The SQUARED Root

Archive for May, 2009

Austin Interactive Initiative

Posted by Mike Chapman on May 27th, 2009

Following up on the highly successful Interactive Austin 2009 conference, FG SQUARED’s Steve Golab and other community leaders are reaching out to the interactive and creative communities of Central Texas to start the Austin Interactive Initiative.

The goal of the Austin Interactive Initiative, or Aii, is to spur economic development in Central Texas by galvanizing the tremendous talent and technological expertise among the people who live and work here.

S Collective, in conjunction with FG SQUARED and Visual Innovations produced this video to introduce the subject.

Aii is an economic development movement in the Central Texas region. Community leaders who are interested in supporting Austin as a center for social media and creative technology are invited to join this effort on Twitter. In case you have trouble linking from here, the address is http://twitter.com/atxii.

The Austin area has long been a destination for members of the creative class from around the world. Let’s turn this tremendous resource of people into an economic force that will benefit the entire community.

Over the coming months, the SQUARED Root will feature key individuals in the Austin interactive and creative scenes. Let us know if there is someone you feel is an important member of our community who should be featured. We want to meet them and you and then work together to make Austin the hub for social media and creative technology.

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Health Access for Texas

Posted by Mike Chapman on May 21st, 2009

Since our last post on HB 1876, which would create the Texas Health Care Access Fund has been added as an amendment to another bill, HB 2154, which has passed the Texas State House of Representatives. Currently we are working to get the bill through the Texas State Senate. A vote is possible in the Senate Finance Committee today!

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There is a tremendous push to gain passage of the bill including a decision by the Texas Association of Business to begin running radio ads statewide in support of the measure.

From the Quorum Report, we read this headline this week.

May 19, 2009      4:30 PM

IN RARE HARMONY, TAB JOINS TAFP SUPPORTING SMOKELESS TOBACCO TAX

Both agree on urgency of helping medical students pay back med school loan in order to help under served areas

The Texas Association of Business and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians are rarely on the same page but when they are, it is significant.

TAB announced today that it was initiating a statewide radio campaign supporting HB 2154 which funds a loan repayment program for physicians working in underserved parts of the state. The program is funded by a change in the tax structure on smokeless tobacco. The bill is currently at the tende mercies of the Senate.

“We are facing a health care shortage across the state, an issue paramount to the employers and business community of Texas,” said TAB President Bill Hammond. “HB 2154 will help attract physicians to the 114 medically underserved counties in Texas by closing a loophole in the manner in which the state excise tax is assessed on smokeless tobacco products.

“This proposal enjoys overwhelming public support,” Hammond said. “Addressing the doctor shortage is good for Texas, and TAB is pleased to be sponsoring such a positive program with a very positive ad campaign.

Then yesterday, again in the Quorum Report, a story was posted about a poll conducted by Baselice which indicates deep support for the physician loan repayment program in HB 2154 among Texans.

May 20, 2009      12:29 PM

BASELICE POLL FINDS DEEP SUPPORT FOR PHYSICIAN LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM

Survey was commissioned by TAFP and TAB to give a boost to HB 2154, which is sitting in Senate Finance.

A solid majority of Texans back a proposal to help physicians pay back medical school loans if they agree to practice for a time in medically underserved areas, according to the results of a phone survey being released today.

The survey also finds support for the program remains undiminished when respondents were told the funding source is a change in taxes on smokeless tobacco. Support for the loan repayment program cut across party lines and that majorities of both Republicans and self-described conservatives backed the proposal.

Buzz Central wrote yesterday about the strange bedfellows that the Texas Academy of Family Physicians is keeping in its efforts to push the physician loan repayment bill through the Lege. The bill is currently in Senate Finance after managing to clear the House last week. A vote isn’t expected there until tomorrow at the earliest.

The Texas Legislature is in session until June 1st and every communication with any member of the legislature is important.

If you haven’t joined the Facebook group or started following the effort on Twitter you still have time.

All Texans deserve access to health care. Together we are making progress toward this goal. Please join us today by contacting your Senator.

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All Texans Deserve Access to Health Care!

Posted by Mike Chapman on May 2nd, 2009

FG SQUARED has worked with the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) for many years. Starting this weekend the Austin based interactive marketing agency is working with TACHC to spread the word about a bill being considered by the Texas Legislature that would create a fund to make it possible for more Texas physicians to choose primary care as a practice specialty.

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TACHC has proposed a bill that will help ease the strain on Texas’ physicians, the Texas Health Care Access Fund.  HB 1876/SB 2527 directly addresses this very real need for funding more physicians by closing a loophole in the smokeless tobacco tax.

This should be an easy bill for the Texas Legislature to pass, but because of the power of the tobacco lobby (and because lower-income Texans don’t have their own lobbyists); the TACHC is up against some pretty big odds.

FG SQUARED is using some social media channels to help get the word out about the legislation. A Facebook group and a Twitter account have been established. Full disclosure has been provided in both places including a link back to the SQUARED ROOT right here.

You are encouraged to join in on the effort. The idea is to make the information as available as possible in as many places online as is practical. Hopefully the more people know about what the TACHC is working on, the more they will support them by actually contacting legislators who control the fate of the bill.

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