belong downtown anymore then an airport does. And the proof is in the massive demo that had to be done to accomodate it. Millions spent to swing a wrecking ball. Just like the millions wasted on Marcy NANO. What a joke.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Jun 17, 2021 14:14:00 GMT -5
Hospital patient-days have been in decline for this area for years and I don't see any reason to expect a change. I don't see the numbers anymore but when I did St. E's was in a death spiral, losing more than $10 million per year. Without the affiliation with St. Luke's they would have closed years ago.
Affiliation allowed cutting a lot of administrative costs while keeping patient care costs relatively flat. Barb had been in charge of quality at St. Luke's, she was made responsible for quality at both hospitals and her counterpart from St. E's left to pursue other interests. Barb then had an office and a staff and a parking spot at both offices and a schedule from hell.
Then the state budget in it's typical after mid-night deal making, suddenly included $300 million for hospital construction in Utica. The board members were told back-channel that they would only get the money for down-town Utica. The mayor and the then state rep wanted an "urban renewal" project. They would not buy anything like Utica annexing the area around St. Luke's to put a new hospital in Utica.
The board did as expected. The new hospital will be down-town.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 17, 2021 16:33:27 GMT -5
CB it seems hospital care and nursing home care are loosing money. The Franciscan community I belonged to in Missouri had three nursing homes each with many residents needing skilled nursing. The Infirmary in Eureka ( the Mother House of the Community) closed down several years ago basically with the many expensive improvements that Medicare and Medicaid pushed on them which were way to expensive. In light of that is was better to build another infirmary/ rehabilitation center which they did in another area of Eureka. Another 200 bed facility. That was going well. They also had a 250 bed nursing home in Chicago. Next problem was the lack of vocations to the community which meant the need to hire much more lay personnel. In the long run that became way to expensive for them and way to much money was being lost so all three homes were closed and sold. Those Brothers who are left and are not retired work at Mercy Hospital and another one downtown St Louis in various medical specialties. If I was still there I most likely still be working as a Medical Technologist at one of those Hospitals.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Jun 17, 2021 17:13:31 GMT -5
I think one of the last nursing sisters at St. E's worked for Barb. There really are no people with medical vocations anymore.
That was part of the problem at St. E's. Using nursing sisters was baked into their operating plan.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 18, 2021 19:21:16 GMT -5
According to all the news sources the Delta variety of COVID is NOW dominate in all States. Those who are not vaccinated watch out.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 18, 2021 23:15:07 GMT -5
Kathy got her second shot yesterday. We wanted her to have it a couple weeks before we travel on vacation so the two week period to reach full immunity would be over when we leave home. Two vaccinations plus the immunity she already had from having a bad case of the virus leaves us fairly comfortable with traveling and living a somewhat normal life. Of course we still wear masks when required by businesses but mostly out of consideration and for the comfort of others. I wonder when we actually will be able to be fully comfortable returning unfettered to all the activities we enjoyed before the pandemic struck.
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